4 Days till surgery! I *think* I have everything--any other suggestions?

southernlady said:
One word about the hospital gowns. They were designed to allow access for IV's, etc. You will be bare assed naked inside the OR except for the hospital gown draped on you. Since the IV's are inserted in the prep area and not removed until the discharge papers are signed, it will be impossible to put on any pajama top not designed for such access. And you can use a second hospital gown as a robe. Slippers...as clean as they try to keep hospitals, they are a germ factory. They are gonna give you slippers and even if you don't use them, the hospital charges for them.

Also I didn't take any extra clothes but panties. Wore home what I wore in.

Put all of what you think you need on the bed and then put back most of it.

Leave the heating pad at home. But do put a pillow in the car for the ride home (don't take it inside, just leave it in the car).

Any medications you take in will be confiscated by the staff and be given the hospital equivalent if there is one. A break from vitamins during this is fine. Just start back after you get back home.
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Thank you for the wake up call on the pajamas. I am still bringing my jammie bottoms just in case I need them to go home in. The medication has me worried though. I shouldn't take my thyroid medicine with me? How will I get it if I don't have it? The hospital will confiscate my medicine and not give it back?? I had no idea about this. I guess I'll leave all of my meds home then, but I am panicked about the thyroid medicine and I am supposed to take the Nystatin and the medication to prevent the gall bladder issues--the Ursodiol--I am supposed to start taking that twice a day post-op. Should I wait till I get released?
 
writegirl said:
Thank you for the wake up call on the pajamas. I am still bringing my jammie bottoms just in case I need them to go home in. The medication has me worried though. I shouldn't take my thyroid medicine with me? How will I get it if I don't have it? The hospital will confiscate my medicine and not give it back?? I had no idea about this. I guess I'll leave all of my meds home then, but I am panicked about the thyroid medicine and I am supposed to take the Nystatin and the medication to prevent the gall bladder issues--the Ursodiol--I am supposed to start taking that twice a day post-op. Should I wait till I get released?
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They will give you things like your thyroid med from their pharmacy.

As far as the Nystatin and Urisol, ask!
 
southernlady said:
They will give you things like your thyroid med from their pharmacy.

As far as the Nystatin and Urisol, ask!
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Thank you! I posted the question on the surgeon's FB group and I will call the hospital tomorrow just to make sure I'm doing this right. Sorry for all the questions--I'm an insufferable over planner and I am nervous--not the best combination, I'm afraid.
 
One thing not to bring is your purse. You need ID and your insurance card. No money or credit cards. (I woke up in the middle of the night in the hospital to find my roommate going through my purse. I rang the call button and the nurse saw it too. No more roommate.) you should also remove all jewelry, earrings, rings and piercings and leave them at home. I couldn't get my wedding ring off, but they greased up my hand until they got it off and put it in a safe. If you are there long enough to take a shower, bring flip flops for sanitary reasons as well as to prevent falling. I agree about the stupid socks. All drugs have to be in the original pharmacy bottle. Even then, they may not let you take them, but will replace them with their own pills. Also, on my phone, I took notes of names and shifts when a nurse or nurses aide or transport person was especially nice, and sent a letter praising them to my doc.

It will be over before you know it! Then, the fun begins with your new digestive system..
 
I wear solid rubbery garden clogs (like Crocs but not "holey") in hospitals. They are washable if something is spilled on them or if I step in something and can be wiped with disinfectant. I can just step into them without using my hands. The socks they give you require bending and pulling on, they may cut into your calves restricting circulation, and they absorb any gore that gets on them.

Most hospitals will have you wearing air pump anti-DVT leggings on your calves during surgery and through the first night. I had these for DS in MX and assumed it was because I was fat, but I had them again last month in USA for LBL surgery and I'm now very thin. Sock elastic tops trapped under these inflating things really can cut into your skin so if you are going to wear socks, push them lower than the bottom edge of the inflatables.

