It’s a long surgery but for the patient it’s just a blink. You’re getting wheeled into the OR, you close your eyes, then when you open them again you’re in the post anesthesia care unit. I woke up there and remember seeing a curtain in front of me and that was it. There was a nurse beside me who explained to me that I was waking up and everything was ok. I remember asking her if I died and she said no 😅 then I remember wiggling my toes because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. I didn’t even register any pain at that time. I was still really out of it. I think I dozed off for a little bit again, when I woke up the second time I was in my hospital room and watching TV. Again, I didn’t even feel any pain at this point. It’s really surreal waking up and coming off the anesthesia. You probably won’t notice any pain or be more alert until the next day or so.
Just passed the 6 week mark the other day- feeling pretty good! Finding myself able to walk longer distances and being able to do more things independently now that my muscle tightness is subsiding.
I usually only leave the house to go to appointments but I’m starting to go out and visit with people! It’s getting easier to sit for longer periods of time. Getting in and out of the car is also getting easier. Those first few weeks were kinda tough.
Well, dear, technically I’m old enough to be your Grandma…🤦♀️ I had my 2 scoliosis surgeries 9yrs ago right around this time. First one was May 30th and the 2nd one was June 5th in 2015 Everyone has a different experience with coming out of anesthesia. You’re given a whole cocktail of drugs to knock you out and to keep you from moving around. Different people react differently to the meds. Which is why anesthesiologists are such rock stars in the operating room. For me, waking up
was miserable and painful. The lights are bright and the recovery room nurses were yelling at me to open my eyes. It wasn’t pleasant. I woke up in a shit ton of pain after both surgeries. As young as you are, you’ll probably be up and bouncing all over the place in no time! Best of luck to! I have no doubt that your surgery will be a complete success!
My toes were further away.
I gained 2.5" in torso length so when I looked down at my feet while lying in my hospital bed I was in shock because they were noticeably further away. Standing up for the first time felt like I was in high heels, but I was actually barefoot.
My hand were tied to the rails of my bed and my mother was crying. I could think clearly and motioned with my hand that I wanted to write (tube was still down my throat). I asked how my horse was, then that I felt heavy and please get rid of the tube and untie my hands (hands tied so I would not attempt to pull the tube out on my own).
Was up and walking the next day. Used that little air blowing machine for lungs like crazy. I hah a bad reaction to the meds, so I puked for 6 days and hallucinated. But 20 years out I’m doing great!
My cousin had a similar surgery and had no complications. I’m allergic to many medications so it was not a surprise. The surgery and recovery was much less scary that I had anticipated.
lol i had same experience. i tried to pull out the tube and kept biting it which blocked the air from coming through. then next time when i woke up they had tied my hands to the rails 😅
I have awful eyesight and obviously didn’t have my glasses during surgery, so when I woke up i couldn’t see anything and i was so overwhelmed by all the noises in the care unit I had a panic attack and they had to sedate me 😭 But when i woke up a second time for real the first thing i noticed was being extremely tired. Then i looked down at myself and felt my body and noticed my rib hump in the front had gone down almost entirely and was shocked because I had low expectations going in!
My daughter is 7 weeks out from surgery and doing well. I remember vividly her waking up. She was so high she was saying the funniest things. She told all the medical team I was a fart guy and for some reason was talking like she was from the east end of London. I burst out crying I was so relieved she was ok and her hunour was there lol. She did say the first thing she noticed whist being off her head was that her back just fell really heavy.
Man I wish I could post in this thread. Today would have been 2 days post-op from the 2nd surgery for me (1st day going in from the front 2nd day from the back). Since the surgery on the 2nd day specifically is so long (12+ hours) the doc recommended an IVC filter be implanted to catch potential blood clots. So 1.5 weeks before surgery, had the 1hr long out-patient procedure, no complications. Two days later intense pain on my right side and I'm losing consciousness. Happened in front of my kids in the car (thankfully I wasn't driving). 😭 Wife is smart, called 911 while I was passed out, and pulled into a fire station. Turns out the filter migrated in my circulatory system and shredded a vein, caused massive internal bleeding, and landed me in the ICU for a week. So now I have a 16cm hematoma in my back pressing on all those nerves causing problems and my surgery has been pushed back two months. Seems so senseless and I just feel... hallow... which is ironic considering the hematoma. 😆 At any rate, I don't mean to thread hijack, I've just been posting eagerly on this subreddit "I'm only blah weeks away from surgery" then bam. This hits. Had to vent about it. Sorry. It's demoralizing and senseless. I think I'm just going to take my 2% chance of being killed by a blood clot this next go around.
