Silly pre-op questions

I go to the castle for LAVH on July 19th and would be totally lost without this site! These are my first two silly questions - I'm sure there will be more!
1) I wear contacts that I take out every night. I'm blind as a bat without them. Should I see if I can get a sample pair of extended wear for the duration (I'm sure I can get them) Or will I even care that I can't see?
2) I've been wearing a sports bra to bed for months due to extreme soreness caused by hormones - will I be allowed to wear it during surgery? These things HURT if they, ummmm, move unexpectedly. Like I may be jolted back amoung the conscious.
See, I told you they were silly! Any answers would be appreciated though.
z.

I am sure you will need to remove your contacts and the bra. When I had my surgery I had on a gown and socks that the hospital provided. After surgery you can wear your contacts. If your bra does not hook in the front or back you will not be able to put it on after surgery due to the IV.

You will be asked to remove your contacts. I just took my glasses to the hospital but didn't wear them much. You won't need to see much the day of surgery. You can put your contacts in once you are awake and want to see. I don't know about the bra, just ask when you go to the hospital for pre-op or when you are in the holding area before your surgery. At any rate, your surgery will only last a couple of hours and then you can put your bra on if you want to. Best wishes to you on a successful surgery and recovery.

No question is ever too silly to ask. Best wishes to you!

Silly? Are you kidding? No way....... Sorry I can't help with the sports bra question, but I do know something about contacts, since I've worn daily wear soft lenses since 1975.

If I were you, I wouldn't try extended wear lenses -- it's alot to get used to in just a couple of weeks. Besides, you won't be able to wear them into the OR. (I'm about 20/400 w/o my glasses, so you and I are in the same boat, sight-wise!) What I would do is wear glasses. I assume you have a pair, since your vision is so poor -- but if not, you can get them pretty inexpensively these days. They'll put your glasses into a little bag and they'll go right into the OR with you and you can have them put on as soon as you wake up in recovery.

I left my contacts at home, because my eyes get very dry when I doze off with them in and I just didn't want to fuss with them that way.

I did invest in a small, battery-operated light-up alarm clock with big numbers. I put it right on my tray table at the and it was a lifesaver. I hate not knowing what time it is when I awaken, and this way I could just hit the button and the time would light right up for me.

Hope this helps.

I wear glasses and was worried that they would get lost ( my mom was there, so she could have asked if needed).

they won't let you wear them to the or but when I woke up in recovery-very out of it-the happy gas hit me hard-they were on my face.

the nurse later told me that they put them on before you leave the OR, no sense in making you more confused when you wake up!

check with your pre-op on how your hospital handles glasses

I don't wear contacts, but you will be on some heavy duty meds, poking yourself in the eye doesn't sound like a good idea to me <grin>

Hi zephyr...

They definitely won't let you have the contacts - I wear glasses and my pre-op instructions said to bring my eyeglass case - which I gave to my DH so they weren't lost. You won't want to see anything anyway, nor feel like it. I didn't even try the glasses until the next day because I was so groggy from the anesthetic.

The sports bra is an interesting question - I think they won't let you have it - they attach monitor wires to your upper chest and also a little below the breast line. They would also want easy access to those sites, I would think. Since you have such an issue with pain, please discuss it with your MD - maybe he/she can offer a solution for you.

The alarm clock one of the sisters mentioned is an awesome idea - there was no clock in my room and I felt even more disoriented because I never knew what time it was (room was dark with a lovely view of the rooftop ventilation systems - dark corner). I probably drove every nurse and my DH crazy by constantly asking what time it was.

There are no silly questions and knowledge is power. Ask us anything here and we will give you an answer or our opinion if we can.

Good luck!

Well, I guess I have a pretty solid answer to the contacts question! I don't really care if I see or not, just hope the nurses and all realize I'll be blind, like don't send me down the hall and expect me to return. Jury appears to still be out on the bra. It's pretty loose fitting - the little stickies would easily go under. It just keeps things from moving too quickly. Guess I'll have to ask that one at pre-op. That's in 10 days. I'm sure I'll be back here with more questions after that!
Thanks to all!
Z

OK, here's another one. In reading posts I am wondering - what is the difference between TVH and LAVH? Surely the surgeon doesn't "fly blind" to do TVH? Just wondering...
Z

I also had LAVH/BSO and have wondered what the difference between LAVH and TVH. Anyone?