You’ve just been told that low back surgery is necessary. You could have been injured on the job, been the victim of some kind of medical malpractice in Utah or any state for that matter and the other remedies that you and your physician have used to treat your back pain simply haven’t worked. How do you prepare for surgery?
1. Stop Smoking
If you smoke, you’ll need to stop. Ideally, the surgery will be the impetus you need to stop smoking permanently. Smoking will interfere with and may complicate your healing process. Also, when you were consulting with the surgeon he or she probably told you to stop taking any blood thinning medications like aspirin or certain NSAIDs. These medications can interfere with your blood clotting properly. You need to stop taking them at least two weeks before the date of the surgery.
2. Arrange to Have Someone Stay With You
After surgery, you’ll be too groggy to drive yourself home. So arrange for someone to take you home after the surgery and stay with you for a few days to help you with daily tasks like laundry, cooking and cleaning. Because of the back surgery, you won’t be able to drive for a while. So, you should arrange for transportation, including transportation to and from the doctor’s office for check-ups. It’s possible that your health insurance can help pay for this transportation.
3. Make Meals Ahead
Even if you won’t be doing your own cooking for the first few days after your surgery, making meals ahead and putting them in the freezer or the refrigerator will make life that much easier for the person who’s taking care of you. Also, make sure that the things you need are close at hand. Things like grabbers are also very handy for reaching both up and down for needful items.
4. Prepare Mentally for the Surgery
Some people need to know as much about the surgery as they possibly can. Others only want to learn as much about the surgery to allay the worst of their fears. Whatever your comfort level, it’s important to prepare psychologically for the surgery. It’s been shown that people who are prepared for low back surgery have less need of pain medication, have less need for anesthesia, have lower levels of anxiety over the surgery, suffer fewer complications and make a quicker recovery.
Medical technology has lessened the risks of low back surgery. Preparing for it beforehand will make the surgery and recovery period much less stressful.