Preparation for going into hospital

[x-becki-x]

hey
in a few weeks im havin surgery, but im not sure wot i wil need to take with me to the hospital. Those who have alredy been thro it, could u pleas let me no wot i mite need, and anything else i mite find useful to make me more comfortable wen i come home.

Also how long would you expect me to be off school 4? im startin my AS Levels and dont want to fall behind. My curve is thoracolumbar 42" and im havin anterior surgery (from the front of the spine)

[ScoliGal]

most people stay out of school for about 4- 6 weeks depending on ur pain tolerance... most got back by 4 weeks at half days and by 6 weeks their back at full time classes.

[lindsay]

when you come home have lots of pillows. lots of good snacks b/c the doctors want will want you to gain weight back. you will probably loose some weight in the hospital. i went from 103 to 95 pounds. a tv, music, books, anything to pass the time, the first few days home will be mostly spend in bed. have your friends come over to cheer you up. a big baggy t-shirt will help, because you wont have to bend too much to get into it.

also, being tired and weak and laying down all day and then taking a shower can make you faint. if the shower is too hot or too long this could happen. it happened to me. i was tired and the hot water felt good so i stayed in way to long. when i got out and my mom was helping me dry off and get dressed(you'll probably need some help, you wont be able to raise your arms up too far or bend) i blacked out and fainted. so as good as it may feel, keep it quick!

im eight weeks post op and doing fine, im biking, swimming, and light jogging. i went from 5 ft 3 to a bit over 5 ft 4. my curve was 43 degrees and i had ten vertebre fussed.

feel free to email me if you wanna talk. lroyek@yahoo.com. good luck!!

<3 Lindsay

[mariya]

I also have the same curve size as you

Hi X-becki-X, Scolitgal, and Lindsay!!

I see all of you have curves that are in the 40s. Mine too 45*. I am also due for surgery in 4 weeks. Hope I am making the right decision because almost everyone who had this surgery had much larger curves and I thought I was the only one with a 45* curve considering surgery.

Lindsay: Great job. WOW you are 8 weeks post op and you sound like you are doing wonderfully. How are you feeling? How is your pain? Can you please share a little about your before and after pain and how you feel now at 8 weeks post-op!!! Thanks in advance.

Mariya

[x-becki-x]

hey evry1!
Lindsay and scoligirl thanx 4 ur advice. how r ur scars? r they healing well? also r u putting anything on them to help them fade?

Mariya where r u havin ur surgery? we shud keep in touch cos ur havin urs only 10 days after me! how r ur nerves? im stil not very nervous, i only went to my surgeon last week to find out that im havin surgery in 3 weeks, so i haven rely hd enough time to get nervous!

becki

[ScoliGal]

becki -- this is my scar.

http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/9780/myscarlg9.jpg

[x-becki-x]

wow that lks as if its healing rely wel! no one cud tel u hd scoliosis frm lkin at ur bk now!

becki

[lindsay]

hey everyone!!

Mariya, i'm feeling great. my pain is kept to a minimum and only when i've been exercising for long periods of time. i swim year around, and before my sugery my pain stopped me from swimming. i've known i've had scoli since i was 12. and in feb of 2005 my curve was 18 degrees. then in august 2005 my curve was 43 degrees. my doctor said he never saw a curve jump so quickly, so i had a MRI and such, but it was just because i had a growth spurt. swimming season is august-july. so in august through about november i had no pain. but when practice started getting harder, by march the pain was unbearable. i stopped swimming, im still on a medical leave from my team. it really killed me not being able to go to practice and compete. my main stroke is butterfly, and my curve is lower down near my hips, so swimming fly successfully was not possible. my hips would just kill me. for a while after i stopped swimming it hurt to even sit down, near my pelvis area, it was really sore. so exercise was kept to a minimun. i was in pool therapy for two weeks, two weeks after my surgery. i was still pretty weak then so it was a major workout. then i've had 5 weeks of land therapy so far. but the pain when i was in the hospital and when i got home was pretty intense, im not gonna lie to you. trying to get comfortable in bed took forever, i couldnt sleep through the night until just two weeks ago, and in the hospital the nurses will turn you from your back to either side every two hours. that wasnt fun. plus i had awful migraines from coming off the morphine, and because of the NG tube i had an exagerated gag reflex. so i threw up every time i swallowed a pill. so for 8 days after surgery i didnt eat b/c i couldnt keep it down. so i had all my medicines turned into liquids. physical therapy killed me the first few times i went, b/c i was favoring my back by walking a bit hunched over, so the pt would straighten me out and make me do pool activities like that. it was a dull pain, sometimes sharp shooting pains that were there 24/7. i was on meds for 2 weeks, then just on motrin. but slowly as i got stronger i feel it less and less everyday. im now training to go back to my year around team at the end of this month. i can swim for about an hour, i go on a 7 mile bike ride every other morning with my mom, and i cant run yet, but i do 'power walking' and some light jogging. i have no actual pain, it just feels like the muscles are tight back there. i would say i have 85-90 percent of my usual self back. i just need to work up a little more endurance. but besides that im great! i sometimes i cant believe i actually had the surgery b/c all i have is my scar now..

