surgery soon

[thema26]

Hi everyone im new to this site and i found it very useful. Ok im having my decompression surgery on friday the 17 and i would like to know whats the process once u make it to check into the hospital and also what  happens after surgery and what meds do they send you home on?

[megthp]

One great resource to answer your question is people's journals.  If you click on a person's name, you can see their profile page and any journals they've written that they say can be public.  Selma encourages all of us who've had surgery to describe it in a journal entry, so if you look at people's journals you will likely find lots of varying answers to your questions.  All doctors do things a little differently, so the best person to ask may be your neurosurgeon.

But here's the quick version of how it went for me (posting somewhat sheepishly because I haven't done my journal entry describing my surgery yet).  I arrived at the hospital with my mom and husband (DH) and went to the admitting area.  After some paperwork, they lead all three of us back to a pre-surgery area where they checked stats, took blood for pre-op blood work and put in an IV.  After about an hour there, I said bye to mom and DH and they went to wait in the waiting area.  Then they gave me a slight sedative to calm me and wheeled me to the OR.  They set me up on the OR table, gave me some oxygen via face mask, and anesthetized me.

I remember nothing until being wheeled to the ICU, but what happened after that is the NS did the surgery in about 3.5 hrs, went out and told Mom and DH all went well.  They woke me up in recovery and did a full neurological exam (which I don't remember), then took me to the neuro-ICU.

I was in the neuro-ICU for about 24 hours, then in the hospital for another 5 days (a bit longer than usual because I have a bleeding disorder and had some severe vertigo post op, which has since resolved).  In the hospital they gave me dilaudid for pain and valium for muscle spasms, and they sent me home for prescriptions for each.  They first tried percosets, but that med made me too nauseous.  They will work out which meds work best for you and send you home with what they think is best.

Glad you found this forum - it is like a big family, the support is phenomenal and I recommend you keep visiting!  Wishing you all the best on the 17th and afterward for a speedy recovery!

[Rahe28]

Welcome to our community! Congrats on getting to this point in your Chiari Journey. I have not had surgery but wanted to let you know that your words did not go un noticed. Good luck with everyting and keep us posted. I am sure someone here will share their experiences with you.

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Meg did a great job saying what I would have : )

We are all diff, so each experience will be different and each Dr does things differently, so what I had for meds to come home with may not be what u get.

Can u tell us a little more about ur chiari journey and how u come to get ur Dx and a surgery recommendation??

  To find my journal on my surgery experience click on my name, it will take u to my profile page, and my journal is listed on the left side of the page.

I also have a few pics of my scar....amount of hair shaved ...etc...

  Ask questions.

Scroll to the bottom of this page for a link to the Health Pages, in there we have tips for the hospital stay...items u will want to take along.

  "selma"