DvH: Am I the only one going home the same day?

Almost everything I've read here implies that people are staying at least one night in the hospital. I'm being told that mine will be day surgery. I've had problems in the past (though, granted, over 20 years ago) with general anesthesia, both getting violently ill and having trouble waking from it in a timely fashion. Should I be pushing for a night in the hospital or just play it by ear? I hate hospitals and would be happier in my own bed, but the thoughts of the car trip home (about 45-60 minutes) and getting up the stairs to my bedroom kind of scare me.

Thoughts?

There are some women here who have gone home same day.

I was given the option to do it outpatient or overnight and I'm opting to stay over because I thought about it and I'll be more comfortable getting through the first 24 hours with medical personnel right there. I'm a nervous girl.

Fwiw, I've had problems in the past with violent vomiting upon coming out of anesthesia and quite frankly that scares me more than anything else. My doctor told me so much has changed since I last had surgery and to make sure to mention it to the anesthesiologist so they can give me something to prevent the nausea/vomiting.

Now my surgery isn't for 3 weeks, so we'll see if it works , but I felt a lot better knowing there will be preventive measures.

And I can't see any decent hospital sending you home until you're stable so even if you plan it outpatient, if there are any issues they can change the plan and keep you.

I would push hard for a overnight stay. When you have a IV you can be given IV nausea & pain medication that is much more effective than oral drugs. I had my DVH on Sept. 11th. The difference between how you feel the day of surgery and the next day is phenomenal. I know you want to be in your own bed ...but let me reassure you that first night you will be glad you have the medical staff at your fingertips. Especially because you have a long ride home.

I know for me after my gallbladder removal I was in the hospital for 3 days (was supposed to be outpatient but mine was impacted and infected and just super gross) and what I remember about that first night is being so scared every pain meant something ripped...or something very bad was happening. What helped so much was the nurses being able to reassure me that it was normal - if I had been home my husband would have been calling the doctor every half hour to confirm I was okay.

And Water Artist has an excellent point about the long ride home. That's a long time in the car day 1. If you can't get them to extend (and don't forget that with a lot of insurance plans outpatient is anything up to 23 hours - everyone needs to check their own, of course) make sure you bring a pillow to hold against your tummy.

I'm only 20 minutes away from my hospital and I remember every single pot hole between there and my house because I forgot the pillow.

I really want to go home as soon as possible (I even have a "battle plan" to help me do that). But, we'll see what happens. Unfortunately, my surgery is in the early afternoon, and they may elect to keep me over-night. When I had my gall-bladder out a few years ago it went really well...until the gas settled in my chest cavity. So, I won't be surprised if they make me stay "just in case...."

I had my davinci hysterectomy on October 9th @7:30am and went home the next day. I'm glad I wasn't sent home the same day. Some women can but others we just can't. Don't feel like you need to rush out if there. It's nice having the medical attention for the first day.
The ride the next day is not going to be fun. See if you can take your pain meds before leaving the hospital. Good luck.

My surgery was at 7:30am and I did go home the same day. My husband was a tremendous help, but I was glad to be home. My bedroom is on the second floor of our home, so I climbed the steps - slowly - when I got home. I did not come back downstairs for 2 days, but even after have severe nausea in recovery, I was home in my bed by 4:00pm with no regrets. Each of us is different, I wish you as easy a surgery and recovery as I had.

I would suggest a one night stay. You may benefit from the morphine drip for the first 12 hours or so. I had an unexpected post anesthesia sleep apnea. I was glad to have the oxygen and a nurse checking my vitals all night. I switched to percocet at 24 hours and only needed it for a couple days. The first 24 hours of pain must be managed properly.

I'm having laparascopic surgery next week. My doc said whether or not to stay over are really up to me, assuming everything goes as planned on her end. She said as long as I have an early morning surgery, recover ok and feel up to it, I can go home the same day if I want to. I live literally two blocks from the hospital, so I am not concerned about the drive, which I hear can be rough, but I'm thinking that at the hospital I can actually relax, sleep, have someone take care of me and have pushbutton painkillers if I need to. Not that my family won't take care of me at home, they certainly will, but I'll feel bad waking someone up at 3am if I need to, and put it off or do too much myself, because that's how we Mom's tend to be. I also feel like being monitored for 24 hours after a major surgery, just in case there are complications, is always smart. I'd rather be there if something is wrong, so my doc is alerted right away, rather than make a middle of the night trip to the ER and see a resident who is probably not an OBGYN or similar (and has certainly never seen my whoowhoo before!).

My husband had DaVinci lap to remove a cancerous kidney tumor a few years ago, and had a 3 day hospital stay, but he said that surgery was an easier recovery with less pain and discomfort that having lap galbladder surgery (no stay). So, maybe DaVinci does less bruising damage and recovery is a bit easier with less pain?

IMHO, I think I'd talk to my doc about the possibility of needing an overnight stay and set it up as a possibility, leaving it up to you as my doc has done. You do have a precedent that might be of concern to your doc, and this may be a way to allow you to decide when you're out of recovery and decide how you feel about making the trip home.

Best of luck to you!

I am not a fan of staying in the hospital. I have trouble falling asleep, and it always seemed that just as I finally doze off, the nurse came in to check my vitals. But my doctor is adamant about an overnight stay and I too am having a Da Vinci assisted hysterectomy. He says he really likes to monitor vitals and make sure I'm doing well before he releases me.