Surgery in three days

Hello...

I am having a full adominoplasty with muscle tightening on Tuesday 1/24/12. I have kept my brain in blissful denial until about now. Now I am starting to get a little nervous.

I normally get panicked before anesthesia, so thats going on, also m stressing how much pain i'll be in afterward. I have had a band, band revision, and a B/L brachioplasty, so no surgery as intense as this one coming up.

I am having it done in the hospital and going home the same day (my choice) with onQ and percocet for pain management. Has anyone else had the same pain management? Did it work well?

Thank you.

I have not been in the same exact place as I did medial thigh lift at the same time, BUT the On-Q pain pump is awesome.  I can remember thinking I don't ever want this to run out! LOL!  I think you will be fine, just remember to take it nice and easy, drink lots of fluids and don't wait for it to hurt the first sew days, take the meds on the clock!

Thank you for your reassuring words. My PS told me the onQ would be on for three days. I am an RN and I am a huge advocate for pain meds at the first start of pain. I think adequate pain control in the beginning is huge factor in healing. I am never one to wait until it is bad lol

Hopefully, they will give you something to calm your nerves as soon as you arrive for surgery. Some places do, and some don't, but it sure helps. Like you, I usually don't pani****il they are wheeling me in for surgery. Lots of places don't even wheel you in these days, and I HATE that! I don't like having to walk into the surgical room and see all of that equipment. I'd rather be wheeled in with my eyes closed, lol.

Try to keep your mind focused on the prize. Look at pictures and magazines of clothes that you want to wear after you heal from surgery, and focus on the benefits rather than the risks. I know it's MUCH easier said that done, though.

I'm sure things will go well for you. I've had two C-sections, and I've always wondered how a tummy tuck will compare. When you have a C-section, you come home with a gorgeous little baby that needs to be cared for, so you focus on his or her needs rather than your own pain. They were really only bad for a couple of days, and even then, only when I had to get up and down. Not sure how a tummy tuck will be, but I need one, too, so I can't wait to hear your account.

 

I totally forgot about that walking into the OR! That happened during my last surgery and I couldn't have glasses or contacts and I was so blind and so cold.

I am an OB nurse and have a lot of c/s experience, never had one myself though, but looks to me like the incision is larger than a c/s and also you have the drains after a TT, so I am not sure how they compare. 

I am taking a xanax with a sip of water in the am before I leave, but thats my baseline lol. Can't wait for them to bring on the versed.

Well, since you are a nurse, you should be able to talk them into some good meds well before they take you in! My gastro docs medicine guy always starts his IV meds about five minutes before the doctor comes in. I think he gets a kick out of watching people enjoy the medication, so he sort of suspends you at that point where you are aware you are awake, but can't really even make words come out of your mouth, lol. Once the doc gets there, he knocks you out. I bet you can talk them into calming your nerves well before your surgery time if you beg...

Ok here is the good news!  I had a full abdominoplasty with muscle tightening on Fri the   6th.  I also had brachioplasty.  I did not get the OnQ this time because my PS's surgical center wanted $1000.  No way!  I went home same afternoon with percocet and flexeril.  I used both until Sunday.  I was out of work all of that week and went back FT to manage a restaurant on the 17th.  I have had no problems.  I had a drain in each arm and one in each hip.  3 of the drains came out on Mon the 9th and the last drain came out on the 12th.  I did go in to work for an hour on the 11th to do payroll.   I did use the flexeril for most of the week because my lower back hurt from avoiding using the front abs. And now for the bad news.....HA there isn't any!  You will do great.  Just ask if you have any questions. 

That is amazing, especially because managing a restaurant is a demanding position.

Thanks so much and hmmmm....nobody mentioned flexaril to me. My PS already gave me my post op scripts. Percocet, Zofran ODT and Lovenox. I think I might want some flexaril :o)

I filled the Zofran, too but didn't need it.  It will come in handy some other day.  I would definitely ask about the flexeril as the muscle tightening does cause some discomfort and that is what flexeril does best.  I wasn't prescribed any Lovenox.  I am very lucky that anesthesia does not make me feel bad and I clear it very quickly so I get up and around pretty fast.