Arnica Cream ordered i got a 3 pack of Bioron Arnica Cream
Laptop Bed tray
wireless everything so i can work from bed when i am able
I seen my PA at my pain clinic yesterday, she made me feel 100% better. After telling my pain clinic doc all the symptoms he told me it was because of my posture and gave me another injection for my DDD. This was almost a year ago, when i went in for my 3 month med check i met with Karen my PA under my pain clinic doc She asked a bunch of questions went over everything and she is the one who prompted the MRI because she thought i had spinal stenosis. She said she worked with a NS before. This is my first time seeing her since the findings of Chiari and seeing surgeons. The one i am going with is the one they recommended. But i found out a couple weeks ago that there is a specialist in my area i tried to get an appt but no one has called me back. I told her about it and she said thats the surgeon i worked under we performed a ton of the Chiari surgery but he is retired now only working 8-10 weeks out of the year on his patients and referrals and it could be months to get in with him if at all. She then told me that the surgeon i selected used to work with them and then went off and stared his own she said he was an excellent surgeon and i am making the right choice that i am healthy and this surgery should go very well for me. She said if i couldn't have the dr Lynn Hedemen then Dr Lowry is the next best NS. This conversation took away probably 50 percent of my anxiety over the surgery.
sorry didnt mean to make that a book:)
This forum is amazing i have gotten so much great information!
Sounds like you have a great PA...I did too and they are worth their weight in gold if you are lucky enough to have a good one!
I do have a few things I suggest to folks to bring to the hospital....jammie bottoms....so when you get out of bed you don't have to worry about your butt showing!
Baby/facial wipes..kept within your reach...Lord only knows where those hospital wash clothes have been!
hard candy..something to suck on if your mouth gets dry
soft blanket...
Post op....listen to your body...it will tell you when you have done too much....
be sure to stay well hydrated...eat well..protein for healing process.
BIG ONE...make sure that you are able to move your bowels before you leave the hospital..they will surely see to this..but just in case...ask for a stool softener if one is not ordered...the pain meds will bind you up...this is one problem that you do not need!!
keep us updated on how you are doing...I am sure you are a bit anxious...so normal....but ...it will be worth it in the end!!
Let me know if you have any questions...I can share my own experiences...take care.
I think my hospital stay was about 5-6 days total and I barely remember it. I tried to be prepared for every situation and obsessed over what I packed in my bag - I think because I felt like that was the only aspect I had any control over. Turns out, I didn't wear anything except the hospital gown - was too sick to walk or need clothes, robe, etc. I never looked at a TV, read, or played games on my iPhone like I had planned. I was drugged out pretty much the entire stay. I honestly can't tell you if during that time I bathed, washed my hair, or even brushed my teeth. A lot of things I thought were vitally important became far less so post-op.
What I do remember being 100% vital - get 1 or 2 containers of anti-bacterial face and hand wipes. I cannot even express how great it is to freshen up while barely moving. Also have some chapstick on hand. I packed hard candies, but I think I only had ice chips while in the hospital.
I completely agree with Lori about the stool softeners. I took them anyways on a daily basis (which they recommended to me) and I still got constipated and it made me very sick. More so than I ever would have thought! I would definitely recommend taking them regularly while you are on the pain meds. Hydration is SO important. When I was in my major vomiting phase, I drank pedialyte a lot.
My biggest problem was vomiting and it was happening because I couldn't eat and was getting pain meds on an empty stomach and once it started it was a vicious cycle. Hopefully your doctors can help keep you from starting the nausea cycle! Once I broke the cycle and was able to keep some food down (even liquid diet) things turned the corner and started improving.
Another thing I had that I liked was a little U-shaped pillow like what you take on the plane. Instead of laying on it with it around my neck, I would lay on it with it flat and the cut out part right where my incision was. Hope that makes sense!
Thank you for those tips!! i didnt think of any of that. I will keep you posted i am getting more anxious every day i know its going to be here before i know it...5 days
lori said:
Hi..
Sounds like you have a great PA...I did too and they are worth their weight in gold if you are lucky enough to have a good one!
I do have a few things I suggest to folks to bring to the hospital....jammie bottoms....so when you get out of bed you don't have to worry about your butt showing!
Baby/facial wipes..kept within your reach...Lord only knows where those hospital wash clothes have been!
hard candy..something to suck on if your mouth gets dry
soft blanket...
Post op....listen to your body...it will tell you when you have done too much....
be sure to stay well hydrated...eat well..protein for healing process.
BIG ONE...make sure that you are able to move your bowels before you leave the hospital..they will surely see to this..but just in case...ask for a stool softener if one is not ordered...the pain meds will bind you up...this is one problem that you do not need!!
keep us updated on how you are doing...I am sure you are a bit anxious...so normal....but ...it will be worth it in the end!!
Let me know if you have any questions...I can share my own experiences...take care.
I read a lot of posts about the pillow and i want to be sure i have everything i might need to be comfortable. i will def let everyone know how it works i got both pillows on the website
Terri said:
Just found out my surgery is scheduled for May 8. These postings have been very reassuring. Is the chiari pillow beneficial?
It will be nice to have others to talk to while we go through this. The support here is amazing.
Just checking in on you. How are you feeling? Tomorrow will be one week out of surgery for me. I think that I'm doing pretty well in the grand scheme of having just had brain surgery. My arm tingling is gone which is great. I don't really think I'm having headaches, but it's hard to tell because my neck and head are in such pain from the surgery itself. I sleep a lot off and on. It's hard to get good lasting rest as I have to wake to use the restroom and take meds so often. I knew this would be hard...or at least I tried to mentally prepare myself for that...it's just really tough realizing how long this may take before I feel like myself again. How about you? Today's your day right? As soon as you feel up to getting on here, let me know how your first week goes?