Final Pre-op items

Today was my final pre-op class.  We talked about the 2 week diet that I am currently on.  Then we learned about surgery day and how that will go along with how our hospital stay will go.  I have a lot of information to digest.  I will be in the hospital for 2 or 3 nights.  While in the hospital I will be on a clear liquid diet.  I will be intubated during surgery and may or may not have a catheter.  There is also a chance I will have a drain tube afterwards (for only a little while).  Depending on how things go, I will either be taken to a regular hospital room or ICU.  The whole procedure will be 3 1/2 to 5 hours.  Once I'm home I will be on a puree diet and be doing my protein shakes and that will last until my follow up appointment the following week.  And it goes on from there.

My next stop today was for pre-op testing.  They did an EKG and labs and reviewed all my paperwork and meds.  I got a list of what meds to stop taking and when to stop taking them.  My BP was 110/57 and the EKG looked good.  I still need to do the Living will and POA paperwork, but that will be done by surgery day.  It helps to have a hubby that is a legal secretary.  :-)

The final stop of the day was to my chiropractor's office for a 1 hour massage.  It was awesome.

I am looking forward to this being done and one of those reasons is so I can start taking my Crohn's medications again.  I'm not having huge bowel symptoms, thank goodness, but the fatigue and the joint weakness and pain are starting up.  You know it's bad when you have problems carrying a bag with a small bag of bird seed and grit.

By this time next week, I'll be in my hospital room hooked up to IV's and a pain pump.  I can't believe there are only 7 days to go.