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Have I said this before? Forums are the best, and you guys here are the best of the best!
Most of you are referring to “steri strips” in the plural. I got one. 3″ horizontally across my neck. No plural. No bandaids or covering. I am apparently able to shower today but am nervous about it… I feel like this thing is the only thing keeping me from a gaping gash in my neck! I may wrap a loose plastic bag around my neck for the majority of the shower and then just take it off for the last minute…. I am so afraid I will go into my regular shower routine and run a face cloth over it or scrub it by accident.
On a slight rollercoaster today. Woke up about 6:00 a.m. (which is NOT like me because I am a night owl, NOT a morning person) and didn’t feel bad, just wide awake. Got up, let the dogs out, then went back to bed and slept for a few hours and now I’m beat…. thinking of going back to bed. Let the fluctuations begin!
SueI was sent home with Calcitriol: “the hormonally active form of vitamin D with three hydroxyl groups (abbreviated 1,25-(OH)2D3” twice a day for one week. Also 750 mg. Tums, 8 a day for two weeks and then tapering down the third week.
Calcium levels in the hospital were good but I did go in with pre-existing low vitamin D (which I think just about everyone has now) so I should be getting plenty in the next few weeks.
No, no breathing machine in the hospital. They were probably afraid I’d throw up. LOL I didn’t feel like I had enough time for any of that…. I didn’t get to my room till after 8:00 p.m., spent a few hours being sick, and this morning we were getting ready to go home.
What is a steri-strip and what is holding my incision together under that? I never even thought to ask but I’m betting I’ll get better answers here anyway.
No, no narcotic for me. Just an occasional Tylenol……. don’t like pain meds.
I go back to see the surgeon on August 1st and see my endo on August 15th, so 2 weeks and four weeks.
Shirl….. the nurse put the IV apparatus in my arm as soon as I got to the pre-op but didn’t hook anything up to it until I got into the OR. At one point she said something like “if it’s going to be much longer maybe we should set you up with something” but then she checked the computer and said “look like she’s closing now – it won’t be much longer.” (shrug)
It is what it is. And it’s done. (hurray!)
SueHi Guys, I’m home. Since I tend to ramble I’ll try to break this into three or four different sections so you can just read what you want and leave the rest.
The Bad:
I was to be at the hospital at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday for a 12:30 surgery, and I was there on time and VERY ready. They got me into my pre-op room pretty quickly, went over last minute details and paperwork, and was told that the anesthesiologist would soon be down to introduce herself, answer questions, and then take me to the OR. Ummmmm….. not really. One hour went by, no sign of her. Two hours…. nothing. A nurse came by to tell me it shouldn’t be much longer. Another hour goes by. At this point I have gone through an attack of nerves (was ready and calm when I got there but when you have nothing else to do but sit and stare at the wall you start to get antsy and nervous). But mostly, I was dehydrated, starving, and got a headache. My husband was a wreck about surgery anyway so for both of us to sit there and stare at each other while we both got more agitated and nervous was no picnic. It’s not like we could go down and get lunch or anything! Another nurse came in to explain that the two parathyroid surgeries scheduled before me had both taken longer than planned and my surgeon was still working on the second patient. It’s now about 4:00 p.m. and I’m feeling awful, physically and emotionally. I was seriously considering saying “Let’s get out of here, they can reschedule me another day.” but with all the prep work, SSKI drops, fasting, etc. I would have been only hurting myself. At 4:45 an anesthesiologist came down to chat with me but I could barely understand her and I was seeing double by then with frustration, fear, hunger and thirst. She went over some of the things that could go wrong with anesthesia and scared the crap out of me even more. It’s nothing I hadn’t already heard but to hear it on the way into surgery after sitting for over 6 hours was not the best time.So I say goodbye to my husband and walk to the OR. The surgeon is there and profusely apologizing and I kept asking her if she wanted to reschedule since she must be so tired (honestly I wasn’t sure I wanted her operating on me after being on her feet over 8 hours on other patients. She assured me she had a slight break and was fed and hydrated and ready to go.) They got an iv in me quickly and put in some sugar water (?) I think because I hadn’t eaten in so long, then gave me a “cocktail” of relaxants, then put the mask on my face and I was out.
