Why this service exists
Hospitals are good at fixing bodies and bad at noticing what the experience does to the person inside one. Before becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Carlos Estrada spent almost 20 years as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist, caring for patients in the moments they were most afraid. He has supported many patients through the mental health side of surgery and anesthesia, and this service brings that experience to the whole arc: before the procedure, through recovery, and into life with an illness that is not going away.
Is it normal to be this scared before surgery?
Yes. Fear before a procedure, what clinicians call perioperative anxiety, is one of the most common experiences in medicine and one of the least treated. For some people it is sleepless nights the week before; for others it is a level of dread that makes them cancel procedures they genuinely need. Both are treatable, and treating them makes surgery safer and recovery smoother.
Is it normal to feel depressed after surgery?
Very. Postoperative depression is common and underdiagnosed: anesthesia, pain, poor sleep, immobility, and weeks of watching life happen without you all pull mood down. Most people rebound as healing progresses. When the low mood deepens instead, or recovery stalls because you cannot make yourself do the rehab, it is time to treat the mood directly rather than wait it out.
How do you adjust to a diagnosis that changes everything?
A new diagnosis rearranges your future without asking. Grief, anger, fear, and numbness are all normal responses; when they overwhelm your ability to function, clinicians call it adjustment disorder, and when the illness itself drives the mood change, a depressive disorder due to another medical condition. The labels matter less than this: it is not weakness, and short-term focused treatment helps most people find their footing.
What does chronic pain do to mood and sleep?
Pain and mood run on shared circuitry. Chronic pain fragments sleep, shrinks your world, and grinds down patience and hope; depression then amplifies how loud the pain feels. Treating the mood side of chronic pain does not mean the pain is imaginary. It means attacking the cycle at the point where treatment actually works.
What if hospitals themselves terrify you?
Medical trauma is real. A bad surgery, a frightening ICU stay, waking up confused, or feeling dismissed while seriously ill can leave the same imprint as any other trauma: panic in waiting rooms, avoided appointments, nightmares before procedures. Having spent his anesthesia career on the other side of that experience, Carlos treats fear of hospitals and anesthesia without minimizing it.
Who are you when you can't work or do it yourself?
Recovery and chronic illness take more than function; they take identity. The provider becomes the patient, the breadwinner needs help with stairs, the independent one has to ask. That loss deserves real attention, because untreated it quietly becomes depression. We help you rebuild a sense of self that survives the diagnosis.
We coordinate with your other clinicians
With your permission, we communicate with your surgeon and primary care provider: medication choices made with anesthesia in mind, a heads-up before procedures, and a shared plan afterward. Visits are by secure video anywhere in Ohio or Indiana, whether you are home in Maumee, recovering at a relative's place in Bowling Green, or anywhere else in the state.
Insurance we take
Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Optum plans, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Carelon, Medicare Advantage plans, and more. Self-pay is $225 for an initial evaluation and $150 for follow-ups. The fastest way to check your plan is to start booking and pick your insurance.
Common questions
Is it normal to feel depressed after surgery?
Yes, low mood after surgery is common and has real causes: anesthesia effects, pain, disrupted sleep, lost routines, and the sheer slowness of healing. For most people it lifts within a couple of weeks. When it deepens or lingers, clinicians call it postoperative depression, and it responds to treatment the way other depression does.
How soon before my surgery should I get help for the anxiety?
As soon as you know the dread is building. A few weeks of lead time lets us work on the anxiety properly, but even one visit shortly before a procedure can help with a concrete plan. Severe fear of surgery or anesthesia, sometimes called perioperative anxiety, is common and very treatable.
Will treatment interfere with my surgery or anesthesia?
This is exactly where our lead provider's background matters. Carlos Estrada spent almost 20 years as a CRNA giving anesthesia before becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner, so medication choices here are made with surgery in mind. Bring your medication list and your surgery date, and we coordinate with your surgical team when needed.
What is adjustment disorder?
It is the clinical name for when a major life change, like a new diagnosis or a long recovery, overwhelms your ability to cope, causing anxiety, low mood, or both. It is one of the most common reactions to serious illness. Naming it matters because it responds well to short-term, focused treatment.
Can chronic pain actually cause depression?
Yes, and the two feed each other. Pain disrupts sleep, shrinks your activities, and wears down mood; depression then lowers your pain tolerance and saps the energy recovery requires. Clinicians sometimes call this a depressive disorder due to another medical condition. Treating the mood side often improves how manageable the pain feels.
Will you talk to my surgeon or primary care doctor?
Yes, with your permission. Coordinating with your surgical team and primary care provider is part of this service, whether that is flagging a medication before anesthesia, sharing a treatment summary, or making sure everyone is working from the same plan. You should not have to be the messenger between your own clinicians.
Does insurance cover this?
Most major plans do. We take Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and Optum plans, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Carelon, and more. Self-pay is $225 for an initial evaluation and $150 for follow-ups. The fastest check is picking your insurance on our booking page.
Related care and reading
Facing something hard? Bring us in.
Two quick questions and you are on the right provider's calendar, often within days.
Book an AppointmentThis page is for education and is not medical advice or a diagnosis. Telehealth is for non-emergency care. In crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.