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So how did you respond when you were going to have surgery?

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Posted 10/7/2008 7:27 PM (GMT 0)
cry  Yep in my fifties and I cried my head off .Can laugh about it now. Just wandering what your funny stories were.I remember for my abcess surgery the person who drove me to the hospital came in and I didn't even know who she was. smhair lol gail
Posted 10/7/2008 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
My first was in '84. I was a bit scared. I was 24. I don't remember crying. My surgeon told me afterward that when he had removed a piece of the colon that it was as hard as a lead pipe! He banged it on the table!! He thought that was rather funny, and, so did I!! My second was the next year in '85. The one coming up is my 3rd. I feel a bit confused. I hope for remission, but recall it only lasted a few months previously. Maybe I can eat more afterward? How long will it take for the strictures to return? All these things are going through my mind. Like I said, confused.
Posted 10/7/2008 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
Gee as hard as a lead pipe I cain't even imagine what it looked like. lol gail
Posted 10/7/2008 9:39 PM (GMT 0)
Was not afraid when I had my heart surgery. They did the last test and told me I needed bypass. I asked when and if they wanted to schedule it and I would come back. Doc said , " you dont understand,,I mean ,,NOW!" So had it early next morning because they did not have a surgeon available right then. The funny part was, they have to give you something to paralyze you so you dont try to breath when the breathing machine is working. The trick is to pull the tube out just as you do start breathing. Well old Sniper codes about that time and they have to push my wife out of the room. Shes outside thinking im a gonner. What had happened is as I woke and started to try to breath I bit down on the tube of the breathing machine. I told my wife after that they pushed her out of the room so she would not see them slapping me and shouting ,," Let Go Of The Tube Stupid,,Your Killing Yourself !!!!"
Posted 10/7/2008 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Good heavens Sniper why didn't they just let your wife smack you around? Think of the fun she missed out on. Will say though that thank goodness for us you let go. We'd be a sorry bunch without you. I think if you ever have surgery again your wife needs to insist they remove your teeth first. lol gail
Posted 10/8/2008 3:53 AM (GMT 0)
Thats one thing that is ok and I'm hanging on to my teeth for as long as I can. Guess you can say I've been holding on, BY , my teeth ,,so why not . Maybe thats what takes a bite out of all this DD..
Posted 10/8/2008 4:23 AM (GMT 0)
well for me the first was when i was 21 and all alone in wyoming. i told them not to tell my folks untill after it was over. all the ones after that were , eh. no big deal for me i never really have worried about it or been one to get all upset. what bothers me more is everyone else getting all nervous. i mean hey if something goes wrong i wont know it, ill be out. which of course has happened but why worry... i have enjoyed each of mine to some extent cause they all in the long run solved some problem. couple cause some others but they were fixed the next time.
Posted 10/8/2008 12:34 PM (GMT 0)

I find out/ get to decide this friday if I should have surgery or try a better diet and new meds before going under the knife.  Five Blockage related attacks in 6 weeks and then the 6th one ...very mild (2  to 3 hours) last night.

my biggest concern is not the surgery but rather the chunk of time it will take out of my schedule...and once they start will this become an ongoing occurance.

Crohns has really changed my way of acceptance...i used to worry about things and fret over upcoming events...now I just want them over so i can get on doing what I need to do.  I used to be so afraid of needles and blood that the sight of either could cause me to grow faint and get all wobbly in the legs....now I give myself shots...I have held the vials of blood for the tech's during some of my blood tests....

the thought of surgery just makes me angry....does anyone know how long you are out of commision for a simple resection of the small intestine?   I am told they just make a few small holes and no longer do the big incision....hopefully this helps reduce the recovery time.

Is it practical to think that if I have the surgery on a friday...i could be home by Saturday or sunday and back to work by monday or tuesday with travels starting the following monday?

Posted 10/8/2008 1:44 PM (GMT 0)
hspencer nope that is not realistic at all to have surgery on a Friday then back to work by Monday. Even with surgery done via lap you are in the hospital for at least 4 days. And the recovery is going to be at least 2-3 weeks minimum. Plus they may go in there planning to do it via lap then have to convert to open surgery because they can't reach the parts they need to with the lap. That's what happened to me with my first surgery.

