Please tell me your CI surgery day experience:)

[ERW]

I received the approval letter from the insurance company today for my CI surgery (YAY!)

Surgery is set for June 28th, and I go this Wednesday for pre-op and CT scan.  I will be having surgery at a hospital located 3 hours from home. I’m a little worried about the ride back.

How did you current CI recipients do with the initial surgery?  Do you recommend getting a room for that night? Anything I should know for pre-op? Please tell me your experience! I know everyone is different, but this a whole new ball game for me :).

Thank you!

[Mary Beth]

That’s exciting @ERW!

 

My CI center is 5 hours from home so we did stay at a local hotel the night of surgery.  Just made sure it had a chair and ottoman so I could sleep upright.

My 2 CI surgeries were the easiest surgeries for me.  I was very fortunate.

 

Surgery tips 

 

Wear a loose comfortable button shirt

 

Old pair of glasses and remove the arm on the surgery side

 

Sleep in a recliner the first few days and then in bed with your head propped up to reduce the chance of swelling

 

Have something in the freezer in case you have a sore throat from the anesthesia like popsicles or sherbet 

[Michi]

Hi, ich hatte meine CI Operation am 9.11.2022. In Österreich muss man 3 Tage im Krankenhaus bleiben. Ich hatte kaum Schmerzen und konnte normal im Bett liegend schlafen, nur halt nicht auf der operierten Seite. Ich hoffe für Sie, daß auch sie keine Probleme haben und alles gut geht.

Alles Gute und positiv denken.

[ERW]

Thank you @Mary Beth and @Michi 😃

[Enegra]

For some reason the tight bandage on the head after the surgery causes issues with balance and additional pain for me. I always needed extra painkillers for that one night when it had to be on. In Finland it was usually overnight stay. Now I am about to have re-implantation surgery and for the first time I won't be able to stay overnight, because the hospital is suffering from staff shortages. It's going to be interesting.

My hospital is bit over two hours away, the ride back on the next day usually was no problem. Just need the driver to be careful and considerate. Bumps and violent turns hurt. The pain was generally very manageable with ibuprofen and paracetamol-codeine mix. Just really needed to avoid sudden movements.

I put some extra pillows in the bed to elevate the head a bit. Other than that, slept like normal, just avoiding the operated side (it sucks a bit, I am a big side sleeper!).

[Dianna]

I had a ride, about 40 minutes. My driver met me after surg with jello, bandage felt tight, i was sleepy. I took pain meds by timing so i would not have pain. My surg was in the afternoon so by time i got home it was dark so i slept in an easy chair. I was more tired and head heavy 2nd day and rejoiced when bandage came off. Slept on and off, watched tv, not really in pain. Showered, went to my bed night 2 yay. 

I had folks around and a medication schedule took really short walks outside mainly took it easy. 

I did not drive, but rode to the store, and the movement of the car and bumps in the road was not enjoyable but no heavy pain or dizzyness.

kind of like my wisdom tooth removal in my 20's

It was soo totally worth it when activated 2 weeks later i could not sit still alot ha ha.

Everyone is different, i think that final year of struggling to hear at work and home was just so depressing to me that moving forward was so important. A lifetime of hearing struggles and finally going for something better drove me through it and carried me through the rehabbing. I had retired so had no worries really. 

Like said above, make sure you have some comfort food and drink ready at home so you dont have to leave home for a few days. You got this!!!!!

[ERW]

22 hours ago, Enegra said:

For some reason the tight bandage on the head after the surgery causes issues with balance and additional pain for me. I always needed extra painkillers for that one night when it had to be on. In Finland it was usually overnight stay. Now I am about to have re-implantation surgery and for the first time I won't be able to stay overnight, because the hospital is suffering from staff shortages. It's going to be interesting.

My hospital is bit over two hours away, the ride back on the next day usually was no problem. Just need the driver to be careful and considerate. Bumps and violent turns hurt. The pain was generally very manageable with ibuprofen and paracetamol-codeine mix. Just really needed to avoid sudden movements.

I put some extra pillows in the bed to elevate the head a bit. Other than that, slept like normal, just avoiding the operated side (it sucks a bit, I am a big side sleeper!).

Thank you for this info, @Enegra.  Very good to know what to expect! I hope your re-implantation goes well and the travel won’t be bad for you. 

[ERW]

21 hours ago, Dianna said:

I had a ride, about 40 minutes. My driver met me after surg with jello, bandage felt tight, i was sleepy. I took pain meds by timing so i would not have pain. My surg was in the afternoon so by time i got home it was dark so i slept in an easy chair. I was more tired and head heavy 2nd day and rejoiced when bandage came off. Slept on and off, watched tv, not really in pain. Showered, went to my bed night 2 yay. 

I had folks around and a medication schedule took really short walks outside mainly took it easy. 

I did not drive, but rode to the store, and the movement of the car and bumps in the road was not enjoyable but no heavy pain or dizzyness.

kind of like my wisdom tooth removal in my 20's

It was soo totally worth it when activated 2 weeks later i could not sit still alot ha ha.

Everyone is different, i think that final year of struggling to hear at work and home was just so depressing to me that moving forward was so important. A lifetime of hearing struggles and finally going for something better drove me through it and carried me through the rehabbing. I had retired so had no worries really. 