The Good:
I didn’t hear or feel anything during surgery (one of my fears) and it took about three hours…I think it was 8:00 p.m. when they closed, but the surgeon told me it went perfectly, no complications, that my thyroid was “jumping out at her” and was very easy to work with. All the calcium tests I had while in the hospital showed no problems, but we’re supplementing anyway as a precaution.More Bad:
I don’t remember a thing about the recovery room … the first thing I remember is someone asking if I wanted to be lifted onto my bed or if I wanted to skootch over myself. I skootched. They asked what they could get me and I of course asked for COFFEE (hoping it would help my headache). It went down nicely and then I started to doze but then the “every 15 minute” check ups began. It’s true that you really don’t get any rest or sleep in a hospital. I’m glad they are thorough, but geez! A nurse came in to give me some liquid Tylenol for pain and within a minute I was throwing up. Once that subsided, we tried again with Tylenol tablets and water. Threw it up. They brought me some ginger ale…..threw it up.
They had given me three different anti-nauseau meds in the OR but apparently it didn’t work? They brought me a dissolving tablet and that seemed to help but I certainly wasn’t up to eating or drinking even though I badly needed something. About midnight I asked to try a dry cracker but I threw it up. I have no idea what that was all about but I guess it’s somewhat normal to be sick from anesthesia?It was a rough night. I was in pain, (neck and headache)and exhausted but couldn’t rest. And they would come in to do vitals and ask questions every 15 minutes. Yes, at that point, I was second-guessing my decision to have surgery. I was the epitome of miserable.
The checking and prodding and vitals continued through the night and I kept getting up to use the ladies room, dragging the nurse and the IV stand with me. I guess they were keeping me well hydrated through IV because I had to go several times.
This morning about 7:00 they asked what I wanted for breakfast and I was scared to try anything but they insisted I should try. I ordered a cheese omelette, and surprisingly it stayed down – hurray! I was dead tired at this point but there is no rest for the weary. I am not exaggerating when I say there was a constant parade coming through, perhaps because Yale is a teaching hospital? Regular nurses, regular doctors, and then “teams” would come by to check on me. They were all wonderful, but ENOUGH! During the night I figured there was no way I’d be going home since I couldn’t keep food down and could barely walk but at that point with all the interruptions I just wanted to get out of there and deal with it in my own house. They cooperated…. they told me right after I ate that my discharge papers would be presented as soon as my surgeon came to chat with me again. Pages and pages of paperwork that we had to go through together, but do you have any idea how incoherent you are at this point????? I was out of there at 11:00 a.m., less than 15 hours after surgery. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
More Good:
I’m home and in my own bed, couch, husband waiting on me, dogs glad to have me home, etc. I don’t feel terrible… I am able to eat and keep it down and the pain isn’t terrible. Headache is gone – yippee! I’m tired, but can’t sleep really well but that’s to be expected. I think the worst is over but I remind myself that I will still have some bad days, emotionally and physically, but the surgery is over and it’s time to head towards feeling better.
Questions for those who had TT:
Were you afraid to clear your throat or cough? I feel phlegm that I need to get up but I’m afraid to cough or clear my throat too hard.My surgeon told me not to use ice on my neck. I told her we purchased the soft, pliable ice packs and she said it was up to me but she preferred I not use them…. the condensation and moisture would cause the strips and wound to become damp.
They sent me home with anti-nausea meds (if needed), Tylenol with codeine (if needed) Vitamin D tablets (not the kind you can get over the counter) mega doses of Tums, and Levothyroixine (to be started Sunday). Do you all have the “D” tablets, too, or just the Tums? I think the D is for one week while the Tums get weaned off of in 2 weeks.
Thank you.
OK, if you’ve read this far you have a lot of patience and a high tolerance for boredom. Sorry for the ramble. Feel free to ask anything I may have missed.As always, thanks for being here and for your support!
