Dear Ann Landers,
I'm a married woman, forty-four, with a lovely family. I've known for six months that I need surgery. I have been putting it off until I've run out of excuses. The reason I am avoiding the operation is that I'm afraid of what I might say under an anesthetic. My husband is the attentive type who would insist on being with me every minute. If I started to talk, I could ruin myself. I can't discuss this with anyone for obvious reasons. Please tell me what to do. There must be a solution, but I don't see it.-D. Prest

Dear D.,
You can discuss this with your doctor in complete confidence. The problem will not be new to him. (It isn't new to me, either.) You have several alternatives. The simplest solution would be for your doctor to bar all relatives from the hospital until your surgery has been completed and you have regained consciousness.