pre and post op questions

Does anyone know....after they take me in to change into my "castle" gown and start my pre-op stuff, will I be happier that my DH go home until afterward? We only live 15 min. away from our castle. I don't know how long I will have to wait between changing into the gown and when they start the IVs. Then, after surgery, how long will I be in recovery before they take me to my room. Is your DH in recovery with you? Do you want him to be? Then, how awake are you going to be and for how long once you get settled into your room? I'm not a big baby, I just have a dog at home that can't really be alone for more than 2 hours at a time- he's old. And I'd rather my DH be home when I really don't need him to be with me.

Also, my mantra regarding this surgery is, "it's about time!

I'm sending my husband home as soon as I'm put into a room. I'm going to trust the nurses to take care of me. I want him to be home for our daughter and also our dogs. We have 5 and they are like children to us.
I think your husband should be there till after your surgery. From what I understand pre-op is usually less than an hour depending on the surgeries before you that they don't run over and post op is one hour, so your dog will be o.k. I know how you feel and I like your mantra.

Hi mariuche! I am in a similar situation (one doggie just diagnosed with prostate cancer, boohoo....so we have to watch him pretty close these days.). We were told that my DH could stay with me until they wheel me into surgery, and that they would phone him when he can come back to see me. As I understand it, we go into post op until we are safely awake from anaesthetic, then into area where we can have visitors. Although the hospital has visiting hours for family and friends we were told he can come see me sooner than that.

I like your mantra....I know that when my DH is around I am feeling more concerned about him (my issue to get over!)....like when I kept saying he didn't need to come to my pre-op but he insisted and then he was late because the parking was so terrible....and I was all worried about him getting there instead of focussing on my questions etc!! But how can a person complain when he is trying super hard to "be there". So I am going to ask him to do a couple of errands to help him deal with nervous energy, since he is taking that day off work.

Your date is so close! Yay for you!

Hi Fire! Your date is close as well. Sorry about your dog. I know I worry over mine for nothing. I think he reacts to my over babying him and when I am not home, he forgets that he is spoiled.

I still think I will send my DH home when they take me to pre-op. He is not the kind of guy that will want to hover or hold my hand. Out of his comfort zone. I'll wait and see how he is reacting to it all when the time comes, but, I think I will be more comfy with him on his way home. Of course that is me talking now, 9 days out.

Here is how my surgery went. We got there at 6 a.m. They took me to pre-op, made my husband wait in the waiting room. After everything was done they brought him in, he was there about 30 minutes and they took me to surgery. In post-op he wasn't allowed in. I was in there for a couple of hours because of pain and blood pressure issues. Once I was in a room, he was allowed in whenever he wanted.

In my case it would have been fine with me for him to just wait to see me until I was in a room. I was very nervous in pre-op, but I don't think his presence (or my mom's) would have been really helped. I was kind of in my own world. I think you would be fine to send him home. Since you live close they could call him if there was a delay or problem. Good luck on your surgery!

I would recommend for your DH to say with you until they take you to surgery which is usually under a hour. After that you could be away from him for 4-6 hours depending on your surgery. I was in surgery for 4 hrs and in recovery for 2 hrs and had no problems. My poor DH stay at the hospital the whole time and then when I finally got to my room I was so sleepy that I know that he was there but I was in and out that after a hour I sent him home. I think he was just as tired as I was. If your castle is like mine the staff will contact him once your surgery is over and let him know approximately when he should cme and see you. I have to admit that the whole day is pretty much a blur for me. The staff at the castle will take good care of you. Best of Luck!!

I loved having my husband in pre-op with me; he is a police officer and is such a rock in a crisis. They didn't have a problem with him being there right up to the time that they gave me the "yahoo juice" (my anesthesiologist's technical term) that sent me under. After that, he was asked to stay within phone range, in case there was something wrong and they needed additional authorization--something to consider. We live in an extremely rural area, so the hospital was about 45 minutes away from our home. It might make a difference if the hospital is close to your home. But I understand, too, not everyone is good support in these type of situations, and there are definitely family members I wouldn't have wanted around while I was pre-op! Go with your gut feeling.

Hey I know how you feel. I have my hyster tomorrow... and my husband INSISTS on spending the night with me in the hospital. I have tried to "gently" tell him maybe he should just come home and be with our two children even though our parents have agreed to spend the night. I don't know how I am going to feel after the surgery. He has agreed to go out to dinner with the kids and my parents tomorrow evening after my parents bring the kids up to see me. Part of me feels like I do want him there overnight, the other part doesn't. I imagine I am going to be really cranky after surgery.... who knows... maybe I will end up sending him home. But for now... he is staying and there is no talking him out of it. LOL. It's just so funny!

mariuche, I am so glad you started this post! It`s great to hear everyone`s experiences and thoughts. I was told surgery would be about 2 hours (LSH) but they have the OR booked for 4 hours just in case.

We live about the same distance as you from the hospital so it`s very easy for him to go home and then come back when they phone him. I know what you mean about this not being in the comfort zone for alot of people....hospitals usually aren`t anyone`s favorite place, so I will definitely try to minimize his time there. That said....I`m going to accept him being with me in pre-op and hopefully we can pass the time with some jokes or something light....we both need it. Good call to play it by ear. If he`s really not helping you, then home he needs to go!

Thanks again for this post!! (and thanks for good wishes on Jake-dog. We have only had him for a year, he`s a senior we got from the SPCA....he`s been sick the whole time, poor sweetie).

Soon we will be through all of this! I CAN`T WAIT!!!!!

My story is pretty much the same as akmwilson. They called me back had me change, do all the additional paperwork and started my iv's. Once that was done they called him back to wait with me. My doctor was running a little late so it was nice to have him to talk to while I waited. He waited the 4 hours in the waiting room for the dr. to come out and tell him how things went. He stayed with me (I had a 2:30 surgery time) in my room for a few hours and went home to sleep and came back early the next morning.