Like said above, make sure you have some comfort food and drink ready at home so you dont have to leave home for a few days. You got this!!!!!

This is very helpful @Dianna. The only other surgery I have had was for my wisdom teeth removal also (two were impacted). I handled that fine :).  
 

Also can relate about the importance of moving forward. I am exhausted and stressed all the time trying to hear, and this is a wonderful solution.  I guess my main concern is getting sick on the way home from nausea.  But I am going to ask about a patch to help me with that, too.

You and @Enegra have prepared me for the tight bandage.  That is good to know!

[ShannonB]

Drink LOTS of water the day before the surgery.  I came out of my second surgery anesthesia better than my first surgery.  

[Dianna]

1 hour ago, ERW said:

This is very helpful @Dianna. The only other surgery I have had was for my wisdom teeth removal also (two were impacted). I handled that fine :).  
 

Also can relate about the importance of moving forward. I am exhausted and stressed all the time trying to hear, and this is a wonderful solution.  I guess my main concern is getting sick on the way home from nausea.  But I am going to ask about a patch to help me with that, too.

You and @Enegra have prepared me for the tight bandage.  That is good to know!

Yes, and my instructions were removal of bandage after 24 hours, and it was a relief!! You may have different instructions though! 

Good luck and rest well!

[John F]

Right ear- 5/27/2021 (activated 6/21/2021-ish)

Left ear- 3/30/20223 (activated 4/27/2023)

First surgery,  no issues physically beside hospital messing up with location of Rx, arrival times and such.  Walked all over the place trying to fix all the issues.  Did about 5 miles worth of walking that day.  0/10 would not recommend repeating.

 

Second surgery, couldn’t walk more than a few feet without losing balance.  Took about a 1-1 1/2 weeks to stop roleplaying a local drunk person.  But at least everything else went fairly smooth.  6/10.

 

Did not have any tinnitus from the first surgery except when touching the ear and that was only for a few seconds which lasted a few months.  Avoidable if you don’t touch the ear.  
Second surgery created two loud points where extreme tinnitus was coming from.  Direct from the operated ear (left) and sounded like a plane engine 24/7 and second point which is the back of the head/neck area where I can still hear and feel the blood flow as weird as that sounds.  Plane engine died down to a lull a couple weeks after activation.  Blood rushing is continuous and makes one paranoid and insane.  Only once did the two stop briefly and all was silent.  

 

Both times had jock cup over the ears.  The cup itself isn’t the issue and wearing glasses can just take the arm off or tape to cup, it’s the itchy bandage.  Luckily, second surgery was 48 hours before taking it off I believe vs 72 hours after the first surgery. 
 

First surgery the scar was mucho more gnarly.  Second surgery could barely tell where it was.

 

Both times, same surgeon.  Not keen how they seemingly made sure there was no chance at any residual hearing and they blamed MedEl.  
 

Didn’t need a hotel as I live 6 stops on the T here in Boston from MEEI but still took a Lyft home both times just cause.  Just make sure post op Rx is all set and have nothing planned for the next few days to rest.  If equilibrium gives out, then plan for at least a week to give your body time to rebalance itself.

[ERW]

Thank you for relating your experience @John F. Interesting that you had two  different experiences with the same surgeon.  I appreciate the warnings about balance issues, too.  
 

I had tinnitus for almost a year (layers of it, actually, with a constant ring and tinking on top of that in my worse ear, then one day it suddenly stopped), so I expect to experience it again as it already comes back occasionally. Also have had pulsatile tinnitus, but rarely.

I can only imagine how frustrating hearing your blood flow is!

Surgeon told me there’s a 50/50 chance of keeping residual hearing. I’m not expecting to keep it but will be pleasantly surprised if it is saved.

 

[ERW]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:31 AM, ShannonB said:

Drink LOTS of water the day before the surgery.  I came out of my second surgery anesthesia better than my first surgery.  

Thank you @ShannonB! Great suggestion. I am worried about how the anesthesia will affect me, so the sooner it’s out of my system, the better!

[KevinO]

I made the mistake of trying to eat dinner the day of surgery and breakfast the next morning (despite written instructions to the contrary.) Had a LOT of dizziness and nausea, with the expected result. If there is a next time, I will wait a couple of days to eat   Two weeks post-surgery, just a small amount of dizziness. 

[Ernesto]

For me, the wait for the procedure was the worst.   I was told to be at the hospital at 10 am. Then 1030. Then 1130 am.  I was the last patient on that day.   I was sent home around 730pm.  The first night the pain was tolerable as I only took Tylenol, but the second night the pain was more intense.   We tried to get the Oxy but they were on back order.   So I used the Tylenol and it took the edge off the pain.   After 24 hours the salad bowl came off and after 48 hours I was able to shower.   After 7 days did the follow up with my surgeon.   I complained that I still have some discomfort such as fullness of ear, stabbing pain from time to time and soreness.  He said it's all pay off the healing process and is air natural.  Now, I look forward going to work although one ear is completely deaf and the other not so good.   In sum, it wasn't a bad experience.  I just hope a good activation day.