As for not bringing a purse, I agree. But you may need a credit card, esp if you need to get prescriptions to take home from their pharmacy (this happened to me last month). I had my husband hold on to my phone during surgery and return it afterwards, then I kept the phone in bed with me. (Many bariatric units are private room.) If you don't have anyone with you to hold on to these during surgery, the nurses can always lock up your CC and phone during surgery and if you are taken out of the room for tests.
 
Clematis said:
Most hospitals will have you wearing air pump anti-DVT leggings on your calves during surgery and through the first night. I had these for DS in MX and assumed it was because I was fat, but I had them again last month in USA for LBL surgery and I'm now very thin. Sock elastic tops trapped under these inflating things really can cut into your skin so if you are going to wear socks, push them lower than the bottom edge of the inflatables.
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Nope, it wasn't cause you were fat. Size has nothing to do with it cause even skinny people can develop DVT.

However, I was peeing so much, my night nurse finally gave up on hooking them back and let me be.
 
Everyone else already gave my best ideas before I could, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

Yes, you are over planning. This is a hopefully brief hospital stay for medical care, not a vacation. No one gives a damn what you look like or smell like there.
Bring chap stick or some kind of lip balm. At absolute must!
Bring some kind of shoes that you can slip on and off without bending or using your hands in any way. For me that was Birkenstocks. Flip flops may not be the best choice when walking after general anesthesia.
Leave everything of value at home, or with a trusted companion.

That's it!
 
writegirl said:
Thank you for the wake up call on the pajamas. I am still bringing my jammie bottoms just in case I need them to go home in. The medication has me worried though. I shouldn't take my thyroid medicine with me? How will I get it if I don't have it? The hospital will confiscate my medicine and not give it back?? I had no idea about this. I guess I'll leave all of my meds home then, but I am panicked about the thyroid medicine and I am supposed to take the Nystatin and the medication to prevent the gall bladder issues--the Ursodiol--I am supposed to start taking that twice a day post-op. Should I wait till I get released?
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Right...They are required to provide you any medications that you require. On a rare occasion- if they don't have a med you need- they may ask for it. at that point, it would get reviewed by their pharmacist and labeled as such (all mends dispensed by nurse with MD order) Keep the Gas X strips on the down low or someone might get antsy (every place is different). Get and use as much from hem as you can- it costs you enough!!! lol.
 
Flip flops can be dangerous for anyone. There's no support. Cheap ones fold under themselves.

Anti-embolism pumps? Loved mine after knee surgery as they felt like a lower leg massage. The stockings, not so much. I'm old enough to have worn nylon stockings with garters so I thought I'd be OK. These are a much tighter fit and require a bit of effort to get them on and off.

Larra is spot on about nobody caring what you look like. If you feel as crappy as I did in the immediate post-op period, you won't care either. I just wanted to get home to my own bed and, of course, to be with my dog. I do remember my first at home shower and shampoo. Heavenly.
 
Thank you everyone! I'll be taking your advice. The way I look in the hospital is the last thing on my mind. I'm more concerned with getting through it and being ok after the surgery than anything else. By "toiletries" I meant basics like toothpaste and deodorant. I'll definitely bring slide-on shoes for any walking. I have flip flops as shower shoes but I would not try walking in them. Great advice on the purse/wallet. My daughter and my boyfriend will be with me and one will stay the entire time (they may switch out), but I won't need my wallet. I have a phone case that holds my ID, insurance card, and a few credit cards. I'll give it to my family to hold while I'm in surgery but the case is one where most people would never realize it is holding anything valuable. Our hospital does the private rooms after you leave recovery, so thankfully I won't have to deal with any thieving room mate issues. It's terrible that folks will prey on people when they're most vulnerable. I'm glad you all warned me!
 
Forgot to mention, I have a robe that is actually a floor length zip front hoodie that I always bring to hospitals for the mandated walks around the corridors because (a) I generally am cold-blooded and almost always freezing and (b) I am uncomfortable with my derriere on display due to hospital gown design.
 

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