I have surgery scheduled next week with Dr. Osborne. The first surgery is scheduled for August 20th and then doing the second side on the 22nd. I’m pretty nervous as you might expect. On days when my symptoms are minor I question myself and if I’m doing the right thing. Then they ramp up and I eagerly look at my calendar. I’m taking 3 weeks off from work, 1 week for the surgery and 2 weeks to recover. Any advice would be much appreciated, especially for that 1st week. I’ve been bulking up a bit (I’m a pretty lean guy) as I imagine eating will be a challenge for a while.
I feel blessed and grateful to have a skilled surgeon taking on my case and a caring family to help and comfort me as I begin to heal. I know the healing journey can be long and challenging, but I pray it will provide at least some relief.
@wade! I’m so glad you finally have chosen a doctor to do your surgery & have surgery dates. You may find recovery isn’t as difficult as you think though it can be a bit drawn out. The first week is usually the worst as far as pain goes.
Here’s a link to a very thorough post @Jules put together about surgery. There are subtitles in it that will help you find the sections relative to bilateral surgery & post op help. You can also use the magnifying glass to search “post op advice”.
I’m putting your surgery dates on my calendar so I can pray for you specifically on those days.
I’m glad that you have a date for surgery! I did keep a diary of symptoms & would look at it regularly if I had a ‘good’ day to remind myself why I needed the surgery, I think that questioning whether you really need it is very natural!
In the info @Isaiah_40_31 has sent you a link to there’s a surgery shopping list with suggestions of what to get ready beforehand, hopefully that’ll be helpful!
Smoothies are good for the first week or so & protein powders for shakes, although not everyone has trouble eating- I did after my first surgery but not after my second! Just make sure you take it really easy for the first couple of weeks especially, as overdoing it can really set healing back. I couldn’t drive for a few weeks afterwards as my neck was too stiff, not everyone finds this but something to consider. And healing is very much up & down, so be prepared that you might not see any improvements initially , or you might feel better & then have a setback & get some symptoms return, all quite common. Days 3-5 are the worst for swelling, although this will be a bit different for you as you’re having both sides done…
Best wishes for your surgeries, praying that all goes well & it’s successful!
