On The Day
of the Op..
Nil
by Mouth from What Time?
The only key advice I would give
for your op day is take careful note of what time you need to stop eating and
drinking. My admission time was 11am, I was advised to have a light breakfast
by 6am and I was able to drink water up to 10am.
Admission
is a Slooooooow Process..
1. Be prepared to answer the same questions, over and
over again in the pre-op sessions with a variety of
professionals.
2. Don't forget to take with you, any medication you
use regularly so they can double-check that none of it will
conflict with anaesthesia or any of the pain medication they administer in the
hospital.
3. Take whatever you need to pass the time,
I took my mini iPad and charger so I had the choice of reading on the Kindle or
playing games while I waited. I was at the hospital for more than 4 hours
before actually being wheeled through to the op room. There are many pre-op
checks (pregnancy, blood pressure levels, heart rate, ECG etc), but each takes
no more than 5 - 10 minutes before you're deposited back in the waiting room.
At some point, an anaesthetist will meet you to
go though the type of anaesthesia applicable to you, answer any questions or
concerns you may have, and ask questions on your medical history including any
previous operations.
Immediate
Recovery
Immediate recovery was a blur. My
op was longer than planned and I came to quite late in the day.
My anaesthetist had explained the
self-administering morphine button before I went under (also known as the PCA -
patient controlled analgesia, a handheld device which you press every time you
want to give yourself a dose of the pain killer). I was reminded how to use it
as I came to, and my night began. I was monitored heavily that first night due
to complications during surgery so my sleep was regularly interrupted by tests,
but with anaesthesia still in my system along with the morphine, I was out for
the count as soon as each test was complete, sometimes before the nurses were
finished!
Thanks for reading! Please do
comment below with your own experiences!
Next post on this topic “Hospital
Days, or OUCH! Zzzzzzz.OUCH! Zzzzzzz..”
Further Reading
British Fibroid Trust
No comments:
Post a Comment