Tick Tock

[Magic8Ball]

Well i got home yesterday and my new recliner had been delivered and setup in the bedroom (lazyboy) and it kinda brought it home that surgery is very near for some reason (20 Nov).

I'm still very positive, as is my wife and we are kinda looking forward to post surgery and the new me.....apparantly i've been slowly turning into a lazy bugger over the past two years...thank god the doc told her it was one of my symptoms

I think it helps that my surgeon has operated on two other people that i know at work and by all accounts is generally considered a legend by both parties and the general cardiothoratic arena in WA.

I'm just hoping that i don't flip out as the day gets nearer, i'm a list maker and an information gatherer and have read that people like me tend to beleive that information gives us control and then when we realise it doesn't we go a little nuts....

Hopefully when my wife drops me off the day before i can keep it together and then settle down to a night of cable tv.....

Anyway, a few quick questions....

1. Is it worth getting a good nights sleep before surgery or does it make no difference. Not sure how i'll feel on the sunday before surgery but if i don't feel like sleeping but i'm calm and happy is a night watching TV bad and i should ask for drugs to sleep or what?

2. Doc told me to eat anything i like for my "last meal" but i kinda think light meals for the 3-4 days prior to surgery would help with any post op constipation etc...

3. Visiting post surgery....what did you guys do? To me there seems no point on the day of surgery as i'll know nothing and as long as i'm ok and the hospital can phone the family to say so i don't see any point in the family comming to the hospital, waiting and then seeing me looking pretty rough.

Day 2 is a grey area, i'll still look rough and the family could probably do without seeing me in that state but i guess they will want to come down and see me regardless....i think they are having difficulty with my suggestion of not being at the hospital on the day of surgery without me suggesting missing the day after also.

Day 3 onwards should be fine to visit, i'm thinking about letting the kids visit from day 6 onwards if i'm still in there..

Cheers for opinions.

 

[Lynlw]

You seem to be doing pretty good on your plans, i have a question tho, is your bedroom near where the family hangs out and a bathroom? i know everyone is different but we had the recliner in our family room (well actually it is always there) so justin could sit in it during the day , be comfortable take naps, be with the family instead of in his room, be comfortable when he had visitors ect and it was next to a bathroom so he didn't have to walk for much.
If all goes well i would think day 3 you should be pretty good for visitors and be low enough on your meds you will actually remeber having company.
I don't know how spread out your family and friends are, but you might want to start a web page like caringbridge.org or carepages that are free and someone can update for you. We had one for justin's past 2 surgeries and it was really nice instead of worrying about having to call people and let them know what is going on or even worse having people call just when justin would fall asleep and wake him.
Your thoughts about food make sense. I had to laugh at Justin he wasn't allowed to eat after midnight as at 10pm he orderred a big take out meal from the olive garden so he could eat up til the last possible minute since he didn't know when his next good meal would be.Lyn

 

[temp69]

good luck!

good luck!

1. Is it worth getting a good nights sleep before surgery or does it make no difference. Not sure how i'll feel on the sunday before surgery but if i don't feel like sleeping but i'm calm and happy is a night watching TV bad and i should ask for drugs to sleep or what? DOESN'T MATTER, WHEN YOU GO OUT, THE NEXT THING IS YOU WAKE UP HAPPY.

2. Doc told me to eat anything i like for my "last meal" but i kinda think light meals for the 3-4 days prior to surgery would help with any post op constipation etc...ENJOY A NICE MEAL OF YOUR CHOOSING

3. Visiting post surgery....what did you guys do? To me there seems no point on the day of surgery as i'll know nothing and as long as i'm ok and the hospital can phone the family to say so i don't see any point in the family comming to the hospital, waiting and then seeing me looking pretty rough. JUST MY WIFE AND DAUGHTER THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS, DIDN'T FEEL LIKE SEEING ANYONE. PLEASE, PLEASE TRY TO GET A PRIVATE ROOM!

Day 2 is a grey area, i'll still look rough and the family could probably do without seeing me in that state but i guess they will want to come down and see me regardless....i think they are having difficulty with my suggestion of not being at the hospital on the day of surgery without me suggesting missing the day after also. LET THEM MAKE THEIR CHOICES. NO YOUNG ONES TO SEE YOU FIRST DAY. COLOR COMES BACK QUICKLY

Day 3 onwards should be fine to visit, i'm thinking about letting the kids visit from day 6 onwards if i'm still in there.. YOU MIGHT WELL BE OUT AFTER FIVE OR SIX DAYS. BY DAY FOUR KIDS CAN COME

 

[Dennis S]

meal

meal

I wish I had been more careful with my meal before surgery. What goes in has to go out, and it doesn't feel vey good to "strain" in the few days after surgery. At least that was my experience.

