2 weeks to surgery...

As most of your know, I've been having problems with my wrist for almost 5 months now. Major pain swelling nerve pain ... Really not fun! I've been doing a lot of different things to try to help it and/or diagnose it. I've worn a brace to limit movement, especially at night for 4 months. I went through physical/occupational therapy which did take care of the nerve pain. I've had an MRI and arthrograph (x-ray with contrast dye to look for tears in the cartilage complex). Both came up negative. I've had cortisone shots which have been used to finally diagnose it as exactly what she (my doctor) and I thought it was to begin with.

Sfignv (Mojo says hi! )

We scheduled surgery (an ulnar osteotomy - they will slice 2 - 6 mm of bone from my ulna and put a steel plate and 6 screws in my arm to put it back together), finally. It's a big deal surgery, but I am honestly looking forward to it because it means there's (most likely, of course they can't guarantee it) an end to the pain in sight.

My surgery will be on Tuesday, February 5th. (For IMO people, I will be voting early! ) It's an outpatient surgery. I've gotten the basic instructions - no herbal supplements for 2 weeks prior, no aspirin, ibuprofin, etc. for a week prior. No food or drink after midnight on the day of the surgery.

I've never had any kind of surgery in my life. I have no clue what to expect - I've never even been under general anesthesia. Is there anything else I should or shouldn't do prior to surgery? What can I expect after surgery? I know more about feline surgery than I do about what I'm having done!

I know more about "doing" surgery, than "having" surgery!

I will keep you in my prayers, that everything goes well, you get relief from the pain, and have a speedy, uncomplicated recovery!

I will be praying everything goes smooth and easy for you! And no more pain!

I've never been under anesthesia or had surgery myself, so I can't offer any advice in that area.

Awwww, best of luck for your surgery Heidi

Well, I've had 2 pretty major orthopedic surgeries! If you are in lots of pain, which I was for my last one, check if you can use Tylenol - it was better than using nothing for me the last couple of weeks.

With outpatient surgery, it will be pretty easy. You go to sleep, and feel all cozy, and they wake you up and it seems like no time at all has gone by. If you have morphine or other narcotics, it may make you nauseous. Best of luck!

PS - osteotomy is a scary word, LOL. I've had a pelvic osteotomy!

I had had several surgeries and learned that planing ahead is the key to having a comfortable recovery.

Understand and follow your doctor's pre and post surgery instructions closely.
Don't hesitate to ask questions of the surgeon and anesthesiologist.
Know, in advance, the plan for pain control and use it....
it can speed recovery.

Stock up on plenty of comfort food that will be easy to eat with one hand out of commission.

Get all your errands and laundry done ahead of time.
Have a book that is easy to hold...
things might be a bit awkward for a short time.
You might want to figure out a way to shower without getting the dressing wet.

Last but not least.....
give yourself permission to baby yourself the first few days after surgery.

Sending vibes that you will have an uneventful, easy recovery Heidi.

Lei gave great advice! Take it easy for awhile, be prepared for post-surgery one-handedness. The thought of surgery is much worse than it will be.

really i think everything been talked about here,
so i will say, i hope that everythings goes well for you

Heidi, I have no advice, but tons of

I've had two surgeries and in addition to the great advice already given I would highly recommend you go to the bathroom right before you so down to the operating room even if you think you don't have to try.

I hope it goes good for you and you have a fast recovery.

general anaesthetics are fun! If of course you enjoy going to sleep and then being missing a couple of hours for the rest of your life You never notice the point at which you fall asleep and you know absolutely NOTHING until you wake up again. It's almost an instantaneous transition from being in pain and miserable, to being in a constructive healing pain and fuzz. You'll have absolutely nothing to worry about.

If you're given the anaesthetic as a shot in your hand, it will feel like someone has put a very tight long glove on your hand and is sliding it slowly up your arm. It will feel cold and tight - and I won't lie, it is a little scary - but by the time that feeling gets towards your shoulder, you'll be asleep.

If you're given it as a gas, then you'll literally just go to sleep without noticing a thing!

The last general I was given was first as a shot of morphine - which made me very dizzy (and apparently very talkative with the dentist ) and then I got the anaesthetic as a gas. It doesn't smell like anything, it doesn't taste like anything - and after a few deep breaths, you're out for the count.

