Pre-op appt all done

I had my pre-op today - I will be the first of three surgeries on Monday.  I lost a few more lbs, and talked to the nurses and RT, saw my room, got the incentive spirometer, had some blood drawn, and best of all, found out I don't have to pay anything!  Not even a copay!  Oh and I got all my instructions.  Did any of you have a pain ball? The blood draw was bad, usually when I tell someone I have very superficial veins they use a butterfly needle - this lady was a butcher with her big needle probing around and right through the vein.  It really hurt!  I have a very high tolerance for pain so my husband knew it must have been a bad one when I flinched.   Somehow my forearm hurts from it.  Then when she pulled back and finally got back in the vein she was like "wow that is superficial"  duh!!  Normally people hit me really easily, unless they freak out about my weight and then of course its a self-fulfilling thing.  It was the first time I've been over to this hospital - its on the other side of town.  Its small, 4 patient rooms, but its across the street from a major hospital so that gives me some peace of mind.   It was pretty nice. I took in the stray kitten last Thurs - been busy with her, but maybe found her a home.  She is sweet as can be and I wish I could keep her.   Now I need to do the scrub the apartment from top to bottom thing again before my mom and brother get here Sunday.  I am such a dork. 

Yeah! I am so happy for you. I will be praying that it all goes well. Sorry about the "Vampire". Ouchie. I have a hard time when I have a blood test too. Hopefully there will be someone sooooo much better in the hospital. Hugs. Blessings to you, Annie W.

Hey, sounds like you really have it all together. Sorry about the vein, that is so painful. You are soooo close, just around the corner. Jo

Hi, Dunny! After years of enduring folks who drew blood as if they were drilling for oil, I now insist that they use a butterfly needle and take the blood from one of the large veins in my hands.  I do not allow anyone to draw blood from my forearm, because no one knows how to hit the veins. When I was quite ill several years ago, I had to have arterial blood gases done every few hours.  Those suckers hurt, and one evil person kept hitting my wrist bone while she was trying to find an artery.  I told her she had to stop NOW, or else. I can't believe you had a tour of your room!  I guess because I belong to an HMO, they figure you should just be grateful to get a room at all, let alone give you a tour beforehand.    At my pre-op appointment, I didn't get anything fun like a pain ball, all they gave me was a bar of antiseptic soap. I didn't get the incentive spirometer (a.k.a. "huffer puffer"****il after surgery. HA!  How did I know you'd be boiling your apartment before you had your surgery?!  Kix

Actually the pain ball thing is something weird they are going to leave inside me after surgery.  Its like grapfruit sized, or a large orange, a balloon basically- and its full of local anesthetic that slowly releases over about a week, then once the thing is deflated you pull it out of the hole (one of the incisions ) and put a bandaid over it or something.  Dr. Patel thinks it helps with pain management, the nurse wasn't sure but said she hated sending people home with it, although it doesn't hurt to pull out because the whole site is numb from the lidocaine and when its deflated its really small.  So it sounds weird to me, but if it helps, ok.  They said they wake you up before they extubate because of those bad fat people airways, and they don't give you much pain control until then so you are in quite a lot of pain for a few minutes when you wake up and maybe the pain ball is good then because patients from the other two surgeons who don't use it seem to wake up harder pain-wise.   I am kind of numb on the pain-ball subject, I had a lot of questions about it, and got suitable answers, but I think there is still a big question mark floating over my head.  Wouldn't it HURT to have a new grapefruit inside?  I don't know, apparently its been tested for a while and some people really support it but others think its unneccessary if you are good about pressing your PCA.  

Hi Dunny!! Wow, sounds like it is all coming together for you. Your day is realllll close. Just think, you'll be on the losers bench! Hopefully I can join ya sometime. Sorry about that evil woman with the needle! take care.

You're in the home stretch, girl!  It sounds like you're as prepared as you can be; you'll be glad you did all the preparation and research after your surgery.   I added a reminder to my calendar to pray for you on Monday!  If you need support between now and then, you know where to find your OH buddies!  I look forward to welcoming you to the loser's bench! Kellie

I am also sorry about the Vampire.....but believe us all it will all be worth it. I will be thinking of you on Monday.. Congrats and Good luck Lynn

Wow, Monday!  So close!!!  Woohoo!!! Lori