surgery in two days

[rileysmom]

hi there everyone! well, friday is fast approaching the day i get my cath put in for pd. i know on saturday i will have to go to the clinic to see my pd nurse to get it flushed out. what i am wondering is.... should i get someone to drive me ? how am i going to feel the next few days after my surgery? should i have someone babysit my special needs 5year old? i have my sister coming over to give her a bath and wash her hair, etc over the weekend but should i have her just take her home and have her spend the weekend with her. she has high functioning autism among other things and she really has a hard time with seperation anxiety so if i dont hav eto send her to someone's house that would be better for her. but i am afraid i wont be able to take care of her over the weekend while i am recovering. any insight into how you felt the few days after your surgery would be great. how long did it take you to get back to "functioning" again? thanks

[jadey]

hi rileysmom

I had my pd catheter insert last month (nov 14) so the memories are still very clear. At my clinic, they told me that usually patients get to go home 2 hours after the procedure has been done. It wasn't the case for me because I had some chest pains after the surgery and they made me stay overnight.

In terms on how I felt.. well the first day I was out of it. They put me on sedatives so when the surgery was done, I was just very tired. Slept almost the entire day.
The second day, things were better. i was up and about. Pain wasn't really bad.. I didn't take any pain meds. Whenever the pain from surgery site bothered me, I just took a regular tylenol.

And I think you should get someone to babysit your 5 year old for at least a few days. You won't be able to do any streneous excersises for the first few weeks.

I started PD the day after my insert. 1 week later I returned to school. Hope this helps!!

[jadey]

another thing to add.

It was quite interesting. There was another lady who was to get her catheter insert the same day as me. She arrived a few minutes earlier so got hers done first. I watched her take her meds (antibiotics + sedatives) to the point where she was wheeled into the OR. Then about 2 hours later she comes back out in a wheelchair with her new catheter installed. I watched her get up and hop onto her bed so she can rest. She seemed totally fine.. as if nothing happened. So i think that is the best case scenario..

in my case, I was quite anemic so I think they were scared that I would collapse or something. After the surgery (after I complained about chest pains) they put me on the bed and gave me oxygen. Seemed soooo serious! Anyway, after the first day, everything was fine!

let me know if you have any other questions

[drgirlfriend]

Welcome to the world of pd! 

It's great that your sister is helping you! Surgery, no matter how "minor", effects everyone differently and you may find yourself feeling fine after the weekend. My boyfriend had problems with gas and general pain and soreness, so he slept a lot at first. I tried to make sure he was comfortable. I drove him to and from the procedure and everywhere else for about a week and a half. If you drive a stick, I'd strongly suggest having someone else drive. You never know how much your stomach muscles do until you can't use them! I don't think he was back to normal for 2 weeks, but some of that was being freaked out about the catheter. It took him a while to make peace with it. I did the site care for several days while he got adjusted.

Good luck!!

[lmunchkin]

Rileysmom, thank goodness you have a sister who is willing to help with your 5yr old. I sometimes keep my grandson for my daughter and he is a handful.  So I know how hard that is for you because they need 24 hr observation, but we do what we must do. I rarely keep him though cause he is full of rage and a bit hard for me to handle, but he is much better around his mother.  My daughter not only has a husband with MS, but she has too beautiful Boys (Grandsons). One 8yrs and is autistic and the other 14yrs. old. 

We keep the 14yr old on the weekends to get him out of the situation awile.  He likes going to church with us, and I do take him to the movies and we have some special times together.  My daughter told me the other day, that Iam helping her alot by keeping him cause it allows more time with 8 yr old. 

Id rather keep the 14yr old, cause I am not good with the other.  I just don't know how to communicate with him.  But I love him no less!

You have your sister and I think she will support you in any way you wish!  What an Angel your sister is!!! 
If I recall, it was long ago, I think my husband was in & out in no time with no problems.  But He has never had the responsiblities that you are faced with. 

Will be praying for you & good luck tomorrow!  Please keep us posted!

lmunchkin
 

[rileysmom]

thanks for all the info regarding the procedure. i think i am going to have my sister watch my duaghter for a few days, but it will probably be at home, as with her being autistic and having a seizure disorder i think she will be more comfortable at her own home. i am just hoping it all goes smoothly. i am sure it is going to take some time to get adjusted to having the cath. in me. put i will adjust.  when the pd nurse does the first flush of the cath does anyone know how aproximately it takes? i will have to have my sister drive me and just hang out across the stree from the dialysis place and go shopping or something. im a little nervous but i think that is just because it is a whole new experience and a life changing event. ill post how it goes ... thanks for all the well wishes. 

[drgirlfriend]

First flush itself only took a few minutes for my bf. The whole appointment, with questions, etc. only took 30 minutes.

[jadey]

good luck with your surgery tomorrow! I hope all goes well

[bleija]

plan to be ther for an hour at leaast, in case something doesnt work smoothly or questions or any other concern

[MaryD]

My first flush took the best part of an hour, but most of that time was spent in support and advice being given re care of me and of my catheter.

I was mildly horrified at the sight of the catheter hanging out of me at first.  After a few weeks I began to feel that it was just another part of me - rather like my glasses.  My glasses took a week or two to get used to and now I don't feel "right" without them.  I don't really notice my catheter now - after carrying it around for eight weeks.

Good luck!

[lmunchkin]

How did it go today?  You doing okay?  Had you on my mind all day.  Please post when you can, Rileysmom!

Thinking of you,
lmunchkin
 

[cassandra]

Hi there, How did you get on RM? Hope you'r ok

[rileysmom]

thanks for all the well wishes. my first flush was about 1/2 hr and the pd nurse was happy with what she saw. it was a little strange when she first did it. there was some pressure down in my pelvis area but she told me that is probably where the cath is sitting. im still in a little pain. slow moving about but im just taking it easy watching christmas movies. monday i go for my next flush. giving yourself a sponge bath is a little difficult. oh i cant wait to take a real shower. for those of you on pd do you know wehre i can get some kind of belt for my cath so i dont have to keep taping it?

[jadey]

After my site healed a little bit (1 week post-insert), this is how I showered:
Having a handheld shower head was really convenient because I was able to control where the water is going.

First I would clean everything from below the exit site and down. Wet, soap, rinse.
In order to wash my upper body, I wet my arms and cleaned them (making sure I kept my arms high so the water doesn't trickle down my side and onto my site). I leave my torso and back alone.

Then I bend my upper body over by a little over 45 degrees. I would wet my hair, shampoo, condition and rinse. Then I would ring out excess water and wrap my hair up with a towel. Using another towel I would wrap up my body.

Come out of shower, put on some pants. Get a wet cloth to wipe down my torso and back.

 Fini!

6 more days until I get to take a normal shower!!!!~~~

ps. I don't know if you all wanted to hear how I showered.. just felt like throwing it out there

[drgirlfriend]

Glad everything is going well so far!
My bf got his belts from his supply order. We are Fresenius. Don't know about Baxter and others. Many people like the belts on kidneystuff.com, but there are a handful of different makers.

[lmunchkin]

RM, so glad you came through things well.  Thanks for letting us know.

lmunchkin