Pre surgery advice.

[mumstheword14]

Mum is now a week away from surgery so I'm wondering if any of you has any last minute advice. All things herbal, homeopathic etc would be appreciated too. Often it's the wee things that you haven't thought of that can make the most difference.

[phil]

The only advise I would give is for your Mum to enjoy as much high calorie food as she can eat.I was given this advise 9 years ago after my operation. Don,t worry the surgical team would not be operating if they were not confident of a good outcome.

Best regards

Phil

[haward]

Before my operation, more than three years ago I ate well, cut out booze for a few days beforehand, and got out and about. Try not to dwell on it and remember that the OPA is here to help and that we have a helpline on 0121 704 9860.

[Spikey]

To a large extent, it depends on how old and how fit your mother is. My only advise would be to relax, get as much sleep as possible (she may not get much in hospital), eat well but healthily, and get plenty of gentle exercise.

Good luck with the surgery.

[Rsw1fe]

I can only say what it was like when my husband had the op 4 years ago at the age of 77. (He's really well now.)

While your mother's in hospital, everything will be done for her. It's a bit like childbirth, you can get too focussed on the event itself, but really it's what happens afterwards that can be tough. She will need A LOT of looking after when she comes home, quite anxious about eating, still in pain, worried about the wounds healing, both internal and external. Don't be offended if she seems grumpy. Rely on your GP's practice nurse.

Do rely on the dietician's advice. It is like feeding a baby, little and often. I pureed and froze meals in small containers; sometimes these were rejected. The fortified yogurt bottles (Fortisip) are a great standby. And gradually, your mother go on to eating normal food, just smaller helpings topped up with snacks.

Also, she must make sure she sleeps propped up to avoid the dreaded reflux. There are lots of posts about this.

Good luck. As Phil said, the surgeons would not be operating unless they were confident of a good outcome.

[tallbear]

Hi there,

Try not to worry too much although this is all very daunting for mum.

I wish you had come onto the site a month ago although my advice would be exactly the same.

EAT EAT EAT - Find out your mums all time favourite foods and let her eat them to her hearts content because it may well be that not only will her diet have to change post operation in as much as meals will be little and often, there is also the food dumping thing which unfortunately does affect a lot of people post op.

I dream and drool about my favourite foods prior to my oesophagectomy because now at ten months post operation my diet has had to change to avoid the pain and discomfort of food dumping.

Everyone is different with this and mum may be one of the lucky ones unaffected by this, so always look on the bright side, it's quite a long hard road but it is worth it!

Good luck to mum and I hope everything goes well

Best Regards

Richard

[mumstheword14]

Thanks everyone :D. Mum has been eating well for the last month or so after she recovered from ending up in hospital post second chemo (Previous request for help!) and then they decided not to risk giving third. She is a fit "71 years young" who had no significant symptoms, so we are very grateful surgery is an option for her. Its very heartening to read the forums.

[Mentalmicky6]

Eat plenty , exercise and leave the worrying to the wonderful medical teams

[HONORIUS]

All the above advice is sound; I would only add the excellent heads up from my surgeon to pack ear-plugs for the hospitalisation. Good sleep post-op is difficult but essential. In Critical Care immediately after the procedure, there's no problem, but once on a general ward, silence is scant! As for eating post-op, I was told that nothing was proscribed: if you crave it, try it. Yep, I've had dumping, but I now eat anything and everything, curries, tom yam, syllabub, marchpane... just in small amounts.

Post-procedure, and at the risk of becoming this site's version of Cato the Censor, I cannot advocate acupuncture strongly enough. I underwent an Ivor Lewis in June of last year and made a good recovery - which I worked at, following all advice from my team assiduously - but reflux was a bane that threatened to throw everything: the horror of it, the broken sleep, the endless coughing. In March of this year, I visited an acupuncturist, and I haven't had an episode since that day. I've had one 'top-up', about mid-April, and nothing since. No more treatment, no more bile. As this is a physiological problem I can't accept that this outcome is psychosomatic, but if it is, who cares? Efficacy is everything and I am healthier now than I have been for many years.

It's exceedingly daunting for your mother right now; but she's one of the fortunate few to be deemed a candidate for surgery. This is never offered without there being a cure in plain sight and quite bluntly, her surgical team will be of the highest excellence and looking for a return on investment! My thoughts are with her, you and your family.

[Robotgirl]

I agree with everything everyone's said, don't let her focus too much on it and have her eat... Also, make certain she has someone there to help when she goes home, that you have a pill crusher if that's how she's taking medicine, that her bed for post op at home is the way she needs it, that everything at home is as simple as possible... Make certain you ask the doctor about whether she can take NSAIDs and XRs post op, if there is anything that she shouldn't try or not try to help with comfort after she gets home... One big thing..., if she goes home with a feeding tube, make certain she's ready to have it removed... I wanted my feeding tube removed because it had gotten infected and was painful because of the multiple surgeries I had already had... I was not ready... I firmly admit that now... So, just sweetly ask her, if she's in that situation, if she's eating well enough or consuming enough liquids or is she in a lot of pain... If it is painful, there are things to do for that too... My anesthesiologist gave me to nerve blocks in my abdomen and while I know I had more problems than most, the blocks did help for a few weeks each time... I just have been cut on my abdomen too many times... I'll pray for you guys... Always remember, no matter how bad it gets, it will get better...