Prepping for tomorrow... I'm about 15 hours away from surgery now. I spent the whole day running around town with my mom: pre-op appointments with the orthopedist and anesthesiologist, crutch and brace fittings, filling prescriptions, buying groceries, etc... At left, my supplies. Brace, crutches, yoga mat, body pillow, an array of meds, ice packs, antibacterial soap and sponges. Oy. So here is the scoop, in case anyone ever reads this who is about to undergo something similar and wants to know what they're in for:
I got fitted for a hardcore brace today, which I will come to know intimately over the next six weeks. I also picked up some crutches. The other things are more for comfort: the body pillow is so I can elevate my legs evenly; the yoga mat is for doing my physical therapy stuff; and the ice packs are for obvious reasons. I'm not getting a continuous motion machine, which I'm a little disappointed about. I really don't get why my doctor is against them, but he is. No arguing with the "expert". I got four different kinds of pills: one is an antibiotic, which I'll only take for 24 hours; one is for nausea associated with pain meds; one is for swelling and pain; and the last one is Oxycodone, which is a hardcore pain pill. I always get nauseous with medication, so I'm going to try to get off the Oxycodone ASAP.
I have to scour myself with a special antibacterial soap before bed tonight, then I'll do it again tomorrow morning before I go in. This is to minimize the risk of infection. Also, of course there's the requisite no-eating/drinking-after-midnight. Luckily I have an early surgery! That rule must really suck if your appointment is later in the day.
So I'm supposed to show up two hours before the surgery, which means I'll be there at about 7:30. Then they'll prep me and put me under. I'm getting general anesthetic, which surprised me. Everything I've read said that doctors typically use local, but my doctor said that the epidural is so uncomfortable (it's hard to pee for a long time afterwards since you're completely numb) that he prefers general. I don't know how I feel about that... I guess I'm glad I'll be sleeping through the whole thing, but I know there are some big risks associated with general and I feel like it's not something that should be used gratuitously. But again, I'm doing whatever the doctor recommends.
The surgery itself should be around 2 hours. I'll probably be asleep in the recovery room for about an hour after, then they'll wake me up and take me to the short-stay area. I'll hang out there for another hour or so to make sure everything's kosher, then I'll be sent on my merry way!
Supposedly the pain won't be too bad tomorrow because the doctor will inject a long-lasting painkiller into my knee while he's in there. But once that wears off, it's probably going to hurt. A lot.
I got really faint while the doctor was going over all this in my pre-op appointment. So faint that I had to lie down. It was crazy, I can't remember the last time I felt that close to passing out. It was strange too because I already knew all of this--I've done a lot of reading about ACL surgery over the last month. Maybe it was the reality setting in?
I don't understand how people become surgeons. Even being in a hospital makes me nauseous. I know it's worse because I'm the one having surgery, but I definitely would not have the stomach for a career in medicine. Plus, what if you mess up? I make way too many mistakes in my daily life to possibly be able to perform in such a necessarily-mistake-free environment.
I'll try to post tomorrow after surgery, but I may be in too much of a drug-induced stupor to update right away.
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