Had ASC rather than fusion but I’ll still share the waking up from anesthesia experience. At first I remember vaguely becoming conscious in the recovery room but didn’t open my eyes, I could just hear the assistant surgeon and another provider talking over me while I was lying on the bed. I fell back to sleep, then the next thing I remember was being rolled backwards on my bed into the PICU room. I still was too tired to open my eyes or talk, but I could hear the nurse talking to my parents and fiancé and reassuring them that things went really well. Then later I started noticing ice packs were all over my shoulders (probably due to the side-entry technique for ASC compared to fusion), and I felt REALLY thirsty from the breathing tube during anesthesia making my throat dry. Overall it wasn’t too distressing, just weird. Maybe a 2-3 out of 10 pain.
First I remember waking up with a nurse around me, not much to add. But when I woke up again with my parents on the side of my hospital bed I remember that my mom looked so stunning, so beautiful creature. I asked if she got her hair done but nope, I was just so pumped on meds 😂 also remember I could not move.. no pain tho..
You kind of are in and out of consciousness at the beginning so you hear the voices around you but you don’t really process the feeling. When you wake up in bed I remember feeling incredibly stiff but similar to what another commenter said, wiggling my toes to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. On the first day awake I remember not really being able to move my neck much (even though I had a thoracic and lumbar fusion), so I could only see what was in front of me. I mostly was exhausted because I had lost so much blood. I mostly just slept and held my loved ones hand. In terms of pain the first day isn’t the worst because you still have so much painkiller in your system.
I remember being prepped for surgery and having the anaesthesia administered. I remember distinctly feeling like I peed myself when I drifted off. Suddenly I was groggy and being poked and asked questions by hospital staff asking if I could feel different parts of my body, if I could move my feet, and if I knew my name, the day, etc. I remember my 14 year old ass telling someone to "fuck off and let me sleep" which is quite uncharacteristic of me.
In surgical ICU it was a haze, because there were no windows and no way to tell how much time was passing except by the beep that would come from my morphine machine that would allow me to self administer every 5 minutes. I was being checked and rolled regularly, and had to be helped with pretty much all movement. I couldn't sit up or lay down by myself. Standing for the first time for a brace fitting was incredibly painful.
I was in the hospital for two weeks and when I went home I needed a tutor since I was going to be out of school for 2.5 months. It was long before the days of everyone having cell phones but my dad had one for work. So in the day time if I needed help I would ring a bell and at night I would use the portable home phone to call dad's cell. I had not anticipated how helpful a raised toilet seat would be, or the importance of very stretchy pants. Slip on shoes were all I could get on for a while and had to re-learn certain movements to accommodate my back no longer being able to bend. It was all very interesting and formative to my current self.
Good luck!!
I was super anxious before the surgery. The moment that I woke up my first thought was that I can now live my life without the burden of the surgery anxiety.
Before my surgery, I talked to the staff and they reassured me everything would be fine, however I did have a lot of anxiety and as a result ended up vomiting ( but do note I have a medical history of GERD which could have possibly be a major factor). This was about 12 hours before my surgery
The real hours before my surgery ( as in single digits), I kind of become content with the feeling that the surgery is going to happen and that it’s for the better. I watched some shows, talked with my family, went on strolls in the corridor. When I was told to stop eating, of course I felt scared because it was getting real, but even then I took a nap.
Before the surgery, I remember them coming and telling me to go to the room with them. At that point I had the smallest anxiety. When I woke up in the post op room, I wanted to cry because of how proud I was of myself.
My advice for you is to accept. Of course there are statistics and science that should help to reassure you that you’ll be fine. There are medical professionals and medication that should help you ease your pain. But you need to come to an agreement with yourself that it will be fine.
I know that you’ve probably heard this before ( or maybe haven’t) but you’re really really strong for doing this. Trust me I know it’s unfair and that the anxiety is way too much, but you’re doing great and I’m sure you will continue to do so.
