One week before the surgery - ThinnerTimes

Luay · 05-25-2004, 09:36 AM

Hi all
This is the first time for me to post. I’m scheduled for surgery on Tuesday 6/1/04 And I’m starting to get a little nervous. I have some questions:
1-What kind of pain should you expect immediately after the surgery and how did you feel 1 day, 2day…. a week, 2 weeks after the surgery?
2-At the hospital, what kind of accommodation does the hospital provide to your buddy?
3-Is there anything you recommend to bring to the hospital?
4-How long did your surgery last?
Thank you for all of the help.

Midntsgirl · 05-25-2004, 09:49 AM

I think those are all great questions!! I'd like to know the answers as well. I'm 98% sure I'll be having the open procedure, so maybe someone could answer for both open and lap??

Mary W · 05-25-2004, 02:13 PM

I will do my best to answer your questions:

1-What kind of pain should you expect immediately after the surgery and how did you feel 1 day, 2day…. a week, 2 weeks after the surgery?
I had my surgery lap. The morphine kept me very comfortable. The incision pain in the hospital was minimal. I did however have gas pain, it was uncomfortable but manageable with the meds. Each day gets better by leaps and bounds. By 1 week I was feeling good, but tired, week 2 feeling great, but tired, week 3 back to work.
2-At the hospital, what kind of accommodation does the hospital provide to your buddy? Not much, He slept in a chair/recliner the night of my surgery and went home the rest of the evenings to care for our son. He was there during the day and ate in the cafeteria.
3-Is there anything you recommend to bring to the hospital? Chap Stick, a loose dress to go home in and toiletries. I brought a lot more and didn't use them. Oh yeah, My husband brought me a big teddy bear, I never let it go at night

4-How long did your surgery last? 1.5 hours
Thank you for all of the help.
I hope this helps, but remember everyone is different and every experience is different. You will be fine, and well taken care of.

brutherford · 05-27-2004, 07:55 AM

Those are all great questions. I had open surgery about a month ago, so hopefully this will help:

1-What kind of pain should you expect immediately after the surgery and how did you feel 1 day, 2dayÉ. a week, 2 weeks after the surgery?
Pain is entirely subjective, so it's hard to say that my experience will be yours. I have a pretty high tolerance. Anyway, very little pain in the hospital, mostly just uncomfortable. The first day or so they'll give you a morphine drip, which will make everything "groovy." As you prepare to go home, they'll wean you off of the morphine and get you on Loritab, which is a synthetic codeine. I only took the Loritab for 2 days before moving on to Tylenol. The things that hurt the worst were my ribs (I had my gallbladder removed too, and that's where it hurt) and any coughing or sneezing. Use your incentive spirometer and that will help to expand your lungs and create more flexibility in the general area. I had small random twinges of pain up to about 2 weeks, but nothing any more (unless I'm moving in a way that I shouldn't). Finding a comfortable sleeping spot can cause pain if you're anything but a sleep on your back person. Just prepare with pillows and keep adjusting until you find a sweet spot.

2-At the hospital, what kind of accommodation does the hospital provide to your buddy?
Many post-ops go to the ICU right after surgery - there are no accomodations for guests in the ICU. My husband slept on a chair and we found out in the morning that people aren't even supposed to stay overnight in the ICU, but the nurses are sweet. (You also can't have flowers in the ICU, so tell family and friends to either send them the day after surgery or send them to your home.) If you're in a regular room, you can request a fold-out bed for your buddy. At that point, I felt fine, so my husband went home for some needed rest.

3-Is there anything you recommend to bring to the hospital?
I brought WAY too much - Mary's list looks good, but also realize that your release-day clothes and gear can be brought in by your buddy, so you don't need to bring it at check-in. It's probably a good idea to pack what you think you might need and give the bag to your buddy to keep in their car. When you come out of surgery, you can always have them fetch something from the bag if you need it. Bringing it into the hospital with you will just give you more to try and keep track of.

4-How long did your surgery last?
Mine was about 3.5 hours; however, I had gall stones (unbeknownst to me) and they had to x-ray me while I was under to make sure there weren't random stones floating about.

Overall, it will all happen REALLY fast - before you know it, you'll be going home and recuperating. Try to relax - they'll take great care of you.

Good luck!

Luay · 05-27-2004, 11:06 AM

Dear Midntsgirl, Mary W and brutherford

Thank you very much for this information. I appreciate all of the support you provided. Hopefully things will work out. You can notice how jittery I am about this as this is my first surgery.

I have my pre op today @ 4:00… I’m hoping to find out if the Doctor will recommend doing the open or Lap. I will let you know.

Luay · 05-27-2004, 10:40 PM

Hi all
I had my pre op today. All went very well.

