I went in for my VNS Surgery yesterday and wanted to share my experiences. It was an outpatient surgery. We got there at 7 am and we were going home at 5 pm. The surgery itself didn’t take that long… that was all surgery prep, anesthesia, and then recovery from the anesthesia. The surgery itself was about an hour and a half. I had no complications with the surgery so overall I’d say that was a win! Anyone in or around Atlanta considering this surgery… I strongly recommend a Emory University Hospital. My epileptologist is so incredible and is part of the Emory Brain Center. The Neuroscience clinic was nothing short of fantastic and the hospital is wonderful.
It took me almost 3 hours to come out of the anesthesia and even after I was really out of it and in crazy pain for about an hour before they would let me go home. They gave me morphine in the recovery to help with that. Coming out of the surgery felt a LOT like the postictal state after a TC seizure. I was still pretty out of it coming home but started to regain full consciousness around 7 pm. They sent me home with three prescriptions… Percocet, something for nausea, and a stool softener because I guess the anesthesia makes you constipated? I filled only the Percocet last night and figured we would leave the others as needed. The Percocet was definitely needed ASAP!
I did a LOT of research for months going into my surgery so I feel like I was pretty prepared about what to expect afterword. Mostly I was on point. I was pretty terrified at the thought of my neck being sliced but I am a little surprised that it is the least painful area on my body. My chest hurts like a mofo. No morphine or Percocet has made that numb to the pain but I’m just glad I’m not experiencing how it would feel otherwise. I’m guessing that’s because that’s where the actual implant is. That site hurts a lot and is beginning to bruise really bad all around the incision. As for my neck, I just look like Frankenstein. The incision spot itself doesn’t really hurt but I can’t turn my head left or right very well and my throat is swollen and sore. That’s probably more because of the anesthesia tube put down there. My voice is hoarse but I expected that from the tube and because they sliced right by my vocal chords to get to the Vagus Nerve. It hurts to swallow so I had a Frosty and a Milkshake last night since I could just slide those down my throat. I should probably feel hungry and should try to get something in my stomach since I haven’t eaten since Thursday night but the thought of anything going down my throat seems painful. I’m also not hungry at all.
The good? I’m glad it went well with no complications. I’m glad that even though it hurts, it doesn’t feel miserable. But I am REALLY glad that I have people who love me and support me. Caty hasn’t left my side. She painted my nails today and we have been watching movies together and being so loving. That warms my heart. The ugly? Well… just look at the pic above. I think having slices like that makes me look kinda like a badass though, right? 😂
“You may not always have a comfortable life and you may not always be able to solve all the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” -Michelle Obama
Living the Epilepsy Life 