Surgery with Dr. Lenke

[Doreen1]

You'll need loose fitting clothes - sweatpants or dance pants and a button down shirt. NO jeans! Comfort is the key. I wish you ALL THE BEST! I'm happy you are having it done soon. My surgery will be a year December 7th, and I didn't mind at all not celebrating the holidays - getting my back better was the BEST gift there is. GOOD LUCK! LYNN

Looks like I have some shopping to do! I also have a note to myself, that according to TiEd a bottle of magnesium citrate is a must have. Ed, how soon do I start taking that stuff? Is it pill, powder, liquid?

Warmly,
Doreen

[Mojo's Mom]

That is fantastic news. Hopefully you can get the November date and get an early christmas present and start the new year with a new you. Looking forward to hearing the news

Kayde, I'm going to take that perspective as an indication that you are feeling a lot better!

Another advantage to the November date is it means you have hardly any time to worry and start freaking out.

[golfnut]

Doreen,
I was able to put shirts on over my head from the very beginning, but it wouldn't hurt to have a couple of button down the front tops just in case. I bought Sketcher slip on tennis shoes that I wore with jogging suits every day until we started going out to lunch or dinner. The Ketchers worked great for walking and no one had to tie my shoes for me. They were not the the ones without a heel where you could slip out of but ones that didn't have shoestrings.

[Doreen1]

Just got back from Walmart and picked up several jogging/yoga pants. I also got the special juice TiEd recommended. The pharmacist suggested I mix it with a sprite to be a tad bit tastier. I also picked up several food things that we like (bars, peanut butter, squeezable applesauce, etc.).

Kelly called from Lenke's office and said that the hospital (as far as getting tests done) is running on a half day schedule for Wednesday. All my pre-op will be Tuesday and final meeting with Lenke Wed morning. I'm a ninny when it comes to needles so Kelly said I'll get a special cocktail for when the central line gets put in Friday. I'll be sure to pack my Skecher slipons and my new slippers.

One of the docs called me today because I'm participating in the Lenke/Bridwell study. I need to do a treadmill test Tuesday. He said they like to see patients walk one mile in one hour. I told him no problem because I've been walking 3 miles in one hour. He said this will be a nice easy walk for me.

Off to sushi dinner with my daughter and then to pick up hubby from airport.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Marina63]

Bras

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but you won't be able to wear a bra for a while. I was about 2 months post op before I could wear one. Had to go to a job interview at 6 weeks but fortunately had a loose shirt. I wore tank tops underneath my clothes and that helped. I was home most of the time those first six weeks but once I started working, tanks with a loose blouse over.

I read somewhere on the forum that someone wore tube tops. Never thought of that one. May be something to consider.

[TwinmomTN]

Don't forget about raised potty seat. That is not provided from what
I've read here. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Doreen1]

Don't forget about raised potty seat. That is not provided from what
I've read here. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, I just ordered one and got it last week. ;-)

Warmly,
Doreen

[Mojo's Mom]

One mile in one hour? Are you serious? Wow, I would hope we could all do that, and if not, I would wonder how we would fare with the surgery.

Of course, after walking one mile my left leg is screaming and my foot is tingly bordering on numb...but that's got nothing to do with my endurance, and I'm done in 15 minutes with stops for the dog to pee and sniff, etc....thank goodness for my elliptical trainer, my bike and my pool.

[Doreen1]

I've had an extremely busy day today; up since 5:30a, my daughter did an event with the Atlanta Falcons this morning, pulmonary function test, had to get keys copied, back to Walmart to buy button down shirts, pick up Rx, got car cleaned, daughter's French project wouldn't transmit to teacher, etc.

Pulmonary test results are within normal range. :-) Unfortunately, I've shrunk some more since I saw Dr. Lenke in September. I'm now 5'6", 4" loss this year. The woman who did the test had me stretch my arms out on each side and she measured me fingertip to fingertip which measured exactly 5'10".

I'm physically/mentally wiped out this evening. Hubby bought some wine which is quite delightful at the moment.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Elisa]

A four inch loss in height eh? That is quite substantial. My son gained four inches in height after his second surgery and I wonder if you will do the same? When we were at Elias' six month checkup at the end of October, he'd gained an inch and so now he's six feet tall. Just for fun I got her to measure my height and I've gone from 5'9" to 5'8" and I don't have scoliosis! It's age related apparently, lol.

