Anyone have any advice about the surgery?
A Catholic's journey through infertility, pregnancy and now motherhood. "The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard 'delay,' but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
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Hi, I've been following your blog for some time and I've been praying for your upcoming surgery. I had the surgery in October. My advice would be:
ReplyDelete1. See if you can get a handicap room at your hotel because the high beds after surgery are painful to get in and out of!
2. Bring a lot of throat lozenges, because the sore throat was excrutiating, for me anyway.
3. Loose pants, which you already know!
4. Extra pillows would have been nice when I had my surgery because not having to lay down means not having the pain of getting up! Lots of pillows to prop yourself and to prop your belly if you sleep on your side.
I'm excited for you to begin your journey! God bless!
Renee
After your surgery you will be in pain. But walk, walk, walk, walk, walk as soon as you can. Walk as much as you can. It is the best medicine for pain. I walked all through the night and day. We walked laps around the whole hospital floor!
ReplyDeleteWhen I got home from the hospital I stopped walking and ended up back in the hospital where I walked every hour on the hour. And it helped me avoid another surgery. :)
I can't believe it's already here! It has felt like forever! You can do this! I can't wait!
Will you update while in the hospital? How will we know how you are doing? You can give your DH my number if you want to keep us all updated. :) I can update the blogs for you and let everyone know how things are going! ;)
The first surgery I had...I ended up with a "slight" fever on the day of surgery and they did it anyway...they just assumed it was my allergies and anxiety. If I had a "high" fever...the surgery would have been postponed. So, as long as you don't have the flu with fever...things should be okay. I'd call the dr's office to make sure...if that was your question.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else...the pain in the chest area (diaphram) was annoying..not horrible. Walking helped. I think the prep the day before surg part was the most unpleasant part for me. My dr gave me some meds for the neausea too..which helped immensely...I only needed one dose the day after surg. I get neauseated really easily. Take the meds the dr's prescribes...that was some advice others gave me too. I had some discomfort with bending over. All in all...it really wasn't so bad..my dh was really thankful I didn't suffer too much. I was able to start my class which was a two hour drive away...less than a week after surgery. :)
Hope you can keep us posted...we'll be praying for you!
No advice, but wanted you to know I was praying for you.
ReplyDeleteMake sure that you have loose fitting pants. It took a LONG time after my first surgery (and even longer after the second) to wear normal pants.
ReplyDeleteHave a pillow for the car ride to your hotel. It definitely helped cushion my sore belly from the seat belt.
Comfort food, lots of it.
And walk! Even though it will hurt like the dickens, you need to walk so you don't have all of the horrible gas pains!
Four more days! I'm so excited for you!!!
When do you arrive in Omaha? I'm excited for you!
ReplyDelete1) request a handicapped room and one especially on the main floor...close to the lobby (if they have amenities close by you think you might need).
2) loose pants...sweat pants with drawstring or loose elastic waistband.
3) be prepared for your shoulders to ache the day or two after surgery...it's from all the gas he uses to inflate your belly.
4) Ramen noodle soup might be helpful to have in the room since you won't have an appetite and most food tastes like crap anyhow after surgery. Somehow, ramen soup was comforting to me.
5) have dulcolax available and lots of liquids. Getting up to pee frequently is a painful but necessary bonus.
6) have large bandaids on hand to change your belly dressings.
7) if you are bored and have any time before surgery, Boys Town was a worthwhile little excursion. I also spent a good deal of time at Village Pointe Shopping Center--although it's a good deal of walking would involve being outside.
8) don't know which hotel you're staying at, but there are a ton of Catholic churches all over Omaha. We attended Mass frequently at St. Joan of Arc (on Vinton St) and the Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception (on 24th St) and loved both.
Praying for you! I look forward to your updates from Omaha.
I have been out of the loop for awhile, but know that my prayers continue for you!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that wakling was not so bad for the first surgery, there was just more pain associated with the gases. My arms and shoulders ached for a good long while. We did lots of walking and exploring in Omaha and my absolute favorite place over there was the Holy Family Shrine. It is about 20 minutes away and then there is this drive through Safari (sp?). We actually found the signs for the shrine on our way to the safari.
I just checked the temps for Omaha and it will be chilly. Bring warm clothes :)
I do have to say that the anxiety over the surgery for me was unnecessary, everything went off well. The doc was great, the hospital and nursing staff are excellent. I received excellant care and so will you! Keep me posted and if you want call me anytime.
Oh and definitely remember some cough drops and it takes awhile for food to taste good again, the only thing I could stomach was a chicken sandwich and it was the same thing for days :( .
One more time . . . I'm thinking of you. Tons of virtual hugs are being sent your way!
ReplyDeleteGood luck this week! I hope you have safe travel and a great experience at PPVI. Many prayers coming your way!
ReplyDeleteYes, I do, and I mean it in all seriousness. Anyone foolhardy enough to read it learned all about my projectile vomiting of the GoLytely (HA!) on Bowel Prep Day. The four enemas I self-administered when that didn't work were effective, according to my surgeon - but I had hemorrhoids for weeks after I came out of surgery. (Sorry about the TMI, but better to know now, I promise.) I would have given my eye teeth to know beforehand that I should (1) demand and fill a prescription for an ALTERNATIVE to the GoLytely in case I threw it up (2) insist on an alternative to flagyl (antibiotic), which apparently OFTEN causes people to vomit immediately (and yet they continue to prescribe it to people doing bowel prep...) and (3) forego any solid food for TWO days before surgery. I know, you'll be hungry. But I've done two-day juice fasts before, and *unless* you have dietary issues (please talk to your doctor if you have any concerns - I wouldn't want to make a diabetic or hypoglycemic sick), you'll be fine. You need lots of sugary juice (milk would be OK too on the first day), and if you actually have to accomplish anything, you need a long nap and lots of caffeine. I can see where that sounds unhealthy, but there is an easy way and a hard way to get all the digested food out of your system, and TRUST ME: not eating solids for an extra day is the easy way. (I'm sure you'd still have to do a LITTLE bowel prep, but nothing like what a single day of fasting requires.)
ReplyDelete