Going crazy with no time to get ready for the surgery

[Beckymk]

I tell you! I'm going to have NO TIME to get ready for Carolyn's surgery.

It's scheduled for March 9 and I thought I would have all this time to get ready for it! Instead my calendar is being filled up and I will be lucky to get the house vaccuumed before we leave!

I got a call from the dentist that it was time for my 8 year old's check-up.

I decided to find out when Carolyn was there last, it was nearly her 6 month check-up, so decided to go ahead and schedule her too before surgery. I figured that way if there are any cavities, etc... beforehand best to get them taken care of NOW.

Then her orthodontist just called and we needed to make a consultation appointment for her Phase II of braces. She HAD an appt. March 9 or so I thought but they didn't have a record of it. That worked out I guess since I was going to have to cancel anyway. I won't be having her get braces until at least this summer (after her 3 month restriction period).

I also made appointments for my 8 year old & myself plus I have an implant (actually very similar to a fusion surgery but with your tooth! They put in metal screw, add grafting material and wait for it to fuse!) so I need a 3-month after the thing has been put on to get it cleaned.

On top of that, I have parent/teacher conferences scheduled so I can talk to the teacher's about Carolyn being gone -- it was the only way I could figure out to get everyone on the same page -- trust me HS has been confusing to find out who is supposed to know what.

Then throw in a few more family parties and I tell you -- I will get NOTHING done. On top of all of THAT....the boys have basically been sick. Just your garden variety winter stuff. My 12 year old went to the doctor & was told basically 'croup' with the cough. The other boys haven't had the cough, the little guy has a stuffed nose, the 8 year old had a fever but is fine, now just stuffed up, etc... I have been doing everything in my power NOT to catch anything. Carolyn so far has been OK but she was telling me today how she's super tired (but she did have a super late night last night), I just hope she's not coming down with whatever it is.

On the BRIGHT side -- I don't have time to worry about anything with Carolyn's surgery...I'm too busy to even really think about it.

I did get her a pair of Pooh bear PJ pants made though that I think are coming with us to the hospital as she really likes them. I just need to make the top part, I'm assuming a front button type would be better than pull over? At least that is what I have gathered from reading stuff, those are easier to get on?

[alwayzsomethin']

Sounds sooo familiar!

Becky, I can totally relate. It is a very hectic time between all the pre op appts. and your regular job, cooking, cleaning, errands, other siblings, etc. I could go on 4ever! I have officially lost my marbles, and have the whole family looking for them I felt like I got a lot of things done ahead of time, but it's just the last minute packing and errands, plus add the fact of your nerves being somewhat fried, doesn't help. My daughter is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 7:45am, & have to be there at 6am. The hospital just called & gave all the restrictions & instructions. It is a good idea to have your daughters teeth cleaned and checked b4 surgery. After surgery, she will probably need to be covered by an antibiotic b4 any cleaning for 2yrs. Good luck to you! Tracy

[Beckymk]

After surgery, she will probably need to be covered by an antibiotic b4 any cleaning for 2yrs. Good luck to you! Tracy

Ahh...I was wondering the timeframe. Nobody has ever told us, just I've heard through the grapevine "antibotics after surgery" -- I'm thinking does this mean FOREVER? or what.

Good Luck with the surgery. I'm sure your marbles are extremely lost right now. Hang in there.

I'm very thankful that they admit us the night before the surgery, so I don't have to remember all the restrictions myself.

[Snoopy]

Becky,

I know it is hard, but try not to sweat the small stuff. Just think, if you don't get the sweeper run before surgery, someone else will do it for you or it will be waiting for you when you get home! I know, the weeks before surgery are very stressful. Whenever possible, let someone else do things for you. If you keep this up, you'll wear yourself down and get sick. You need to remember to take care of yourself right now as well as during Carolyn's recovery.

As for the antibiotics after surgery for dental appointments, that depends on the doctor. My daughter's doctor ordered them for one year post-op as a precaution. She needed them for every appointment where the skin could be broken and made to bleed--dentist appointment, ect. When I asked Jamie's doctor if she'll need pre-medicated, he looked at me with a shocked look, like wow, how did you know about that? I explained that my mom has artificial knee joints and is always pre-medicated and will be for life. He explained that the back is more self-contained and protected than, say the knees, therefore antibiotics are not necessary for life. Hope this helps.

Mary Lou

[babachi]

Becky,
Mary Lou's right. Whatever doesn't get done can wait. I remember before Jesse had his surgery that I felt like there was so much to do before the Big Day. There's this urge to get everything done. I think part of it is to keep our minds occupied.
As far as the antibiotics, before complications, Jesse was on a 10 day treatment. I haven't heard from our doc about antibiotics for dentist appointments. I'll have to ask on the 22nd.
Bethany

[pmsmom]

My daughter is scheduled for surgery tomorrow at 7:45am, & have to be there at 6am. The hospital just called & gave all the restrictions & instructions. It is a good idea to have your daughters teeth cleaned and checked b4 surgery. After surgery, she will probably need to be covered by an antibiotic b4 any cleaning for 2yrs. Good luck to you! Tracy

Good luck on your dd's surgery.

Keep us posted when you can!

