Everything was exactly as it had been explained to me. As I mentioned before, I had my surgery at a spine surgery center, not the regular hospital. I think this had huge advantages! I went to my “suite” (large room w/sitting area and TV, bed and bathroom). The nurse came with me. I had been prepared that they would be doing a urine pregnancy test that morning. I am glad I knew about this because since there is no food or liquids after midnight the night before, I waited till I got there to go to the bathroom! I got into the gown, the anesthesiologist came in, got IV going (pretty much pain free thanks to EMLA cream!), and my family was allowed to come into the room with me. I was getting more nervous by the second and kept asking for more meds. They finally hit me with a big dose because I was freaking and crying. I was not exaggerating when I said I would be on the verge of a massive panic attack! That dose did the trick. I do not remember being wheeled out of room into surgery. Thank God! I did not want to be aware of the elevator ride with all those strangers, nor did I want to see the surgery room!
The next thing I remember is a lot of commotion and a nurse with a Slovak accent talking to me and feeding me ice. I did my best to become conscious and eat the ice. I knew I had to be aware, empty my bladder and walk before I could go home. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible! My family came back in, the surgeon and anesthesiologist both came in and talked to us, I passed my requirements for release, and we were out of there! I was back home by 11am.
That day I was so pumped full of anesthesia and other drugs that mostly I slept. I would wake up, get up, walk around the house a couple of minutes, eat a bite or two, then go back to sleep. This is exactly what I was supposed to do the day of surgery.
I was very nervous about the pain meds. I knew I could not take Loratab or Darvocet. They gave me Percocet. I was scared to death it would make me throw up, and I felt if I threw up, I would die. The anesthesiologist had counseled us that if my pain was tolerable (3 or so on a 1-10 scale) that I could just take Tylenol. So the day of surgery and most of the day after, this is what I did.
They had also given me Phenergan suppositories in case the Percocet made me nauseated. If I used one of those at the first sign of nausea, it should stop me from throwing up. To me, this seemed like a poor option. I don’t like the thought of taking one med to counteract the side effects of another. Secondly, they usually give patients a steroid dose pack in addition to pain meds, but I knew from past experience that I cannot tolerate the oral steroids. For those who can take them, the steroids probably help immensely.
(Disclaimer: These are my observations about my surgery and recovery only. I am not a medical professional. I do not in any way intend for these observations to be used as medical advice or guidance. Please discuss with your physicians any questions, concerns, etc you may have.)
