I still have a month until my surgery with Dr. Alvarez, I'm completely freaked out and want to back out. I'm scared! I have two kids & a husband who are my LIFE and I'm afraid of dying during surgery or from complications and leaving them. And afraid that if I make it thru surgery, that there will major issues and I'll end up worse off than I am now. Can any of you relate to these feelings? Can any Dr. Alvarez patients help reassure me?!

Freaked Out??? Cmon, you've got to get things into perspective. I could jump outa planes, plummeting towards the ground at couple of hundred miles an hour skydiving, or go scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef with 20 foot Great White sharks, or climb the sheer cliffs of Mount Everest, at 35,000 feet with no oxygen.........Or any of a dozen other terrifying ordeals. Would I be Freaking Out??? Nah. So just punching a few holes in the ole belly and stitching up the stomach, is a walk in the park.

Now, you want freaking out. What would freak me out, is the thought of a Watermelon growing in my belly and then forcing it out thru a straw with no pain meds. Now that would surely FREAK me out. Relax, you women got this.

Added note: Ok, ok, a couple of those other things would probably freak me out........

Edited May 19, 201412 yr by Recycled

What are the odds of that happening? My doctor said I would have a higher chance of getting in a car accident and dying.

What are the odds of that happening? My doctor said I would have a higher chance of getting in a car accident and dying.

Probably a higher chance of dying doing about everything you normally do in a routine day......Including slipping in the shower. Or what about the biggie.......dying from obesity.

I dont have a date yet , but soon will. I know exactly how your feeling with one difference. My doc has never killed a patient and had only one leaker and his team performs 500 sleeves a year. Not knowing how I will react in the future has me tore up. I have a appointment with the shrink today to hopefully get tools to help with the fear of failure. Everybody has these feelings. I have been attending a support group which meets once a month for the last couple of months. At the end of the meetings most of my fears subside after talking with those at various stages. But those scary feeling still come back after a couple of days. I have yet to meet a person in the support group that regretted their desicion to have surgery.

Thank you all for your encouraging words of reality! I know I have anxiety issues and the feelings of being completely freaked out cons and go. Today was obviously one of the NSC days.

With your support and a lady I work with who had bypass surgery many years ago I have managed to get myself over this anxiety today. I'm still nervous but, I know I need to proceed to have a better life.

Sweetie I just had surgery with Dr. Alvarez May 12. I totally understand the freak out thing. I cancelled my surgery once, lost $$$ in airfare, then rescheduled 2 months later! I was a nervous mess. I mean nightmares, couldn't eat, freaking out mess!!! I promise you he is an awesome surgeon. I'm a Registered Nurse so I know what can happen, and yes it's terrifying. But the benefits outweigh the risks IF you follow his instructions. You will read horror stories about people with major complications and it will mess up your head believe me. When a person walks out of that hospital, the decision is theirs as to how compliant they want to be. You would be surprised at the stupid people who do not comply with post op instructions. They try to eat a pizza week one, they drink alcohol, take harmful medications, smoke...IF you follow his instructions you will live a healthier happy life, many sizes smaller than you are. The choice is yours really. The outcome is in your control, not Dr. Alvarez's control. I think you should do it. I also think you should stop researching it and stop looking for the bad things. You looked into this for a reason. If you believe in God, then pray about it, make your decision, and have peace. I am so glad I did this surgery with Dr. Alvarez. He is the very best doctor you could choose.

I still have a month until my surgery with Dr. Alvarez, I'm completely freaked out and want to back out. I'm scared! I have two kids & a husband who are my LIFE and I'm afraid of dying during surgery or from complications and leaving them. And afraid that if I make it thru surgery, that there will major issues and I'll end up worse off than I am now. Can any of you relate to these feelings? Can any Dr. Alvarez patients help reassure me?!

Think you so much for your reply! I was having a VERY bad day, got over if that afternoon. I'm so glad to hear a recent patient say such positive things. I've honestly only heard positive things from people I've reached out to. Definitely more reassuring to hear that you are a nurse and highly recommend him. I'm still nervous but definitely I'm still planning to go. Thanks again!