Question:
Relaxation and Hypnosis Tapes right before surgery

Hello I was wondering if anyone who is post op listened to any relaxation tapes on the days leading up till surgery and even the day of surgery before you went in? When I had my psychological eval, I told the PHD doc that I tend to get nervous and would rather be in a relaxed mode to promote a calm demeanor and keep my blood pressure down. She then recommended some relaxation techniques and tapes for me.Did anyone else do such a thing? I heard about some people actually having their psychologist come into the OR to put you in a light trance during the surgery. What do you all think about this? Thanks for input..    — krism2003 (posted on March 2, 2003)

March 1, 2003
I worked hard on relaxing and positive thinking in the days leading to surgery. But, to be honest, the preop valium really did its job and was the exact level of relaxation I'd hoped for.
   — Diane M.

March 2, 2003
The anesthesiologist can give you something to relax you. Valium and Versed are two drugs that come to mind. They will mellow you out quite a bit. If they don't offer that, ask for it. I also think practicing relaxation techniques is a good idea. In the hospital where I had my surgery, they allowed family members to come into the pre-op area after the patient had an IV started and whatever other pre-op stuff needed to be done.
   — garw

March 2, 2003
Hi, I did use some CD's before surgery. M personal opinion is that they helped greatly. I really recommend "Sound Body, Sound Mind" by Dr. Andrew Weil. It is basically a 60 minute meditation done with music and tones. He explains the whole theory behind it before the music starts. I continue to use this CD almsost every night. I have a hard time meditating on my own...my mind is always running! This helps immensely. I also did visualization for several weeks before the surgery. I had an extremely fast...back to work on the 10th day...recovery. I also had no pain after leaving the hospital and have luckily been complication free. The others are correct though...whatever they put in the IV really removes all anxiety just prior to surgery. I was pretty much at peace going in and coming out of surgery. Probably a combo of both. You can get "Sound Body Sound Mind" at Borders or another big book store (I did) or online at Amazon.com or something like that. Dr. Weil also has a website and it is probably available there as well. Good luck Maureen
   — Maureen R.

March 2, 2003
I listened to the tapes and I think it was a great aid in my recovery. I literally woke in recovery and thought they cancelled my surgery, then I moved and felt some pain, but this by far was much less pain than my c-sections. I still know to this day that the aid of those tapes (along with family support and prayer) made my recovery go much faster.
   — Dana B.