what are you scared of?

[zipper2]

You will do fine,by the time you go in there should be a peacful

content feeling of we have no choice ,here now.Seroiously just

hand it over to everyone else and look forward to those great free

drugs they give us,i fought my 1st surgery 16 years ago and this time

theres no comparison to this time........DRUG ME..LOTS

I look at it like this is their job's they are well trained as we are,it's

something they do everyday and are good at and bet they look forward

to their coffee breaks,my surgerys Jan 8th and so far so calm,i've been

so sick with everything that i just figure can't get much worse.

Just the time for me with a date now is moving fast,before my date time stood still You will be fine and glad when all is done.

zipper2 (DEB)

 

[Herburban1]

I am scared s^%$less of the vent tube too, I have a hyper gag reflex and gag brushing my teeth sometimes..I just had a catheter for the first time last week for round one and wasn't too fond of it, but I was trying to move in the bed and it would tug. I don't think I'll be moving much after the OHS. Beside that I'm afraid of my kids seeing me lying there full of tubes and wires, they are in their 20s but none of them have medical nerves.I am a nurse and the only medical person in the family...

 

[cp172]

I woke up on the vent and was not bothered at all by it. I also do not remember them taking it out. I found the catheter kind of nice since I did not have to get out of the bed or ring a bottle to empty my kidneys. I have never had any strong drugs and the ones they gave me were wonderful. But let me give you some strong advice....take a stool softener. They forgot to give me one and I thought I was going to have to bust a gut to get things going. Best of luck. Don't worry. They are Pros and know how to take care of you.

 

[woodworker5280]

i didnt read through all the responses, so i'm sure this has been said already:

you'll be up and walking by the time they take your catheter out (no getting around it, it HURTS!). i didnt have a BM until my 7th day in the hospital as my appetite was almost zero. they'll most likely have you on stool softeners at least once a day so if you do go, that helps. certainly nothing about surgery and hospital recovery is clean or fun, but you'll find it's really not bad. take the recovery time to take it VERY EASY, rest as much as you can, and enjoy the time to yourself!

ps- having some good DVD's in your room doesn't hurt either. i think i watched about 10 movies while i was in the hospital!

 

[ChouDoufu]

well zipper,looks like we're scheduled for about the same time. i'll be either jan
8th or 9th, depending on test results.

(and you're a prison matron? wow, ever since watching prisoner cell block H, well,
never mind...)

the vent tube is gonna be the big one for me. i vaguely remember waking up and
gagging during my TEE. not pleasant.

 

[Duff Man]

i was awake and aware the whole time through my TEE. They couldn't sedate me anymore because my blood pressure was "dangerously low" from the sedative, but I told them to do it anyway. The probe wasn't as big as my first one though.

I'm scared of death and confinement. And the dark.

 

[Ross]

you'll be up and walking by the time they take your catheter out (no getting around it, it HURTS!).

Once again, we are all different. I've been intubated probably more then anyone else on this board. Once the tube is in, forget about gag reflexes. It's already past the gag point and placed, so you don't gag, it's just uncomfortable.

Now as far as the catheter, I've had many of those and actually asked for one on one occasion. If you have a human removing it, it's not going to be a bad thing, but if you have nurse Murch and you've ticked her off somehow, it can hurt. Most people are compassionate about removing it and it's not bad. The only one I can truly remember hurting (It was more like burning) was when it was in me for a few weeks.

 

[neil]

you will be fine,,as most have said you cant remember vent tube coming out, i cert cant and i personally being the biggest cry baby ever found it remarkably pain free,good meds there use,i found it just like having a bad dose of flu,

 

[zipper2]

well zipper,looks like we're scheduled for about the same time. i'll be either jan
8th or 9th, depending on test results.

(and you're a prison matron? wow, ever since watching prisoner cell block H, well,
never mind...)

the vent tube is gonna be the big one for me. i vaguely remember waking up and
gagging during my TEE. not pleasant.

Omg did you watch all 6oo and some episodes of Cell block H???? haha

We can be top dogs (lol)

16 years ago the tube vent for me was water,water i was so dam thirsty

my hubby was dropping ice chips down my throat,will this 2nd time round

surgery i've tuned him in not to be so skimmpy on water drops or ice

i know they can only allow so much at a time,but PLEASE

It felt better when they took it out though for good. I had the alarms going

constantly cus i was breathing on my own ,so they had to pull the darn

thing out,so i hope i do the same thing again haha,

well i sure will be adding a prayer for you and in my good thoughts,we

are gonna get through this together,bothers me they didn't get me done

before christmas ,but hey Jan is fine with me.

