finally getting surgery, questions

[jason_w]

well, i have a preop next week, never had surgery before, what do i need to expect

kind of scared tbh, about being put to sleep and what not, how do they do it? do you get the mask thing, or a needle? do you feel any pain during? etc

is it painful after? do you get pain medication?

[jinr0h]

A needle goes in your vein, mask put on and you are asleep as i can remember
I didnt feel any pain before/during/after exept the follow up night was kind of annoying to sleep just on back.
you lay there and you sleep and thats pretty much it.

[hammer]

I'll be having my 8th surgery this March and it will be my 3rd back surgery. I've been put under for all the back surgeries and as the previous poster stated, they put a needle in your vain, in an IV and the drug that will put you under is put into that. You will wake up later in recovery not remembering anything at all. During this time you may get some pain meds and some follow up instructions, and be sure to pay attention to them as they are very important.

All the other surgeries I just had locals (spinal blocks) including both total knee replacements. When I was having my left one done I was talking with I nurse that was sitting with me by my head when I asked the surgeon why my ass was banging against the table? He asked is it hurting? I said no, I was just wondering why it was being slammed against the table repeatedly, he said I'm setting the glue!

When you can be awake you can actually learn things too if your able to handle the fact that your also getting cut up at the same time!


Bob

[jason_w]

as i posted this i got a call for a pre-op this week, ironic haha, damn thats a lot of surgerys, i don't like needles at all, damn, thought it was just a mask, oh well, thanks guys

[Sid Farkus]

Most nurses know how to put you at ease. I like to close my eyes and relax when they start to prep my arm for the injection and ask them to just tell me when it's done. Normally I don't even feel it. Before my surgery they started with a pill several minutes before I went into the operating room, which started the process (I don't recall specifically what it was). It helped that my surgery was at around 6:00am and I was already kind of groggy. By the time they stuck the IV in me I was comfortably lying on the operating table half asleep and - as you've probably read many times here - next thing I knew I woke up and the whole thing was over.

For me I was most creeped out by the idea of someone cutting me around my nipples - that was the image that made me shudder leading up to the operation. But, once it was over, I didn't really think much about it. The places where the incisions were made were all numb and I was covered in the vest and gauze and padding, so these ideas didn't bother me.

Don't worry about being put to sleep. You'll - presumably - be under the care of a certified anesthesiologist who will monitor your vitals throughout the surgery.

Pain afterwards depends. I had lipo on my midsection at the same time as my gyne surgery, and experienced a good about of soreness and discomfort down there. I barely felt any pain around my chest itself. I did have drains installed for my chest, which could be a bit uncomfortable. My drains were inserted through incisions under my arms, and were mostly just awkward and felt a bit weird. Once or twice a day I had to empty the drains, which involved "milking" them (you'll learn all about this - assuming you get drains), and this could sting a little bit. Otherwise, not a ton of pain.

They'll probably give you painkillers and Tylenol. Again, my operation was more involved, but I've read on here that some people just getting gyne surgery don't even need the stronger narcotics. It depends on the person and the extent of their procedure.

Sleeping post-op was the part I hated the most. Not because of pain, but because it was annoying to sleep elevated. I had to sleep almost upright (70-90 degrees) for about a week, which sucked. For the first few days the pain meds did a good job of knocking me out, but even then I'd only sleep for a few hours at a time. Make sure you find out ahead of time how your doc wants you to sleep so you can prepare - you don't want to be constantly futzing around with pillows after surgery. Some people sleep in a recliner. I was recovering in a hotel room, so I did some research and ordered a "Zero Gravity Adjustable Wedge System" to prop me up. It definitely helped, although I paid about $150 for it (my plan was to sell it on ebay afterwards, but one of my drains leaked and left a huge blood stain. Oh well )

Anyway, hope that helps. I'm about 3 weeks post-op and all of those little worries, pains and annoyances are already a distant memory. Good luck!

[Bobby - LAgyne]

I think there are different ways to do it.  It depends on the surgery center set up and also on type of surgery.  What they do in hospitals may be different from what they do in smaller outpatient surgery centers.

For me, once I was in the prep room, nurse put the IV in (a little pain), then anesthesiologist came in and emptied two syringes into the IV line, one was Versed.  What Versed does is it puts you at ease and helps you not to remember what happened.  You can still follow simple commands like go this way, lay down here and move your feet, but you cant really remember after the fact. 

Then hey told me to walk to the OR. I felt like was walking on the clouds.  Once on the table, they shoot a whitish color liquid into the IV, that's propofol and that's what puts you in sleep, within 5 seconds, I was out!!

When I woke up, i threw up a little bit and that's because of the medications.

Don't be scared, you will be fine.  Make sure to follow their instruction of not eating or drinking so many hours before the surgery.  It's for your own benefit. 

Good luck and post some before / after pictures.

---Bobby