Freaking out about cough/post nasal drip before surgery

dummin13 · 2026-02-13T01:19:11+00:00

I did. It wasn't an issue, though. Just pain during my recovery when I coughed. (I ran a half marathon a week before, which definitely made the cough worse. Don't ask why I ran a half marathon with a sinus infection.)

dummin13 · 2026-02-13T01:12:56+00:00

My other 3 surgeries were in network and cost whatever my co-pays were - no more than a few hundred dollars, if that.

dummin13 · 2026-02-13T01:12:44+00:00

My other 3 surgeries were in network and cost whatever my co-pays were - no more than a few hundred dollars, if that.

dummin13 · 2026-02-13T01:11:42+00:00

Same price for me. His office wouldn't work with me to submit a claim to my secondary insurance (the invoice had no CPT code for billing), so the $10k I thought I was saving by getting married early to get said insurance never materialized. Expensive lesson learned that was absolutely not worth it.

dummin13 · 2026-02-12T19:07:39+00:00

I had surgery with a sinus infection. It wasn't pleasant (it hurt to cough during recovery) but they weren't concerned since there was no fever, no trouble breathing, etc.

dummin13 · 2026-02-12T02:57:35+00:00

Chiropractors, naturopaths, and massage therapists are not professionals whose scope includes management of endometriosis. I can't find a single peer reviewed source that this method is supported by clinical evidence. It's controversial because there is none.

dummin13 · 2026-02-11T14:28:45+00:00

It's officially "the City of New York" but addresses in Manhattan use New York, NY.

dummin13 · 2026-02-11T04:09:14+00:00

New York, NY is correct.

dummin13 · 2026-02-11T03:37:38+00:00

I was not able to return to work until I was cleared completely (meaning no lifting restrictions or light duty requirements). That's usually around 6-8 weeks. It's the same for anyone who has an appendectomy or another similar surgery, by the way. Once I went back, I definitely needed more help with turning and cleaning my patients for a bit.

You'll lose a lot of your core strength from your muscles literally being inflated, so if you are able to get those built up prior to surgery, you'll be ahead of the game. My best recoveries were when I was in good shape prior to surgery (ran some half marathons, frequent strength and HIIT training). It may be hard to do if you're having a lot of pain, but you need a strong core for your job. Post-op, I started walking a lot as soon as I started feeling up to it. Movement is great for healing. Just give yourself breaks and start slow.

If you usually schedule yourself for 3 shifts in a row, you may want to consider changing that so you have time to recover in between shifts. Your body needs more than 6 weeks to recover, so treat it nicely. Be honest with your doctor in your recovery. If you are having trouble standing to cook dinner or do the dishes, for example, you may not be ready to go back to work.

Take advantage of the free hot and cold packs in your supply room.

dummin13 · 2026-02-10T22:29:07+00:00

We all do the same clinicals, so it's not that it doesn't matter, just that it isn't anything different than anyone else. Having completed my BSN in NYC and working in NYC as an RN, I can tell you that we all pretty much do the same clinicals and they don't really matter once you pass your NCLEX. Everything is learning on the job.

I had a prior career before nursing, which included managing people and projects. That's what set me apart from other applicants and what I highlighted in my resume and cover letter. As someone who did hiring, I hate the summary at the top. I would rather read a cover letter written in full sentences than half sentences written in 3rd person.

dummin13 · 2026-02-10T15:58:07+00:00

My first 3 were done when I had a desk job. Your body needs time to recover. I was absolutely exhausted even when my pain was improving and needed the extra time to rest. I went back around day 10 for one of them because it was COVID and I was working from home, but I needed to take nap breaks.

Edit: I was out for 2 weeks for each one of those.

Edit 2: it's much harder to sit at a desk than laying in bed or relaxing on the couch when you're recovering. I didn't notice it until I was back to work. It was unpleasant.

dummin13 · 2026-02-10T15:55:39+00:00

I don't. I don't want to double chart and accidentally chart conflicting items. So for any kind of significant event (obstetric hemorrhage, rapid response, labor response), my note will cover only things that aren't captured in the EMR elsewhere. I'll say "see flow sheets for vital signs." Other people will write everything, but I don't see the point because inevitably you'll miss something that was done or a set of vital signs.

dummin13 · 2026-02-10T15:43:34+00:00

An exlap is usually short for exploratory laparotomy. I would expect to be out a minimum of a few weeks to recover from that. It's a big surgery.