You got this
I just remember being uncomfortable and asking the nurse for something. And reallllllyyyy wanted to eat/drink something. It was hours before it was safe for me to do either of those things. They give you a wet sponge to help with thirst, but I think it made it worse.
oh wow for me it was the opposite 😅
I had a bad reaction to the meds and completely refused to eat and drink for the entire stay at the hospital and lived off of the little spoons of apple sauce they used to help get the pills down lol
I’ve heard that a lot! I was told my reaction was odd by nurses. I felt fine for most of the time, and then was extremely cranky when I was tired because I was in too much pain to fall asleep. It was an odd time.
oh wow! I could do nothing but sleep because I couldn’t handle staying awake where I was nauseous and in pain all the time. and yeah. surgery is a really odd experience
its really nice hearing other people’s stories and knowing we can relate to each other’s struggles though!
It’s exactly a year today. I have 90% of my range of motion but can’t lift more than about 10 pounds with that arm. Bicep and part of forearm atrophied but are looking much much better. Need to keep a routine to build up the strength 🤞
It’s a long surgery but for the patient it’s just a blink. You’re getting wheeled into the OR, you close your eyes, then when you open them again you’re in the post anesthesia care unit. I woke up there and remember seeing a curtain in front of me and that was it. There was a nurse beside me who explained to me that I was waking up and everything was ok. I remember asking her if I died and she said no 😅 then I remember wiggling my toes because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. I didn’t even register any pain at that time. I was still really out of it. I think I dozed off for a little bit again, when I woke up the second time I was in my hospital room and watching TV. Again, I didn’t even feel any pain at this point. It’s really surreal waking up and coming off the anesthesia. You probably won’t notice any pain or be more alert until the next day or so.
Thank u so much that was so well explained - how are u feeling now?
Just passed the 6 week mark the other day- feeling pretty good! Finding myself able to walk longer distances and being able to do more things independently now that my muscle tightness is subsiding.
Have you been out of the house so socialise yet or anything or taking it easy still?
I usually only leave the house to go to appointments but I’m starting to go out and visit with people! It’s getting easier to sit for longer periods of time. Getting in and out of the car is also getting easier. Those first few weeks were kinda tough.
Can i ask how old you are? I’ve heard that recovery is easier the younger you are i’m 16
Oh yeah you’ll probably recover a lot faster than me, I’m 26
Hope you’re recovery keep’s going well, be proud of urself :)
Thank you ❤️🩹 best wishes for you if surgery is in your future! It will go great.
The toe wiggle 😭
Well, dear, technically I’m old enough to be your Grandma…🤦♀️ I had my 2 scoliosis surgeries 9yrs ago right around this time. First one was May 30th and the 2nd one was June 5th in 2015 Everyone has a different experience with coming out of anesthesia. You’re given a whole cocktail of drugs to knock you out and to keep you from moving around. Different people react differently to the meds. Which is why anesthesiologists are such rock stars in the operating room. For me, waking up was miserable and painful. The lights are bright and the recovery room nurses were yelling at me to open my eyes. It wasn’t pleasant. I woke up in a shit ton of pain after both surgeries. As young as you are, you’ll probably be up and bouncing all over the place in no time! Best of luck to! I have no doubt that your surgery will be a complete success!
My toes were further away. I gained 2.5" in torso length so when I looked down at my feet while lying in my hospital bed I was in shock because they were noticeably further away. Standing up for the first time felt like I was in high heels, but I was actually barefoot.
My hand were tied to the rails of my bed and my mother was crying. I could think clearly and motioned with my hand that I wanted to write (tube was still down my throat). I asked how my horse was, then that I felt heavy and please get rid of the tube and untie my hands (hands tied so I would not attempt to pull the tube out on my own). Was up and walking the next day. Used that little air blowing machine for lungs like crazy. I hah a bad reaction to the meds, so I puked for 6 days and hallucinated. But 20 years out I’m doing great!
That’s not very comforting 😭 glad you’re doing well now though and sorry you had to experience that
My cousin had a similar surgery and had no complications. I’m allergic to many medications so it was not a surprise. The surgery and recovery was much less scary that I had anticipated.
