I've read these boards for a while now - in prep for my husband's surgery that was last Wednesday. The surgery itself went beautifully. It took 6 hours, but the NS was very meticulous and made sure he did everything that needed done. He ended up with Decompression, Duraplasty, and C1 Laminectomy (had a 9mm herniation with syrinx from T2-T10). They opted not to shunt the syrinx because after he was finished with all of the surgical repairs the CSF started moving naturally on it's own.
Mike's recovery was tough.... had a hard time breathing on his own initially and had some low 02 sats, also vomited... a LOT! But by Thursday afternoon we were out of the ICU and in Neuro step down. Thursday was the hardest day because of pain, then Friday he had hiccups for 9 hours straight! Crazy! Saturday morning he got his walking papers and we came home. I was shocked it was so soon. We both slept a lot Saturday and yesterday was fairly smooth. Even managed to go 7 hours without pain meds and only using the ibuprofin.
But... Today has been a different story! He was up from 4am on feeling "swimmy headed". Nothing seemed to help. At 9:30ish he was standing in the bathroom and the next thing we knew he was vomiting - a LOT! No nausea to clue him in that it was coming... just hit hard and fast! Since then he's slept on and off, but still really swimmy headed and miserable.
I've left a messge for the NS's triage nurse, but haven't heard back. Is this all normal you think?? I know he had brain surgery less than a week ago, but this is the worst he has felt since the initial 24 hours after surgery and the "swimmy headedness" has me one very nervous wife!
Hang in there! Call the nurse again if you don't hear within the hour. Be an overly protective wife. Sometimes there are other numbers you can call as well--the office, the Resident on call (if it is a teaching hospital). The resident may not know much, but maybe they can get someone else on the phone for you.
Sounds like he may need something like Zofran to help with the nausea. I had a day of very bad nausea and vomiting after the anti-nausea patch wore off.
Pain meds are prescribed for a reason so managing without them may not be the best thing to do this soon after surgery. Could the "swimmy headedness" be from pain not being controlled?
Hope the DR calls back soon and you can get something to help your husband.
There wasn't any nausea. That's the wierd part. He was fine... next thing we knew he was vomiting. And pain isn't a big issue... and he is taking his pain meds. He's been on Vicodin Q4 hours, Ibuprofin Q6 hours, and Valium 2x a day. Same meds he was on prior to surgery - so I don't think the meds caused it.
If they don't call by 3 I'm going to call them again.
I had my surgery 2 months ago, and the vomiting sounds very strange to me. I mean I know you can have nausea and vomiting after the surgery, but the way you say it has happened seems very odd. I hope someone calls you back soon with some kind of answer.
I would call back and let them know that you need answers as soon as possible. I know when they released me a few weeks ago, they said that if I experienced any vomiting that they wanted me to return to the ER immediately.
Sorry for leaving everyone hanging... we've spent the last several hours in the E.D. after talking to the NS. They wanted to be sure there was no leak. CT scan was clear for that. The NS put him back on high dose steroids for inflammation in the brain - said that was causing his symptoms - and they sent us home.
Blows my mind that they can tell you inflammatin in the brain and send you on your merry way... I am one nervous wife for sure now! Ughh!
Glad to hear some good news that there is no leak. And hopefully being at home will mean he is more comfortable tonight. Let's hope the steroids do the trick. Do keep us posted in the morning. Call your NS if anything weird is happening, though! They aren't there in the house with your husband, so you'll have to be their eyes and ears. I am sure it is terribly hard, but do try not to worry too much.
No - just said it was normal post surgery. He was on steroids in the hospital and should have been d/c'd on them - but the NS who d/c'd him home didn't write for steroids. It was explained that by Monday they had started wearing off in his body, thus the symptoms he was experiencing. He's been back on them for 24 hours now and we already see a dramatic improvement.