Surgery scheduled
 

Hi everyone.
I've had TOS vascular/ neuro for the last 18 months. I'm at the point of not being able to take the pain anymore. I am scheduled with Dr. Sanders in 3weeks for evaluation & surgery. I was diagnosed last year by Dr. Brantigan.

I was in such severe pain I went to the Emergency Room Sat night. Of course the doctor didnt know much about TOS, but gave me an IV of dilaudid, toradol and phenergan for the pain. I had a migraine along with nerve pain on the whole right upper side of my body. Burning, cramping, shooting aching......you know what I mean. :( . Right now my Neurologist is keeping me on dilaudid, phenergan, soma & fioricet.

Any advice from Sander's patients would be appreciated. I am flying to Denver along with my hubby & mother. Thanks!! ihtos

Sorry you are here but many people on this site are familiar with your doctor and the area you are being treated. I live in NJ but have heard you are in a very good place. I am sure more people will type in their advice. I had surgery 7 years ago and was a major improvement. Keep strong. I am glad you have hubby and mom. It is important to have an advocate with you. Tell them to speak up for you when ever necessary. It is good to have someone on your side at all times no matter why you are in a hospital. Best of luck. Linda

I wrote a review of my visit to Dr Sanders HERE he was second choice out of 5 for surgery by my personal review...so i'd say you are in good hands.
let's see now... Dr sanders says you only have to stay for a few days after surgery- stay longer...like at LEAST a week. One person i know had a really hard time flying after surgery...the incision really hurt becasue of the cabin air pressure changes.

ask for extra pillows in your hotel room, or get a sleeping wedge pillow there or @ home &take it with you...should make the hotel bed easier to deal with. you'll need them for head and knees, is my experience.

When i was considering going to dnever, I had thought of this for the recliner issue- a folding zero gravity chair...like one of these . not too expensive AND you could travel with it.

i really needed a smoosh pillow for my head in the hospital...my neck felt SO unsteady for days...

take in a colorado rapids game if they are playing while you are there...great soccer can take a mind off of anything ;)

i'll keep thinking. amazing how fast you forget stuff...it hasn't even been three months yet for me:eek:

:hug: :hug: :hug: and best of luck to you, you deserve the best :)

Hi,

I had surgery with Dr Annest, so can't speak to specific Dr and hospital issues, but can give some general advice re: surgery and Denver.

Might check with Dr Sanders office and see if it is ok to UPS a box to their address. I packed up my own pillows, (including my cervical pillow), slippers and post-op (easy-on and off) clothes so I had just a small bag and carry-on for dh to handle in addition to his own. We shipped it back before leaving for the airport, much cheaper via UPS than paying to fly it freight on same flight with us. I was there for several days of testing prior to surgery, in hospital 4 days and 15-16 days post-discharge for PT, (inc. weekend days and post-op follow-up appt), so I needed to bring more than you may need, however.

Do pack warm socks and slippers for the hospital, as the floors are cold and not always that clean. Shave your legs the night before surgery - it may be a while before you feel like doing this again. I bring raisins, crackers, etc. in case I get hungry between meals, and a colored washcloth/handtowel for washing (hospital laundries often use harsh detergents and bleach which is hard on the face and leaves linens scratchy which is painful to my RSD-sensitive skin). And I don't go ANYWHERE without a book or two. :D

Learned from painful experience - send your Mom or dh to the nurse's station when it is time for your meds - otherwise you might be left waiting a LONG time. Just after surgery it's important to keep taking the meds on schedule so they don't wear off and leave you trying to play catch up to the pain. On a med/surg ward they know this, so don't feel bad about asking for your meds if they aren't brought to you when they should be! ;)

If you'll need a car while you're there, you can usually get a pretty good deal through Budget or Dollar at the Denver Airport. It's usually cheaper than the in-town deals and saves you the shuttle fees into the city and back out. We've done it both ways and find it cheaper and more convenient to just rent at the airport.

Dr Sanders and Rose Hospital are on the UC campus, aren't they, around
9th St off Colorado? After surgery we stayed on South Colorado past Cherry Creek Mall, I think the cross street is Mexico, at a Fairfield Inn. It was fine, the free breakfast was much nicerl than most, staff was very helpful, and they offer a hospital rate if you ask for it. There are several restaurants nearby and a grocery store, and you can request a refrigerator for your room if you feel like staying in. The interstate by-pass is just south of the hotel if you want to head up to the mountains or back to the airport.

