It felt like a road trip getting to the hospital, which is in the Adelaide Hills area. It was actually a nice drive and the town looked lovely when we arrived there. It's a place i'd like to go back and visit someday. This place i am speaking of is Stirling.
My Dad and i arrived at the hospital a little early. It was crazy how much fresher it was compared to where we live, which is only 40-60 mins or so away. Anyway, I was checked in by a nurse upon arrival and then my Dad and i were lead to a private room, where i'd stay until it was my turn to go into theater.
As it was early in the morning, i was still tired. My Dad and i ended up watching t.v. while we waited. Things like paperwork and checking my vital signs were done during this time but mostly it was a pretty quiet wait.
Around 9:15am, my anaesthetist came in to talk to us briefly. After that, i got changed into this fanciness (as shown on left). Shortly after this, a nurse checked in and said i should be going into theater around 10am. This is where a few nervous toilet trips came in, The part about procedures i've always hated the most is being put to sleep and this is what i was starting to get a little nervous about.
Sure enough, at 10am, i was led into theater. Things happened quickly. The drip and anesthetic, along with a gas mask was administered and as usual, i didn't like the feeling at all.
....
I woke up and instantly noticed how painful my throat was, i also had the shakes. The nurses administered painkillers twice through the drip and i also had something by mouth. I was told i was given endone. Well, i was awake and could hear things but i could barely keep my eyes open. Oh, i had oxygen on me for a long while too. My ENT doc came in but i told him i could barely open my eyes to look at him or listen. so he told me he'd see me later. I ended up staying in recovery for around half and hour.
How i got myself up and into a wheelchair, i'll never know. I was nearly falling asleep while standing and sitting too. I was wheeled back to my room. Once i got into bed, i noticed how odd my head felt. For hours, i lied down, sat up, lied down, sat up. This went on and on.
Even though i could barely keep my eyes open, when i lied down to try and sleep the t.v and people's movements became louder. I could also feel and hear my pulse.
I was also experiencing trouble with speech, forgetting what i did or what was said to me after 5 seconds.
All up, having endone was a horrible experience for me, It may have taken away most of the pain for a while but i hated the way it made me feel.
Somewhere during all this, i tried drinking water and Ensure. The pain acted up straight away, it was really bad and i was choking on the fluids too, so i didn't get through much of them.
When the nurse came to check my vitals, she was worried about my heart rate. She said it was high and irregular. She said it was probably caused by the mixture of anesthetic and painkillers. The second time she came to check, she said things had improved a little.
I was in my room for hours, battling with all these side effects. Eventually, my ENT doc came in. He said he found and removed 2 cysts from my right vallecula area. One was smaller and lower down, the other was bigger and higher up. He has sent them off for biopsy testing.
He said he also administered local anesthetic to the right side of my throat, to see if that would take away my pain. Our small conversation over that made him think that it didn't help. Although, he still suspects a nerve problem and wants me to see a neurologist to look into this further.
In conclusion, i am to see how i go for now, As i get a lot more pain and other problems than most after these types of procedures, i haven't been able to tell if there's been any positive change as yet.
I see my ENT doc for a follow up in 2 weeks time.
In the meantime, i am going to research vallecular cysts and work out new questions to ask my ENT doc when i next see him.
All up, i am glad that something came out of my procedure. During all this, cysts weren't something that came to my mind. I have a lot to get my head around.
I think this is all for now.
I'll keep you all updated.
Take care.
Love Karly xo
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