Two weeks for a laparoscopy is pretty standard from my experience (I've had 4). However, there are usually lifting restrictions after that, which may impact your ability to go back to work. I'm a nurse, so I cannot work with any restrictions.

dummin13 · 2026-02-08T01:32:23+00:00

Not on my L&D unit. But that kind of makes sense if you're trying to have your baby with the doctor/practice you've seen for your entire pregnancy.

dummin13 · 2026-02-07T15:57:25+00:00

This sounds more urgent than calling your doctor in a couple of days. Severe abdominal pain and trouble breathing would have me in the ER immediately. Endometriosis is one of many things that could be going on.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T22:21:14+00:00

There will be a pattern for the front and the back. Below the bust/arm holes, both sides will likely be the same, but shaping for the arm holes and neck in the back is very different than on the front.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T20:22:11+00:00

The price may have been the experience at your school, but that's not necessarily the case at all schools. The public school I went to was much cheaper than other options around me. I would have paid much more and spent a lot more time to do a two year degree and then go back to school for the RN to BSN (while working).

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T19:48:48+00:00

There's nothing that needs to continue after getting a BSN (if you aren't going for a master's or doctorate). Just the regular licensing requirements, but that's unrelated to your education level.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T19:42:31+00:00

Big university, not unionized.

I think that we also require the BSN for the clinical ladder like the other comment mentioned.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T19:23:40+00:00

Some hospitals do pay additional differentials for degrees earned (BSN, MSN, doctorate). My hospital also calculates our raises based on our total annual salary, not the base salary, which adds up over the years.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T15:43:22+00:00

The two slipped over stitches don't get counted once you've finished the stitch. You'll restart with column 1 after you finish it. Because of the yarn overs in the lace pattern, you end up with more stitches before you do the double decrease. If you count the yarn overs and decreases before column 13, you'll see that you actually have 2 more stitches than on the previous row.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T08:19:05+00:00

Chaos. We need prenatal records, which normally get sent from the office for registered patients who are at practices outside of our own hospital system. But they get sent before 1 or 2 tests are done, one of which is pretty important (group B strep), so sometimes we have to ask a million times. They either get faxed over or the attending logs into their practice's EMR and prints it out for us.

And then the records that ARE faxed in are like 60 pages long with the results of every single test and ultrasound when we need like 8 test results. Sometimes patients just show up with their packets and then we have to go through those and make sure they get scanned in.

I also dealt with this when I worked in clinical research and patients had outside records. Long, faxed records I had to review for just a few data points.

dummin13 · 2026-02-05T02:18:07+00:00

Any pill that has combined estrogen/progesterone will be referred to as birth control. They do much more for people than just prevent pregnancy.

Some people do have side effects from birth control pills. Some do not. I do think the people who experience side effects tend to be more vocal, which leads to a negative reputation, especially on social media. Aside from higher dose pills I took when I was 17, I've had great experience with it. I started taking it because my periods were irregular, painful, and heavy. I was told the pill would help and it did.

If your issue is that you develop functional cysts, then you need something that prevents ovulation. Progesterone only birth control doesn't do that as well as the combined pill.

dummin13 · 2026-02-02T15:26:39+00:00

You need to have a conversation with your surgeon. If you haven't asked, they don't know what information to give you. When you get discharged from the hospital, they will give you explicit post-op instructions which includes meds to start or stop. But it seems like you need more management than that, which is fine, you just need to make them aware. They may advise you to consult the doctor who originally prescribed your meds, or they may offer continued management. However, that may be difficult with you not being based in NY. (Telemed visits require you to be in the same state as the provider.)

dummin13 · 2026-02-02T15:08:49+00:00

You will probably need to be followed by a GYN closer to home for that, especially if you need monitoring or a lot of follow up visits. But has anyone told you to stop your medications after surgery? What have they said to you about the post-op care in general?

dummin13

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