QUESTION:

"I'm having surgery soon, what will I need for my hospital stay or for shortly after???"

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Okay, ladies and gentlemen, this question comes up here so much - I felt it would be a great idea to start up an official thread. My plan is once I think the list is great enough, I'm going to create a checklist for all the folks out there that will be sleeved shortly and have the above question. Then if you are around long enough and as much as I am, and someone has that question you can just lead them to this thread. Fair enough?

Sometimes it's just nice to have everything all in the same place, kinda following the WalMart rule of thumb. They are very successful, aren't they?

Anyway, please start with your suggestions and I'll get my MSWord fired up. I'll also start with the first suggestion:

Comfy Pajamas, underclothes, and slippers or warm cozy socks...

Hospital Stay Checklist.doc

I saw this little warmer thing at walmart, it is like a heating pad i guess, it has little pockets where you put your hands, and it sits right on your stomach. i didnt get to check it out throughly enough but it didnt look like it has a cord on it, that might be easier than taking your heating pad you can just sit up with that on your tummy. It was 10 bucks, im going to check it out next time i have more time and let you know how it stays warm...

Bring strength optimism Courage patience and faith.

I personally dont think you will need a suitcase for your hospital stay... you are not moving into the hospital. My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow and the only i will be taking is my cell phone charger, toothe brush and paste and thats about it. What i wear to the hospital is what I'm leaving in. My girlfriend had the surgery and to be honest she was in no mood or state to even want to put on an eye mask or rob or to knit lol...

Be comfortable and you will be fine.

The one thing I took that made me feel comfy was my fleece blanket.

I wish I had taken my own Kleenex and toilet paper...the "John Wayne" stuff the hospital had was harsh!! LOL!!!

[quote name=Lisa ' timestamp='1321242220' post='228874]

The one thing I took that made me feel comfy was my fleece blanket.

I wish I had taken my own Kleenex and toilet paper...the "John Wayne" stuff the hospital had was harsh!! LOL!!!

Haha!! That's funny! And sooo true.

Thank you so much for posting this!

I can't tell you how many great ideas are on here that I never would have thought of.

My surgery is scheduled for this Thursday (Nov. 17th) and I feel so much more prepared going in having read all of this.

THANKS :smile1:

May I suggest you also keep a running total of meds, etc that are administered...and make sure that before they give you any otc meds ask the cost - you have the right to bring them in if they are charging too much.

Note everyone you saw and what they did and how much time they took - especially if you have complications later.

These are for you later on to be able to dispute any charges you should not have to pay.

What a great list, thank you very much.

I would like to add from past experience that if you take your own pillow(s) from home, use a brightly colored (or at a minimum, non-white) pillow case so that they don't take your pillow accidentally.

When my husband had surgery (not WLS), the hospital tried to give him at huge cost every medicine, Vitamin, and supplement that he listed on his admitting paperwork. The list of everything that you've taken recently and assume is for them to avoid complications, NOT so that they can give it to you and charge you!

I had to send them away with the overpriced Vitamin C tabs, etc. every single day. Plus, we took his meds from home, and they still tried to bill our insurance hundreds of dollars for meds we did not receive, or meds we brought from home.

This thread is great! Perfect for those of us that needed a place to start. Great idea and great suggestions! Thx y'all!

My hubby got an electric throw blanket for his birthday. I plan on taking it to keep warm.

Thank you to all who contributed to this list. I am going in for my surgery on 1/18 so this was extremely timely!!

Thank you to all who contributed to this list. I am going in for my surgery on 1/18 so this was extremely timely!!

Yayyy!! Those few weeks will fly by.

Not sure if this would be considered body wipes or not, but with my sections, I loved having flushable wipes. Since it can get kinda hard to make sure you got it all clean lol, the wipes made me feel like "Yup, all clean".

This is a wonderful thread! Thanks to all who have contributed to the "post-op, handy-dandy survival kit". You sure have made my life a lot easier. I see my surgeons on Tuesday the 3rd of January, 2012. All of my pre-op testing is completed and I believe that a surgery date will be set at that time. I know they require you to be on a clear liquid diet for one week prior to the surgery, does that mean I can have like SF Jello? MIO (water additive with no sugars)? That sort of thing? Anyone? Your help will be greatly appreciated!

From what I understand all liquids are ok, sticking to sugar frees - so it sounds like all those you mentioned should work. If you're not too sure, ask your nutritionist. Good luck!!!