As for how I reacted when I found out I had to have surgery, I was glad that I was hopefully going to get some relief from the excrutiating pain of the obstruction, which I did. It was a little more traumatic for me afterwards, than before, because I was shocked that I had an 8" incision vs the 3-4 little holes that were there too because of the failed lap. I did not expect the amount of pain I experienced. With the second one, I just wanted to feel better, and just wanted the surgery over so I wasn't too anxious about it.
Posted 10/8/2008 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
Yikes Hspencer wow your pushing it nope 4 days isn't alot of time.

Randy your a tuff one . I kind of enjoyed getting that extra care.

Nanners Yep getting rid of the pain is good good good.
Posted 10/8/2008 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
You def won't be going back to work on Monday if you have the surgery on Friday!! I had my surgery on Thursday and got out of the hospital the following Thursday. I was laid up for about 3-4 weeks before I really started feeling better. You can't do any lifting or vigorus activity for 8 weeks according to my surgeon. I was planning on lap surgery but ended up with an open cut of 7 1/2 inches once they got in there.

I was very anxious about my surgery. I knew it had to be done because I was feeling like crap all the time, but the thought of what MIGHT happen and the recovery was scary. I cried the first day and the morning of the surgery when I was leaving my then 21 month old daughter. At the hospital they gave me pain meds that helped relax me a little cause I was about to panic as it got closer. Now it was totally worth it but leading up to it I was second guessing having it done.

GOODLUCK to all who are about to have it done!!!

Posted 10/8/2008 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Yes it can be nerve racking but what a relief when things feel better. lol gali
Posted 10/8/2008 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
I think I was in denial when I had my resection last year, although I did I try to read as many posts as I could on here and took some of the good advice/experiences and put them into use after op. I guess next time will be scarier knowing what I know now.
This was a good post Gail, I had'nt really thought much of how I was feeling about having to have surgery.
Jo
Posted 10/9/2008 1:30 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Jo it is good to get a lot of prospective on things from people. It doesn't scare me now as much as it did before because I now know I did it .lol gail
Posted 10/9/2008 2:30 AM (GMT 0)
Gail,
Further surgery still scares me. even though I know what to expect. Im hoping its like child birth, pain that you forget about after a period of time :) Jo.
Posted 10/9/2008 3:22 AM (GMT 0)

By the time I finally decided to have the surgery, I was just so tired of being miserable, in pain and housebound that I was ready for ANYTHING.  As a matter of fact, I went into my surgery expecting to have a total colectomy and eventual J-pouch.  8" incision and the Surgeon pulled everything out for a good look-see and found only one localized area of very diseased colon so he removed only that (resection) and connected the two ends back together to keep waste removal bagless and an inside-job.

I feel great now.  Still having some symptoms, but I feel wonderful.  Much, MUCH better than before and I wish I'd had the surgery sooner...but I had to reach that point where my misery over-rode the fear.

Heidi

Posted 10/9/2008 3:54 AM (GMT 0)
I remember coming out of anesthisia for a surgery and I was crying my husbands name, well they went and go the anesthiaologist....here they both had the same name shakehead
Posted 10/9/2008 4:56 AM (GMT 0)
i think i was glad i was gnna have the surgery i was in so much pain,thou i wsa in hospital 4 13 days,it was real hard,but there was nothing els ei cld do it wasnt like i cld just say no i dont want to do this anymore (even thou i did many times) its what i had to do think it was harder for my mum watching me go thru it
Posted 10/9/2008 6:04 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't had any resections yet (hopefully never will *knock on wood*). But I did have my gallbladder out, and a rectal fistula surgery. I also cried. I tend to be a big baby over surgery!
Posted 10/9/2008 9:53 AM (GMT 0)
Hi That calling the same name as your husband's was funny.

I know it just seems to let the old flood gates open up a little but it does reduce the stress. lol gail
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