Ohh, the pillows? I put 1 length-wise under my back, 1 under each arm, and one regular under my head with my cervical one on top of that. A couple of those belonged to the hotel! Anyway, propped up like this, I could sleep post-op without a recliner - but that was the only way I could!! You might need to experiment to find what works for you. Ice
(as long as you haven't been told you have RSD) may turn out to be your best buddy for the first few days following hospital discharge. And rest - surgery is a trauma to your body - you may need more rest to let your body heal. It's surprising how tough this surgery can be on a person - the "surgical" recovery I think was comparable to my c-section. No complications though, it went fine - I just expected to bounce back quicker.:o

Denver has some beautiful parks and great outdoor spaces, maybe you can relax and picnic in a scenic spot! PS. Take a camera - for hospital pics and mountain vistas. :) But easy does it!

Hope something helps; use what you can, ignore the rest!! Best wishes for a VERY successful surgery and a smooth and easy recovery,
beth :hug:

I haven't yet had the surgery but I did get a consult from Dr Sanders. His office mgr, Cathy, is very very helpful. Regarding when to fly: she said they want you to fly out during a very particular window of time as she said you feel ok from the hospital iv meds but will later feel pretty bad. They have a lot of patients that travel for surgery and have the whole protocol well figured out. And it changes depending on whether or not he takes the rib.

Denver Hotels
 

IHTOS- I am in Denver now. We arrived about two weeks ago. When we arrived there were no hotels available in the City of Denver, not even a Motel 6. There are alot of conventions going on right now as well as a lot of tourists. We are staying about 20 miles outside of Denver as this was the closest we could get and I hear it is going to get worse this month.

So book your hotel reservations now. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

GMS

Bring your umbrella too!

Great advice from Beth and everyone. Good luck! Linda

One other, very important thought - do breathing exercises before going!!
Denver is the mile-high city, and that can make it especially difficult for out-of-towners to get off oxygen post-op. If a rib resection is done, the surgeon may choose to deflate the lung routinely, or only if it is nicked accidently - the pleura (sac encasing the lung) is very close to the rib and this is sometimes unavoidable; some surgeons opt to make a small opening in the pleura, thus deflating the lung and giving them more room to work, to reduce risk factors. The pleura opening is then repaired before closing, and an x-ray is taken in recovery. After surgery patients then usually are given H2O through a removeable nose tube - I had a second chest x-ray the day after surgery, they watch for 90-95% or lung function before taking you off oxygen.

Walking, even a block or two away, AND back, done daily or as often as possible, is really a good work for your respiratory muscles. Since we are in chronic pain, our tendency is to be much more sedentary than we used to be,; it's important to be as fit as possible heading into surgery. BUT protect those arms by putting hands in pockets or thumbs through belt loops - letting them hang by your side will pull down on the brachial plexus, causing a flare. Stairclimbing is also good - and if it is too exhausting to go up and down a flight multi times, stand at the bottom and just step up and down the bottom one or two to your tolerance.

Several times a day, for short periods, practice deep breathing, from your diaphragm. When you breath in, let your lungs fully inflate. Then breathe fully out, completely relaxing your torso. Only do this for a few minutes at a time so you don't hyperventilate!! :eek:

Now when you take in a deep breath, concentrate on the side that you will have the surgery on. Try to isolate that the breath and fully inflate the very top of that lung with the breath. Try this for a few breaths, feeling the top of the lung expand. Then concentrate and try to inflate the outer side of your chest, pushing against the ribcage as your lung expands. Continue with the bottom of your lung, and the inner side. Do these a few minutes a time, several times a day before surgery, they will be familiar and you will get off H2O faster after surgery. It will likely hurt to do the deep breathing after surgery, but the pain with breathing will go away faster if you do what you can ahead of time to prepare yourself. ;)

I was amazed, after quitting smoking 3 weeks prior (Dr's orders) and doing these exercises for a few days pre-op, and post-op, (Feldenkrais instructor's suggestion) plus trying to do some walking and eating right pre-op and taking vitamins and supplements to be in the best condition I could be going into surgery, I got off oxygen pretty quickly - 2 days - and had no respiratory complications. Not bad for a flatlander from the Midwest who smoked for 25+ years!! :cool:

If you smoke, like me, you should quit - and hopefully stay quit, unlike me. :o

Please Note: I am not a medical professional. Please check with your Dr, PT or other licensed caregiver before following any advice given here. I am not a deep-sea diver, an Egyptian archaeologist, a NYC cab driver or a high-wire acrobat, and I DON'T do windows ('cept the Microsoft kind). LOL!! :p I'm just another TOS'er, one who's been around the block a few times, and a fellow human bean, trying to help others here. I'm not perfect, none of us is; but the way I see it, we're all in this TOS mess together, right??? :grouphug:

Best of luck - I love Denver, so many people who KNOW TOS, plus the beautiful Rockies! :)

beth :hug:

Find Relife!!
 

