Pre-Surgery Jitters - HELP!!!
- Thread starter creblue
- Start date
- Status
Creblue....I have moved your post to its own thread where people can provide individualized support. You'll get more visibility this way and hopefully more calming advice from those who have been down the hip replacement road before you.
prairienut
senior
Yes, creblue, I understand the nerves that hit before surgery.! At 58, I thought I was too young to be needing this surgery. This forum helped me realize that many others much younger than me have had to face it. I walked my Labrador retriever every day the week prior to surgery to make my hip hurt and remind me why I was doing it! I had a spinal with sedation for anesthesia. I don't remember a thing and felt comfortable in the recovery room. The hospital staff are very aware of the need for pain management in the early days, and I got what I needed. I happened to have a distressing anxiety reaction to the pain meds the day or two after surgery, but I understand this is quite rare, and it was dealt with effectively. I was discharged on the 3rd post-op day, was allowed full weight bearing as tolerated, and could negotiate stairs at that point. Outpatient physical therapy started on the 6th post-op day and has been a godsend. At 2 weeks, I am starting to taper off my pain meds and using only the cane to get around. So I would say overall, the experience has been a challenge for me but well worth the results I am getting.
The best of luck to you. Feel free to send a private message with any additional questions.
Gail
hurtingbuthopeful
member
Hi Creblue - so happy that your surgery is scheduled! It can be a bit nerve wracking to have elective surgery. I think it human nature to second guess yourself. The bottom line is how much longer can you go on in your present state? I opted for surgery when I realized that my life was being compromised too much with no natural end in sight,. Yes, It can be challenging as Gail said, but the outcome is most certainly worth it. I am in my 7th week post op and even now, every day is better. I am so happy that I bit the bullet and had it done now. I can't wait to go hiking again! Something that will be happening in my very near future.
So try to stay calm and post here when you can't. Everyone is here for you!
So try to stay calm and post here when you can't. Everyone is here for you!
Troweltalk
graduate
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 591
- Age
- 68
- Gender
- Male
- Country
United States
Being nervous about the surgery is a very natural reaction, I went back and forth about calling it off at least a dozen times. What got me through it was research. I satisfied myself that I ahd already taken every action i could and that I was not going to get better without the surgery, in fact I was going to get much worse...
I'm in my 50's but have a young son who is rapidly approaching the teen years, and I wanted to walk a few more trails, climb a few more hills, play a little more ball games, go on a few more bike rides before he was too old to want to hang out with the old man instead of his friends. I found a lot of courage in those thoughts.
I'm in my 50's but have a young son who is rapidly approaching the teen years, and I wanted to walk a few more trails, climb a few more hills, play a little more ball games, go on a few more bike rides before he was too old to want to hang out with the old man instead of his friends. I found a lot of courage in those thoughts.
TBONE
senior
Credblue--I even remember on the date of surgery, after having my legs shaved, while on the pre-op table, that I had an urge to run out of there. Of course I didn't and that was a great decision.
tom
tom
YoungM
graduate
Creblue -You still have some time for your surgery. Try not to worry at all -it won't get you anywhere. Something I did was made a list of everything I can't wait to do once I'm healed (walk the entire mall without pain, take an exercise class, etc). It helped get me excited instead of scared for surgery.
You will do great! I'm 4.5 weeks out from surgery -my date was 3/17/09. Each week is getting better and better.
You will do great! I'm 4.5 weeks out from surgery -my date was 3/17/09. Each week is getting better and better.
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
It's fear of the unknown - always a horrid thing to contemplate because there's nothing for you to envisage. But someone said on here how a nurse had told her "It might be overwhelming for you, but for us it's just another day at work!" In other words, they know what they're doing and they'll take really good care of you as they do everybody else.
HopAlong
graduate
That is excellent advice Melissa!!!!
Making a list of all the new things you will be able to do after surgery, gives you something to offset the fear.
I tortured myself with fear and anxiety for months before surgery-----and it was all for nothing! The anxiety was the worst part of the whole surgery.
The surgery went so smoothly that it was easy to forget. The only thing that was uncomfortable was the IV and catheters for a minute or two, and done! The rest you will have no memory of, and in no time it all becomes a distant memory. The time spent in the O.R. is virtually non-existant. To you it will literally be done in a blink of an eye. You will not even know the time went by.
After you leave the hospital, you have bigger and better things to think about, and you will quickly forget the hospital stay.
Keep busy so you won't have time to torture yourself with anxiety for nothing. Write your list as Melissa suggested, and consider a new hobby to keep yourself distracted. There are tons of free online games to keep your mind off things too. Some good ones are at pogo.com
Hop
Making a list of all the new things you will be able to do after surgery, gives you something to offset the fear.
