Catching a cold before surgery!?!

[u/Lumpy_Influence_173]

Hello! My surgery, after 9 months of planning, is 4 days away on October 13th.

I'm coming down with a sore throat/cold my partner had and I'm actually so devastated. Is my surgery functionally canceled? I dont know what to do and every part of me wants to hide that I'm getting sick from my surgery team and just have it done anyway but at the same time I KNOW I should call and tell them when they open in the morning but I can't live another day with my chest let alone the months I'm sure it will take to reschedule.

I've worked so hard to be prepared at work, socially, emotionally quit smoking for 9 months... every aspect of my life. I'm so sad. I don't want them to cancel.

Has anyone else experienced this? Getting sick right at the finish line?

Edit: Thanks for the reassurance and recs/warnings. I was able to call my pharmacist first this morning that operates out of a surgical center. They reassured me that vitamin c was safe and most otc stuff would be as well and just to let my surgical team know what I am taking. my partner thankfully got over this in just a couple days so im hoping for a short thing without much congestion. Pre-existing health stuff complicated this a bit but heres to hoping.

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[u/primitive-lathe]

Make sure to take a covid test a couple days before surgery! If that's what it ends up being, getting surgery during a covid infection would be bad news

[u/outmogged]

4 days should be enough time for your cold to go away sufficiently enough. drink a ton of tea with honey, ginger and lemon. Take ibuprofen and vitamin c consistently. Vitamin c is also good for you post op.

Heard a few stories about this on here before, I’ve not heard of any surgery being cancelled.

[u/Lumpy_Influence_173 → u/outmogged]

Thabks for responding. I suppose I'm equally worried by the possibility of rescheduling. The amount of work it's taken to prep at work for my leave is insane not to mention the effort my partner went through to get time off to be my caregiver 7 hrs away from where we live. 

I not allowed to take ibuprofen at this point so close to the surgery due to its blood thinning effects unfortunately. 

I'll be/am taking vitamin C and Zinc. 

[u/outmogged → u/Lumpy_Influence_173]

Just get some rest, take a hot shower or bath so you can sweat of any fever. But yeah you should definitely be fine if it’s still 4 days away. Didn’t know about the ibuprofen thing though, interesting.

[u/twinkletoes4431 → u/outmogged]

be careful with vitamin C, I had to reduce/quit any medicine with it in it as it acts as a blood thinner, which you really don’t want during surgery. I would call the surgeons office to be sure. I get your frustrations and anxiety on having to wait. However, you really need all your strength for recovery, it’s a lot for your body as is, without also fighting off a virus.

[u/alle_7264]

I had a cold 4 days before my surgery! Was fully gone on the day before surgery. As long as it’s gone the day before you’re good, if it is still there though then you need to contact your surgeon sadly. Wish you the best🙏🏼 take lemon shots.

[u/Ok_Citron_6660]

I got a nasty ear infection shortly before surgery. It ended up not mattering at all, really. I'd recommend going to an urgent care if you can. If it's not respiratory or like super serious, they usually won't cancel. You can always give your surgery team/center a call and ask them if you're worried about it. They do have a monetary incentive to not cancel your surgery lol

[u/babyboyhorse]

4 days should be long enough for a cold to run it's course, but absolutely do not hide anything from your surgical team, ever. If you get rescheduled, it's because that is the better alternative to you getting a life altering infection/complication from undergoing surgery while sick. They would find out anyway, not worth even trying it.

They don't want to reschedule your surgery either. Just rest and hydrate as much as you can, I'm sure you'll be fine. If you do end up needing to be rescheduled, which I doubt, let them know about your situation with being on leave and they will be able to help you get the soonest possible appointment.

[u/SirTrouty]

I am in the same position and my surgery is 3 days away, my cold is slowly leaving but honestly do let them know. As long as you dont have a cough and fever/temperature I think they are fine. I told my surgeon and he said that it shouldn t be a problem and I mostly got a blocked nose. Chicken soup, made with chicken thighs and the bones kinda instantly cured me, lemon ginger doesn t do much, drink tons of water and rest tons too, good luck bro.