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tabitha

Active member
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
27
Location
Canada
Surgery is this Thursday (may 10) and I've gone into panic mode. I am all of a sudden scared of the recovery, scared to wake up with the tube down my throat, scared of the drainage tubes, the IV in my neck and scared to cough. I'm scared of how much pain I'll be in.

Where is this coming from? Well, I guess I do know where...but can someone talk me down from the ledge here?
 
You will be fine.
- Recovery will go great. Just put on your fighting gloves and fight every day to get better.
- When you wake up, you will be pretty drugged up and tube will be but a discomfort. As soon as you breath on your own, they will remove it. My advice is when awake and the tube is there, start sucking air and filling your lungs. They will hopefully remove as fast as mine,
- Drainage tubes will be there and will not be comfy. Though, if I could describe the discomfort, its like dull abs pain after getting punched post running. Not really as bad as we all make it out to be. It will only be several days, so no worries there.
- IV's in your neck do not touch any nerves, so you will not even feel them.

The total pain you will be in will be around 3 out of 10. Just keep medicated ahead of pain threshold. It'll be several days of some discomforts only.

Things are going to be ok. You probably expect a lot worse of pain and discomfort that it will really be.
 
A complete range of emotions is understandable and natural. You will do fine. We are lucky to live in a time and place where our hearts can be fixed by talented doctors. Try to focus on the big picture, instead of the details. We all experience things differently. You will find your own path through this journey and have your own stories to tell on the other 'side of the mountain'.

I wish you all the best for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
 
tabitha i had the same feelings before my op, as gym man says pain 3 out of ten,i was so suprised how painfree i was,you will be fine, now get of the ledge lol
 
I am probably the biggest sissy on the planet and also have zero tolerance for most pain meds. I made it through this ordeal and you will too. What you are imagining is probably way worse than it will really be. Hang in there! It will be ancient history before you know it...I'm at 2 months now and the waiting phase seems like a lifetime ago.
 
When you wake up, you will be pretty drugged up and tube will be but a discomfort. As soon as you breath on your own, they will remove it. My advice is when awake and the tube is there, start sucking air and filling your lungs. They will hopefully remove as fast as mine,
Click to expand...

what do you mean by this? So, I'm able to just start sucking air in and out? Do I do this with my mouth or nose? Wow, those seem like stupid questions :p

Thanks for the comments...I'm a little better this morning. I Just wish they could sedate me from about midnight on Wed to 3 weeks from now! LOL
 
My breathing tube was out before I woke up. The drain tubes and catheter were out before I could really care. Pain was OK and fully managed by the drugs. Post surgery will probably be one of the best days of your life. You made it, no more waiting room, now it's time for recovery.
 
Tabitha, You will do just fine. Just remember that from the time you get to the hospital for check-in, until when you go home each and every nurse and doctor will help you through all this. You are part of their team so just try to stay calm and once you are in either ICU or step down unit, you can control your experience. Just stay ahead of any pain you might feel and if you have discomfort tell someone. Soon all this pre surgery worry will be a thing of the past and you will be home recovering and getting your strength backl. Focus on the prize (a mended heart). I shall keep you in my thoughts. :)
 
Instead of fearing the worst, why not expect the expected? I can tell you the IV line in your neck will not bother you. Also, it is a total convenience because they don't have to stick you for blood tests. I HATE needles, so I thought the IV line in my neck was fabulous. It never bothered me in the slightest, period, and I appreciated not having to be stuck for tests. Also, I was not even aware of the drainage tubes and pacing wire and when they were removed it was a 0 on the pain scale. I was not even aware that those things might be painful until later when some people here said they were. I felt nothing. When I woke up after surgery, the breathing tube was gone. Although I had other problems in recovery (severe anemia, couldn't sleep, stomach did not process food very well, fever, renal dysfunction), I had no pain or discomfort to speak of. Most people have some challenges in recovery. Many have very little pain, like me. Your course is going to be somewhere WAY short of your fears.
 
The IV line in the neck is actually the MOST comfy place to have it, honestly, i've had lots of IV's and thats one i never bother about as it is actually surprisingly comfy and you hardly notice its there (unlike the one in my arm as i type lol).
The pain is very well managed as your hooked to a morphine drip & because of this you can hardly remember the drain tubes or vent you may think you can at the time, but on reflection you can't :)
Good luck for Thursday,
Will be thinking of you,
Love Sarah xxx
 
Just to chime in and agree with all the others.
The line in the neck is your friend. As long as it was there, I didn't have to be poked for more blood tests. They used that line and I felt nothing. It didn't hurt at all when it was in place and no pain when it was removed.

My nurses told me they consider pain control just as important as blood pressure, temperature and other vital signs. They want you comfortable and will keep asking what you describe your pain level to be. They kept me very comfortable post op both my surgeries and I was sent home with pain meds.

I only have vague memory of the breathing tube and no memory of it actually being removed either time. I was so foggy from the anesthesia even after waking that I wasn't bothered with the tube at all.

