surgery scheduled for Jan. 20

[Jill]

A big thanks to all of you that post to this discussion forum.  The decision to proceed with surgery was  overwhelming but I have visited this site almost daily and all of you have helped me with the decision tremendously.  My surgery will be at University Hospital in Cincinnati with Dr. Tew and Dr. Pensak.

Most of my questions are the "what if's" immediately after surgery.  I still don't feel I have a good understanding of the process I will be going through while still in the hospital.  I have a call into Dr. Tew's office but any information would be appreciated.

Also, does anyone else have any cervical spine issues.  I think they are almost more concerned with the condition of my spine in my neck.  I will be looking at a second surgery for that.  Boy I hope there is a discussion forum to get me through that one!   

Jill

[Kaybo]

Jill~
Good Luck on the 20th - we will definitely be covering you in prayer.  I hope that you (& yours) will feel peace between now & then.  Do you have any specific questions regarding after the surgery?  I would be more than happy to chat with you on the phone if you want to PM me your number.

K   

[sgerrard]

Jill,

I think the best way to describe what you can expect in the hospital is "The first three days after surgery don't count." You will not feel good when you first wake up, but you can't judge anything about your outcome from those first few days; you just have to get through them. Once you are up and about, you can tell more about how you are doing. After that you will need lots of rest and sleep, and some time to get back up to speed.

Best wishes for your surgery and a smooth recovery.

Steve

[leapyrtwins]

Jill -

congratulations on making your treatment decision and scheduling your surgery.  From what I've heard, Tew & Pensak are a class act.  Have you put your "date" on our AN Calendar?  There's a link at the bottom of Steve's profile.

As you probably already know, AN surgery is major surgery and I'll be the first to tell you I took it a little too lightly; having never had major surgery before.

That said, the first day is generally the worst and things improve from there.  I can honestly tell you that I made progress each and every day.  Some days the progress was extremely slow, but it was progress.  Patience is key - and oftentimes hard to find; so try hard to "keep the faith".

As Kay mentioned, if you have any specific questions, please ask them.  Everyone seems to have had different, albiet similar experiences, post op and if you give us some direction I'm sure you'll get lots of responses.

Jan

[cindyj]

Hey Jill,

Congrats on making your decision and the surgery date - that's half the battle, in my opinion.  The other half is those first few days after surgery which, as Steve said,  really don't count.  As you're in that hospital bed just keep thinking positively and know that there are many here on the forum that have been through the surgery and lived to tell the tale...you will get through it! 

Take care,

Cindy

[Pembo]

Jill, I was very worried about what it would be like after surgery. For me, it wasn't good. I reacted to the pain meds and until I was taken off didn't really wake up. After being hospitalized for 8 days I was moved to a rehab. Their first suggestion was a local nursing home, DH knew there was a better rehab in our local hospital and got me put there.  JUST IN CASE, know what the plan would be IF you were unable to come straight home. Better to be prepared! There are some great posts about what to take to the hospital...chapstick is #1. Best of luck to you.....hope to see you posting on Jan 24th from home.

[Debbi]

Jill -

I would describe waking up from surgery as being pretty yucky.  However, I don't think it was as bad as I was expecting.  I've never had any sort of major surgery before, so I really didn't have any frame of reference - but I was expecting it to be bad.  The nurses at NYU were very good about checking on my pain level - and I wasn't at all shy about telling them when I needed another "hit" of morphine or whatever.  I am lucky that I didn't have any bad reaction to the anesthesia or any of the drugs - I was a naseous when I woke up, but that passed by the second day. 

As others here have already said, each day got better.  I would definitely suggest bringing a soft pillow if you have one.  I found the hospital pillows to be rather uncomfortable - maybe because of the giant "bonnet" on my head!     You'll find some other posts of things to bring to the hospital if you search - definitely bring slippers and some moist wipes so you can clean your face.  I felt so grungy after surgery - just being able to wipe my face was immensely satisfying.

Take some deep breaths and try to find some calm moments in the next 10 days.

Debbi

[carter]

glad yu have decided and are ready for the next step.   our thoughts and prayers are with you!


carter

[HCSTARWIND]

Jill-contratulations on making the final decision for treatment. I would take this one step at a time.

You asked if anyone had cervical neck issues. I do and am being seen now at Johns Hopkins for it. If you would like to PM me in regards to follow up , I would be happy to talk to you.
Continue to visit your Dr.s and ask , ask, ask, all the questions that will give you the piece of mind. I didn't do this the first time I met with a neurotologist and left very unhappy. It was the support and infor. that I have received on this forum that fueled me with the right questions to ask. I just spent nearly 2 hours with a wonderful Dr. here and I feel much better. Still hanging on to my tumor , that they feel is a lipoma but still not sure. It is more infiltrative so my best option for now is to address my trigeminal neuralgia and cervical neck issues. I take it one day at a time.

Best wishes to you and your upcoming surgery. Take care and stay in touch. Helen

[LisaP]

Jill,

Good Luck on your upcoming surgery and please keep us posted on how you do.

Best Wishes

LisaP

[Jim Scott]

Jill: 

Belated congratulations on your surgery date.  This is one of the more difficult parts of the AN experience.  Now that you have the doctors, hospital and a surgery date lined up, you can relax a bit. 

Immediately post-op can be a mixed bag but as Steve cogently stated, 'the first three days don't count'.  He's right.  You'll be groggy, possibly nauseous and not too interested in much of anything.  That will pass and within a few days you'll be better able to do a self-assessment.  Many times, things that occur immediately post op are temporary.  I was nauseous and experienced double vision when I tried to read.  Both passed within 3 days.  Headaches can occur but don't necessarily continue indefinitely.  Everyone has a slightly different experience.  Please don't dwell on the 'what if's' to the point of stressing yourself unnecessarily.  You need to go into surgery confident and positive.  I think you will - and I look forward to seeing your first post-op message, here. 

My thoughts and prayers and those of many others will be with you on the 20th.

Jim

[Kim Zingale]

Hi Jill,

Good luck on your surgery on the 20th! I understand what you mean about wondering about the "what ifs" - I have surgery scheduled for Feb. 9, and I definitely have some anxiety right now. Let's both try to take a deep breath and relax

Take care,
Kim

[Kathy M]

Good Luck to you, my friend!  I'm off to Cincinnati today and will be glad to be a postie the next time we speak.  Congrats on your courage to nail down the date and commit to the surgery.  Sounds like you've got a terrific support system at home and here.  I'm just sure you'll get your questions answered this week and be ready for the 20th! 

Kathy

[Jwh]

Hi,
Aren't we all lucky???  Seems a lot of us will have our surgery in January. I have my pre-op on the 20th and surgery scheduled for 1/26.  We should all celebrate knowing this will be over soon.  I will be thinking of you.
Jen

[JohnnyDiaz]

This was the first surgery that I ever had and expected to be sick from the meds. But none of the meds made me sick. Even the morphine did not have a weird effect on me . Best advice - Have someone stay with you if possible and have a pen and paper to write down what meds you get and what time you get it.

Don't be afraid to let the nurses know what time you are to get them. After surgery, relax and remember that every day you will get better. Before you know - a week will go by and your strength will be getting better. Just remember that a lot of us have gone through this and you can use this journey to encourage others. Please post and keep us updated. GOD Bless....