Hi all,
My decompression is in 2-3 weeks. 2 things. First: hair.
Has anyone had the surgery without having ANY of their hair shaved? I had a surgeon in mind and recently switched to another one I feel much more comfortable with. Crazy thing is, he does the procedure typically without shaving hair! I was skeptical about this at first for obvious reasons. That just sounded like a cleanliness issue to me. Besides, I'd already done the research and surveyed the various shave jobs to get an idea of what I'd end up with. However, he said the recent research actually shows a lower incidence of infection when you choose not to shave hair. He did say that If he has trouble feeling around and finding where he wants to make the incision that he may shave a tiny strip in the middle underneath my hair to get a better look, but only as a last report..and even then only a tiny amount being taken. Besides that, he just plans on generously applying the sterilizing/cleaning goop, parting my hair, and making the incision in the part! Has anyone heard of doing it this way?
2) pain medication immediately after surgery;
I have read people's experiences describing everything from feeling like Tylenol + hydrocodone pills would've done the trick, to the hourly IV meds weren't enough to keep from waking up in excruciating pain that made some wish to die. Is anyone willing to offer what medications they specifically had you on as you woke up and recovered? My surgeon mentioned a morphine drip... Which made me feel very comforted of course for obvious reasons. I'm wondering if some of the pain-ridden stories I've read about might've been due to not having access to the strongest pain medication, or if we're talking about pain so immense that morphine doesn't even cut it. I know everyone's pain threshold is different and the surgery affects everyone individually so I can't hope for anyone to give me the exact "answer" of what it's going to feel like, but it couldn't hurt to ask!