YOU ARE GOING TO DO FINE THROUGH ALL OF THIS Deep breath

Lots of us on the same ship and you have all these wonderful VR

members and prayers to be with you. Dont watch anymore episodes

either

zipper2 (DEB)

 

[catwoman]

what am i afraid of?

2. waking up with a ventilator tube in my throat. i have a highly-refined
gag reflex. must remember to warn the nurses about this.

ChouDoufu:
I remember the vent tube. And I too have a highly refined gag reflex. (Dental work is a real pain in the patootie for me!)
But it wasn't that bad. I had anticipated it and was prepared for it.
When my husband had his MV repair, the tube was removed not long after he left the OR. He wasn't in recovery very long. I went to his ICU room and was pleasantly surprised to see he had no vent tube.

Perhaps you'll be that lucky too!!!!!!!!

 

[geckley]

This the worse part. The wait. I gagged the first time I had a breathing tube because I fought it. I just relaxed the last time. The cath doesn't hurt that bad coming out. It does burn. Your first time is always scary. It's the fear of the unknown that makes it so bad. I liked the quote about checking your dignity at the door. I had so many different nurses and doctors looking at me after the second day I had no self esteem left. If you are too anxious I'm sure the docs can make a call to Captain XANEX. That should melt the fears away. The other quote is right you almost go into auto pilot when you get to the hospital. My wife took it harder than me. Just relax and everything will work out just fine. Just remember when you wake up that you made it. And that is all that matters. By the way they don't use bed pans any more. You got to go on your own. They love to see you suffer.

 

[Eva]

Just to mention that when I woke up in the ICU, I did not have a breathing tube. It was removed while I was sill drowzy/unconscious, to which I was grateful!

Also, all other tubes were not a big deal when they were removed!

 

[Guest]

You will also find out,when the time gets here,you are not going to care.

For me ... it was more about being "at peace" with what was about to happen, at least during my latest surgery in January 2003. The ones before that, I pretty much didn't care because I thought I was invincible. By 2003, I knew better. So, the month leading up to the surgery I was "concerned".

But, the weekend before up to the minute before I was wheeled in for surgery, I was at peace ... it felt surreal, in a way, even.....

I remember waking in ICU with THAT tube in my throat.

*nods*

Me, too. For me ... I couldn't breathe with it in because the mucus was continually forming and clogging my throat. I distinctly remember thinking, 'Wonderful ... I made it through OHS with flying colors and now my own mucus is going to kill me.' Now, that sounds funny ... at the time, I was out of my mind with worry/dread ... literally and figuratively .


Right now though ... my scares are not something to talk about .



Cort | 35swm | "Mr Monte Carlo"."Mr Road Trip" | pig valve.pacemaker ...MidW Blast = 01/17/09
WRMNshowcase.legos.HO.models.MCs.RTs.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Yuletide carols being sung by a choir" ... Nat King Cole ... 'The Christmas Song'

 

[ChouDoufu]

yay!!! my passport with india visa arrived today!!!

so one more thing to worry about.....will india nuke pakistan while i'm on the table?

 

[Ross]

yay!!! my passport with india visa arrived today!!!

so one more thing to worry about.....will india nuke pakistan while i'm on the table?

I asked my magic 8 ball and it's said "Signs point to no".

 

[Bina]

yay!!! my passport with india visa arrived today!!!

so one more thing to worry about.....will india nuke pakistan while i'm on the table?

Cool.....you got the passport!
DOn't waste energy worrying about nukes.....focus on cute nurses....

 

[ChouDoufu]

Focusing !!

 

[geckley]

Focusing? That's more like wishful thinking. I had a couple of cute nurses that actually had good bedside manner. I also had a couple of nurse Ratchets

 

[Nupur]

Good luck!

Good luck!

All the best with your travels and surgery and recovery. Be sure not to go out too much in that horrible Delhi smog while recovering, it's bad enough to make healthy people get respiratory problems. Where are you going to stay during the recovery period?

You should be safe from terrorist attacks and nukes both. Hope the nurses are cute and well mannered to keep your mind off such things : ) Are you traveling alone?

All the best and we will wait eagerly for news of your successful surgery and recovery!

Nupur

 

[ChouDoufu]

won't be going to delhi for avr, but rather to chennai. still a large city, but it's on
the coast, so will be able to recuperate at a seaside resort for a couple weeks.

will be going alone, but shouldn't be too much of a problem. luggage will be limited to
a smallish backpack with socks, underwear, swim thong. will have room service at
the resort, or can find a nice beach bunny if i require assistance.