@hopeann I wasn't required to stay in the hospital. My surgery was at Mayo and because of insurance requirements, they had to schedule 1 night of a hospital stay, so I had the choice to stay or not. I was nauseated by the anesthesia and the pain medicine they gave me which made me worry about falling so it was easier to stay. They were also giving me something for nausea too. On later surgeries, I discussed the nausea reaction to anesthesia, so they put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear and that worked like a charm and I didn't get nauseous. I was really tired after spine surgery, so I stayed the night and left mid day the next day.

I chose not to use the pain medicine after I left the hospital and I was able to manage. Most ACDF procedures are day surgeries unless it involves multiple levels. I was OK walking around the next day although still very tired and in a bit of pain. We were advised to stay an extra day at the hotel in case of complications before the drive home. This wasn't a bad surgery and it wasn't as painful as I had expected. My broken ankle surgery (a few years ago) was much more painful and for a much longer time period.

Jennifer