FEAR OF ANAESTHETICS
I am 15 years old and have had three attacks of tonsillitis in the past year. I have been told
that I need a tonsillectomy and this means I have to have an anaesthetic and am frightened
that (a) I will be awake when I'm supposed to be asleep and (b) I don't want to wake up
feeling sick 'cos I hate that! What should I do?
When you go into hospital for your operation or, in some hospitals, at a pre-anaesthetic
assessment clinic, you will be seen by an anaesthetist who will explain exactly what is going
to happen. Awareness (being “almost awake”) during an anaesthetic is
extremely rare, and for a tonsillectomy procedure, very rare. Feeling sick after the
operation, however, is not that rare, but there are drugs that the anaesthetist can give you to
try and stop that happening. If you tell the anaesthetist your fears, he or she can modify the
technique that they use to (a) make sure that you are not “aware” and (b)
minimise the chance that you feel sick after the operation. So, my choice for you is to speak
to the anaesthetist and tell him or her all your worries, and the anaesthetist will do their best
to help. Good luck, and don't worry - modern anaesthetics are very good!
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FEAR OF NEEDLES
I am going into hospital to have an operation, but have a fear of needles. When a doctor
comes into the room with a syringe and needle to take blood, I start sweating and feel sick.
What should I do?
There are things that doctors can do to help with “needle-phobia” which is a
fear of needles. They can put a little “patch” over the area where they are
going to put the needle about an hour before, which makes the area go numb so you don't feel
the needle. It is very effective and helps a lot. The other thing to help yourself calm down is to
concentrate on your breathing and breathe very slowly and deeply when you start to get
frightened. This will help slow your heart rate down and will help stop you feeling sick and
sweating. Use this deep breathing (do it as slowly as you can) technique whenever you feel
anxious or frightened as it is very effective!
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SELF-HELP BOOKS
Hi Dr Mike, I could really do with a recommendation. There are so many self-help books
about dealing with eating disorder, depression, and alcohol abuse, and I have all three. Which
title would be best to read? (Female, age 30)
If you have an eating disorder as well as depression + alcohol abuse. I would recommend
seeing your GP and asking him about counselling, specifically my choice would be Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I think it is very difficult to get advice about
addictive/behavioural problems from a book. - they are all so impersonal. Having said that,
there is a good book called Eating, Drinking,
Overthinking: The Toxic Triangle of Food, Alcohol and Depression - and How Women Can
Break Free by Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, which I think may be helpful.
My choice: get the book......if it doesn't help, go and see your GP and ask for counselling
advice. Good luck!
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GENITAL HERPES
I have genital herpes, and am hoping to get into a relationship with a sexual dimension. At
what point is it right to tell someone about the risks they are taking? I take suppression
medication, but I understand that that is not a guarantee against transmission. (Female, age
30)
I would say as soon as you are ready to have sex with your partner it would be sensible to
explain the risks! I think you will find
this link helpful - it gives lots of advice about herpes in general and how to avoid passing
it on.
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