Random Pre-op Questions

[Jnfinney 526]

Hi! My surgery is scheduled for March 15th and I have a couple of random questions.

1. What is this dry mouth spray I have seen on here?! I already have cotton mouth from the liquid diet (sounds counterintuitive, but I feel like I can't get enough to drink), so I think I will definitely need this when surgery day arrives. What is the brand? Cost? Where can I find it?

2. This pre-op liquid diet is definitely a struggle. I am SO TIRED and I'm on day 4. Is this normal? Will I be this tired until I have surgery? All I want to do is sleep, I don't even think about food because I just want to sleep all the time.

3. I am terrified to take pain medication for the risk of addiction. My surgeon said he will be prescribing me 2 mg of DILAUDID after surgery, which I hear is highly addictive. Has anyone else taken this pain medication post-op? I haven't had good luck with oxycodone and hydrocodone in the past, as they do nothing for my pain. I trust my surgeon, I am just looking for other people's experiences.

4. What pain treatments did you receive in the hospital? I am apparently going to have IV medication along with 2 other medications. My surgeon explained to me that one of them is given pre-op around the spine (kind of like an epidural, but I've never had kids). The other he said is injected into the blood vessels surrounding my abdomen while I am in surgery. I am a little freaked out about the one that is given pre-op, but he said it really helps people transition smoothly out of anesthesia. Is this a common thing? Has anyone else had it?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for your responses!

[GreenTealael 25,389]

30 minutes ago, Jnfinney said:

Hi! My surgery is scheduled for March 15th and I have a couple of random questions.

1. What is this dry mouth spray I have seen on here?! I already have cotton mouth from the liquid diet (sounds counterintuitive, but I feel like I can't get enough to drink), so I think I will definitely need this when surgery day arrives. What is the brand? Cost? Where can I find it?

2. This pre-op liquid diet is definitely a struggle. I am SO TIRED and I'm on day 4. Is this normal? Will I be this tired until I have surgery? All I want to do is sleep, I don't even think about food because I just want to sleep all the time.

3. I am terrified to take pain medication for the risk of addiction. My surgeon said he will be prescribing me 2 mg of DILAUDID after surgery, which I hear is highly addictive. Has anyone else taken this pain medication post-op? I haven't had good luck with oxycodone and hydrocodone in the past, as they do nothing for my pain. I trust my surgeon, I am just looking for other people's experiences.

4. What pain treatments did you receive in the hospital? I am apparently going to have IV medication along with 2 other medications. My surgeon explained to me that one of them is given pre-op around the spine (kind of like an epidural, but I've never had kids). The other he said is injected into the blood vessels surrounding my abdomen while I am in surgery. I am a little freaked out about the one that is given pre-op, but he said it really helps people transition smoothly out of anesthesia. Is this a common thing? Has anyone else had it?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for your responses!

1. Probably biotene mouthwash but not sure, I didn’t use anything

2. Super common and you maybe tired for a little while post op too

3. Morphine, oxy and hydrocodone also have no effect on me. I requested Dilaudid post op (while in the hospital only) transferred to oral tramadol at home for a couple days then used extra strength Tylenol until I was pain free. I did not form an addiction (I have no issues with addiction to pain meds and had several surgeries after with the same routine with no problems, but I always stay vigilant by using pain meds pony when truly needed ❤️)

4. Only IV the pain pump (Dilaudid)

Edited March 4, 2021 by GreenTealael

[Jnfinney 526]

I should note that I've never had a drug problem, but all the warnings on these medications always scare me a bit!

[GreenTealael 25,389]

2 minutes ago, Jnfinney said:

I should note that I've never had a drug problem, but all the warnings on these medications always scare me a bit!

Same

[Maisey 260]

I didn't use any dry mouth spray.

I had oral tramadol in the hospital and was given some to take home. I never took a pain pill beyond 12 hours post surgery.

I don't know what was in my IV prior to surgery. I remember being wheeled down the hall and then waking up in recovery. Nothing in between.

