For my issues with a blocked nose on and off, I got on a public waiting list for a surgery that took two years. Nowadays, OTC drowsy antihistamines, two beers before bed and a decongestant seem to have taken care of that.
Turns out that next week, I’m going to have the surgery. Almost seems as exiting as flying. The doctor says It’s not necessary but might improve things (I think it has to do with a deviated septum).
For any of you who have had surgery for something similar or completely different? How did you find the whole experience (staff, food, personal service, hospital itself)?
Depending upon which country and/or health system you live with, you’ll be admitted @7am after fasting from midnight the night before, but other urgent cases will come in so you won’t actually get in for surgery until > 5pm. In the meantime, you’ll be stuck on a trolley in a hospital gown, with a disgustingly dry mouth and starving to death.
You’ll have the surgery, get bunged back onto the ward, sleep badly with snot-rags stuffed into your nostrils, and after a really ordinary breakfast you’ll be discharged into the care of someone who will drive you home and (supposedly) be there for the next 24hrs.
You won’t have to worry about the hospital staff, food, or care because you’ll barely see any of it.
My experiences have not been as negative as kambukta’s, but it’s true that hospitals are pretty boring places to be, and last time I was there, they didn’t let me use a cellphone.
So make sure you have books and magazines to eat up some of the time.
The one time I stayed overnight in a hospital, I was admitted in transitional labor, went in for an urgent c-section under general anesthesia, and when I woke up had stitches in my belly and a lively newborn to look after. So not quite the same, but…
Nurses are amazing people. What they did for me was gobsmacking. Truly, angels. Having said that, they are overworked and for minor things, sometimes don’t get to you unless you make some noise. They also go on and off shift in such a way that, in three days in the hospital, I never had the same nurse twice. Everyone has to be greeted and turned into an ally in turn.
Sleep in a hospital seemed fairly impossible. People were in and out to monitor me at all hours. Also, see the note about the lively newborn. I might be biased.
Food was, you know. Institutional food. Edible but not inspiring.
A hospital isn’t a hotel. Bring your own soap, shampoo, toothbrush etc if you’re staying overnight.
I’ve had Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) it was day surgery and I ended up staying overnight only because I couldn’t handle the pain meds!
It was otherwise uneventful. I did get a Dora The Explorer bandaid when they removed the IV though as it was actually a children’s hospital!
Good Luck!
I’ve been in the hospital only one night since being born, which is good for beijng 66 years old. I had half my thyroid removed. I got admitted the night before, had dinner, and got operated on in the morning. They kicked me out just after lunch, with Frankenstein monster style clamps on my throat. I didn’t use half the reading material I brought. Pretty comfortable - much more so than when I stayed in the hospital to look after my father after surgery or the night I spent the first time my wife went into labor.
It was a classy hospital - Dr. House’s hospital, before it moved to Route 1, back when it was still on Witherspoon Street in Princeton.
Wow! That sounds like a really complex operation! I hope the surgeon has a really good bladder.
Semi-related suggestion: if at all possible (i.e. elective surgeries), try to arrange your procedure time so that you’re one of the first cases of the day. I don’t have stats to prove it, but I suspect that the quality of operations declines somewhat toward the end of the day when surgeons and other staff tend to get fatigued (for instance, I wouldn’t want to be a surgeon’s fifth robotic prostatectomy case of the day).
It might also be useful to know how many procedures your surgeon has scheduled for that day, to avoid over-booking.
I’m trying to remember little things. It sounds like you’re staying overnight and having surgery in the morning. If so, the surgery will probably be done early in the morning. You’ll have an IV installed and will probably be given a sedative or something anti-anxiety before being transferred to a gurney for a ride to surgery.
You’ve probably already heard about the open-back gowns. If your toes tend to get cold, you may want to bring your own fluffy socks. If you’re only expecting to stay overnight before the surgery and you shower before you go, you probably won’t need to shower before you’re discharged.
It’s good to have someone else along or at least picking you up and staying with you for awhile. If there’s going to be ongoing pain for awhile, they should check to make sure that oral painkillers do the job before discharging you. But if it’s a standard sort of surgery, they may just assume that the standard prescription will work. They may also hand you a prescription to fill on your way out the door. That’s when it’s good to have someone else who can go to the pharmacy for you, or who can take you there if it’s something that you have to show ID for.
Be sure to get aftercare instructions in writing. And have your pickup friend read it, too. Surgery can be draining and you won’t necessarily know if your concentration has been reduced.
Don’t have it done on a Friday. My experience is that weekend staff increases the possibility that you’ll end up there more than one night. I’ve only been in the hospital a couple times as an adult, and the first time I mistakenly went in on Friday. Ended up with 2 extra days due to weekend staff screw-up. The second time, I purposely scheduled for Wed, but had some complications and again got an extra day due to weekend staff issues. Mainly, my doctor just wasn’t available on that Saturday, and I don’t really blame him. But in the future, it’s going to be Monday and only Monday!!
What is it with this tradition of open-backed gowns in hospitals? Is it done deliberately to discourage patients from escaping? Note also, the strings to tie it closed are all of about 1 inch long so good luck with that. In my rare hospital visits, I put the gown on backwards (open in the front), so I can easily hold it closed.
Pro-tip: Ask for two gowns. They might give you an extra one. Or, if they just put you into a dressing room with a bin full of gowns and tell you to put one on, take two. Put one on open to the back and the other one on open to the front. They might let you get away with that.
ETA: Note also: Hospitals tend to be not comfortably well-heated. Expect to be chilly.
One possible exception to the Friday thing is if your surgeon only does surgery on Fridays, and they’re the best surgeon for the job. It’s probably not typical, but I had my knee replaced by a surgeon who had been doing four replacements every Friday for yonks.
They kept me overnight after my hysterectomy. Nothing to eat after midnight the night before, wash yourself and your hair with a special soap. At my hospital, when I got there, I had to swab out my nostrils with iodine. They also have a special warmer/cooler that hooks up to your bed so you can blow cold or warm air over yourself as needed. You’ll get cuffs for your lower legs to prevent blood clots. They go off every few minutes giving you a little massage.
They hook you up to a bunch of stuff, blood pressure, maybe oxygen, definitely IV (you may get Versed which will keep you calm if not sleepy) and the anesthesiologist will come by to check on you and see if you have any adverse reactions to being put under. For me, I vomit afterward so they put some tummy-relaxing stuff in the brew. I’ve woken up calm, I’ve woken up crying, and I’ve woken up trying to punch someone, so YMMV there.
The doctor will give instructions as to your diet so depending on when you get out you’ll get a meal. You will be monitored regularly for vitals, including overnight, so don’t expect to get a solid eight hours of sleep. If you can, it’s important you walk a bit after surgery. You may be able to just go to the door of the room and back, but it helps a lot.
This will be the only time you get the good pain meds, so don’t be brave. You’ll feel fine after surgery but that’s only until the effects of the anesthesia wear off.
I don’t understand the 2 year waiting period or the overnight stay? Did you have another medical problem that prevented the surgery? I had this done a couple of days after diagnosis and it was outpatient surgery.
Keep in mind that all surgeries have their drawbacks. For me I had trouble with the tip of my noise for over a year. I’m guessing the trauma caused damage to fine blood vessels. I would get minor infections. They eventually went away. Not sure how much improvement I got either. It would be a coin toss if I were to do it over again.
