So, I'm getting jaw surgery tomorrow and to be honest, I'm a bit...scared. I've never been through surgery before so I don't know what's gonna go down. They will give me medicine before the op, a.k.a. they will put the Husky to sleep before the operation. Anyone here had previous surgeries? If so, what was it like?

Well, I'm British, so I guess I can't apply the NHS procedures to ya. :|

It's not so bad. Depending on whats gettin' done the next few days are gonna be kind crappy, because you'll be doped up on painkillers and swollen everywhere. But surgery itself? Not bad at all, especially if you're put asleep.

Recovery will be the worst part, depending on the work and how everything goes. Going in is the scary part but you will be asleep for most of it :P

I've had a few, and fear is normal. Just trust your doctors (because not trusting them won't help :P ).

Then take it easy and take the proper time to recover, or the after part will take longer and be more painful :o

Good luck

If they're putting you under, then it's mostly the worry beforehand that's gonna be the worst. Once they start counting down the numbers it just goes blank, then you wake up groggy, doped up, some pain.

Eating is a pain for the next week. Avoid eating anything dairy in the first 24 hours just because for a lot of people it reacts badly with the residual anesthesia and makes you throw up. Not fun. Because it's jaw related, eating will be a bit tedious, slow and careful for awhile. Eat a lot of soft foods obviously. Things like mashed potatoes, creamed soups, apple sauce, shakes, smoothies, juice, pudding, soft fruit, yogurt, cottage cheese, hot cereal, etc anything you can think of that doesn't require much if any chewing. Stock your house (or wherever you'll be staying) with it before the surgery. You really won't want to have to go shopping right away while you're recovering. Depending on pain levels and your own pain tolerance, it could be noticeable pain, or you could be feeling pretty normal in less than a week. That can really differ. Between meds and recovery, expect to sleep a lot in the first week after. I don't know recovery time for that surgery, but person to person can also very a lot. And if you're being put under, then you'll probably need someone to drive you/pick you up after.

As for what it's like: they prep you, talk to you, stick a mask over your face, start counting down. You drop off into oblivion and remember absolutely nothing at all. The surgery happens. They put you in a recovery room. You start waking up and probably interact groggily before your memory kicks in. Then you just have a glorious blank and only remember waking up somewhere and feeling under the weather. Then you deal with pain, take meds, carefully eat, sleep some more, repeat until you feel like a frisky husky again. It's not that bad. It's surgery and all that but nothing too bad. Best of luck though, I hope it all goes smooth as silk for you!

I've had several surgeries from childhood until just last year (might end up having another to fix my shoulder, which I fucked up a bit while on vacation), so I'm pretty experienced here. :P

And yeah there's honestly nothing to be afraid of, just make sure that you follow your surgical center's guidelines before the surgery (like I'm sure they've told you to not eat/drink within x hours before the surgery).

Being put under general anesthesia is kind of interesting in that you'll never come closer to just suddenly passing out without.. just suddenly passing out. It's strange to feel conscious and aware, then suddenly just feeling yourself slip into unconsciousness and there's nothing you can do to fight it. That might sound not terribly enjoyable, but honestly it's so seamless and fast that by the time you notice, you're pretty much out.

After that, you'll eventually "wake up" (if you want to call it that) and will feel very very lethargic and unable to think clearly. Just look up any video on youtube of someone waking up after a surgery (e.g. David At The Dentist) and you'll get an idea of what that will be like. A few hours after that you shouldn't really be feeling the effects of the anesthesia at all, other than still just feeling kind of tired. By the next day you'll be totally fine again.

The worst that's ever happened to me was long ago when I was a kid, and ended up vomiting a few times while still waiting in the hospital after the surgery. Nausea and vomiting is a possible side-effect of anesthesia, but this only happened to me a couple of times and it wasn't that bad. It's why it's important that you don't eat/drink before the surgery though.

But yeah, you honestly have nothing to worry about at all, it's just a new experience for you. By the end of it, you'll think the surgery itself was practically nothing (recovery time, of course, varies).

Yeah, furrypickle said most already, surgery is normally nothing to fear.
It is a bit strange for me as most narcotics don't seem to work fully, if I'm put under I do not feel pain but only a really numb pressure where they work but am otherwise concious, with the difference that I can't move and thinking takes foreeeeever. Strange feeling, incredibly boring but even realizing that it is boring as hell will take half the operation anyway.

That shit happening is very, very seldom, but it runs in my family.

