So I’m getting a septoplasty in a few months, And I’m really nervous about it. I’m mainly just worried about the pain, I’ve heard it causes a lot of discomfort, but the biggest thing I’m worried about is the pampering afterwards.

It sounds really stupid, but I absolutely hate being pampered. Sure, I enjoy occasionally getting things that I want, but I cannot stand being treated like a child, especially when I’m helpless after surgery. For example, my first ever surgery was when I was 16. I was getting my wisdom teeth out, but I was given the choice of whether or not I wanted to be asleep for the procedure. I decided I wanted to stay awake, since I was worried I would say something stupid because of the anesthesia, But also, because I was worried about the pampering afterwards. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, since my mom told me she was awake when she had her wisdom teeth out too, and it wasn’t so bad. Ultimately, the procedure went fine, But the pampering before and afterwards had me really nervous. It started when my mom picked me up from school to go get my surgery. I got in the car and immediately noticed that it was filled with my squishmallows (I only have two, but they are large and take up a lot of space). My mom stated that “they wanted to come” lol. She also mentioned I would probably want to sleep afterwards so they would be there. I was skeptical because I don’t like it when people watch me sleep, especially my parents. Luckily the procedure went really well and I felt fine afterwards. However, the pampering continued when we got home. My mom told me she had made a bed for me upstairs in her room with the tv just in case I wanted to rest up there. She then nagged me about all the medication I had to take. At the time I listened to her, but didn’t enjoy the pampering.

Later that year, I got my tonsils out. I felt good after the procedure, not 100% obviously, but good enough to function independently. When I was in recovery, I was texting my dad letting him know I was ok(he has really bad anxiety and worries whenever someone gets a surgery). He kept texting me, telling me how much pampering I was going to receive when I got home that night. I didn’t really care at the time because I was helpless out of it, but I was more moody when I got home. Immediately after walking in the door, my dad started talking to me loudly and in a baby voice. He said, “Mary! How can I pamper you?” At the time it didn’t really bother me because I was still out of it, My parents told me I should go to sleep because I hadn’t slept yet post surgery, And they were shocked that I didn’t sleep. That’s when I got really mad and lost my temper.

Now comes a topic that’s the opposite of pampering, pressure. At my most recent procedure, I had an endoscopy done because I’ve been having problems with my esophagus. I felt good post surgery but was kind of dizzy and tired. I asked my mom prior to the surgery if we could go grocery shopping for some of the foods that I was supposed to eat afterwards. She said she would take me, but never got the chance to. Immediately after surgery, I was hungry since I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before, and of course, that’s what my mom wanted to get groceries. I originally planned to make a list to give to my mom with all the stuff that I wanted to eat for the next couple days. My memory was kind of foggy, and my hands were pretty tired. Because I love grocery shopping and picking out my own stuff, I decided to just go in with my mom. Right off the bat, I started feeling dizzy, and my mom was walking really fast. I asked her to slow down, and we picked up all the food that I wanted. Afterwards, however, She pushed me to help her load the car and carry all the stuff inside when we got home. After that, she asked me to do chores. I wasn’t supposed to do any heavy lifting or strenuous activities for 48 hours, so all this made me really tired. Later, my dad came home, And in the baby voice, asked me how I was feeling. Then later on, my mom started nagging me about stuff, And that was the breaking point for me. I made it very clear to my mom that I needed a day to rest, And she said that was ok.

Has anyone else felt this way About pampering/pressure?