becki, my scar is 14/15 inches long. i had my steri strips taken off the second day after my surgery by my surgen. he used surgical glue, so i had no staples or stiches. it took a month for all the scabs to come off the scar, and while it was healing it itched like CRAZY. just to warn you. i havent started putting anything on it yet, my doctor reccomended anything like the product mederma, but that stuff is so expensive for such a small tube. im trying to talk my mom into buying it for me!

oh, the night before the surgery, i strongly reccomend getting your hair french braided, one down each side. it makes it easier for the doctors not having to deal with hair, and after when your in the hospital its good not to worry about what your hair looks like, or if its in your face, it will keep it from getting too greasy, and if one braid is on either side it's easy to lay down and not feel them. i took a shower at the hospital on thursday, and my sugery was on monday. so i had then in for about 4 days, the nurses said it was a good idea, and i got the idea from someone else on this board.

ah this is really long! sorry!

Lindsay

[x-becki-x]

Hey!

LIndsay: my hairs not long enough to braid, it would come out 2 easily! I live in the channel islands (between france n england) so i hv 2 travel 2 exeter (england) the morning b4, then i stay the nite in hospital. Im wil probly c my doctor then so i wil ask him how hed prefer my hair 2 b. also i hv no idea wether he is usin glue, staples, or stitches, so i wil ask him that. i fink i prefer the sound of glue, i dont fancy havin staples in my back atleast!

[ScoliGal]

becki -- dont worry about the hair!!!

i went into surgery with long hair that when to my mid back and i never did anything to it. it didnt get in the way and if it did id ask somebody to lift it out from under me seeing as i coulndt even raise my arms..i was in so much pain.

[x-becki-x]

actually scoligirl ur rite! if im havin anterior, my hairs medium length so shudn b anywhere near my incision. i cant even bend my hed to reach where my scar wil b, it wil b wel out the way of evryfin!

[kell]

Pack Light

My son just had his surgery August 14. He stayed in the hospital 7 days. He rested most of the time. He brought some game boy games, but didn't feel up to playing. He is still out of school. He will go back September 25th. We had a 4 hour drive home from the hospital. Pack lots of flat pillows that are easy to position if you have a long drive home. The hospital let us take 10 of there pillows with us. They just throw them away so ask for them. They are nice for positioning at home. You will do great. Take care.

[x-becki-x]

hey!
thanx! i actually live on an island so the doctors r not trained enough 4 scoliosis so i hv 2 fly 2 the UK in 6 days, n hv my surgery in 7 the hospital is quite near the airport.
my surgeon told me id b in hospital 4 bout 10-14 days, is that quite a long time 4 this? cos i dont no ne1 whos bin in dat long!

[ScoliGal]

i was at the hospital from june 7 - june 12 -- so yeah 10 days is a long time

[x-becki-x]

ahhh!!!! im leavin 2moro!! was spose 2 fly the nxt day bt goin 2mz cos we hv fog n r takin no chances!! so 3days until i hv it!!!! im stil nt partically nervous-my boyf is more nervous than me! at skool 2day i gt my 1st present it was a pair of shoes i wanted from my friends! ok g2g now...last minute packin...... bye!