All Set for Surgery

[pfsinger]

Okay. My PVR surgery date is set for July 14. I have my pre-op stuff on July 12. It's so strange to have the date set and everything. Of course it makes it seem more real. (As if the shortness of breath, fatigue, swollen ankles and feet and other symptoms are not real...)
July 14 is exactly 12 weeks from today. I'm freaking out a little. Okay- I'm freaking out a lot.
For those of you that have had PVR (or any other OHS), how did you prepare? How did you manage the anxiety? I'm worried that these fears and feelings of anxiety will take over my life, and I have a hubby and son (and a job) to think about.

Thanks for your advice!
Pamela

 

[Superbob]

Pamela,

You've taken a good first step by signing on to this forum. You'll get a lot of good advice from the good people here. Vr.com helped me immensely in preparing for my OHS 14 months ago. I had never spent even one day in the hospital (in my 63 years) so the thought was rather forbidding to me. But it helped to talk to people who had "been there," and they had lots of specifics on how to prepare. You could read some of these discussions from the archives here, and I'm sure you'll get lots of new input as well. I think you'll find as you become more and more informed that you will become calmer as you realize how much the quality of your life will improve after you get through this.

Best wishes,

Bob

 

[OldManEmu]

Don't Stress

Don't Stress

I didn't get to choose a date I was put on the waiting list for surgery after my endocarditis was treated and had to wait for my turn to come up, all I was told was that I would be contacted on a Friday for admittance the following Tuesday, surgery Wednesday. I waited 4 months for my name to come up, needless to say Fridays were an anxious day for a while. I am not an emotional type so was fairly fatalistic about it all.

 

[Kristy]

Waiting...

Waiting...

Hi Pamela,
Congrats on getting a surgery date. My waiting time was less than yours (5 weeks) and I found myself knitting like crazy. I spent $200 on yarn the weeks before the surgery but made some really cool scarfs! For me, I found that the closer I got to my surgery date, the more fragile I felt emotionally. It helped to have friends to support me (listen to me blather) vs. relying just on my husband. Stay as active as you can and keep your body strong!

Best of luck,
Kristy

 

[SusanC54]

Hi Pamela,
I got word in January that I needed to pick a date for surgery, and that date is this Tuesday (april 25th). So, from January until now has been a long haul! I was so fortunate to find VR.com within a couple of weeks of my surgery consult and I have spent every day reading reading reading! I know so much more about my situation and diagnosis than I did back in January. For all the wonderful people on this forum, a great big THANKS!

Anyway, I was a bit freaked out for about a month after my date was set, but after spending so much time educating myself about it, I definitely calmed down. I feel pretty calm right now, although I did get my internist to write me a prescription for a tranquilizer about a week and a half ago, just in case. I've only taken them twice, more to see what they would do to me than to alleviate anxiety. I think I'll be okay without the pills.

I'm pretty emotional this weekend....just wrote an e-mail to all my friends and family to let them know what is going on, so that my husband can respond to all of them online on Tuesday.

I guess i would say that the best thing to do is to educate yourself as much as you can and hopefully this will reassure you about some of your worries.

Best of luck!

Susan

 

[Mary]

Susan,
I just added you to the calendar. . .I don't know how we didn't get it on before!
Pamela, keep reading the presurgery threads and you'll find alot of information. I think the more you learn, the easier it is.

 

[carista]

Pamela,

I had a lot of anxiety before my surgery also and if it wasn't for this site and being able to read everyone else's experiences and learning what to expect I think it would have been sooo much harder. I kept busy to keep my mind off of it during the day and found that night time before bed was the hardest, I was prescribed ativan for anxiety and ambien to help me sleep, and to be honest the ativan helped a little but I probably could have done without. The sleep aid was helpful though, I tend to think a lot before I go to bed and I would keep myself up at night thinking about it.

I agree with everyone else so far, the more you educate yourself the better you feel. You'll do fine! Good luck!

Carista

 

[pfsinger]

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you so much for your advice, everyone.

Susan - Good luck tomorrow with your surgery! I'll be thinking about and praying for you. Are you having it done at Mayo? (I'm assuming that you are because you live in Rochester.)

Kristy- I just learned how to knit and am already knitting a scarf for my dad for Christmas. I have a feeling that everyone might be getting a scarf for Christmas.

Carista- I don't have trouble falling asleep. I'm having trouble staying asleep. Our cats wake us up in the middle of the night and we bring them down to the basement every night. I have such trouble falling back to sleep because I start thinking about everything. I'm thinking I might talk to my doctor about this.

Bob, Emu, and Mary- I'm already reading some other threads and am so glad to have found this site. Thanks!

On another note - I went to Kohls yesterday to check out their pj's. I need to buy the kind that button down the front for when I have surgery. Anyway, they had this HUGE sale and I ended up with 5 sets! Hooray! So go Kohls if you are in need of pj's. They've got a great sale going on.

 

[Karlynn]

A nice glass of wine or a margarita now and then wouldn't hurt either!

Just a little levity.

I only had to wait a week, and I'm still grateful for that. Treat youself to some things that you save only for special occasions. Reassure your family that this is a highly successful surgical procedure and you have over 1000 friends here to prove it.

