6 hour post op highly detailed for highly anxious people

Consider this post as me paying my debt to this sub.

Short background (you can read my highly anxious story in my profile): I had two excruciating biliary colics back in November 2025, just two days apart from each other. An ultrasound revealed several non mobile foci (polyps and stones) in my gallbladder. For the past seven months, I have had episodes of more or less discomfort. I haven’t had any more attacks since then, but I did have periods where my RUQ and upper stomach region would feel bruised. Not only that, but the discomfort would spread to my left chest, my back, and sometimes even my lower stomach. It was so confusing that I even insisted on having an endoscopy to rule out an ulcer, which came back completely normal.

I never had any health issues before, at least not issues that landed me in the ER. The last time I saw a doctor before this was back in 2017, so this whole situation triggered severe anxiety and panic attacks. It got to the point where I was prescribed an SSRI and even clonazepam, though I never took them. I am just telling you this so you know the scope of the anxiety I had towards surgery. Disclaimer: I also joined a second subreddit, which explores preserving the gallbladder by removing the stones. That led me down an extensive research rabbit hole, caused by my heavy health anxiety, trying to figure out what caused my gallstones. In my case, they were most likely caused by years of smoking, which caused oxygen levels to drop, leading to a consistently slightly raised RBC count, consequently causing overproduction of bilirubin, which in turn caused the stones. I also have polyps, and I wanted those gone.

About a month ago, during one of the worst episodes of discomfort, I decided I didn't want to live in fear of the twenty percent yearly chance that I would have another attack. And here I am, six hours post op. I arrived at the hospital at 15:30 and basically speed ran through the process. I met the surgeon, then the anesthesiologist, then the nurse. I thought I would have much more time to mentally prepare, but it all happened very fast. The anesthesia was my main fear at that moment. I was particularly scared of the exact moment I drifted off, I was scared of waking up mid op, and I was scared of waking up nauseous. I was also afraid of the infamous gas pain that all post op redditors report about. Before I knew it, I was being rolled into an OR. The crew was very reassuring with great vibes in general, but the whole time I was screaming in my head, "Fuck, this is actually happening!" They started the IV super gently, I hopped into the operating bed (by the way, I saw some people wondering about this here, so in my case they gave me disposable underwear and I woke up with it intact), and they started pumping in some soothing medication. The anesthesiologist asked me if I felt dizzy. I didn’t. I started taking deep breaths in through my nose, slowly exhaling through my mouth, thought about my kids, and then woke up in the recovery room.
You have no concept of how much time has passed. As opposed to sleeping, you have no time perception. It could be fifteen minutes or fifteen hours, it all feels the exact same. The feeling you get upon waking up is as if you binged Netflix and went to sleep at 2:00 AM only to wake up at 6:00 AM for work. Sorry, that is the best way I can describe it. They give you anti nausea medication, so I woke up with no nausea, no rib or back or shoulder blade pain, and no coughing. My throat just feels dry, like those days when the ceiling fan is left on all night. That is all.

Now for the unpleasant bit: the most painful incision for me is the one in my upper stomach. If I flex that muscle, all hell breaks loose, and the staff intentionally encourages you to stand up by yourself. Pain medication helps a lot. You drift in and out of sleep, feeling the way you do when you fall asleep while watching an interesting movie, slightly excited and completely exhausted.

I hope this helps someone as anxious as I was, someone with extreme control issues who has a hard time letting go, or someone who is on the fence about whether or not to do the surgery.
Ask any questions!