New Bed & 30 Day Countdown Until Surgery

[Doreen1]

Hi Everyone,

Last night hubby and I went shopping for a new bed which was delivered this morning. Thank God! I'm settled in for the night and am looking forward to a very peaceful sleep.

Tramadol is not working at all, not even taking the edge off pain. I see doc on Tuesday and will be sure to let him know and also that my ears have been ringing since I started taking tramadol.

My folks are in for a visit from FL tomorrow so we'll lay out our plan of when they will return to help with my daughter while I'm in hospital. Hubby bathed dogs for the first time ever since I'm unable to bend over and do it anymore.

I had a rough day with pain, increasing in my right lower ribs. Surgeon mentioned my ribs are pressing into my pelvis. I pushed through PT exercises and did yoga. SO glad I did because it felt much better for a bit.

Hubby made reservations for an extra special dinner for the three of us including our 11 year old daughter at Bacchanalia in Atlanta soon. I am looking forward to celebrating the end of my old spine and embracing my new spine. My daughter said I'll be Bionica soon. I already have 16 titanium screws in my face from reconstructive jaw surgery.

Clock's ticking...

Warmly,
Doreen

[golfnut]

You have the right attitude about celebrating the new spine that you will have after surgery. It sounds like you are getting prepared. My husband and I have had schnauzers for 33years and I had to show him how to give them a bath before my surgery.

[pilar]

Hi, yes!! That's the spirit!! I went mentally prepared to my surgeries but I understimate The pain right after... It was tough, but you know what?? It didn't last long and i am certain that i would do this all over again!! I have a German shepherd and my boyfriend does the bathing from there on... ;-)
Good luck to you!
Pilar

[titaniumed]

Doreen

If you have 16 screws in your face from reconstructive jaw surgery, you are no stranger to pain....that had to have hurt....was that from a car accident?

Ed

[Doreen1]

Doreen

If you have 16 screws in your face from reconstructive jaw surgery, you are no stranger to pain....that had to have hurt....was that from a car accident?

Ed

Hi Ed,

No accident, planned procedure to correct my bite. The condition got worse as I grew older and the only teeth making contact were back molars, front teeth did not touch bottom teeth as it was "open." Imagine biting into a sandwich and only getting the bread but no deli meat/cheese because of a gap in between upper and lower teeth.

The big inconvenience was having my mouth wired shut for 6 weeks and not being able to sleep in a bed for a long time. If I laid down flat to sleep, my head would swell. I recall one day at about 3am desperately trying to sleep in a chair in the family room, flipping through tv channels, the Elephant Man movie was on. I found a lot of humor with that since I was very bruised in the face and my head was as big as a pumpkin (it certainly felt that way).

Years later we visited the FBI building in DC and the metal detectors went off. The guards were very curious to learn what I had "hiding" in my mouth. Another time while at the doctor for a bad cold, doc (who did not know about the screws) took xray of head) rushed into the room and said, "Can you come here... look at your xray... what are those?! Did you know they were there?!!" I about died of laughter. Poor guy was so shocked and I loved his last question.

My folks are here visiting from FL and we all had a good laugh about my back last night. At the kitchen table, my daughter lays out a bendy straw. She said, "Here is mom's back," and bends the straw into an S. "Here is what she'll look like soon," and snaps the straw straight. I laughed so hard and explained to her that hopefully the surgeon will be a little more gently about it.

My hubby and I are trying to figure out if he needs to stay overnight at the hospital or not. The hospital offers two room private suites, one room for patient, connecting room for family; it's like an efficiency. I don't know what their policy is for children staying in these rooms, but my daughter really wants to stay. She is a very mature 11 year old and studies high school level. In fact, she LOVED her forensic science class last year. So medical stuff fascinates her. Maybe I'll just call the hospital today and ask about their policy.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doreen1]

29 Day Countdown Until Surgery

Just returned from PT and I really enjoy the massage at the end of the session. Came home, did yoga which felt great. I talked with the hospital to get the details of their luxury family suite. Yes, children are allowed to spend the night as long as there is a parent with them so my daughter will be thrilled. Since hubby works from home and daughter does online school from home, they can stay on top of their normal routine.

I'm looking forward to seeing primary doc tomorrow to get different pain med as the Tramadol is not working at all.

How many of you had your spouse/friend actually spend the night at the hospital with you?

Warmly,
Doreen

[titaniumed]

Doreen,
Some like to have company but I didn’t want anyone coming down for a week.

Since I was told that they wouldn’t wake me up for a few days in ICU, I thought that it really wasn’t necessary for everyone to come down and see me looking haggard and being bombed out of my mind. In the hospital reports, several doctors comment on how they considered me an excellent historian.....I wonder what period I was covering and under which drug? Hmmm......Must have been 1967, San Francisco. (chuckle,chuckle)

I did have an invasive anterior as my vascular surgeon did explore looking for cancer....It hurt like hell and I ended up with a 10 day ileus. When he pulled my gall bladder he also was looking for cancer up high. He never found a thing! HA! Some of us scolis are just too damn tough.

The jaw surgery and recovery you experianced sounds brutal. I would say its good in a way, you do have some experience with surgical pain. Did you ever find out exactly what procedure and which levels Dr A wants to do?
Ed

[golfnut]

Doreen,
The first night I knew that I would be in ICU, so my husband did not need to stay. We live about 30 miles from St. Louis where I had my surgery so he was able to drive back and forth. He stayed with me in the room the next two nights which was reassuring to me. I hired a nurse's aide for the next night, but I probably would have been fine without her. I had pretty good care from the Barnes nursing staff in the evenings.

[Doreen1]

That makes sense to not have hubby stay the evenings I'll be in ICU. So much planning, huh?

Ed, doc said she will do posterior on Aug 30 and fuse T6 to about L3-4, then anterior 3 months later to fuse L4-5 to S1. She said she wants to do the anterior to provide a strong support base.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doreen1]

27 Day Countdown until Surgery

Hi Everyone,

Switched from tramadol to hydrocodone which is making me really nauseous. I slept well last night, so maybe I just take a pill before bedtime even though I still have pain during the day. Hospital and Dr. Ananthakrishnan's nurse have been very helpful answering all my questions. Dr. A returns to town next week so pre-op date will be confirmed for either Aug 22 or 24.

Do any of you use a tens unit at home? Have you had surgeon tell you to gain weight pre-op? Any suggestions on what to eat that is healthy to gain weight?

Warmly,
Doreen

[titaniumed]

Doreen

I had to lose weight before my surgeries. After my surgeries I lost 40# in 40 days and had to put some weight back on. I did this with protein smoothies.

Whey protein powder 1/4 cup
1 banana
10 strawberries
10 raspberries
20 blueberries
1 yogurt
20 almonds
1/4 cup soy milk

Blend. Buy the berries frozen.
These are soothing in recovery.
Ed