 

[dj/utvolsfan]

Are you able to maintain an active life right now? If so, keep up the exercise as much as you are allowed. I think staying busy like that keeps your body fine tuned for surgery. Your mind is also focused on something positive. It seems post-op recovery seems alot faster for the active people.
I wasn't able to exercise, but I came home every day from teaching really really worn out. You would think I would have been able to fall right off to sleep, but I couldn't. My body was tired, but my brain was on fire! I ended up being put on Ambien about 3 weeks prior to surgery. It helped keep me asleep during the entire night. On the other hand, I am not sure what all I did during the night while I was supposedly sleeping...........found crumbs in my bed one morning as well as on the floor by my bed. Who knows??? I don't remember eating!!! lol All kidding aside, it did work to give me a good 8 hours of sleep. I took it to Cleveland with me for those four pre-op nights I spent in the hotel. Don't think I could have made it without it.
Take care of yourself. Keep reading. They say ignorance is bliss, but I personally find knowledge to be empowering and a good way to soothe those pre-op jitters.
Debbi

 

[catwoman]

I don't have trouble falling asleep. I'm having trouble staying asleep. Our cats wake us up in the middle of the night and we bring them down to the basement every night. I have such trouble falling back to sleep because I start thinking about everything. I'm thinking I might talk to my doctor about this.

I had trouble sleeping pre-op. My PCP prescribed some sleeping pills for me.

Get the cats used to NOT sleeping with you **now**. You won't want them to climb across your chest post-op.
We have several cats who sleep with us -- 2 shaved-down Persians & an Oriental Shorthair. I shaved the Persians down again last weekend (they look like Chihuahuas right now) and so they crawl under the covers with us. The OSH usually sleeps on my husband's pillow but is in & out of our bedroom; if John goes into the bathroom during the night, Blackie does too. Occasionally I'm awakened by a cat walking across my chest (I'm the short cut!).
Most of my cats are Abyssinians, a very active breed, but those Persians -- a 12YO spay and a 4YO neuter -- can sure surprise you with their energy.

 

[centuryltd]

I was in the hospital 9 days before surgery and didn't know for sure that I would have any surgery until 2 days before hand. I prepaired by renewing my Christian faith and putting everything in His hands, I was very peaceful before surgery. Three weeks out I struggle a bit emotionally with everything and a couple of complications I had, but it goes well. Let us know how you're doing as your surgery draws near.

Best wishes,

Steve

 

[Georgia]

Let's see - 10 weeks (I just saw this thread). Hmmm-m-m - hot darn - you can do a LOT of shopping in 10 weeks. I suggest shopping as one of the most therapeutic activities available. It really takes your mind off the coming adventure.

How about a project or two? Like get your recovery room in great order - if it needs painting, do it. Do you have a recliner? If not you combine your shopping prowess and redecorating project. Shop for a recliner - they're all very different, and I think women have more trouble finding one that "fits" than men.

Cook - soups, spaghetti sauce, etc etc - freeze, and you'll be ready for a couple of weeks after you get home.

Treat yourself - a day spa, haircut (your hair will be a mess for months after surgery - it doesn't grow and the texture is awful), massage.

See movies you like; eat everything you like, drink, go out with girlfriends - you'll be seriously limited for a few weeks.

Practice using your spirometer.

Write all your checks for bills before you go to the hospital - date the envelopes and give to a reliable relative/friend to mail on those dates. Avoid using your checkbook if at all possible for a couple of weeks after surgery. I speak from experience. Thank God for overdraft coverage!

Bring your will up to date and make a living will/durable power of attorney. Unpleasant to ponder, but a grown-up responsible thing to do.

Enjoy the spring and summer. And hang out here on vr.com.

 

[robertr]

Me Tooo....

Me Tooo....

Pam, I too set a date this past week for my AVR. Only it is scheduled for JUNE 12. Yes, it was very difficult picking a date especially for me because I am asymptomatic - not really any issues. The Doctor advised me that my Aortic root had shrunken from 1.7mm to .9mm over the last 6 mos. and that sudden death from cardiac arrest had increased by 15% as a result. That's the only reason I scheduled it and I must say, it was extremely tough to do - I had to have my wife call the Surgeon to schedule because I felt to uneasy about it. But I did pick the date - with my eyes closed... : (

Anyway, Hang in there - From reading this forum I am convinced that it is not nearly as traumatic as our minds make it out to be... Besides, in the grand scheme of our entire life span, it is only a few moments in time. And God holds all of those moments, just like he will hold the moments in the Op. room and the post-op weeks. Trust Him!

I will be praying for you.

-Robert

 

[sfconstrct]

waiting

waiting

Pam, I thought I would be a wreck but I had a couple years to mull over everything. I am athletic and while finally playing basketball had my first dizzy spell a big one. Anyway back to the cardiologist of which i had been ducking for the past two years I mentioned above. For me one day while crusing the coast hwy in so.ca. looking at the surf, I surf I just realized I would rather get it over with than only be able to lood at the surf as i was advised to not surf or play ball, took couple of months to get additional test to check out the entire heart and all was good just a bad aortic valve. Like you said with all the stuff going on with your body I focused on the other side the positive side of recovery playing ball and surfing again. I was also in the gym working out day before surgery It made me feel good that I was strong, go in strong and come out strong. Make sure you select a good surgeon and facility don't worry you won't feel anything. I was in for 4 days, nine weeks ago today feel great virtually no scar and been in the gym for past three weeks, walking three to four miles and doing couple hundred stairs. Just focus on all the good after, I too got some pills but for some reason was very calm didn't need anything I trusted the surgeon and it is a very low risk procedure. My surgeon does about 200 a year. No worries you will be fine then it's all about getting stronger and moving forward instead of backward. Steve in so. ca.