Marian

[debbei]

Becky,

I know how you feel. For me, prior to my surgery, it seemed like my life and kids were all spiraling out of control. The good part was, it had me so busy, that I had less time to worry about the surgery. I suppose that was a good thing. People would ask me how I was doing and how I was handling the fact that surgery was coming up so soon, and I responded that I didn't have time to worry about it because the rest of my life was such a disaster!! In the end, everything that had to get done did, and life carried on.

Good luck getting through the time before your daughter's surgery. This is the hardest part.

[WNCmom]

On the antibiotics before dental appointment, we were told it was necessary for one year post-op.

Good luck--I know you and Carolyn will do great!

Mary Ellen

[txmarinemom]

I've never been told antibiotics are necessary for me. Good thing, because I'm 100% against abx unless absolutely necessary. I've been fighting a respiratory thing the last week and while every one around me caved to antibiotics, I refused. I'm 95% well now, while everyone else around me is 75%, and have 5 days left to take of their meds. Maybe because they take them so often?

Even joint replacement patient aren't really recommended by the ADA to have prophylactic antibiotics. Say hello to the reason I MUST have them before and during surgery from a prior MRSA infection ... SUPERBUGS.

Patients and doctors created MRSA, VRSA, VRE, etc. via overuse and misuse. Do you really want to be resistant to a med if you NEED it? I have 2 that are effective for me ... Bactrim and Vanco - and I don't.

My $.02.

Regards,
Pam

[pmsmom]

On the antibiotics before dental appointment, we were told it was necessary for one year post-op.

Good luck--I know you and Carolyn will do great!

Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen--does the dentist prescribe them for your dd to take beforehand or does she start the day of?

Pam--I agree with you. In our case, dd is SO allergic to most antibiotics, she cannot take them "just b/c" or even as a preventative.

Marian

[WNCmom]

Pam--

I'm interested to hear your perspective. I, too, think antibiotics are overprescribed, and my son never had a single one before fusion surgery. I didn't know it might be safe to refuse them for dental work. Now I know I can at least ask about that. I don't know what I'll do--we haven't gotten there yet.

Marian--

We haven't run into having them prescribed yet, because Sidney hasn't been to the dentist yet post-op. He is definitely going to need braces, so we anticipate having to deal with it. I think I remember the surgeon saying that we should ask the dentist for a prescription, and I also think I remember something about the patient taking them the day of, one hour before the dental work. But I think these things vary between surgeons. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Other than crowding, Sidney also has pretty good teeth--he has no cavities. Maybe we should skip a visit and wait a year post-op for a checkup. Then the antibiotics won't be an issue....

Mary Ellen

[alwayzsomethin']

Marian, your dds can call in an antibiotic, or your reg. dr. The premed is up to your dr. Some dr's recommend it others don't. The dosage is(at least for an adult) 2grams 1hr. prior to appt. Then nothing later.
Also, I saw your post on hardware. My daughters surgeon uses a lot of stainless steel, but he decided to use titanium with my daughter. He didn't really say one was better than the other. He just said you wouldn't ever be able to have an MRI of the back, with SS. So he went with the titanium that way. Tracy

[pmsmom]

[QUOTE=
We haven't run into having them prescribed yet, because Sidney hasn't been to the dentist yet post-op. He is definitely going to need braces, so we anticipate having to deal with it. I think I remember the surgeon saying that we should ask the dentist for a prescription, and I also think I remember something about the patient taking them the day of, one hour before the dental work. But I think these things vary between surgeons. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Other than crowding, Sidney also has pretty good teeth--he has no cavities. Maybe we should skip a visit and wait a year post-op for a checkup. Then the antibiotics won't be an issue....

Mary Ellen[/QUOTE]

Oh my goodness! Thanks for bringing the subject up about the braces! I didn't even think of that!

Dd is being monitored by her orthodontist to see when he should begin treatment.

I did bring up with the surgeon at our visit in October that dd was scheduled for braces and would that affect her being able to go ahead with treatment.
At that time, he said no. But I will ask him again about orthodontic treatment if she needs the antibiotics.

At this point, I would go ahead with the surgery and put off the braces for the teeth. Dd's orthodontist is only checking her every 6 months right now anyway. She has 9 adult teeth missing (congenitally) so he's trying to preserve her baby teeth as long as possible. She is also a candidate for implants. I told her she'd be the new bionic woman!

He was concerned that she'd be going away for college and tries to have the kids out of orthodontic treatment by then, and I told him that we were looking at schools close to home so she could commute. He was more relieved after that feeling that he could monitor her through college.

Thanks for bringing that up!

Marian

[pmsmom]

Marian, your dds can call in an antibiotic, or your reg. dr. The premed is up to your dr. Some dr's recommend it others don't. The dosage is(at least for an adult) 2grams 1hr. prior to appt. Then nothing later.
Also, I saw your post on hardware. My daughters surgeon uses a lot of stainless steel, but he decided to use titanium with my daughter. He didn't really say one was better than the other. He just said you wouldn't ever be able to have an MRI of the back, with SS. So he went with the titanium that way. Tracy

Thanks for your post, Tracy! I thought that the antibiotics would need to be taken for their full regular course. Dd would probably be ok with them for a few days. She usually develops a reaction after about 5-7 days.

Thanks, too, for your input on the instrumentation. I had heard the thing about not being able to have future MRIs with SS, so that will be something else that I bring up with him.

Marian