I hope you get to feeling better soon! Sorry to hear about your painful days!!

Pain free hugs :hug: :hug: :hug:

Just a Thought (I Have Them Occasionally...No Comments from the Peanut Gallery!!!)
 

good advice re booking ahead - but also remember i think it was jensrib who found st. christopher house, via exempla st. josephs hospital (which is just 2 blocks south of presbyterian/st. lukes, which both dr. annest and dr. brantigan operate out of) - she and her family members were able to stay there for a VERY affordable rate while jen was having TOS surgery a few months back with dr. annest... (well, obviously jen was in pres/st. lukes for part of that stay:D), but as many of you know, doc annest likes his TOS patients to remain in denver post-op for at LEAST 10 to 14 days if they are able, to take advantage of the wonderful PT protocols specifically developed for post rib-resection, scalenectomy, pec minor or lat procedure, whatever the case may be that he and his colleagues there have very painstakingly developed for us. (jen found these accommodations on her own, and they are closer to the hospital than the "new" inn, which is up and running but i gather a few miles away from pres/st. lukes and in the "wrong" direction towards 'dangertown' if you know what i mean...) annest wants you to remain for the post-op surgical visit too, natch. he typically won't release you to go back home for at least 10 days as i recall. ideally, that is. i know he's not your surgeon, itos, i'm just sayin'...

you can call up jensrib's threads by entering her poster name in the 'advanced search' link underneath the 'search' bar located in the upper righthand portion of your screen, (and this is for gail, as well, if she is interested [hi, gail! nice to see you!:)]) also, use the basic search aspect to find surgery tips by entering keywords. use technical terms like "frozen peas," "recliner," etc. hahaha just trust me on this. or just the word "surgery" should bring up some threads for you. (or maybe some lunch:eek: :eek:!!)

the rates at st. christopher house, as well as the accommodations, from what i can recall of jen's description anyhow, sound pretty similar to the inn at pres/st. lukes when it was attached to the hospital. clean, but basic. $30 - $40 a night (depending on amenities like a/c, fridge in room); reduced rate available for hardship; sliding scale if stay extended beyond 2 consecutive weeks (can't vouch all terms will be identical, mind you, but i would definitely inquire). also make sure to ask for hospital discount, cafeteria discount, all that good stuff. hospital discounts are available on rental cars i know if you get them near the hospital - ask your surgeon's coordinator about this stuff.

there were sure a lot of plusses for me and first my kid, then my brother staying so close to the hospital - even though my daily PT was all the way over in lakewood, with jason cherry MSPT, COMT (who is awesome and a crack-up to boot:D), so i had to be schlepped over there cuz i couldn't drive myself (i actually took the bus, a few timez...:cool:). like my surgeon's office was right across the street in case i had any complications or any questions. the pharmacy was right there, too. saved a ton of $ eating in the hospital cafeteria (25% discount and the food wasn't bad; i even got used to drinking orange milk (bronco season thang);)). basement tunnel access to the hospital or a block and half walk, either way got me to the medical library and free internet which meant i could log onto the OBT forum (many of you guys were on there then and you SAVED ME; i'm sure you didn't even know it at the time:circlelove: - scary surgery in a strange city and there were a few days when neither my daughter nor my bro' could be with me so YOU WERE IT!:p). and it was pretty centrally located. 16th street mall in one direction, cherry creek in another. loved that aspect.

sorry for the ramble. denver is a wonderful place and i have never, ever seen the sky sooooooooo big. itos, i hope you find the answers you need there. of course, try entering doc sanders' name in the search function, too, and you may very well find more of his patients that way - the obvious one that comes to mind is annie (la31), who just had a scalenectomy and pec minor release performed by him last spring. but she is being a very good patient right now and staying off of the computer, so i think it has been very hard for her to post, unfortunately...:( always a good idea to ask the dr.'s office to give you the names of some of his other surgical patients for you to speak with directly, though and they will be HAPPY to to that.

you have my phone number, right? so call me and i'll tell you all about some of the fun stuff we did in CO as well as about my surgery with dr. annest if you'd like. i really did have a pretty great experience there.

all things considered, that is...:wink:

alison
"Be Brave"