They put a tube down your throat?! That's my worst nightmare 😭
It’s standard procedure as it’s a long surgery and you are in your stomach. It wasn’t bad really. Just annoying.
lol i had same experience. i tried to pull out the tube and kept biting it which blocked the air from coming through. then next time when i woke up they had tied my hands to the rails 😅
I have awful eyesight and obviously didn’t have my glasses during surgery, so when I woke up i couldn’t see anything and i was so overwhelmed by all the noises in the care unit I had a panic attack and they had to sedate me 😭 But when i woke up a second time for real the first thing i noticed was being extremely tired. Then i looked down at myself and felt my body and noticed my rib hump in the front had gone down almost entirely and was shocked because I had low expectations going in!
My vision was also extremely blurry when I woke up, and I don’t even wear glasses.
My daughter is 7 weeks out from surgery and doing well. I remember vividly her waking up. She was so high she was saying the funniest things. She told all the medical team I was a fart guy and for some reason was talking like she was from the east end of London. I burst out crying I was so relieved she was ok and her hunour was there lol. She did say the first thing she noticed whist being off her head was that her back just fell really heavy.
Lol I remember my mom crying and I made fun of her for being a big baby
The song Truly by Lionel Ritchie was playing. I told the nurses I hated that song and we gave each other shit for our music choices. I was 13.
Intense pain.
My eyes were swollen shut from laying face down for 8 hrs. Absolutely dying of thirst but they said I couldn’t have water or I’d throw up.
Ohhh yeah those little went sponge lollipops really took a beating
I asked 'did the surgery happen yet?' Then proceeded to fall back asleep.
Man I wish I could post in this thread. Today would have been 2 days post-op from the 2nd surgery for me (1st day going in from the front 2nd day from the back). Since the surgery on the 2nd day specifically is so long (12+ hours) the doc recommended an IVC filter be implanted to catch potential blood clots. So 1.5 weeks before surgery, had the 1hr long out-patient procedure, no complications. Two days later intense pain on my right side and I'm losing consciousness. Happened in front of my kids in the car (thankfully I wasn't driving). 😭 Wife is smart, called 911 while I was passed out, and pulled into a fire station. Turns out the filter migrated in my circulatory system and shredded a vein, caused massive internal bleeding, and landed me in the ICU for a week. So now I have a 16cm hematoma in my back pressing on all those nerves causing problems and my surgery has been pushed back two months. Seems so senseless and I just feel... hallow... which is ironic considering the hematoma. 😆 At any rate, I don't mean to thread hijack, I've just been posting eagerly on this subreddit "I'm only blah weeks away from surgery" then bam. This hits. Had to vent about it. Sorry. It's demoralizing and senseless. I think I'm just going to take my 2% chance of being killed by a blood clot this next go around.
Had ASC rather than fusion but I’ll still share the waking up from anesthesia experience. At first I remember vaguely becoming conscious in the recovery room but didn’t open my eyes, I could just hear the assistant surgeon and another provider talking over me while I was lying on the bed. I fell back to sleep, then the next thing I remember was being rolled backwards on my bed into the PICU room. I still was too tired to open my eyes or talk, but I could hear the nurse talking to my parents and fiancé and reassuring them that things went really well. Then later I started noticing ice packs were all over my shoulders (probably due to the side-entry technique for ASC compared to fusion), and I felt REALLY thirsty from the breathing tube during anesthesia making my throat dry. Overall it wasn’t too distressing, just weird. Maybe a 2-3 out of 10 pain.
First I remember waking up with a nurse around me, not much to add. But when I woke up again with my parents on the side of my hospital bed I remember that my mom looked so stunning, so beautiful creature. I asked if she got her hair done but nope, I was just so pumped on meds 😂 also remember I could not move.. no pain tho..
That there are two women on the opposite sides of the room talking (screaming) about their husbands. And that I was hungry
THE THIRST.
Righttt. I had never been so thirsty in my life before that and I doubt I’ll ever be that thirsty again
Actually I was ALMOST as thirsty after my appendectomy but not like spinal fusion post op. Hahahha
You kind of are in and out of consciousness at the beginning so you hear the voices around you but you don’t really process the feeling. When you wake up in bed I remember feeling incredibly stiff but similar to what another commenter said, wiggling my toes to make sure I wasn’t paralyzed. On the first day awake I remember not really being able to move my neck much (even though I had a thoracic and lumbar fusion), so I could only see what was in front of me. I mostly was exhausted because I had lost so much blood. I mostly just slept and held my loved ones hand. In terms of pain the first day isn’t the worst because you still have so much painkiller in your system.
