Hi I'm cindy from canada.I have been waiting 2 years for surgery and I just got the call today to have my surgery on tuesday!!!I have had alot of different surgeries but this time I am scared!! I am also scared that the pain medication after surgery is not going to help enough with my pain because I have been on pain meds so long.I have been on many different pain meds over the years.2 years ago i was put on slow release morphine.I take it every twelve hours and have regular morphine for break through pain.I had bowel surgery 2 years ago and had a really rough time because of my tolerance to pain meds. They gave me all that they could and it just wasnt enough so I am very scared .I also have severe fibromyalgia so that just makes the pain worse. I am having left side rib removed and muscle bands cut.I have been having really bad heart palpitations lately that take my breath away for several seconds.I don't know if it is safe for me to be put to sleep with this .Does anyone have any advice or information to help me stop feeling so scared.Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

I had the surgery in April, and I was sooooo scared! IF only I had known what a breeze it was, and with Fentanyl, I felt Noooooo pain. Really, my experience was a cake-walk. I hope yours is, too.

As for feeling better, it wasn't until 9 months later that I really noticed benefits. You MUST give your body time to heal those nerves.

God bless you!

Thank you very much for your reply!! I pray that I can come thru my surgery as well as you did.I do know from reading that it seems like it will be a long recovery .It will be worth it if I can have a litle bit of life back.

Cindy-
I would certainly bring up the heart palpitations bit in your pre op visit. Sound like you have been thorugh a lot. I haven't had surgery myself, so all I can say is good luck to you.

I was reading yesterday that pain level has a lot to do with the amount of morphine you can handle at any one time (b/c the pain conteracts the sedation effects of the morphine) it was interesting.
I don't know what the source of this page is, but it *appears* credible.

Maybe if Trix is around she would have some advice. I think she had surgery with someone in Canada.

Best of luck to you.

Johanna

I had my surgery with Dr. Nelems in Kelowna. He is considerd one of the foremost experts on TOS in Canada. I had both sides done two days apart.
I remember waking up in recovery after the first surgery in intense pain. By the time I got to my room though the pain was under control.
After the second surgery the pain was under control right from the beginning.
They continued my pre-op pain meds orally, in addition to the morphine through-out my hospital stay.
After the surgery I felt wonderful. I felt truly pain free for the first time in over a year. Once I got out of the hospital, the pain was definitley present, but I am mostly able to control it with my oral meds.
I have started PT this week. I am three months post-op, and I will return to seeing my chiropractor in February.
All in all, I am very glad I had the surgery. So far, I have a marked decrease in the numbness and tingling in my hands. I feel better over all, I do have a lot of burning pain, but Dr. Nelems thinks that is normal. He keeps reminding me that it can take up to two years to recover from this surgery. Even if I only see a small amount of change from where I am today I will consider my surgery a great success.
Tracy

I haven't had TOS surgery yet so I can't answer questions specific to your upcoming surgery. But I did want to respond to your concern about the heart palpitations....I know when I've had more minor surgeries (carpal tunnel) they would not proceed with the surgeries until after obtaining the results of ekg (ecg?) tests to ensure that my heart was okay. I assume that they will do the same for you in your pre-op testing (unless things are different in Canada?). Also, I used to get heart palpitations too but after testing it was determined they were nothing serious, so hopefully the same will be true for you.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

Hi Cindy,

Good luck with your surgery. I had rib resection surgery 2 years ago August. The pillow is a really good idea. Also, if you have a recliner at home, that'll be essential for comfort. One thing I would like to stress is to move your arm when you can. Try to move it as often as you can and use those muscles. The sooner you can get it moving the better off you'll be. Also, a good thing too is to desensitize the area of the arm/chest that'll be numb with different things like a cloth, etc. That'll help wake up those nerves. Also, in the hospital, if they'll give you a morphine pump, that was easier than taking pills. Good luck. This brings back alot of memories for me. Please be patient. Recovery will take a long time. It's been 2 years for me and I'm still not 100%.

Good Luck!

Good luck, Cindy! I know you are nervous, but you're in the home stretch now. The worrying and wondering will be over soon and you'll be on your way to better living! spoil yourself and do take it s l o w and easy.

God bless you, I'll be keeping you in my prayers!
Anne

Well its 1 am and I now i should e sleeping.The hospital is 2 hours away from home and i had to come for preadmission tests today so we are ina motel for the night.I have to be at hospital at 6 am and surgery is 7:30.The preadmission went great and was very well organized.I have myself ready for this now and I am not scared anymore.I will update you all whenever I can and Rachael I will let you know all about my experience so you will be prepared for yours.Again I cant thank you all enough for the wonderful support ,prayers and help you have given me.To all of those still recovering I send you my heartfelt wishes for a pain free life( or as close to that as we can get) I will keep all of you in my prayers and I look forward to being able to get back online to share my experience with you all. (((hugs))) to all , cindy

Best of Luck Cindy