I must admit that the earlier your surgery is scheduled the better. Better of course because of the wait time for both you and your family but also better because you have to stop eating and drinking at midnight the night before. Food is not that big of a deal but I was certainly parched from the time I woke up.
My surgery was scheduled for 11am with a hospital arrival time of 9am. The drive there is never fun. It was rather a quiet one from my end as I was certainly not looking forward to surgery number 2. We arrived on time. Completed the required check in and waited to be called back to pre-op. Not long after I was called back on my own and told that my family one at a time could come back and see me in about an hour. I went back and changed into my gown, TED stockings, non-skid socks and signed the appropriate paper work. My IV was put in and they began to run fluids. The head anesthesiologist came back and we talked about pain control and previous surgeries. We discussed my options for my pain push pump although Dilaudid caused itching the last time it is stronger than Morphine so I chose to go the itchy route. Benadryl takes care of the itches any way. That all out of the way my family took turns coming to say hi. Dr S. came through around 10:40 to initial my leg. If he'd tried the other side he would have seen that he had previously been there due to my lovely scar :)
Not long after they came to wheel me away so my surgery actually started pretty close to on time. When I got into the OR there stood Dr S. and that's about all I remember. My surgery took less time this time around and so did recovery. I think I was in my hospital room around 6:30pm or so. Apparently while I was in surgery there was a fire alarm that went off for about 10 minutes. God knows what they if you are in surgery if there is a fire in the hospital but thank goodness we didn't have to find out the answer to that. Shortly there after they sent a harpist down into the waiting area to play for my family and the others. Who knows if that was to calm them but my mother of course said it made her think of cherubs and heaven perhaps not the best sentiment for people waiting for loved ones in surgery.
Some tips:
1. One of the things I did for my family before going into surgery was to make gift bags for each of them. 5 hours is a long time to wait so I filled them with things to help pass the time - books, games, chocolates, breath mints, and gift certificates for McDonald's the only restaurant in the hospital - a very strange option for a hospital. It's a nice thing to do for those who are waiting for you.
2. Ask for a room where your op leg faces the door it gives you more room to get in and out of bed. I have found that it is easier to get out of bed with you op leg first this is the way the first PT's taught me and I have found this time around it appears to still be the better way to do it.
3. Have someone stay the first night with you. Juli slept in my room the first night and set an alarm to tell me to push the pump every 10 minutes. It is awful if you get behind the pain. I would say the first 2 nights are really helpful. Juli ended up staying all 4 and it was great to have the company. She would then switch with my mom who did the day shift.
Oh and one of the first things I checked when I was in recovery was whether I had a numb patch or not - the good news - no numb patch. 2 legs numb patch free - well done Dr S!
Note: I chose to publish JC's comment to this post but I disagree. I would never tell anyone to have their family member push the pain pump. I pushed it each and every time - Juli however did remind me to do so throughout the night. Getting behind the pain is terrible. During my first surgery my pain got to an 7/8 on the first night this time I never got above a 3. There was no consideration for sleep that was made with my push pump system. I even had a conversation with the nurse about sleep and getting behind the pain. Do what is right for you. Talk to your pain specialist. I have to believe that things differ between hospitals.
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3 comments:
Make sure not to push the pain pump if you are asleep..... the dose is calculated considering that you will not get meds if comfortable and asleep:)
When I was in training one of my patients had a respiratory arrest because family member was pushing button while loved one was asleep!
Hope you have a speedy recovery.
Hi Lauren, I was curious about your numb patch? I have one and thought it was associated with my pregnancy (5yrs ago)however now I'm thinking maybe not? I have DDH of the right hip and numbness on outer right thigh...Love your blog :)
Hi Nate
Email me so that we can better chat. But to answer your question most people after surgery will have a numb patch from the incision cutting some nerves. For most over a year or so period feeling comes back. I was lucky enough, which is rare, to not get a numb patch on either surgery. Typically it is about the size of a dollar coin I believe and as it comes back you feel electrical saps as thenerves begin to fire again. My OS was amazed didn't get one either time. On another note I did have a numb patch years before surgery on my inner thigh. It went away before surgery but I believe it was most likely a trapped nerve due to my DDHD.
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