Any recovery room nurses here? I have a question....

[MissMillie]

I'm going to be having surgery on Friday. It is expected I'll be spending 3 days at the hospital.

Because I wear a CPAP to sleep, I'm told that I will have to spend the first night of my stay in the recovery room. I'm also told that it's a pretty noisy place to be.

I'm wondering... If I pack earplugs, will I be allowed to wear them?

[liberalnurse]

1. It's not a noisy place.....

and the drugs help a lot. It must be a small hospital if you stay in recovery......At the hospital I work, our open heart patients go directly to my unit....ICU; we are recovery......

[MissMillie]

2. Maybe because I'm not going to ICU

they feel that a regular ward is not enough supervision for someone with breathing problems who just had surgery.

[benddem]

3. There shouldn't be a problem with

ear plugs. Every RR I've ever worked in was noisy. Do you have trouble sleeping with your cpap? Or have you gotten used to it.
If I were you, I'd call the RR at the hospital now and alleviate any fears you have.

[MissMillie]

4. I'm all set w/ the CPAP

I've been sleeping w/ it for 4 years, and it's as normal for me as pj's and a blanket.

[masshole]

5. my wife is an RN on a med-surg unit

(post op) at a "medium" sized community Hospital. She says they often get patients on CPAP or BIPAP on her floor, but it's normal for those patients to spend more time (first night) in the RR before being transfered to her unit.
I would imagine the possibility of respiratory distress after surgery is greater for someone with respiratory problems to begin with (my thoughts).
She also said at her hospital, the RR's are pretty quiet, if that helps. :)
Good Luck! I bet things go smoothly for you.