[catwoman7 11,216]

4 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

Hi! My surgery is scheduled for March 15th and I have a couple of random questions.

1. What is this dry mouth spray I have seen on here?! I already have cotton mouth from the liquid diet (sounds counterintuitive, but I feel like I can't get enough to drink), so I think I will definitely need this when surgery day arrives. What is the brand? Cost? Where can I find it?

there are a couple of major brands names - Biotene is one - G.U.M. Hydral is another - but even a generic equivalent should work fine. I think I just got it at Walgreens.

4 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

2. This pre-op liquid diet is definitely a struggle. I am SO TIRED and I'm on day 4. Is this normal? Will I be this tired until I have surgery? All I want to do is sleep, I don't even think about food because I just want to sleep all the time.

I started feeling better around day 4. I think it's the carb withdrawal. Well that, and you're only taking in a few hundred calories.

4 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

3. I am terrified to take pain medication for the risk of addiction. My surgeon said he will be prescribing me 2 mg of DILAUDID after surgery, which I hear is highly addictive. Has anyone else taken this pain medication post-op? I haven't had good luck with oxycodone and hydrocodone in the past, as they do nothing for my pain. I trust my surgeon, I am just looking for other people's experiences.

they won't give you enough to get addicted. They usually give you enough for 3-5 days. A lot of us don't have any pain with this surgery, so we don't even bother taking it, but do take it if you're one of the unfortunate ones who have pain. I would worry if you had something like 30 days' worth, but 3 or 4 days, no.

4 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

4. What pain treatments did you receive in the hospital? I am apparently going to have IV medication along with 2 other medications. My surgeon explained to me that one of them is given pre-op around the spine (kind of like an epidural, but I've never had kids). The other he said is injected into the blood vessels surrounding my abdomen while I am in surgery. I am a little freaked out about the one that is given pre-op, but he said it really helps people transition smoothly out of anesthesia. Is this a common thing? Has anyone else had it?

I'm not sure if I had that or not, since I would have been out like a light on the operating table while they gave that (although maybe not that spine one you mentioned - not sure what that is. They may have given it to me, though. That sedative they usually give you before they even roll you down to the OR always knocks me out - I'm always gone while they're rolling me down the hallway. But anyway, if they gave me that spinal one once I got into the OR, I was long gone by then and wasn't aware of it). I DO know that I had a morphine pump in my room, which was hooked up to my IV bag, so I could just press a button when I needed some, which I really didn't. I really never had any pain with this surgery, just some nausea a few hours after it.

4 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

Sorry for the long post, and thanks for your responses!

[Elidh 240]

I took biotene spray to the hospital, but didn’t use it.

I can’t take oxy, morphine, hydrocodone etc. because they make me insanely nauseated.

they did a TAP block in my abdominal muscles and I had Tylenol postop. No pain to speak of, not even the gas pain many folks talk about.

[mswillis5 127]

I took biotene dry mouth spray, found at CVS, Walgreens or Walmart or online. My wife and I really used it a few times as it gives a fresh mint flavor and helps to moisturize the mouth.

We also had dilaudid and it worked for us in the hospital. Our doctor did give us hydrocodone but we only took one dose before transitioning to just tylenol as our pain was not that bad.

I can't comment on the other items as my wife and I never had anything like that during our surgery.

[lizonaplane 1,613]

I have really bad dry mouth from meds I take and I have found that sour sugar free sucking candies (the equivalent of breathmints) really do well for me. I only need one for several hours worth of relief. You could ask your program if that is okay, since it only has like 3 calories per piece and it's not swallowed or chewed. Other people like gum, but I can't chew gum due to the dental problems from the dry mouth. I never found any biotene stuff to work for me, but I know other people swear by it. Another thing that works is iced mint tea. just make hot mint tea and pour it over ice or make a pitcher and keep it in the fridge - it's herbal so no caffeine unless you buy "green tea with mint" which is something different.

Good luck!

[Recidivist 1,141]

I had bypass and also got the painkiller injected around the incisions in the hospital. I was surprised at how little pain I had afterwards--I didn't even need any pain medication.