4 more days to go...

reneezie · 05-28-2004, 03:30 PM

1-What kind of pain should you expect immediately after the surgery and how did you feel 1 day, 2day…. a week, 2 weeks after the surgery?
I had my surgery lap. The morphine did not work for me and I began to experience pain

through the night. In hindsight, I should have made the nurses call Kelly to switch my meds. Instead, a horrible ICU nurse lectured me that I needed to manage my pain better and that this is why I had a button. I was up every hour or less that first night and pushing that button-- she was terrible and should not have behaved that way. Remember that the staff works for YOU!
I did not have gas pain until I came home and it was only bad for one day, it was uncomfortable but manageable with the simithecone.
Each day truly gets better by leaps and bounds. By 1 week I was feeling good, but tired, week 2 feeling better, but tired, I will most likely be out the full 6 wks and would encourage 4-6 wks if you are able to.
2-At the hospital, what kind of accommodation does the hospital provide to your buddy? Not much. At check in, we got to a room around 1am; he slept in a chair the night of my surgery until they brought a cot at 3:30am. He slept for an hour until they came to begin to prep me (1st case) at 4:30am. My advice-- take the sleeping pill, you will need your rest. First night after surgery is in ICU, very noisy, he went home. On Tues night he stayed with me and got a cot at a reasonable hour.
3-Is there anything you recommend to bring to the hospital? Chap Stick, definately a loose dress to go home in-- two incisions are on my waistline so pants are uncomfortable still, spare undies, and toiletries (including feminine products if you are nearing that time).
4-How long did your surgery last? 2 hours although hubby couldn't see me for an additional 4 1/2 hrs-- all depends how quickly you wake up.
As Mary said, please remember everyone is different and every experience is different. You will be fine.

TabFox · 05-31-2004, 04:59 PM

Hi. I had my open bypass a few days ago on May 26th. The first evening I was using the morphine drip, mainly because of muscle spasms. They did not have to remove my gallbladder since I had that done about 12 years ago. I used the incentive spirometer religiously. It really helps clearing the lungs and stretching the muscles. Also, force yourself to get up and walk. They gave me oxycodone to come home on, but I haven't had to use any pain medication. It all depends upon your pain tolerance. Mine is very high. I gave birth to my kids (natural) without even Tylenol. I currently have 39 staples in my stomach, from the breastbone to about one inch above my belly button. I would suggest bringing several big, big t-shirts to sleep in. I also brought my own shampoo, deodorant, etc. even though they do supply this. My husband didn't spend the night with me. I really didn't want anyone hanging over me like a bunch of vultures. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days. As of today, it just mainly feels like a pulled muscle. Just remember to get up and move. Oh, and one thing that nobody told me was, it's NO picnic having to wipe after going to the bathroom. I hike my leg up on the side of the bathtub. I did have horrendous gas once my intestines woke up. Again, the walking will help this. Everyday will get better. Just remember that when you wake up and realize what's going on, that's when the pain is the worst. Keep telling yourself..."ok, it's not getting any worse....then a few hours later it's a smidge better, etc."
Watch what they give you to eat/drink in the hospital. They gave me some sort of "Boost" stuff that had 26 gm of sugar in it....I didn't drink it. Also, watch the fruit juices that it's 100% juice and not some fruit drink garbage. Good luck and we'll be here when you get back!

lealphachienne · 05-31-2004, 05:31 PM

1. What kind of pain: My pain was rather mild. Then incision areas were tender to the touch and it felt like I did too many crunches. I had the lap procedure. I used very little morphine and was switched to lortab which I took every 4 hours. I asked for toradol for the inflammation due to the postion I was placed in during the surgery, I had some sore and tight muscles in my neck and left arm. I also more uncomforatable from the IV site, which was in my left hand right over the wrist, so I couldn't use that hand. I didn't have much choice in IV placement sinc I had tiny, deep veins. If possible, ask to have the IV started in your non-dominate hand. When they first get you up to walk, the nausea can be extreme. Make sure they give you some medication as soon as you fell any symptoms. Don't wait too long or try to ride the pain out. It's better to be a little dopey than to have pain or nausea.

2. Very poor accomandations for your buddy. My husband didn't even try to stay overnight. He only visited briefly each day. I was in ICU for a day, which is crowded with a lot of machines and the med-surg floors are smaller. If you request early enough, there are fold up beds your buddy can use when you move to med-surg.

3. Bring as little as possible. I only brought one t-shirt, one pair of shorts, sandals, and chapstick. Basic personal items are provided. You'll have a foley catheter in for the first day, so it's pointless to wear underwear. Besides, when the catheter is removed, you'll be peeing every 2-3 hours and it's tooo hard to pull up and down underwear. If you have problems wiping now, you will need extra help toileting.

4. I was wheeled into the pre-op room at 730 am. Surgery started at 930 am and was done by 1230. I was in recovery for awhile then moved to ICU by 1 pm. I was moved to the fourth floor by noon the next day and then discharged at noon on Sunday. You won't get any sleep tonight. When you go into the ER waiting room, it can take an hour before they come down to get you. Then it's lab work, vital signs, paperwork, medications. Then it's shower time with the iodine scrub early in the am if you're the first case. Before long it's all over.