SueYou guys are the best…. truly you are! When I mention my fear of caffeine withdrawal to co-workers or friends they just laugh or criticize, saying I’m worrying about something insignificant or petty. But I (and all of you) know it’s NOT petty! My body is going to be stressed enough tomorrow… it shouldn’t have to deal with withdrawal at the same time.
I’ve done a really good job of weaning myself off of coffee over the past two months. I’ve gotten myself down to about 2 cups a day and know that I can go at least 15 hours without getting a headache. So the way I see it, if I have a cup of coffee at midnight tonight and if I can have one as soon as I’m out of recovery, that will only be about 15 or 16 hours. I don’t remember exactly what hour is the “witching hour” when the headache starts, but I don’t want to find out!
Thanks for the article and the protocol updates. I’m not going to worry about it so much anymore – thank you for that. I do need to take a bunch of pills when I get up in the morning so that will be with water, maybe I’ll swallow an extra sip or two. I’m sure that the doc would agree that 8 hours before would be fine for clear fluids but I don’t think I’ll be up that late so it’s a moot point.
I do worry about being dehydrated by the time I get to surgery but I’m guessing they will hook me up to an IV in pre-op?
OK, just made another decision (thanks to the wisdom of my wonderful support system on this forum): I think I’ll set my alarm for like 4:30 a.m., take my daily pills, and go back to sleep. My plan was to sleep till 9:00, take my pills, and head to the hospital, but that means the pills and water will only be 3.5 hours before surgery.
Thanks everyone……I’m sure I’m worrying about these details too much but, hey, if I can’t worry twelve hours before surgery, when can I?
SueHi there. Sorry about the diagnosis but try not to worry…. it’s all very manageable. I was first diagnosed 7 years ago and lived most of those 7 years feeling perfectly normal (once we got the dose of Methimazole right) and I even went into remission for about a year (no meds). But 6 months ago it started acting up again and we have raised my dose of methimazole 4 times to get me to a state where I can function properly.
I made the decision to have surgery (going in tomorrow) because I know that another remission is probably not going to happen, and even if it does I know it won’t last forever. I really get bad anxiety symptoms when I’m hyper and even when we just adjust my meds… it seems any change to my levels sets me into crazy mode. I need consistency so after the surgery and after we find my sweet spot with replacement hormone, I’m hoping the rollercoaster will be a thing of the past.
You’re very new to all this so take the meds (both methimazole and beta blocker) and read all you can about this disease. If anxiety is your primary symptom you may want to see if your doc can give you something for that for a while.
It is overwhelming when you first hear you have Graves, but it doesn’t have to ruin or take over your life. I’m fighting back and getting my life back tomorrow!
SueGeez, you guys….. I’m all teared up and choked up…… what a wonderful bunch of people on this forum!
Can I blame today’s tears on the hormones even though surgery isn’t until tomorrow?
Love you guys.
Off to start a journal.
SueAwwwwwww, you guys are the best – thank you!!!!! Can’t believe you remembered that my TT is this Tuesday…. jeez, even some of my family members don’t remember that it’s in two days (can choose your friends but not your family, right?)
My husband just commented that I must be getting pretty nervous and I had to honestly say “No”. As I explained, I don’t have anything to be nervous about. I’m going to one of the best hospitals in the country (Yale) and it’s not like I have to do anything….. I’m just going to go to sleep, wake up, and be pampered.
I would normally fear being sick to my stomach and dizzy when I wake up but I know they can give you something for that so no problem there.There probably is a part of me somewhere inside that must be nervous but I guess I’m so good at hiding it that even I don’t realize it’s there.
I think I am more than ready…. bring it on!
You guys are the best. I’ll probably start a journal on here tomorrow and will try to update it very often, at least in the beginning.
Love you guys.
SueYes, I think you’re all correct about it being nerves or excitement that is keeping me from sleeping. I have a hard time getting my conscious and sub-conscious mind to be on the same page so I think the sub-conscious is taking over. I am NOT afraid or nervous, but like you said, it would be abnormal not to have some apprehension.
Thanks for the support….. only four more full days to get through until TT!
Sue