Many of us consider the wait the worst part of this whole journey.
You will be so relieved when you finally enter the hosptial and hand yourself over to their care. A number of us experienced a feeling of peace and calm at that point.

You'll do fine. Try to keep as busy as you can for the next few days. The busier you are the less you'll think about it.
 
Tabitha, I was wide awake and lucid (though blissfully pain free thanks to the steady feed of opiates!) and had the breathing tube still in. I was not at all shocked to find it there, since like you, I was expecting it. Just breath with it, through your mouth. Don't struggle, accept it. You may breath against it and it will feel a bit disconcerting but just stop, wait, and you'll feel it put air in, and let it out. You can join the process again.

The day after my surgery I was walking around the recovery ward (still blissfully drugged - I don't do OXY anything and I needed to push to get Hydromorphone, a good alternative for those who need it) telling anyone who would listen that I highly recommend heart surgery, and that's it's not one tenth as bad as you'd think.

Good luck with everything, you're going to be just fine. See you here when you're writing to tell about your recovery process before you know it.

Paul
 
The CICU team knows what to do. Most of us are pretty whacked out for 24-48 hours. Vague memories are blurry, nurses come by
and check vitals, push drugs....On day 4 my nurse and I had a fight because I refused the narc pain pills ;) Tylenol was fine.
Take a deep breath, you can do this !
 
You will be fine, It will be hard at first but it gets better. Four months after my surgery I felt good enough to challenge myself and work on a boat in the North Sea and explore my Viking roots. Think of it as just another surgery and go with it, it will save and change your life. The tube will be out soon after you wake, you will be walking the next day and on your way home a day or 2 later. Make a pile of pillows to bury yourself in, take half a sleeping pill at night and move slowly and use your breathing spirometer.
God Speed Tabitha!!!

Jeff
 
Hi Tabitha, I know exactly how you feel as the same things have crossed my mind. I don't remember much from my OHS as a child, but the only pain I do remember was the needle in my hand (I hate needles!) and the 3 seconds of being uncomfortable when they removed the catheter from my 'lady bits'. I'm not sure what to expect when I have my AVR this year as I just remember being in bed a few days and the next minute colouring in the playroom. I guess I'm a bit disappointed I won't be allowed to play with the toys now I'm in my 30's, but I may sneak my colouring book in :)

All the best and look forward to hearing about your speedy recovery :)
(wow, what a change from all my negative thoughts about my own surgery!)

Jo x
 
I'm just offering my 20 mills (a mill was 1/10 of cent, back when the penny could actually buy something). I think most of us in here have gone through OHS. I did about 150 years ago (maybe not quite THAT long), and it was ALMOST elective for me ('how sick do I HAVE to be before you fix my heart?'). There are lots more trained, experienced heart surgeons today than when I had my AVR - and you'll undoubtedly be in good hands from the minute you walk into that hospital's doors.

As others have said, it's the waiting and anticipation that are the worst part of the whole thing. I don't remember pain. I don't remember an IV in my neck (maybe they didn't do them in the neck back then), but I do remember all kinds of tubes. I remember waking up in recovery, and taking it easy in the hospital room for a few days. I was able to get caught up on reading.

Worrying about something you can't control won't help you get through this. Relax, anticipate the end result and, if you can, perhaps even try to enjoy it.
 
I woke up with the breathing tube...actually managed to vomit around it, so I can't say I ever accepted or worked with it. Maybe that was a blessing because it was taken out pretty quickly at that point. While it was in, I was coherent enough to write notes to the nurse.

The neck IV didn't hurt while it was in or when it was out, but it did give me a crick in my neck. I don't really know if I couldn't move my neck or was just too afraid, either way, the lack of moving caused some stiffness.

I couldn't stand the opiates or any other "strong" or effective pain meds. For the first few days, I was either nauseous or in pain or both.

So it sounds like I probably had it pretty rough, doesn't it? Even with all that, I can honestly say, it was WAY easier than I was expecting. The morale of my story is that what you are imagining is probably worse than what you will actually experience, so try to relax. Two months after surgery you will be telling some other nervous patient how it is much easier than they are thinking.
 
This time next weeek you will ask in a loud voice "THEY DID WHAT TO ME" as your family tells you what went on ....if you read my story below many say Gee you really had it rough ....my response NO MY WIFE AND FAMILY HAD IT ROUGH THEY SAW WHAT WAS GOING ON I just rested
 
Waking up after heart surgery is nothing like waking up after other surgeries. It takes a long time. The only awareness I had of the breathing tube was a plastic taste in my mouth; otherwise, it was no big deal. Same thing with IVs in the neck, no big deal. It all sounds a lot worse than it is. You should not be in much pain, if you are, let your nurse know so you get more pain meds. The experience is not a punishment and it will no doubt be much smoother than you could possibly imagine.

Relax, you'll be fine.
 
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