I am 3 weeks away from surgery right now and although I don't feel consciously anxious about the surgery, it must be there because it is manifesting itself in other ways. I can't sleep. I feel so irritable. It's like all the little things that would normally be a minor nuisance are amplified. And they are keeping me awake in the middle of the night.

My question to you all is did you feel the same at all at this stage? Did you find peace at all to finish mentally preparing for this? How did you do it?

I am 3 weeks away from surgery right now and although I don't feel consciously anxious about the surgery' date=' it must be there because it is manifesting itself in other ways. I can't sleep. I feel so irritable. It's like all the little things that would normally be a minor nuisance are amplified. And they are keeping me awake in the middle of the night.

My question to you all is did you feel the same at all at this stage? Did you find peace at all to finish mentally preparing for this? How did you do it?[/quote']

I would reverse the question and say what are you looking for to gain peace. Is it the fear of the unknown or self doubting that is keeping you up. I think once you do that soul searching you might find the answer within yourself.

I prepared for the surgery by talking about my feelings and fears with loves ones. My hubby and mom were amazing. A week before surgery I was at great peace and ready to get it over with. I was ready for my new life. My hubby on the other hand did not sleep much and on the eve of my surgery he told me he did not sleep at all. He was worried about my safety in the OR.

I knew I wanted this surgery and I have had surgeries before so I knew what was expected and what would happen. I think many of the people that feel anxious is because of the fear of not knowing. I was a bit nervous the day of surgery but just knew that I had to do it!!!

I had a couple of surgeries (appendix and gall bladder) prior to my bypass and this one scared the crap out of me. But...I had done so much research, learned so much from this forum, asked so many questions, that I knew, believed, right down to my soul, that as long as I did exactly what the surgeon and her team told me to do, it would change my life. And that's exactly what happened.

Anxiety, fear, whatever you want to call it, is a perfectly normal and healthy reaction to the prospect of surgery. Courage is not about never being afraid. Courage is about doing what you believe, what you know, is the right thing to do in spite of your fear. To this day I laugh at myself and all of the worrying I did pre-op only to find that the actual surgery was nothing like my over active imagination conjured up. I was up and walking two hours after surgery. Pain was minimal. And I was so excited to have it behind me and the future was so full of promise. I was on my way.

You're gonna love the new you!

Thanks so much for the encouragement, everyone. I think it really is fear of the unknown, but it is so deep it is hard for me to see it. I know I am totally afraid of what I will be like, what ny body will be like, what my life will be like when I am a much smaller size. At the same time, I am excited because I have always wanted to know. So it is a confusing time I guess.