Surgery

[Angela]

I've had two surgeries, in October and November of last year. :P The second one took place a week after the first and was due to complications with the first, haha.

I remember being really nervous the weekend before my surgery (I think it was on a Tuesday or Wednesday?). I felt sick whenever I thought about it and didn't like talking about it or acknowledging it was gonna happen but soon enough, my mindset just switched and I just wanted to get it over with. If you try to think of it that way ("only __ more days until all this is over and I can recover in peace!") then it takes off a lot of the stress and I know it really helped me.

lulz, tl;dr details now:

Spoiler:

At any rate, my first surgery was a laproscopy and it seemed to go really well. (Turns out it was kind of for nothing but that's almost another story. xD) I was recovering fairly well after that and was able to go home about 4 or 5 hours after the surgery. Painkillers worked wonderfully and the only immediate problem was when my mom drove me home from the hospital. What was usually a ~20 minute drive turned out to be nearly 2 hours because every block or so, she had to pull over into a side street or something because I was just so carsick. x_o It was absolutely horrible, seriously. I feel so bad because it must've been so boring for her. XD;

So recovery was supposed to take about a week and if it didn't get better everyday, I had to call my doctor. A week later, the incision in my navel was still sort of hurting and the pain wasn't getting as noticeably better as the other ones. So I called up my doctor and she had me come into the emergency room the next day and have her paged so she could just take a look even though she was sure it was nothing since it wasn't causing too much pain. Long story short, it was one of the worst days ever and by the time I FINALLY got to see her, it was about 4 PM and that's when we learnt that because I'd had such a rough drive home and had been retching so much on the way home the week before, somehow some fatty tissue had managed to get caught in the incision oh boy. (Apparently it's a really rare happening or something, I dunno.) At any rate, I learnt I needed another surgery so she called it an emergency and scheduled it for about 5 hours later.

And that second surgery... sucked. I wasn't nervous at all going in (and surprised all these nurses xD) mostly because I just wanted to get in, get it done, and go the hell home since by the time I was actually heading into the OR I'd been at the hospital for 12 hours and counting and I was so bored. <_<; But yeah, the procedure went well but afterwards? They put me on morphine and that's when I learnt that I'm allergic to it or something. Nurses didn't believe me when I said it wasn't helping in the immediate recovery room, they just gave me more and wheeled me out despite the fact that I was still in so much pain. Made me itchy, too. At any rate, my mom, who stuck with me the whole time (♥) kept telling them that I wasn't just whining for attention, I was in obvious physical pain. She told me later that she wanted to deck one of the nurses who, after hearing me say how the morphine wasn't effective, looked at my mom and rolled her eyes. >:| After we got me on a different painkiller, though, I was mostly okay. Within an hour or so, I was up and having my mom walk me up and down the halls and I insisted on going home around 3 AM even though they wanted me there all night. After that, recovery hurt a bit more than the last one but that's because it was a bigger incision. This time it actually DID get better everyday and I was back to normal within a week or two. (And they added something to my IV that'd take away the nausea so my drive home was the 20 minutes it was supposed to be, haha.)

Neither of these were huge or anything--common procedures and relatively minor, but that's pretty much it for me.

In all, there's really nothing to worry about if you're getting a standard procedure. Even if something does go a little wrong like with mine, I doubt it'd be a situation they haven't run into before and it's easily fixed. But complications so rarely happen that, honestly, I wouldn't even think twice about it. Just make sure you get lots of rest and relaxation before going in for it and you give yourself plenty of time to recover afterwards and you'll be absolutely fine. ♥

Do you know what your recovery window is? Like how long they'll keep you at the hospital after and how long it'll probably take to get you back to 100%? :O

Wow after reading that story I'm even more nervous, the doctor told me I did not have to stay the night (Do to economy staff has been cut down, so patients get a shorter recovery time, some get non), so when I wake up and have fully woken up I am to be sent home, and I'm not looking forward to the drive home, it takes me 1 and half hour to get to the hospital, since the doctor that is doing the surgery only does it in that hospital, tho he interviewed me in Reykjavík, I have to go to Akranes to have the surgery, well my mom wanted to drive me there, but shes afraid to drive that way (it includes an underwater tunnel, if she were to skip those the drive would take 4 hours), so my grandad has to take me, and I heard my nan was demanding to go with me, so the question is which one will take me, but I know mom will be with me in the car (Not driving), the doctor said that I could not go to gym class for a month, and that I was not allowed to use the hand until the month is up. After hearing your story I'm a bit nervous something will go wrong, and I'm also nervous about if I wake up, and if something will go wrong.
Well only 10 hours and 3 days until my surgery, 3.5 days until it's over.

 

[True Reign]

My dentist performed surgery on me while I was awake. He and an assisstant had to open my gums and move a muscle, so that they can put on my braces.

I didn't feel a thing, but I remember a puss-covered, small thing pop out. Made my mother throw up, lol.

 

[Aether]

I remember having surgery on my right eye back when I was 7. They had to rearrange some of my optical nerves or something, I can't really remember.

Anyway, for the next few weeks afterward I was seeing double-images through my eye. It was really weird.

 

[EmeraldSky]

I had to have back surgery to correct some scoliosis seven years ago--was very painful as all get out.