 

[MikeHeim]

As far as your questions go:

1. I'm pretty sure the good night's rest doesn't make any difference whatsoever. I sat up about half the night, you know, thinking....

2. My "last meal" was Thai food - which can be pretty tough on the "system" at times. I didn't have any trouble, however. I would say go for whatever you want. Now that I think about it, I was told to stay away from alcohol and vegetables.

3. I awoke sometime around 5pm on the day of my surgery and I really wasn't that out of it. I said some pretty "interesting" things, but I certainly remember them all. I was incredibly grateful that my fiance was at my bedside for my first memory, and my parents after that. I can still remember how lonely I felt when they were sent home at the end of the night from the ICU. When you wake up you will have a ton of emotions going through you, and it was beyond nice (for me) to have someone to talk to them about - regardless of how incoherent and nonsensical I was.

Of course, it's all your choice and you should do whatever you feel most comfortable with. You are correct that you're not going to look so hot for the first couple days. I woke up with 11 different tubes and wires coming out of me (that's not meant to scare you), and it's hard to move very much without feeling like you're tugging on at least one.

Wish you nothing but the best.

 

[OldManEmu]

Opinions

Opinions

These are my experiences with regards to your questions.

1/ I slept well the night before surgery surprisingly. I had been through this night 3 weeks earlier and then had my Ross cancelled after being premeded and getting to the surgical area, to be told come back in 2 weeks, by this time I was in class IV CHF so had a week lying in hospital being treated for this, while contemplating the hopefully real thing.

2/ I think there were only about 3 choices of meals on the hospital menu so just chose what was available.

3/ I asked family NOT to visit me in the first 3 days in hospital post surgery and for non family NOT to visit at all while I was in hospital. I was in hospital 10 days post surgery because the valve was so bad they were not sure if the endocarditis was still active so I was treated as if it was until that was ruled out.

 

[AlonnolA]

Well i got home yesterday and my new recliner had been delivered and setup in the bedroom (lazyboy)


Anyway, a few quick questions....

1. Is it worth getting a good nights sleep before surgery or does it make no difference. Not sure how i'll feel on the sunday before surgery but if i don't feel like sleeping but i'm calm and happy is a night watching TV bad and i should ask for drugs to sleep or what?

2. Doc told me to eat anything i like for my "last meal" but i kinda think light meals for the 3-4 days prior to surgery would help with any post op constipation etc...

3. Visiting post surgery....what did you guys do? To me there seems no point on the day of surgery as i'll know nothing and as long as i'm ok and the hospital can phone the family to say so i don't see any point in the family comming to the hospital, waiting and then seeing me looking pretty rough.

Day 2 is a grey area, i'll still look rough and the family could probably do without seeing me in that state but i guess they will want to come down and see me regardless....i think they are having difficulty with my suggestion of not being at the hospital on the day of surgery without me suggesting missing the day after also.

Day 3 onwards should be fine to visit, i'm thinking about letting the kids visit from day 6 onwards if i'm still in there..

Cheers for opinions.

First of all, congratulations on your Lazy Boy!!!! I have sat on many recliners(at the department stores) and based on that vast experience I believe the Lazy Boys are most comfortable. Enjoy!

1. My theory was that, just like being as fit as possible before the surgery, being as rested as possible would help my body recover more easily. But it's probably not that important either way, so I would just go with the flow if I were you. I wouldn't ask for any drugs - you'll have plenty of that later!

2. I agree with the comment about eating what you like, but having a reasonable meal. You might not want to eat that much either, because you won't be getting rid of it for about 4 days!

3. Visiting - I was happy for my family to be there when I woke up, though the waiting was tough on them, especially since I got out a few hours later than predicted. After spending a night alone in the ICU, I couldn't wait to see a friendly face, and was really happy when my wife called at 7 AM to check on me, and then showed up as soon as visiting hours started.

My 2-year old nephew came to visit on the 4th day. I was surprised they even let him onto the floor, but everyone seemed really cheered up by his presence, and surprisingly he was completely unfazed by my fresh scar, my scratchy voice, or anything else.