What did you bring?
TammyP64
Posts: 52 Member
I'm scheduled to have my surgery this month and was just wondering what some of you would recommend to bring to the hospital. Is there something that you wish you had packed or something that you ended up not using?
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Only really need a change of cloths to go home in and I also HIGHLY recemend a PILLOW for the ride home. Hold it against your belly for the car ride.0
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Pillow for the tummy. Believe me, you just want to go straight home. I had a snap down the front house dress/night gown. I went home in that. Cell phone, night dress, pillow, done. If you are lucky you can brush your teeth without barfing, you won't want to lift your arms to brush your hair. Drinking water is full on work. We would all do it again in a heartbeat but I don't think I even opened the small knapsack I carried and I was there three days.0
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Agree with pillows and I was very glad I brought chap stick. I needed it a lot after surgery. Best of luck to you. I'm 12 days out. It's not that bad.0
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Slip on shoes (sneakers, sandals), sweats (wear them to and home no need for additional clothes you aren't dressed long in the morning, tooth brush, toothpaste, hair tie or clip, Burt's bees/Chapstick, phone and someone to pass you stuff and who will make you get up and move. Day 1 isn't great but it gets better every day, you will be home before in a day and your new life will begin. Congrats!! You will do great0
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Agree with all the above, my pillow, wore coat (cold in MI in Feb.) loose sweats to and from the hospital (same ones), change of underwear (didn't care about bra) with mule tennis shoes so I didn't have to bend over to tie.
I had to stay for two days, but mostly slept as I was on morphine and don't even remember much of the surgical day, basically what I've been told.
Just make sure that you use a pillow over your abdomen when getting up and down and particularly if you cough. It really helps.
Best of luck in your recovery. Hope it was as good as mine and without incident.0 -
Agree with pillows and I was very glad I brought chap stick. I needed it a lot after surgery. Best of luck to you. I'm 12 days out. It's not that bad.
Yes, Chapstick!! How could I forget that? My experience was only rough cause they kept giving me dilaudid. I can hack pain but narcotics make me violently ill. Once they gave me plain Tylenol 650 mg I was happy and headed home. I can honestly say the surgery part wasn't that bad at all. My nurses were so wonderful. They would cheer me as I walked the hall after surgery. I pray that your surgery goes perfectly. Good luck!0 -
I am so very thankful that my dietitian told me about this group. I have just completely the 4 month journey of getting approval from my insurance company and will meet with my surgeon this week to set the date. I love the tips for what to bring to the hospital as I am currently in the zone of both excitement and fear of what this will really look like. Reading other's posts and practical answers to living everyday life after the surgery is a huge blessing and reaffirms that this is a right decision for me!0
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Here is what I brought:
- Loose clothes to wear home
- My slippers (I wore these home, too, lol, but they are the slip on kind with solid soles)
- My robe (I just wanted my own robe for walking around the hospital hallways)
- Something to do if you are able to: computer, tablet, book, crosswords, etc. (I brought my laptop. I barely used it I was glad I had it)
- Phone & charger
- Chapstick
This is all I brought. A lot of people suggest pillows for the ride home (I see that here and I've seen it in other posts). I only live exactly one mile from the hospital I was at, so it wasn't something I needed, but I can see how it would be beneficial if you have a longer drive home.
I had a unpleasant reaction to the morphine, so I ended up sleeping more than I hoped right after surgery. Even if don't sleep a lot you will be resting/recovering, so don't overpack because I'm sure you won't need most of what you bring.
Good luck and congrats on your upcoming surgery!0 -
The only thing I cared about was chapstick, my robe, and some breath spray (helped me feel more human after throwing up so much). Good luck!0
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I had surgery April 1st and I can tell you from experience that you will only need loose fitting clothes, mouth wash, chap stick and maybe a small blanket for the car ride. I used the blanket to support my stomach. Other than that I slept most of the time because I was on morphine which made me incredibly nausea. After a lot of vomiting they finally switched my pain medication and put a patch behind my ear for nausea and things got better.0