 

[Cherrim]

Wow after reading that story I'm even more nervous, the doctor told me I did not have to stay the night (Do to economy staff has been cut down, so patients get a shorter recovery time, some get non), so when I wake up and have fully woken up I am to be sent home, and I'm not looking forward to the drive home, it takes me 1 and half hour to get to the hospital, since the doctor that is doing the surgery only does it in that hospital, tho he interviewed me in Reykjavík, I have to go to Akranes to have the surgery, well my mom wanted to drive me there, but shes afraid to drive that way (it includes an underwater tunnel, if she were to skip those the drive would take 4 hours), so my grandad has to take me, and I heard my nan was demanding to go with me, so the question is which one will take me, but I know mom will be with me in the car (Not driving), the doctor said that I could not go to gym class for a month, and that I was not allowed to use the hand until the month is up. After hearing your story I'm a bit nervous something will go wrong, and I'm also nervous about if I wake up, and if something will go wrong.
Well only 10 hours and 3 days until my surgery, 3.5 days until it's over.

Well, like I said, mine was a really rare case. Typically, there are never complications afterwards. Anyway, if you're going to be driving a lot to get back home, you might want to request that they give you something for nausea just in case. My operation was just in the downtown area but if you're driving out that far, you definitely don't wanna have to worry about carsickness or anything. :s

Really, there shouldn't be a problem at all. Just be sure to be extra careful with your wrist for the weeks following the operation and don't exert yourself more than you need to. Chances are you'll be on painkillers for a while afterwards so recovery will seem like it happened in no time.

Just relax and if you're still super nervous about it before you go in, do things to take your mind off it--read a book, watch TV, or just talk with friends.

 

[kissing. raindrops]

Okay, I don't know what the hell I would do if I had to get a surgery, minor or major. I would be so so soooo scared. Like seriously.
I've never had surgery, as you can tell, or ever broken a bone. My friend had heart surgery a while back, he had a hole in his heart from when he was a baby. Must of hurt like hell.

 

[Yamikarasu]

I technically had two minor surgeries, when I had two moles removed. They were kind of big, so it was just to make sure they didn't have cancer, and they didn't, so I'm fine. But now I have two circular scars: one under my chin and one on my back, just below my right shoulder. It wasn't really a big deal at all since all they did was numb the skin and then chisel them out.

If I did have major surgery I probably wouldn't be as scared as some of the people seem to be. I might be nervous to be under anesthesia, but otherwise I would probably just trust the doctors. Most surgeries don't, in fact, go wrong.

 

[Stronkadonk]

Hell, I could use some surgery for my cracked/shattered heels that never got fixed. My cracked arm, too. I'm really not afraid of it. You make my arm die, and it's money in my pocket.

 

[Zennerick]

I've never had surgery of any kind.

Come to think about it, I've never even broken a bone... :cer_eek:

 

[Ruphire]

I would be extremely nervous if I were to have surgery again.
The first time was I had surgery I didn't even know I was going to get it at the time and it took me by surprise. They had to remove something from my back. Thinking of it makes me shiver.

 

[Nick]

Though I was too young to remember this today, I had surgery after busting my chin open at a train station in Trenton, I believe. I was playing with some luggage and fell and hit my chin against the handle of the bench that my family was sitting on. The stitches went rather well, but there's some noticeable flaws in my chin that aren't typical with others. Though you have to be extremely close to see them.

 

[Soul Eater]

The closest I've had to getting surgery was getting my tonsils and adenoids out when I was five. I used to get a lot of ear infections and strep throat, along with tonsillitis So my mom had gotten sick of me getting sick and I had them out. XD

 

[Angela]

I've never had an tooth removed, wow less then 24 hours now.

 

[Nitrous Oxide]

I had my wisdom teeth removed, quick and easy. Of course, even having a few teeth removed has a recovery period, but it's probably worse than most things because you can't chew things for a few days...

 

[♣Gawain♣]

Nope in my whole teenage life. I'm used to watch patients holler in pain in the operating room when I was on duty, and I think it's really for the best.

 

[Lucy Lu]

I had my wisdom teeth taken out(all four of them), and I had to end up with stitches in my mouth. It wasn't too bad because they put me to sleep. Now afterwards my mouth was pretty puffed up. I looked like a chipmunk. XD And I couldn't talk for days, I had to write everything down. But that was minor, I wasn't scared then. Now if I have a major surgery, then I will be scared out of my mind. x.x

But since yours isn't that major, there isn't anything to be worried about. ^_^ Just relax.

 

[Giraffles <3]

Once when I was 5, I had to get an extra piece of ear removed. I wasn't scared or nervous, but I woke up crying like a baby :3.

 

[Micro]

I've never had surgery before but if I will have to get surgery, i'd like...faint or something.

 

[Evilyn]

Yeah, twice. The first time when I was around 4 because of some appendix problem (not really sure what it was, but I almost died because of it ._.) and 3 years ago when a Rottweiler bit my leg. I was terrified both times. Well actually, I'm always when doctors are around me. D:

 

[sonic smash down]

actually had suguery twice, once on the back of my head (split it open after a freak accident on a champion soccer game (dont ask me how it happened XD) and the other i had a small tumor in my arm that needed to be removed.

sure both of them hurt a little but don't worry about it, it usually goes really fast. especially when your arguing with your brother. :P or when your more scared of the shots....geez i still cant get over that fear.

good luck w/ it though and hope everything goes smoothly