Me? Nervous? Pshaw . . .

So I've been tooling along in Julie Mode, making lists of things I need to do before surgery, and then making lists of lists so I don't forget anything.  Working the lists, checking things off as I go.  That's me, calm, cool, collected, productive.  Noooooo problem.  Being jittery about the surgery is not on any of my lists, so there's just no time for it, right?  I've actually been really excited about my surgery plans, looking forward to a pain-free foot (eventually) and looking forward to lying around with my foot up all week during a quiet Thanksgiving break.  Then I experienced one night, then two nights, of sleeplessness, my mind very wakeful, and noticed that my shoulders and neck were sore from tensing up.  Uh oh.  Maybe I'm not as relaxed about this as I thought.  Emotional check-in  . . . yup, feeling overwhelmed and cranky all the sudden.  Am I scared?  Freaked out about the loss of control over my life for a few weeks?  What's going on?

I decided to pay attention to the symptoms and be proactive.  (Aren't you proud of me? Normally I would just barrel on through, no time, no time to stop and reflect, there are things to do, so much to do!!)  I went searching and found Dr. Weil's recommendation for a pre-surgery program that actually has a double-blind, placebo controlled research backing.  It's put out by psychotherapist Belleruth Naparstek.  It is a series of audio files that contain guided imagery for before surgery, affirmations for after, and relaxation music for during surgery (earbuds--I don't want my surgeon falling asleep!).  I downloaded them and have been listening to them just before bed.  I do like them, but can't say I've heard any of them all the way through, because as Belleruth puts it, "Some people fall asleep the first few times they listen, because they are not used to being both relaxed and awake."  Ummmmm, yep.  That about sums it up!
The studies on these audio relaxation aids show that patients who used them prior to surgery had reduced blood loss, used less pain medication, experienced less anxiety, and spent less time in the hospital.  We'll see . . . for now, at least I'm easily falling asleep at night!


Next time on the blog:  The Big Reveal of the Winning Ambulation Device!