pre-surgery fears

[Luana]

Hey everyone,
The big thing that I am worried about now is....drum roll...the breathing tube and I'm also wondering if anyone had any trouble breathing after the surgery. I'm asking because I read on another thread that someone who just had AVR was not able to take a deep breath when she woke up. The problem cleared itself up in a day or so but I was just wondering if that's standard. I guess what I'm asking is, what is breathing like when you first come out of the anesthesia.
Thanks so much

I've had surgery before but not heart surgery, and waking up after heart surgery is nothing at all like waking up from other surgery. It takes quite a while to wake up. With other surgery I pretty much opened my eyes and I was awake. It was nothing like that after my AVR. It took hours for me to be able to open my eyes.

Other than the taste of plastic in my mouth, the breathing tube didn't bother me at all. I was glad when it was removed and had no trouble breathing with it in or after it was out.

I wonder if whoever wrote that she couldn't take a deep breath might have had a partial lung collapse. That's not uncommon after heart surgery. It happened to me the first day after surgery. That's the only time I had trouble taking a deep breath.

 

[Kathy McCain]

I must admit I did not do very well with the breathing tube! I remember I kept trying to say over and over again, "I can't breath, I can't breath. To which the male nurse kept saying, "Ms Mccain you are breating fine". At some point I must have gotten a little rowdy, he seemed a bit worried and said, "don't do that!" The next thing I remember, the nurse was removing it. I remember feeling soooo relieved, and soooo much better! No, I did not have a problem breathing afterwards.

It's the gag reflex reaction, that makes it feel like you can't breath, but believe me you definitely are! Try and stay calm. You will be very drugged, so just keep telling yourself "be calm, it will all be behind me soon"!

It will be okay. Please try not to worry and yes mention this to your Dr.

 

[Philip B]

Tube?

Tube?

Yeah, I was worried about dealing with the tube when I woke-up. I fought it when I woke-up, but I have no recollection of what happened. My wife gave me the details later. Evidently, I tried to chew through the tube since I couldn't get my hands loose to grab it. The nursing staff tried to get me to stop munching on the tube and when I refused to comply, they stuck a couple of bite blocks in my mouth. I managed to break a tooth in the process of chomping so I needed a crown after I got out of the hospital.

Again, I have no recollection of any of this. My first memory of the ICCU is when the nurses asked me if I was ready to move to the step-down unit.

-Philip

 

[traveler]

I was concerned about the tube (and a lot more). A friend told me to think about it as a vacation from breathing. When i woke up intubated, it really was just an odd experience to not be breathing but not bad.

 

[Marguerite53]

As you can see, there are many different experiences with the dreaded breathing tube. For me, I don't remember it at all so I guess it came out fairly soon. I never had any issues breathing, and I cheated (don't!!) using the spriometer since I wasn't coughing up any gook or anything and my pipes weren't sore; or at least I didn't feel them! They give you great drugs. Really. Great drugs. Sometimes the drugs don't agree with the patient, but I was lucky and simply lay back and enjoyed them!! :wink2: I remember waking up in ICU and reaching for a cup of ice chips. I could absolutely not get my hand to move properly toward the tray and I think I started laughing out loud because I was so stoned and caught the attention of the smiling, lovely, caring ICU nurse.

Perhaps it might ease your mind some if you think about where you will be. ICU is a very intense place. In my hospital each little room/area is surrounded by glass and there are ICU nurses always wandering around. I think they all have antennae :rolleyes2: or something because they are so accustomed to reacting to any little sound or movement from their drugged-up patients. What I'm getting at is; someone will be by your side in an instant if you are having trouble with the breathing tube. They will be right there coaching you on how to calm down and they can and will be very very kind and helpful. Also, all the coaching you are receiving here will somehow pop into your mind, too, and you will be fine.

The only reason I know this about ICU (since I was so drugged during the short time I was in there) is that my father had had a triple by-pass some years earlier. They called me in to ICU to see him just post surgery. He was chomping down on his breathing tube even while he was drugged and the nurses were not wanting to lessen the pain killers so they could reason with him. The nurses were having the darndest time with it. So they asked me could I talk to him somehow, you know, he might listen to a familiar voice. Well. They didn't realize that he was a pipe smoker and that there was always an unlit pipe hanging out of his mouth. I figured he was sensing the tube, thinking it was his pipe falling out of his mouth and chomping down on it. When I shared that information and we all started telling him that it wasn't his pipe and to stop biting down, he actually stopped! So there is ample ability to communicate through all this, okay? :smile2:

Hope this helps!

Marguerite

 

[malibu82]

hi there! i was scared of the same things. but now i can tell you, the worst part of the whole surgery, was waiting for surgery. you will be so relieved you are awake and over with surgery and drugged up so you will probably not be bothered much by the breathing tube. i was so worried about that tube i had asked them before surgery to take it out before i wake up! of course they did not. but it was okay.

you know what it reminded me of? when you go to the dentist, and they take xrays and put those annoying plastic things you have to bite down on for the xray in your mouth. and they kind of like irritate your mouth, hold your mouth open and make your mouth dry since its stuck open.

 

[DebbyA]

I don't remember the breathing tube itself. All I remember is that I was sort of semi-conscious, could hear, but not see, wasn't afraid, knew my husband and nurses were there. I heard them tell Rick they were going to take it out but he could stay, and in some dim recess of my mind must have remembered it was supposed to be a problem, and motioned for him to leave so he wouldn't have to experience it. Next memory was talking to ICU nurses and having them explain that the thirst was from painting mouth with a substance to dry up saliva during surgery. They said even if I could drink as much as I wanted, it wouldn't help the dry mouth.

I agree, waiting was the worst.

 

[Jkm7]

I have almost no memory of the dry mouth and breathing tube from my first surgery. I know I woke with it in and must have gone immediately back to sleep as next I recall, the tube was gone and I had a few ice chips and was fine in that regard.

My second surgery, I recall waking with the breathing tube in place but I have no recollection of being disturbed. I remember hearing my nurses voice but have no memory of what he said but next I remember, he was feeding me ice chips and I kept begging for more. I couldn't believe how incredibly thirsty I was as I didn't remember that from four years previously with my first surgery.

One of my biggest anxieties my first surgery the breathing tube but I knew better for the second. For me, it really wasn't a big issue though I know everyone can be different.