Well, surgery is Wednesday morning. I'm excited to feel better, but am very anxious going in. Can anybody give me an honest idea of how they felt coming out of surgery? Everybody says it'll be "fine", but I'd like to know from someone who's actually had the surgery. Would just like to know what to expect! Thank you! :-)
I found the waiting was worse than the surgery,I felt nervous but like you, excited too.I had prayed for so long to find the answers and it was a big relief to finally get to the real cause of my long ordeal.27yrs.My life has been changed for the better so glad you’re on your way to finding your better life too,it will be worth the pain,just hang in there and keep us informed on your progress.
My experience immediately after surgery was good. I had so little pain that when my nurse would come in to check on me and my pain level I would actually have to concentrate to detect any pain. The only bother for me was the nausea for the first couple of days, and that was from the anesthesia. I slept most of the time, I was awake only for a 5-10 mins at a time for the first 3 days. I got out bed and walked on day four, and was discharged end of day five. Please talk to your nurse about bowel movements before you leave. I got a fecal impaction after almost two weeks of no bm, and honestly, that was traumatic. So much worse than the brain surgery. I would be careful of what you eat until you know your bowels are awake and moving. Best of luck, I’m excited for you! Also try to be as relaxed as you can through the recovery process. Getting caught up in timelines or “recovery goal” can back fire and cause a lot of anxiety. Be as kind as you absolutely can to yourself.
Jenn
Everyone seems to have a different experience. I have a fairly high pain tolerance so I didn't feel too bad after surgery. My neck was sore and stiff and that was about all. In fact the first thing I said to my husband was this this wasn't nearly as bad as a tonsillectomy!
Thank you everyone! I'll be sure to log on and let you all know how it went!
Keep up with meds especially nausea and vomiting ones ---no vomiting if possible, had mine june 28 I threw up a lot and popped a dura leak which meant second surgeryon July 16
Waiting to go in is truly excruciating, anticipation is the worst. But if you are a person (such as myself) who does not come out of anesthesia well, ask your anesthesiologist for EXTRA medication to help with the nausea and vomiting. They can give you up to 4 different types of medication without any interactions with one another and it works wonders. I remember feeling groggy but I did not ask for the extra meds going in and I threw up for 3 days and the LAST thing you want to do is vomit after that surgery :( Don't be afraid to ask for pain meds either. Keep ahead of the pain, you'll need them, and remember to keep fluids down and get up and walk when you can, don't push yourself and ask for help to get up and down. You probably won't remember any of the next few days after but do yourself a favor and ask for lots and lots of help and let others help you. Try to stay positive and remember it's one day at a time. After every bad day there is a good day to follow. You'll get through it. :) Everyone will tell you how wonderful you are doing. It's little victories everyday. Keep the positive people around and ditch the negative people. Make sure people wash their hands too! If they sneeze once - kick them out! You do not need ANY GERMS!!!!! Best of luck to you. Sending positive thoughts and prayers to you on Wednesday <3 (hugs)
And ask for stool softeners no straining to make bm can also cause tear in dura
Chisri was my 10th surgery and was by far the easiest.
Praying for you in the morning.
I’m praying that your surgery goes perfectly and that your recovery is as easy as possible! Keep us posted when you are able.
I hope you are doing well now that the surgery is behind you. May your recovery be quick and with as little pain as possible :)
My experience is similar to Jenn’s (jcdemar). I had the decompression surgery, Duraplasty and C1 Laminectomy on July 15 and I’m still recovering. I was pleasantly surprised when it came to waking
up after surgery. I knew from prior experience that both anesthesia and pain meds make me sick and nauseated. The anesthesiologist and doctors successfully prepared for this. I was talking right after I came to, my children visited me that night. I would say, for me, the actual surgery and hospital stay was fairly easy and most definitely easier than I assumed it would be. . My recovery at home has been more difficult, both mentally and physically. There isn’t much out there to walk you through surgery recovery. Basically we get a blanketed “everyone is different” and then left to find our way. I ended up with a small leak which caused inflammation. I just felt something was wrong one morning after being up all night. Trust your instincts. It’s better to be safe then sorry. Good luck and message me if you have any further questions.