Other than that, follow whatever your doctors says to the letter, only soft food, nothing aggressive (you do NOT want chilli or peppers anywhere near your stitches), keep water nearby, no alcohol, no soft drinks, nothing carbonated, juices depends, applejuice should be good, something like orange juice may be already to sour for you.

Get something easy to read, the bible to bore you to death beforehand, helps alleviate stress and causes the narcotics to get much faster into effect. Be prepared to feel really groggy shortly after waking up and maybe 1-2 hours afterwards.
Stock your fridge if you are allowed to go home after wards, and get family or someone else to drive you home.

Dunno what else to write, you'll survive and if the hospital isn't sketchy as fuck you don't have to worry about anything.

Oh, if you have questions, ask your doctor, he'll very likely will answer you nearly everything short of what his credit card details are.

It should be fairly obvious, but if you're going to be in and out on the same day make sure to go in with a family member or close friend, because you obviously won't be able to get yourself home reliably after the surgery. He or she will also be able to receive any discharge instructions afterward, because you'll be too doped up to remember a lot of it.

DragonRanger said:
He or she will also be able to receive any discharge instructions afterward, because you'll be too doped up to remember a lot of it.

That is good advice, ask if they have a flyer of sorts, some hospitals have these with the most common things to expect printed on them, including steps to take if something doesn't heal up like it should.

Alrighty then. Thank you all for the advice :)

I've never had a surgery, but alll I can do is wish you luck.

TheHuskyK9 said:
So, I'm getting jaw surgery tomorrow and to be honest, I'm a bit...scared. I've never been through surgery before so I don't know what's gonna go down. They will give me medicine before the op, a.k.a. they will put the Husky to sleep before the operation. Anyone here had previous surgeries? If so, what was it like?

You'll be fine. You're a tough cookie. You'll be doped up for a few hours and may feel a bit ill afterwards. But don't worry. Make sure you have someone with you.

I donno I had one and they just get me some gas and I passed out then they did something with my left ear... the next day I felt awful though :I

A fun little game is to try and fight the anesthesia by staying awake. You will lose, but it's fun trying. The experience directly after waking up is funny too, depending on how long it takes for the pain to kick in.

The three big points are to not be nervous or afraid, ask your doctor about any questions you might have before the surgery, and to take it real easy after the surgery.

Edit: Let's hope "putting the Husky to sleep" is temporary.

Furry_Fanatic said:
Edit: Let's hope "putting the Husky to sleep" is temporary.

It better be o.o

Would be better if I got a happy ending.

The only time I went into surgery was after I got shot and passed out. The recovery hurt like a bitch though (luckily it only 2 hit my left calf and one in my left arm and not something like my head) but don't worry painkillers are your friend.

Here is a good tip if your jaw hurts too bad afterwords to eat.

Go to a fast food place, get a burger, fries, and a drink of your choice. Put the burger and fries into a blender and drink it though a big straw. I added a bit of soda to mine so it was easier to blend into a liquid. Anything is better then chewing at that point. Good luck :V

Conker said:
Here is a good tip if your jaw hurts too bad afterwords to eat.

Go to a fast food place, get a burger, fries, and a drink of your choice. Put the burger and fries into a blender and drink it though a big straw. I added a bit of soda to mine so it was easier to blend into a liquid. Anything is better then chewing at that point. Good luck :V

that's so gross..

Conker said:
Here is a good tip if your jaw hurts too bad afterwords to eat.

Go to a fast food place, get a burger, fries, and a drink of your choice. Put the burger and fries into a blender and drink it though a big straw. I added a bit of soda to mine so it was easier to blend into a liquid. Anything is better then chewing at that point. Good luck :V

Do you want to give him a heart attack too?

Conker said:
Here is a good tip if your jaw hurts too bad afterwords to eat.

Go to a fast food place, get a burger, fries, and a drink of your choice. Put the burger and fries into a blender and drink it though a big straw. I added a bit of soda to mine so it was easier to blend into a liquid. Anything is better then chewing at that point. Good luck :V

Nah, I'm good

furballs_dc said:
Do you want to give him a heart attack too?

Just wait till the bill.

"Good quality" fast food is expensive

TheHuskyK9 said:
Nah, I'm good

Well then look into some food you can drink though a straw, you'll need it

TheHuskyK9 said:

"Good quality" fast food is expensive

Not really. I went to McDonald early in the morning, around the time they start cooking burgers....and it was the best dollar menu double cheese burger I have ever had. It was fresher then if you order one later in the day c:

Patch said:
that's so gross..

furballs_dc said:
Do you want to give him a heart attack too?