I tortured myself with fear and anxiety for months before surgery-----and it was all for nothing! The anxiety was the worst part of the whole surgery.
The surgery went so smoothly that it was easy to forget. The only thing that was uncomfortable was the IV and catheters for a minute or two, and done! The rest you will have no memory of, and in no time it all becomes a distant memory. The time spent in the O.R. is virtually non-existant. To you it will literally be done in a blink of an eye. You will not even know the time went by.
After you leave the hospital, you have bigger and better things to think about, and you will quickly forget the hospital stay.
Keep busy so you won't have time to torture yourself with anxiety for nothing. Write your list as Melissa suggested, and consider a new hobby to keep yourself distracted. There are tons of free online games to keep your mind off things too. Some good ones are at pogo.com
Hop
Troweltalk
graduate
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2008
- Messages
- 591
- Age
- 68
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
I would have to agree with this analogy 100%. Much to do about nothing; i was concerned over the surgery, and as Hop said, that was a piece of cake. Now taking your first bowel movement a few days post-op; not THAT is something to be afriad of!!! ;-)
![[Bonesmart.org] Pre-Surgery Jitters - HELP!!!](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='240' height='240' viewBox%3D'0 0 240 240'%2F%3E "[Bonesmart.org] Pre-Surgery Jitters - HELP!!!")
YoungM
graduate
Exactly Mud!!!!! That was a struggle! LOL
DianeC
junior member
I wonder why they don't provide a mild laxative after surgery. After my older kids were born I was told to keep taking stool softeners which didn't help at all, at least at first. When my youngest was born I was given a dose milk of magnesia or something for two days; what a difference that made!
Ah well, something else to look forward to when I have my surgery.
Diane
Ah well, something else to look forward to when I have my surgery.
Diane
HopAlong
graduate
It must be the iron and the pain meds they give you that turns everyhing to cement. But I took Benefiber instead of Dulcolax, and I didn't have any problem at all. That stuff is great, I think it also helps with weight loss too.
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
Ok - time for another of my mini-lectures!
Mostly constipation is caused by a lack of tone and muscle activity (known as peristalsis) in the large gut. So your period of fasting pre-op followed by the enforced fasting the day of surgery and probably one or two days after will be sufficient to result in an empty gut and low muscular activity. Low fluid intake in this period will exacerbate it as well for hard, dry stools will naturally be less bulky. Not rocket science thus far.
Then you add to it the muscle lethargy from the spinal or the general anaesthetic and the pain killers like paracetamol or codeine, and you're already ¾ the way to being severely bound up!
To correct it you can do two things -
~ take a bowel stimulant/laxative like Dulcolax or Senekot. Milk of Magnesia is a stimulant as well, but milder than the other two.These can often give you cramps while the bowel is 'cranking up' ready to evacuate it's contents. Not nice.
~ or you can take bulking agents that go under names like Fibrogel or Benefibre which create plenty of substance in the gut and stimulates it into action in the most normal way. Bran as in breakfast cereals, fruit and vegetables can do much the same thing.
Prunes, figs and such are a kind of combination as the fresh or dried fruit will provide the bulk but the stuff itself is also a stimulant. It's all a matter of personal choice really. But I'd always recommend a bulking agent first in these situations. Much more natural and kinder to one's 'parts'.
Mostly constipation is caused by a lack of tone and muscle activity (known as peristalsis) in the large gut. So your period of fasting pre-op followed by the enforced fasting the day of surgery and probably one or two days after will be sufficient to result in an empty gut and low muscular activity. Low fluid intake in this period will exacerbate it as well for hard, dry stools will naturally be less bulky. Not rocket science thus far.
Then you add to it the muscle lethargy from the spinal or the general anaesthetic and the pain killers like paracetamol or codeine, and you're already ¾ the way to being severely bound up!
To correct it you can do two things -
~ take a bowel stimulant/laxative like Dulcolax or Senekot. Milk of Magnesia is a stimulant as well, but milder than the other two.These can often give you cramps while the bowel is 'cranking up' ready to evacuate it's contents. Not nice.
~ or you can take bulking agents that go under names like Fibrogel or Benefibre which create plenty of substance in the gut and stimulates it into action in the most normal way. Bran as in breakfast cereals, fruit and vegetables can do much the same thing.
Prunes, figs and such are a kind of combination as the fresh or dried fruit will provide the bulk but the stuff itself is also a stimulant. It's all a matter of personal choice really. But I'd always recommend a bulking agent first in these situations. Much more natural and kinder to one's 'parts'.
Judles
alpha
Sounds great on paper and in theory! I was the prune queen in the hospital! The nurses were very sweet & tried to make things come along! Then one day............
It was a VERY good day!!!.
It was a VERY good day!!!
.- Status
