Tick tick tick

[cjsmith]

72 hours from now I'll be under general anaesthesia.

Pre-surg. dr's appt this morning. Usually, when I get blood drawn, I have a pretty bad reaction to it. Somehow this time it seemed small.

Got a few questions answered. 1) Surgery's at noon, I should show up at ten. 2) No food OR DRINK!! from midnight the night before. No water! Nothing! Grr. 3) I can expect two to four incisions depending on how messy everything is in there. There may be no visible stitches. Showering will be okay right away. 4) I should get up and move around once I'm awake, not lie flat. (Interesting, eh crazyladynocats?) 5) I get Vicodin. Cool. 6) He expects by Saturday I should have no trouble riding in an airplane, and as long as I feel okay I can square dance, too.

Forgot to ask about hot tubs. It may be a "as long as it doesn't hurt, go for it" type of thing, but I should check to make sure.

Tick tick tick tick tick. In 71 hours I go under. Nervous? Me? How can you tell? (Actually I'm fairly calm, but I really don't have a lot ELSE to post about, so I'm blathery about this.)

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Good luck!!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :-)

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

When my DH had his laproscopic surgery he was stuffing himself up till midnight the night before, it was funny.

I didn't do that with my c-section, but it was hard skipping breakfast the next day.

I had percoset for pain after I left the hospital. They worked very well.

You may want to ask about hot tubs. I'm not sure you can take baths (or hot tubs) right away.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I would stuff myself too! :-) He is smart! :-) I don't usually need much breakfast, but I might be uncomfortable with none. I guess I'll see.

I take it your c-section was planned ahead of time? As opposed to a "oops she's been in labor too long" kind of thing? Does that make eventual recovery from it easier?

Good thinking, I'll ask about the hot tubs. Better to ask than to take guesses.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

The c-section wasn't exactly planned. I found out the day before (the doctor thought Alan was too big to fit, and I hadn't gone into labor yet).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Nothing like a little time to prepare yourself mentally! (How big was Alan?)

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

8 lbs .01 oz - the ultrasound the day before said 8 lbs 11 oz - a bit of a difference

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yikes, no kidding! Well, I'm glad you (and he!) were safe either way.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I'll be thinking of you, and wishing for the very best result.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! The VERY BEST result would be:

"Ah, we found the obvious problem. No wonder it hurt. All better now. It will never recur again! By the way, we couldn't help noticing you'd be absolutely unable to get pregnant."

[butterfly-smile.livejournal.com]

Good luck sweety.........Yell if you need anything...
#5 sounds good to me.....

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Hee hee, #5 sounds good to me too - if this doesn't fix my cramps, that Vicodin prescription will be a year's supply! 8-)

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the surgery, hope everything goes fine and you are on the swift road to recovery. Did they tell you how long it would take and when results come back?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

The procedure itself will take one to two hours depending on how messy everything is. Add pre-op time and 1hr recovery and some commute, and all told I'll be in my own house again by four at the latest.

There won't be "results" per se. If he sees endo he'll cauterize the hell out of it, and if he doesn't we'll meet later to discuss what to try next.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

4) I should get up and move around once I'm awake, not lie flat. (Interesting, eh crazyladynocats?)

very. *putting on hick voice* y'all must have some fancy-schmancy technology out yonder in the big cities!

*switching to bad-girl voice* so i guess that means if we want to keep you flat on your back, we'll have to MAKE you...

*ducking and running*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, c'mon out here and MAKE me! 8-)

[portia.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm really happy for you that you found a doctor who didn't try to stop you from having the surgery. Good luck, try to relax, and take lots of Vicodin afterwards!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Definitely yay! 8-) Oh crap, I forgot to ask whether they're set up to take video.

[portia.livejournal.com]

Video?! Could you really watch them cut you open like that?!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I could psych myself up for it. How many chances for this sort of view am I ever gonna get? :-)

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Coupla things:

Don't be surprised if they want to shave you before hand (and I don't mean your armpits). I was surprised, no one had told me about that. Interestingly, though, the didn't shave me for my hysterectomy.

Also, with regard to the gas in yer tummy, I recommend doing what's comfortable. Walking around might aggravate it, or it might help. Let your body decide.

And videos! Yeah, I saw the video of mine -- I saw it in the doctor's office, and then she let me bring a copy home. I kept threatening to make everyone else watch it. It's rather abstract, 'cause they don't turn the camera on until it's inside you -- you don't see them cutting your tummy, you don't even see the doctor, and of course there's no sound effects, so you can't hear people saying "OH my GOD what's that???" or anything. It's just a bunch of red and pink stuff, and then some darker red stuff they zap (if it's endo). It was like looking at a full-color ultrasound -- without training (or someone sitting by who HAD training and was actively interpreting) I didn't have a clue what I was looking at.

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah! And good luck to you! Promise a full report as soon as you're able?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Soitenly! And thanks!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I thought of the shaving thing just yesterday, when he pointed to where incision number two was going to be. Yep, they'll shave that, for certain.

Oh cool! If I don't get a video of mine, maybe some day I'll be able to watch your video. I'd at least get some general idea.

[sirdiesel.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! 8-)

[redgrrl.livejournal.com]

Good luck, Ceej -- and I wish you a very speedy and COMPLETE recovery!

-Wen

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! 8-)

[msmichelle.livejournal.com]

Take care. I hope it goes well and a speedy recovery is in order!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! 8-)