recovery room

hi ladies
I am not going in until Thursday but I have a question!
Not too afraid of the surgery itself, I never had it before but I was knocked out for some oral surgery and you pretty much don't know anything, so I think I will be ok, if I can get my knees to stop knocking, but I am really really scared about when I wake up!
Can I ask some questions?
1) Am I going to be all in la la land when I come out? When my DH comes to see me am I going to babble and ramble on? I don't know how he will react if he walks in the room and I am trying to deliver the State of the Union address with my butt hanging out.
2) Will I be screaming in agony when I come out? Is it something I can deal with?
3) Should I start taking colace in the hospital? Will they let you do that?
Gee, Ladies, do I give you the idea I am a little scared?
It's not that I thought it would be an easy ride but I really thought I would be sitting up, kind of comfortable, kind of drugged up but just comfortable, eating my chinese food the next day and thanking God that I made it through.
Now I am worried about the world of fistulas and hematomas and split incisions and hot flashes.
Please help! :cry:

S.

my memory of recovery room...I woke up and I was in pain asking for it and they kept giving me morphine til the pain was gone. I remember being lucid enough to talk to others and be coherent. I had morphine pump. I don't remember getting into my room and getting into bed but I think morphine kicked in and I was asleep or something. I know they gave me stool softeners while in hosp along with senna but only dr's ordrers. Have you had your pre op appt with dr? He or she will answer your questions. I also had a pre surgary appt. at the hosp where the surgary was and I met the anthesiologist. Talked to a nurse and they answered a lot of questions. Normally on first day your on ice chips only as they don't want you getting sick. Second day for me was liquids and soft food like pudding. I had talked nurse into regular food as I was starving. I told dr frankly there is not much down there to poop out so I was on regular hosp food by sat dinner but I handled everything very well. I have to chuckle picture eating chinese food and thinking that is good gas producing foods. They won't let you eat solid foods until you pass gas or have a stool. That is at least the policy at the hosp I went to and what my dr ordered.

I know it is normal to be scared before surgary you will be fine. The surgary was the piece of cake...I am sure the dr will talk to your hubby and explain to him how you might be because of the anesthesia and the level of narcotics. I don't remember hallucinating or reciting anything stupid. My experience was I slept most of that day...my throat was sore from being intubated. I had general anthesia which they always intubate. The sore throat will go away by next day or so. They gave me sore throat meds which helped.
as I said you will be get your questions answered at the pre surgary appt or pre op appt.
teresa to you

I barely remember the recovery room. I woke up and was in pain, and the nurse gave me more medication. Next time I woke up I was in my room. My DH was very worried about how bad I looked...very pale, disoriented and still had an oxygen tube. I must admit the pain was much worse than I expected, but it was under control rather quickly. I made the mistake of having my DS sneak me a cheese burger the second day, and I paid for it with stomach pains..., should have stuck to the soft diet hospital foods.
You are smart to do your research in advance. I didn't cross over to the post-op postings till I got home.

Oh honey, it's ok to be scared. I was scared too. Everyone's recovery will be different just because we are all different.
My experience was that I was knocked out for quite a while. But when the nurses came in to do their thing, I could form coherent enough words that they understood what I was saying and I was able to respond when they talked to me. I was just very, very tired.
As for pain, I think that all depends on you too, or what they give you anyway. And how you handle pain meds. I personally have a pretty low tolerance to most meds, so they work pretty darned good for me. But yes, even with the meds, I did have some pain, but not enough to make me scream, cry or feel like I was suffering terribly. I was mostly sore as long as I took the pain meds.
Also, for me, the nurse encouraged me to take what I thought might help me. She actually gave me the colace while I was still there. She also told me that I could take the Gas-X too. That helped fantastically.

And yes, the next day, I was sitting up, kind of drugged up, watching TV, eating soft foods and thankful that it was over. They don't like you to eat solids until you pass gas.

You'll be ok, you really will. Just relax and remember to rest. Any concerns you have, call your doc right away. It's better to ask a question and feel silly than to not ask and not heal properly. Most docs know that you will have hundreds of questions, concerns and fears.
(((((((Hugs for you))))))) and I hope all goes fantastic and you heal quickly.

Thank you!
I wish I was not so nervous!
I sure will be glad when it is all over!
Thanks for listening to me! I know I sound like a big baby :cry:

Hugs to you all, you are the best!

S.

Sweetie, it is normal to worry about everyhting and to be anxious about the surgery. Try not to dwell too much on the unknowns. I will try and answer your questions as both a patient and a Everyone reacts differently after coming out of anesthesia. I was totally out of it and poor DH just sat and waited. Some people are more awake but doze often. Let's face it........you will not be up to much company the first day. Secondly, the nurses will be there for pain relief. I am not sure if you will have a morphine pump but this kind of thing is something only your doctor can answer. All I know is that the pain is manageable and don't hesitiate to ask for something. We heal faster when we are not in pain. Finally, any meds taken in the hospital must be given by the staff via doctor's orders. Do not self medicate! If you are worried about constipation, ask the doctor prior to surgery to please leave you a prescription for whatever he prefers his patients to have. Just try and relax hun! I know that is easier said than done. Take care and good luck with your surgery........


Emily s

Dear S. First off I want to say that each persons experience is their own, so when I tell you of mine it is just mine. You may experience things totally different. When I went in for my pre op they told me that I would not come out of recovery until my pain was managed down to a 3 or better.
My surgery took approx 4 hours. I remember waking up in recovery and being very confused but not able to speak yet. Right when I woke up, I remember saying, She's awake, get the oxegyn. I did have some pain, but nothing I could not bear. I was awake enough to feel my stomach and try to feel what my incision fely like but it was covered. They had me hooked up to a moriphine pump so I could get into easing my own pain. I did not babble on about anything that I know of. My husband came in and sat with me. I remember they kept asking me if I was in pain and I told them yes. My husband did some of the talking for me bercause he could red my signals. After they got my pain down to where I could stand it they took me to my room where I held onto my pump for dear life. I mostly just slept after that and faded in and out until the next morning. Thinking back, it was not so bad. So I guess what I am trying to say is don't worry all will be fine and if you do something funny while you are out everyone will understand and gives you something to laugh about when it is over. Good luck and I wish the very best, Connie

Thank you Emily!
So many women say they are in so much pain afterwards, I have never had to deal with this before!
Thanks for listening!

S.

When I woke up in the recovery room, I remember being surprised because I was only in slight pain. I even asked if they did the surgery because I didn't feel as bad as I expected. And the nurses kept asking if I needed more pain med the whole time. I was pretty coherent, or so I'm told, I even climbed from the recovery room bed into the room bed fairly easily, with help. They insisted I take Colace in the hospital, which I continued for pretty long post-op. Even the catheter wasn't as bad as I had expected. I know I was very fortunate, and I hope you will be lucky too. I'm about 12 weeks post-op and I'm still feeling great. Hopefully your experiance will be the same!

Thank you Connie and Jenny!!
I know I am just being scared, I really like my surgeon a lot, she is very understanding, I guess I just need to get this over with!
It has been going on for 6 weeks now, I guess the waiting is just getting to me!
I am going to clean my house and work in the yard, so when I come home everything looks wonderful to me.
I guess I should pack too!
You are all wonderful!
If I did not have this site I know I would have never had the strength to do this!
Love,
S.