Went for my pro op assessment today. All the form filling and tests made me realise that this is all actually going to happen. i am not going to wake up tomorrow morning and discover its a dream.
the breast nurse talked about drains and how if i need a node clearance I will be in hospital for 3-5 days because my surgeon does not let you go home with drains in and it suddenly brought it home.
still not scared, after all i am expecting the SNB to be negative and them to get clear margins and to be out the next day and drumming in two weeks. Of course I will, how could anything else be possible. But the long explanation of what I might find when i woke up from the op was a bit sobering.
one huge win though. I had taken the results of the last blood test I had along and when they tried to take blood asked exactly why they needed it and after several civilized discussions going furthur and furthur up the management chain, they decided it was not worth upsetting my day. So no blood test–hurrah. For those of you having all sort of long treatments you probably dont know what a victory that was for me and what the fuss is about a blood test, but I am petrefied of all proceedures.
they have also written my up for some numbing cream for the pre-op work and some drug to take earlier in the day to “chill me out”
So relieved I decided to go to this hospital (i liked their website) rather than my local one. The proceedure they are doing on the sential nodes is not available at my local hospital (i did not know anything about that when choosing) and I would not have had the oportunity of them being tested whilst i was still on the table.
sorry this is just a long ramble, just neeed to vent
Hi
great that you sorted out your position re treatment - ie what is the right way of doing things for you. Isn’t it great that you found such a good hosp - but scary that some still don’t offer SNB!
It is weird when things you are planning suddenly become very real and imminent - reality vs theory…
For the morning of your op, music and headphones plus pre-op are wonderful. I was distraught the morning of my mx and asked for a pre-op, then listened to Dark side of the Moon and had a wonderful morning - sailed down to theatre.
Good Luck - I’ll be thinking of you xx
hope you’re soon drumming again - my OH runs a drums and percussion shop
Hi oal - so glad to hear you have been pleased with the planning. Just a thought on your fear of procedures - I hope you have a very good dx and a prognosis and won’t need many more procedures. But if it turns out that they recommend chemo for any reason, would it be worth considering some therapy - maybe hypnotherapy - to help you deal with the trauma of procedures?
Hi
So glad everything went well for you today, youre so positive, an inspiration to us all!
I’ve had 2 ops in the last 3 weeks and found the best way to deal with the nerves is to get yourself changed in to your gown and dressing gown and go off for a wander. Spend as little time as possible sitting and thinking! Even if you just hang round the nurses station of the ward, it takes your mind off what’s happening and as you watch everyone coming and going you realise you’re not so alone in all of this xx
Hi OOL,
glad you’re feeling a bit better about it although this waiting thing is pretty horrible. Good idea of Finty’s, but fingers crossed it will all come out well for you.
Big hugs
xx
yes I know what you mean about what i might have to face. Perhaps I will have to decide just not to have the treatment, I dont think therapy is going to work for me. Hopefully I am not going down that road, but if I am I will just have to decide what to do
then your other half will know how gutted i am to just discover that I have had a bag of drum gear stolen, dw remote hi hat, 5 dw cymbal holders, angled stacker, various clamps.
I am just pricing up the replacement cost and feel like crying as well as having that aweful almost raped feeling you have when theres been a theft.
sorry everyone this is a bit off topic but daisyleaf’s other half is the only one that will understand.
You should be able to speak to your anaesthetist the morning of your op. Ask if they can use the gas stuff to knock you out rather than sticking a cannula in your hand for the initial anaesthetics. They’ll need to do a cannula once you’re out of it but they can do that once they’ve knocked you out. Anaesthetists use the gas mask approach with kids all the time so it’s not as if they won’t know what they’re doing, it’s standard practice.
If you think you’ll get nervous talking about it to the anaesthetist, do what has turned out to be quite successful for others and write it all in a letter and hand over the letter when they come to see you. That way you can get your point across clearly and calmly, and they have a written record of your request too. Not sure if it’d be worth writing that sort of letter to your surgeon beforehand too…
If it turns out you do need chemo (fingers crossed you don’t) then you will find it VERY worthwhile having a line fitted. Given your procedure phobia you might well need to insist on loads and loads and loads of sedation (chat up that nice friendly anaesthetist) so that you’re so out of it when they put the line in you don’t know it’s happening. Then once you have it, it’ll be so much more straightforward to have bloods and chemo done. But with luck and a following wind you won’t need to go down that route, but it’s worth having a bit of a think about things so you can make sure you’re prepared, in case you have to put your foot down.
Hi OAL
Just got home today after my 2nd MX, I was in a terrible state when I went to theatre, They wanted to put the drip in my foot, which knacks, so they put me to sleep with the mask first :).
I have come home with one drain in, so if you do have a drain (hopefully not!) you could go home, you have a choice.
Also arrange to go in as near to your op as possible so you don’t have to wait around.
Good luck, take care M x