[titaniumed]

Doreen

You keep Magnesium Citrate around handy like Clint Eastwood did dynamite....When need be, he would throw a stick for effect. lol It’s a little slower, instead of 5 seconds it takes about 3 hours. It will save an embarrassing trip to the emergency room.

It’s a liquid sold over the counter that comes in different flavors, sold in a bottle that looks like a soda. Look in the laxative section. About $1.20 per bottle.

Wiki has a list of foods that will help in this matter. Sip on water all the time....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxative

Opoid constipation is extremely painful. It seems that anyone that takes meds ultimately ends up with this problem to some degree or another. You can go every day and still get constipated.

One thing that happens when taking meds is you build up an immunity. After a while, its seems they don’t work as well anymore. I don’t know if this happens with Colace, but it sure seemed like that happened to me. I was told never to take x-lax.

If you use the Mag Citrate, you will drain your system of electrolytes and you will feel pretty bad. I used pedialyte to replenish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedialyte

Ed

[golfnut]

Doreen,
Losing 4 inches is enough to tell you that you are making the right decision! I hope you enjoyed your wine!

[Doreen1]

Doreen

You keep Magnesium Citrate around handy like Clint Eastwood did dynamite....When need be, he would throw a stick for effect. lol It’s a little slower, instead of 5 seconds it takes about 3 hours. It will save an embarrassing trip to the emergency room.

It’s a liquid sold over the counter that comes in different flavors, sold in a bottle that looks like a soda. Look in the laxative section. About $1.20 per bottle.

Wiki has a list of foods that will help in this matter. Sip on water all the time....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxative

Opoid constipation is extremely painful. It seems that anyone that takes meds ultimately ends up with this problem to some degree or another. You can go every day and still get constipated.

One thing that happens when taking meds is you build up an immunity. After a while, its seems they don’t work as well anymore. I don’t know if this happens with Colace, but it sure seemed like that happened to me. I was told never to take x-lax.

If you use the Mag Citrate, you will drain your system of electrolytes and you will feel pretty bad. I used pedialyte to replenish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedialyte

Ed

Is one serving the entire bottle? When should I drink it; while still in the hospital?

Warmly,
Doreen

[walkingmom]

magnesium citrate

Is one serving the entire bottle? When should I drink it; while still in the hospital?

Warmly,
Doreen

Hi Doreen,
That magnesium citrate is some potent stuff! I'm not sure when others used it, but I used it after being home for a few days when I found that MiraLax, Senna & other stool softeners weren't as effective. I believe the instructions state to drink 1/2 to a full bottle at one time. I was only able to drink 1/2 of the bottle and then the other half a few hours later. After it works, be sure to increase your daily liquid intake and watch your diet because those narcotics are tough on the system. Best of luck to you!
Donna

[leahdragonfly]

Hi Doreen,

Congratulations on getting your date moved up--you will be on the road to recovery that much sooner.

Try not to get too stressed out about the last-minute preparations. You don't need to bring much AT ALL to the hospital (I used my toothbrush and my own undies/pads since I got my period right after surgery). Other than that you don't need much. Oh, bring some easy to slip on and off slippers or house shoes.

There is a long thread about bowel management post-op, you can find it if you search for constipation. It is definitely no fun. As soon as I got home I started Colace, Senokot and Miralax. I still ended up painfully constipated and needed mag citrate ("the bomb"). I stayed on all these laxatives for several weeks, then Miralax alone for several months.

I would also strongly recommend that your family get your discharge prescriptions filled the day before you go home, so that your meds will be available as soon as you leave the hospital, when you need them. My husband was given my discharge prescriptions but the mean hospital pharmacist didn't want to fill them because we live 2 hours from the hospital and the hospital pharmacy is out of network, so he would have had to pay cash for the scripts. Unfortunately my husband is not pushy enough in those situations, so we left Portland with no meds in hand, 2 hours since my last meds and 2 hours from home. I suffered extreme pain on the car ride home, so bad that my husband dropped me off at home to go to bed (my inlaws were there caring for me also). He went directly to the local Safeway pharmacy, but they balked at filling such large quantities of pain meds, and told him he should go back to Portland to fill the scripts! Then he went to our local hospital pharmacy where they filled the scripts partially, but by the time he got home with the meds my pain was extremely out of control and I was shaking uncontrollably and felt horrible. Just make sure you have plenty of meds in hand when you leave the hospital.

Good luck, and thanks for keeping us updated.