Just wait till the bill.

'MERICA!

When I got my tonsils removed as a kid I was put under, went without a hitch. But after the procedure I spent the next few weeks coughing out blood and eating/drinking anything was painful as hell. I don't think that you're going to be coughing out blood, hopefully they give you something to keep your jaw from hurting too much.

I had surgery to remove a bad wisdom tooth only a few weeks ago, had to be put under for it.

Nervousness beforehand was really the worst part, I kept coming up with things that might go wrong, especially with the IV sedation - having never been put under before, I had no idea if I might have some kind of reaction to the medicine or not.

It really was a breeze, though. The worst part of it was having the IV needle put in, was a little painful and a bit uncomfortable, but only lasted a few seconds. After the anesthesia was injected, the ceiling swirled for a few seconds and then I was out. The type of anesthetic they used for me keeps you awake during the procedure - I vaguely remember responding to things the doctor said - but for all intents and purposes it felt like I immediately fell asleep and I remember nothing of the operation.

What was about a 2-3 hour procedure only felt like a few minutes. Recovery, again, is not pleasant - in my case I had to be careful about what I ate, take a lot of pain medication, and take things easy to prevent loss of the blood clot, but other than that it healed up within a week.

My sister and parents have had surgery, luckly, not me. Yet they basically say, they put the mask on, you close your eyes, suddenly, you open your eyes, and it's over. It's almost like blinking. Once the pain medication wares off, then the pain comes.

Good luck

Just wanted to inform you dudes, the surgery was a success. I'm sore and still a little woozy from the anesthetic, I'm going to go rest

TheHuskyK9 said:
Just wanted to inform you dudes, the surgery was a success. I'm sore and still a little woozy from the anesthetic, I'm going to go rest

Daaaw cute

TheHuskyK9 said:
Just wanted to inform you dudes, the surgery was a success. I'm sore and still a little woozy from the anesthetic, I'm going to go rest

Congrats! I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure you'll be back to feeling normal again soon enough. *well wishes*

TheHuskyK9 said:
Just wanted to inform you dudes, the surgery was a success. I'm sore and still a little woozy from the anesthetic, I'm going to go rest

Grats, remember not to push it

TheHuskyK9 said:
Just wanted to inform you dudes, the surgery was a success. I'm sore and still a little woozy from the anesthetic, I'm going to go rest

I hope you can wake up from the rest...

tfkcex said:
I hope you can wake up from the rest...

Chances are that as long as he survives the anaesthetics that he'll survive a nap after that as well.

Since you're going for oral surgery, get of some sort of Carnation liquid breakfast. That's what I did when I had to get some wisdom teeth removed and that's what I lived on for the next few days. Listen to the medical professional on what to do after the surgery.

TheTundraTerror said:
Since you're going for oral surgery, get of some sort of Carnation liquid breakfast. That's what I did when I had to get some wisdom teeth removed and that's what I lived on for the next few days. Listen to the medical professional on what to do after the surgery.

Thats what I said XD

Conker said:
Here is a good tip if your jaw hurts too bad afterwords to eat.

Go to a fast food place, get a burger, fries, and a drink of your choice. Put the burger and fries into a blender and drink it though a big straw. I added a bit of soda to mine so it was easier to blend into a liquid. Anything is better then chewing at that point. Good luck :V

Did you even remember counting down? Because my surgery, I just remember being wheeled into an operating room, getting off the cart, and sitting down on the operating table. It was all a blank from there until I woke up in recovery.

I did get to spend the better part of my recovery period rooming with a noisy guy with a foot injury that he rated a 9, compared to the 4 or 5 I kept answering for my pain level.

kuroshi said:
Did you even remember counting down? Because my surgery, I just remember being wheeled into an operating room, getting off the cart, and sitting down on the operating table. It was all a blank from there until I woke up in recovery.

I did get to spend the better part of my recovery period rooming with a noisy guy with a foot injury that he rated a 9, compared to the 4 or 5 I kept answering for my pain level.

He didn't even give me a countdown. I asked "So...how long until I'm KO'd?" Doc: "Meh, about 30 seconds." Me: "Oh................" then I got dizzy and closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them, the doc told me it was over and wheeled me into my sister's car. Everything else was a blur

Lucky You. I've had surgery without anesthesia when i was a kid. They've cut out periapical cyst. The doctors were aware of that i am conscious. I was screaming during the surgery. Oh, well at least i tried. I've got their fingers in my mouth. That was one of a kind experience. I will never forget it.