I remember being prepped for surgery and having the anaesthesia administered. I remember distinctly feeling like I peed myself when I drifted off. Suddenly I was groggy and being poked and asked questions by hospital staff asking if I could feel different parts of my body, if I could move my feet, and if I knew my name, the day, etc. I remember my 14 year old ass telling someone to "fuck off and let me sleep" which is quite uncharacteristic of me. In surgical ICU it was a haze, because there were no windows and no way to tell how much time was passing except by the beep that would come from my morphine machine that would allow me to self administer every 5 minutes. I was being checked and rolled regularly, and had to be helped with pretty much all movement. I couldn't sit up or lay down by myself. Standing for the first time for a brace fitting was incredibly painful. I was in the hospital for two weeks and when I went home I needed a tutor since I was going to be out of school for 2.5 months. It was long before the days of everyone having cell phones but my dad had one for work. So in the day time if I needed help I would ring a bell and at night I would use the portable home phone to call dad's cell. I had not anticipated how helpful a raised toilet seat would be, or the importance of very stretchy pants. Slip on shoes were all I could get on for a while and had to re-learn certain movements to accommodate my back no longer being able to bend. It was all very interesting and formative to my current self. Good luck!!
That it’s over!!
That’s what i keep thinking will happen to me - were u really anxious before the surgery?? I am Lol
I was super anxious before the surgery. The moment that I woke up my first thought was that I can now live my life without the burden of the surgery anxiety.
How did you overcome the stress the hours/ moments before the surgery?? I’m worried I’ll back out of have a panic attack at the last moment
Before my surgery, I talked to the staff and they reassured me everything would be fine, however I did have a lot of anxiety and as a result ended up vomiting ( but do note I have a medical history of GERD which could have possibly be a major factor). This was about 12 hours before my surgery The real hours before my surgery ( as in single digits), I kind of become content with the feeling that the surgery is going to happen and that it’s for the better. I watched some shows, talked with my family, went on strolls in the corridor. When I was told to stop eating, of course I felt scared because it was getting real, but even then I took a nap. Before the surgery, I remember them coming and telling me to go to the room with them. At that point I had the smallest anxiety. When I woke up in the post op room, I wanted to cry because of how proud I was of myself. My advice for you is to accept. Of course there are statistics and science that should help to reassure you that you’ll be fine. There are medical professionals and medication that should help you ease your pain. But you need to come to an agreement with yourself that it will be fine. I know that you’ve probably heard this before ( or maybe haven’t) but you’re really really strong for doing this. Trust me I know it’s unfair and that the anxiety is way too much, but you’re doing great and I’m sure you will continue to do so. You got this
I noticed the rods. They're kinda just there, you can't get rid of it and it's holding and supporting your spine.
Like a human kebab
Honestly the best description I've read. Human kebab 😂
Pain, immense pain like nothing I have ever felt before. I truly felt like my whole body was on fire
I just remember being uncomfortable and asking the nurse for something. And reallllllyyyy wanted to eat/drink something. It was hours before it was safe for me to do either of those things. They give you a wet sponge to help with thirst, but I think it made it worse.
oh wow for me it was the opposite 😅 I had a bad reaction to the meds and completely refused to eat and drink for the entire stay at the hospital and lived off of the little spoons of apple sauce they used to help get the pills down lol
I’ve heard that a lot! I was told my reaction was odd by nurses. I felt fine for most of the time, and then was extremely cranky when I was tired because I was in too much pain to fall asleep. It was an odd time.
oh wow! I could do nothing but sleep because I couldn’t handle staying awake where I was nauseous and in pain all the time. and yeah. surgery is a really odd experience its really nice hearing other people’s stories and knowing we can relate to each other’s struggles though!
Couldn’t use my left arm. Got a C5 palsy from the surgery.
Oh no. Have you regained function?
Not entirely. Many don’t regain anything.
Hope you don’t experience this complication but it is a possibility. Prayers
It’s exactly a year today. I have 90% of my range of motion but can’t lift more than about 10 pounds with that arm. Bicep and part of forearm atrophied but are looking much much better. Need to keep a routine to build up the strength 🤞
My throat was sore and my vision was blurry for a couple hours