Im having ACDF surgery early tomorrow morning and I'm terrified
This surgery came as a complete surprise to me, Ihad no idea my spine was this bad, but apparently according 3 separate doctors my spine is so bad I needed it soon. I never had any neck pain, my pain presented mostly in my glutes and numbness in hands. I'm told if I don't have this surgery. If I get in an accident or trip and fall hard, well, the outcome of that would be very bad for me.
I tried to prepare the best as I could, got at bedside lamp with remote, a bedside comode, grabbers, throat lozenges, and numbing throat spray, smoothies, yogurts. I have an assortment of pillows, but really don't know if I'll need a wedge pillow or not. I do have a recliner in my home, but it's in the middle of my open concept home. Every time I search on here, I hear mostly horror stories of post surgery pain. I am terrified of the pain, not being able to swallow and not being able to even get liquids down. Surgery is tomorrow 7 am, a 3+ hour surgery. I am so scared, do any of you have tips, and good outcomes, I know, many people that posts on these subreddits only have horror stories, that scare me even more. Just the thought of going through my neck makes me squeamy.. How are you all able to swallow anything, and sleep, the surgeon describes it as mild discomfort, but most of the people here, describe it as horrible pain. My anxiety is so high, haven't been able to sleep the past two nights.