What is it like when you wake up from surgery?

[nickig2g 1]

Well I cannot believe I have less than a week to go before surgery! I am really nervous about what it is like when you wake up from surgery. Did you have catheters? Drainage tubes? Tubes in nose or throat? Just wondering how common these things are or if they are uncommon. Thanks!

[teachingkids2004 22]

Catheter, iv in the hand, another iv in the wrist. Very groggy and out if it. Can barely open your eyes but can hear everything going in around you.

[nickig2g 1]

No drainage tube?

[teachingkids2004 22]

Not for me. Dr said it's rare to have a drainage tube.

[J-Cal8 13]

No catheter or drainage tube. I was in pain, but they took care of that quickly enough.

[mmhutch 28]

Woke up with a sharp pain going up to my left shoulder, which was caused by the CO2 used to inflate the abdomen during surgery. Not everyone experiences this discomfort. My pain lasted about two days. I had no pain from surgical site though. I had an IV and drainage tube and bandages over incisions. No Foley catheter.

I never felt nausea either. The hospital nurses were diligent about giving me meds for pain, nausea, and antibiotic every few hours. I never asked for meds.

[NothingUpMySleeve 244]

Pressure and pain in your shoulders. Groggy and nauseated.

[marfar7 1,528]

I woke up with a catheter (thank God I didn't have to get up to pee every 20 mins the 1st 24 hrs), a JP drain, an IV and O2. I think it was the 1st surgery I'd had that I wasn't nauseous right afterwards. Not till the next day when I had to drink the barium for my leak test.

They took out my catheter after 24 hrs - then I got up to pee every 15-20 mins, literally. Took out my IV after about 36 hrs when I was able to drink enuf to make the nurse happy. My JP drain came out about 5 mins before discharge, 48 hrs after surgery.

I was in a moderate amt of pain but the nurses were all wonderful and freely giving of the IV Dilaudid. When I got home, however, felt like I was hit by a semi.

Have u ever had a general anesthesia surgery before? If not, u may wake up with a sore throat (from the breathing tube they use while under general), in pain (as soon as u ask for something, the recovery room nurses are usually on top of it), and O2 in ur nose. My O2 only last maybe 4-6 hrs. I don't remember much from that first day (got out of recovery about 1 pm but slept most of the day). Know I got out of bed to walk at about 10 pm and didn't sleep a wink that first nite (pain and a very vocal patient in the next room). By the 2nd nite, I slept a little better (plus my dr ordered me my normal sleeping pill that I didn't get the first nite).

Good luck and congrats!

[DonRodolfo 1,416]

Well I cannot believe I have less than a week to go before surgery! I am really nervous about what it is like when you wake up from surgery. Did you have catheters? Drainage tubes? Tubes in nose or throat? Just wondering how common these things are or if they are uncommon. Thanks!

I was surprised to wake up and not be in pain. Worst I felt was a gas-like pain in my abdomen that wouldn't go away. They offered me pain meds, I took them, and it was all good. No pain at all from any of the incisions, but felt like a Saint Bernard with the On Q ball pouch around my neck. It's an anesthetic ball that has two tubes that go into your belly for pain. When the ball deflates, you pull the tubes out of you. Odd but not painful. No catheters but did have an IV line they used to inject medicine and such.

By the time they wheeled me from recovery to my room, I was feeling a little groggy but great. I was walking laps around the nurses station about an hour later.

Edited April 17, 2014 by DonRodolfo

[Carlotta1 401]

Groggy, no pain, no tube. Just sleepy. No nausea cause I ask for a nausea patch before I went into surgery. Anesthesia usually gets me nauseated. But not this time I took precaution. Never had pain.. Except for a little gas ache in the shoulders.

[nickig2g 1]

Omg thank you so much for all of the replies! I feel so much better already!

[Susan-031314 179]

No catheter, I did have nose tube and IV. I also had a drainage tube that I kept for one week attached into my abdomen. No gas pains at all. I received Valium as soon as I got to the hospital to ease jitters and from there all was good. I had OnQ nerve block as well. I hope for you the same pain-free experience I had.

Oh, 2 nights in the hospital and nothing but children's Tylenol since. Worst I had was soreness around my largest incision.

[rodeomom969 39]

I am 2 days post-op. When I was just barely coming out I was in pain which they fixed fast, but other than that I just had my IV and stayed on IV liquids over night until the next morning. No drains or caths. I am doing great and don't even feel like I had surgery.

[Thindeprived 6]

Upon waking severe pain in shoulder, as mentioned that was from the CO2 pumped in. I had a morphine pump that took care of this pain. No catheter, no drainage tube, no bandages, just an IV. I had moderate size hiatal hernia that was repaired too. Was grabbing my IV pole and walking the 1st night. Had considerable amount of gas which walking relieved. Never had pain from incisions or abdomen but I did tire easily for the first 2 weeks. Just showering and washing my hair wore me out.

I was sleeved 03/19 and have lost 20 lbs so the little discomfort I felt was worth it. I'm now on 900 calories a day with no more then 50 grams of carbs. Never did I imagine I'd have a hard time getting in 900 calories.

Go into surgery knowing this is the best decision you can make for a healthier you and never let that thought fade.

Good luck!!

[TheWigster 70]

I woke up in a lot of pain. Had to stay in recovery for 3-4 hours because they could not get my pain under control. (I have a low threshold for pain) The pain was just under my sternum. I had a JP drain, and IV and Oxygen. The JP drain stayed in for two weeks PostOP. It didn't hurt at all. The largest incision hurt the most. The doctor said that was where the main instrumentation was inserted. I am 4 week post op and it is still sore. The iVs were removed the day I left the hospital. They were running fluids, Vitamins and pain meds up until I was discharged. I only used oxygen for the first 24 hours. The first 36 hours were the worst and little by little it got better. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days.