Pre-surgery preparation suggestions

[thomasb]

I have had my discussions with my neurologist and Otolaryngology and it appears that next month I will be having surgery to remove my tumor and cyst. Can anyone offer any suggestions to help me prepare for this surgery? I am most interest in what to do psychologically and how to provide strength not just for me for my family members as the surgery approached. All suggestions will be very much appreciated.

[samanthalambert]

Hello! I saw your post and would like to offer my suggestions because I just had surgery 3 weeks ago so everything is fresh in my mind. First off, every person is different and every tumor is different so don't feel like you have to compare yourself to me or anyone else. I am a 46 year old female. I was diagnosed in September with a 3.2 cm AN with mild hearing loss. Honestly, waiting for the MRI results and then to meet surgeons and get a surgery date was the worst part of all of this. WAITING WAS TORTURE FOR ME but now it is behind me and I feel grateful that I can move on with my life. When I found out I needed surgery I did the following: got my affairs in order, got a copy of my medical directive from my lawyer, talked to my kids (teenagers) about what to expect from them (laundry, etc.), asked people to pray for me, had the annointing of the sick from my priest, talked to other people who have had this surgery, stocked up on food and supplies for the house, made a plan with my husband and family members about who would be in charge of what and WALKED A LOT. As my surgery date approached, and because it is cold/flu season, I stayed away from crowds, took care of myself and started to hydrate my body as if I was getting ready to run a marathon. The other thing I did was write a personal note to my main surgeon thanking him for being on my side and for taking an interest in me. This may sound silly, but I felt a connection to my surgeon and really wanted him on "my team." This really helped me. I always felt like he wanted the very best outcome for me. The first thing he said to me the morning of my surgery was "thanks for your note." Finally, I cannot stress this enough, be positive! Relax, take a deep breath, you and your family can do this and a positive approach to everything will make a difference. I hope this helps and if I can offer any other assistance or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to me. God bless and Good Luck! 

[gbkim86]

Hi,

I went microsurgery for my 12 mm AN 6 weeks ago. I'm gonna write a couple of things currently in my mind. Maybe I'll add more ideas later.

These are not for mental things you asked, but I hope these could be helpful too.

1. Make your health best. Try to lower your blood pressure and sugar level before surgery. They will lower surgical risks. Make a balance of sodium and potassium intake.

2. Take a flu shot as early as possible. Flu can be dangerous if you caught it after or right before surgery.

3. Stop any blood thinning medicines and vitamin supplements.

4. Prepare or think about foods you can enjoy after surgery. Because steroid medicine you must take after surgery could increase your blood sugar level, I recommend thinking about meals that you will like but also healthy. You may have hunger as a side effect, which is another reason you want to prepare a healthy diet. Otherwise, you would eat too much sugar or fat. I got weight a lot during the steroid period. If you get steroid diabetes, it will slow down recovery and could cause serious side effects.

5. Hot/ice packs could be very useful at home.

6. Prepare Advil/Tylenol (both) if you don't have them at home. In my case, I needed both. (Advil for anti-inflammation after stop steroid, and Tylenol as replacement of opioid pain medicines if your pain goes down)

I'll add later if I find something more.

GB

[Greece Lover]

Good suggestions here. And, it's true we're all different.  For me, I found exercise to be really helpful, both as a way to prepare my body for surgery but also to help mentally, to blow off stress, etc.
Faith is a big part of it, but that's obviously different for everyone.  I also found the anointing of the sick to be very powerful.
The mental side of all this is what often gets ignored, especially by surgeons.  I had a lot of anxiety, especially afterward, so you might be prepared for that (but, again we're all different). 
Good luck!