Pre-op preparedness

My apologies for the lack of posting.  As of now, I've had my surgery and am in recovery.  Things went well, but it's taken a lot more out of me than I expected.  More on that later.

First to back track to the pre-op. 

The pre-op and pre-administration took place just under a week before the surgery.  It was an early morning thing, at the women's hospital section of our nearby hospital.  There were several other women waiting with me by the time a nurse came out with our wrist bracelets.  Then the whole lot of us were taken in (Dh had to stay behind in the waiting room at first) to a media room.

Once everyone who was expected to be there was in, we got to watch a 20 minute VHS movie on what to do after surgery to speed recovery from the anesthetic.  There was the coughing (to help prevent possible infections or pneumonia) while protecting any incisions we might have, deep breathing, and leg exercises to get the blood flowing, in case there were any restrictions during surgery.  It was stressed that we should get up and about as soon as possible, with how to do so safely, again with emphasis to protecting any incisions.

After the video, the nurse that called us in got our heights and weights, then took any paperwork we had.  After that, I was led to an examination room while the other women stayed in the media room to see another movie.  Once there, I was able to go and get Dh to join me.

We weren't there long before the nurse was back and giving us the lowdown.  She spent the most time with us of all.  There was a quick run over my paperwork and medical history.  I even had to mark on a line drawing of the human body exactly where the surgery was to take place (which made me curious as to what happened in the past to make that necessary).  I was reacquainted with what was expected to be done, with a description of a laparoscopy, including being inflated with CO2 and any potential discomfort that might lead to.  At best, the gynecologist was expecting to do a single incision in my naval.  At worse, I'd have an incision from sternum to pubic bone to remove any oddity they might find.  In between were multiple laparoscopic incisions to a "bikini cut" incision for a hysterectomy.  Also discussed was the possible D&C.  All the bases were covered.

Then we got to what I was supposed to do the day before the surgery.  Oh, joy.  First, I was given a bottle of enema solution.  Yup, the evening before the surgery, I was to give myself an enema.  I understand why, but... ick.  Then I was given a seal package with an antiseptic sponge.  I was to use it to wash my entire abdominal area before heading for the hospital.  I was also to start a complete fast beginning midnight before the surgery.  No food or fluids of any kind.  I already had a date for the surgery, but she gave me the time during this visit.  It was for 9:55 am, so a fast from midnight wasn't going to be too big of a challange.

She then described who else was to come in to see me.  She was a bit perplexed that I was to have someone from Internal Medicine to come in to see me, as she could see nothing in my paperwork that showed I needed it.  All my tests had been coming back healthy.  She did mention my weight, though I had assumed it was because she had just weighed me, along with all the other women, a short time ago but Dh said it was suggested as a possible reason for getting a visit from Internal Medicine.  I found out afterwards that, based on previous discussions I'd had with him about it, he was actually looking out for when and how my weight would be brought up.  I'm glad he did.

Shortly after she left, we got our first visit.  An electrocardiogram was to be done.  The tech wheeled in the machine and hooked me up to something like 8 wires, including two attached to my legs, just above the ankles.  She wasn't with us for long, but long enough to tell us that, according to her printout, I have a very healthy heart.

Next in line was Internal Medicine.  She was a very brisk person, and it made for a very short visit.  Like the nurse at the start, she was perplexed as to why she was even there, as there was nothing in my paperwork that told her she was needed.  Everything was showing normal and healthy (other than the presence of George, of course).  Again, she thought it might have something to do with my weight.  We had a brief talk about my medical history and past surgeries, almost none of which had anything to do with her department, and then she was gone.

We had a bit of a wait for the next person.  Another four vials of blood was taken.   That was a quiet one, as she had nothing to ask of me, really.  She took the samples, then put a red, waterproof bracelet on me, making sure I knew to leave it there.  If it was gone when I came back for my surgery, they'd have to take the samples again.  I was quite done with giving blood samples by then, thankyouverymuch!!

Oh, I had forgotten!  There was one more blood test the nurse at the start had written me up for.

A pregnancy test!

In the day or two before my surgery, I was to go in to a lab somewhere and get a pregnancy test done, no matter how unlikely the chance of me being pregnant.  It was standard proceedure.  In asking the nurse, she said that apparently there had been a pregnancy in a patient discovered during surgery.  Considering the type of surgery being done, they just don't take any chances.  If I forgot to get the pregnancy test done, the surgery would be cancelled.  We weren't about to let that happen!

The last person to speak to us was supposed to be the anesthetist.  We waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Finally, Dh went out to ask if there was a problem.  He was told that the anesthetist was called away to an emergency patient.  A few minutes later, the nurse came by to let us know that the anesthetist was "upstairs" (in surgery) and that he'd be with us as soon as he could.

We had some time on our hands.  I got some good progress on the hat I was crocheting at the time!

Considering why he was called away, I was actually a bit surprised it wasn't longer before he came to see us.  He was still in his scrubs and hair cap.  He apologized for the delay, then started going over the paperwork.  He asked questions about whether or not I had sleep apnea, and if I had any caps, crowns or removable dental work.  He was quite happy with my electrocardiogram and the results of my blood work.  Then he made a questioning comment about how, other than my weight, of course, my health was excellent.

Uh huh.

Then he was bustling out again.  After that, we only had to wait for the nurse to come back and cut off my wrist bracelet (not the red one for the blood work!), and we were done.

On the drive home, we chatted about how it went and Dh pointed out the comments on my weight that I had missed earlier.  We found it rather strange that, despite test after test showing how healthy I am, it still was brought up.  Strange, but not surprising, I'm afraid.  Dh hasn't encountered is as much as I have, so now that he's more aware of it, he's catching on to how it comes up in the oddest of ways, sometimes.  It was actually much better than when it usually comes up - no one actually tried to blame anything on my weight.  Easy enough, since there was nothing that could be blamed on my weight, other than it being the possible reason Internal Medicine was called in to talk to me.

Overall, they were all pretty excellent in preparing me for all possibilities and making sure I had opportunity to ask questions.  They left me with no questions I needed to ask!

After we got home, we had the problem of finding a lab to get my blood test done.   Because the surgery was booked for a Monday, we had to find someplace open on the weekends.  The lab we usually go do is open weekdays only (though covered by our medicare system, the labs are privately owned facilities.  Most of the local ones are part of the same franchise).  A friend suggested one place she knew was open on Saturdays, possibly Sundays as well, which was a big help.  Normally I wouldn't bother booking an appointment, but considering the necessities surrounding this test, I actually made an appointment.  I was able to get one of the few open blocks just before they closed on the Saturday, so that worked out rather well.

That done, it was just a waiting game for the surgery.  I will have to write about that later, though.  Sitting in a position I can type in gets uncomfortable rather quickly, and I need to move around.