Lie back, breathe deep and count to ten - I can guaruntee that you won't get to ten and then all of a sudden you'll be waking up again. You will be dizzy and disorientated for a while and you might even feel nauseous, depending on how long you're under for, but when all that is said and done, those feelings don't last. (plus if you get a hot male nurse to wake you up, heaven can't be any closer than that!!)

When you wake up your mouth will feel dry and you might have a sore throat.

It'll be good hun. I hope it all goes well and you're well on the way to having no pain Feel free to PM me if you want to chat a bit more about it

Don't eat any refined sugar for now and you will recover from surgery much quicker. Refined sugar lowers immune function. I worked with a woman who was a student and needed her wisdom teeth out, so she volunteered for a study at U. T. Austin. The results were amazing! The subjects who didn't have any refined sugar (but ate fruit) for two weeks before surgery recovered in a day or two, while those who ate refined sugar had a week or longer recovery time.

I hope you are pain-free soon!

Oooh that sounds scary!! A plate and screws sound uncomfortable! You'll be fine though, and I understand what you mean about being excited to have it done. Take it from me though, surgery is a breeze I remember being pretty scared when I had my knee arthroscopy though because that was the first real surgery I'd had in a long time. Not knowing what to expect is the hardest bit.

If you don't like having cannula's placed (I'm a wimp, even though I know they're not that bad), ask if you can have a local anesthetic in your hand first. That way it's just a litle sting, then you'll feel nothing, and before you know it, you'll be waking up and it's all done.

I always get nauseous after general anesthesia. My arthroscopy was only a 45 minute surgery so I could eat and drink pretty soon after, and found a cup of tea and some dry cookies made a huge difference to the nausea. I also found chewing on jelly beans helped when the waves of nausea came on the way home.

After the heart surgery because it was 9 hours long, I couldn't eat or drink until the next day, and ended up being sick because I couldn't have anything to help with the nausea.

Get Earl to have things like jelly beans, crackers, and some water (or ice chips to suck on if possible), then after surgery check when you're allowed to start having that sort of thing, and just nibble on small amounts of food. Don't have too much or eat too fast though, or that will probably make you sick...

I assume you'll need help washing and brushing/styling your hair afterwards? Teach Earl how to do that now!!!! It seems like such a simple thing having your hair washed, and having it put up in a pony tail, but apparently men have no clue about it. Anything like that which he will need to help you with, show him how to do it now.

Make a bunch of meals you can freeze - lasagne, soup, stews, spaghetti etc. Being able to just pull that out and reheat will make life much easier on both of you.

I think everyone else has covered the rest. I'm so excited for you to be able to get this fixed! The end is in sight

If you have any other general anesthesia questions, feel free to ask

Thank you all for the tips!

I've got a little more than 2 weeks, so right now I'm just excited. I'll probably get nervous closer to the actual day.

Does anyone know if you can/when you should stop drinking alcohol before surgery? Not that I'm an alcoholic or anything, but the Super Bowl IS just 2 days before my surgery! Seems like having a beer or two would be the thing to do.

Sarah, I think Earl has an advantage over Andrew - he has long hair. So it won't be a problem to at least get my hair in a pony tail. Anything more than that I don't think will happen, though.

I'm going to start a list of things I/we need to go or make sure we have before my surgery. He knows how to take care of the kitties, but we do need to make sure we have enough litter, and that he knows how the Litter Locker works. That remained a mystery to him when I was on vacation last year.

Oh, if anyone is interested, I found a site with pics of the surgery I'm getting.

***WARNING: GRAPHIC SURGICAL PHOTOS***

http://www.eatonhand.com/img/img00072.htm

Good luck on the surgery! Apparently when I woke up from my last surgery I was screaming that I could fly! I remember being able to fly, but I was pretty sure someone else was screaming! They had to tell me to be quiet because there were other people recovering!

Originally Posted by rapunzel47

Heidi, I have no advice, but tons of

Click to expand...

I've never had any type of surgery either so no advice from me, only tons of vibes & well wishes

Lots of vibes for a fast and pain free recovery.

No advice here since my only surgery was an appendectomy at 14, but just wanted to send lots of hugs and vibes your way, Heidi.

I would just suggest not drinking alcohol the day before the surgery. 2 days before is absolutely fine as long as you don't get to the point that you are falling over

And if you do have a bunch of drinks, just make sure you rehydrate well the next day.

Ooh just looked at the photos - they're much more graphic than my surgery photos Make sure you get them to email you your x-rays afterwards so you can see how it looks.