now that i finally have health insurance again, i met with a general surgeon today regarding my gallbladder. he informed me it was imperative that i have it removed and was appalled that i went this long without taking care of it. me too, buddy. i go under the knife march 23rd. thank goodness i am blessed with a wonderful network of support to help me care for sylvie post-op. she weighs over 16 pounds now, and i can't lift anything over 15 for two weeks. should be interesting.
i'm not so worried about the surgery itself. i am the queen of menial health problems and have had my share of outpatient surgeries. sinuses (twice), tonsils, wisdom teeth, bone spur, c-section (the only one that still makes me shutter at the thought), etc. i'm confident i will come through it fine. the issue that concerns me is the anesthesia. now, i'm not worried about it not working or not waking up. nothing like that. i am worried about saying something completely idiotic or becoming hostile while on the stuff. both of these things have happened to me.
in 8th grade i had a ganglion removed from the top of my foot, which only required an ankle block and some versed. i remember this so clearly. as they wheeled me back to the OR i broke out into song with several rounds of "i wanna be sedated" by the ramones. flash forward 4ish years. i had to have surgery on my sinuses. i remember waking up in the recovery room to my doctor asking how i felt. (i'm about to use a touch of crass language here.) i, in my stupor, told him i couldn't feel my balls. then promptly asked if it could be our little secret.
that same year i had to get my wisdom teeth removed (2003 was a banner year for me). upon waking up in recovery, i asked to see my mommy. i'm pretty sure this is the only time i've ever called my mom "mommy". i was 17 at the time. when the nurse told me she couldn't come back yet, i grabbed her by her looney tunes scrubs and demanded to see my mommy NOW. i must have been pretty intimidating because that nurse made like the road runner and sprinted to the waiting room. meep meep.
i would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my surgeon, anesthesiologist, and the nurses in advance for my post-op antics. have any of you ever acted the fool after going under the knife. if so, do tell!
Hahaha.."I couldn't see my balls." I seriously just died laughing.
Good luck with the surgery. I look forward to hearing what you're going to say this time around.
Posted by: randalin | 02/24/2011 at 08:03 PM
hah! the balls thing made me snort.
my parents took my older brother and i to have our wisdom teeth removed at the same time. my brother was tripping out on the car ride home, insisting that he could fly and asking to go to the mall.
i just puked everywhere. go me.
Posted by: Deanna | 02/25/2011 at 10:00 AM
Those are some awesome post surgical antics!
Good luck/well wishes/speedy recoveries for your surgery!
Posted by: Lindsey | 02/26/2011 at 05:00 AM
"I couldn't feel my balls." Now that's classic. :) I'm so glad you're *finally* getting this surgery. My antics are usually before surgery. Whatever it is that I'm given to relax my nerves makes me feel drunk.
When I had sinus sugery last month I was terrified that I wouldn't wake up from the anesthesia thereby leaving my daughter without a mom and while I was in pre-op I had a massive panic attack. I was crying like a baby and all snotty. The nurse got my doctor to talk with me and he was so nice about it. He promptly got the anesthesiologist who gave me something VERY relaxing. I was so embarrassed whenever I saw my ENT doctor for my post-op appointments because of my meltdown.
Another time I said something to the anesthesiologist but it was one of those things where I can't be certain since I was loopy. I know I was thinking it but there's a 50% chance I told him I love him and want to have his baby.
And another time right after an anesthesiologist (I guess I have a thing for them) injected me with meds and started wheeling me to the OR, he asked me to tell him my dream destination. I was telling him how much I want to go to Ireland and as the drugs were kicking in, I told him we should run away to Ireland together.
Then leprechauns became involved in the rendezvous and after that I kept on saying leprechauns over and over again and was laughing hysterically b/c at the time I thought it was the funniest word ever.
I try to feel better by knowing they see and hear a lot of crazy things but I can't help but think I'm up their on that doctor's "craziest" list.
Posted by: Elle | 02/26/2011 at 04:47 PM
Elle-Those are all amazing stories! Leprechauns. Ha!
Posted by: sara without an h | 02/26/2011 at 06:09 PM
The only time I was "put under" was for my wisdom teeth. I have a feeling I said some funny things but I have no recollection of them! All I remember is that as soon as I woke up, I tried to stand up, and they wouldn't let me. And in a stupor I said- "Oh, I'm fine!" and stood up and then proceeded to fall over haha.
I know you will do great with the surgery!
Posted by: Emily | 02/28/2011 at 07:23 AM
Well, I hope your surgery was a success. The sedation does make one feel loopy at times, and awkward things can be said. In the end, like the wisdom teeth and other surgeries, it's best to just get it over with.
Posted by: Bianca Jackson | 12/15/2011 at 06:41 PM