A Guide To Preparing Yourself For An Operation

Having an operation will always be daunting no matter what type of surgery it is and whether or not you have had an operation before. There are sure to be many questions and concerns that you have, and the medical team should be able to answer these questions and alleviate any concerns that you might have.

You can reduce stress and speed up the recovery process by making sure that you are both physi-cally and mentally prepared for the surgery and the team will be able to advise you on how you can do this for your specific operation – read on for a few suggestions.

Advice From Your Doctor

The best way to prepare will be to speak to your doctor who will be able to answer your questions, tell you what to expect and how you can best prepare. It can be helpful to write down a list of questions and to have someone with you at the appointment in case there are aspects that you forget.

You may also find it helpful to research the operation online but be sure to read from reputable sources only. Try not to go too deep into the web, as there are many sources, websites and experi-ences that can cause you to be nervous.

Physical Preparation

All surgeries are, by nature, invasive, so you need to get yourself physically prepared and in good shape and this can aid massively with your recovery. This will, of course, be challenging and will de-pend on the type of surgery that you are having, but exercise, a healthy diet, eliminating smoking and alcohol and avoiding certain medications will help you to be physically prepared.

Mental Preparation

Going under the knife will always be stressful even if you have had surgery before. Additionally, stress can weaken your immune system, so you need to find ways to deal with stress and anxiety leading up to the operation.

There are many ways to do this and what works for you may not work for someone else, but for many people breathing exercises, yoga and meditation are helpful.

Other ways to de-stress include:

* Learning to stay positive
* Unplugging from electronics
* Visualize
* Listen to soothing music

Knowing what to expect and speaking to your support network can also be helpful.

Legalities

People have surgeries of all types every single day, and these will be carried out by highly skilled surgeons. The risks of the surgery will be communicated beforehand, and you will have to give consent. It is highly unlikely, but if something were to go wrong due to the negligence of the surgi-cal team, then you may be able to claim with specialists like The Medical Negligence Experts.

Recovery

You should also have a firm plan in place for your recovery so that you know exactly what you need to be doing from the moment that you are discharged. This will involve practical aspects like how you will look after yourself, as well as physical recovery goals, rehabilitation, follow up appoint-ments, etc.

It can be scary having an operation, but by fully preparing yourself it can help to reduce stress while also making sure that you are in a good position to recover as soon as possible. The key is to carefully listen to your doctor and follow their advice to the T so that you can get back to full health as soon as possible.

Thanks to Carol