Ok hopefuly some of the fellow nurses on here can relate - I have a feeling I'm going to be quite the difficult patient post-op. My doc says a 2-3 day hospital stay so I'll be coherent for most of it (I'm thinking the anesthesia will clear by the day after surgery). I'm not going to want anyone checking on me and taking care of me lol. I'm of the mindset "just give me the stuff and I'll do it myself." Plus I have no desire whatsoever to wear a hospital gown - I plan on taking sweat pants and a tshirt with me. If they try to make me wear the gown I'll probably just be butt nekkid in the bed next time they come in out of spite lol. Anyone else think they'll be a difficult patient? I know the pants could rub the incision site or whatever but I dont want to wear the gown lol. Now keep in mind this is coming from someone who's only almost halfway through the supervised diet - 3 1/2 more months until I can even try to get the surgery anyway.

You may not be wearing sweat pants if you wake up with a catheter! I woke up with one in after surgery and was shoked as hell lol.

Just relax. How hard is it to let others wait on you for a few days instead of you doing it for others? Enjoy it the best you can!

I don't think the sweats will be very comfortable after the surgery. I couldn't think about wearing any kind of pants the first week. I understand how you feel about hospitals and nurses, I don't like them either, they bothered me every hour on the hour to check this or that, but I had to have patience, they were doing their job and I have to say they were very caring. I wish you the best for your surgery.

My physician let me do what made me comfortable. My SO even placed my IV, drew my labs and applied my steri strips post op. I was only in the gown from the way to and from the OR. Just tell people up front about your expectations.

Why don't you change your thought to- I'm going to be a great patient because I know what nurses go through and I don't want to make their job any harder? And trust me, when you wake up from surgery the last thing you're going to care about is what you're wearing.

Lmao. Ur so funny but i understand wat u sayin. But think about it this way, ull maybe have a cateder n they hurt if they are pulled n stuff. And the iv u wont be able to change ur clothes. Once they remove all that i too am going to change bc the gown makes people feel and look sicker. Wat i hate the most is them waking u up at all hours

I don't mean to sound rude, but quite frankly that is a choice you make. If you choose to be a "difficult patient," then you will be. It's like choosing to have a bad day. I say if you are going to be uncomfortable and not so happy about what is expected at the hospital then don't do the surgery.

Sometimes in life we have to do things and obey by certain standards that we don't want to. I personally think you can choose to be an "easy patient" for 2-3 days.

Just my 2 cents...

I dreaded being a patient. I think it was the idea of being vulnerable or embarrased that bothered me most. However, I made up my mind going in that I was just going to go with the flow and let them do their job. It's not like I was any different than what they see day in and day out. I found that while in the hospital, I slept so much the first day that I could have cared less what I was wearing. By the second day I was used to being a patient and found it was not so bad, other than the floor was super busy so it was hard to get the nurse when I needed her. The last day was time to go home. I got up, got dressed in my sweat pants and waited for discharge. By then I had gotten to know the nurses and assistants, so it was nice to get a chance to see them, thank them and say good bye.

Day one I stayed in my gown...easier with the IV than trying to get a t-shirt on. Morning of day 2 I was in my sweats and a t-shirt with my IV unhooked...so where most of the folks in the unit. Mid morning of day two I had a shower put on a pair of shorts and took a number of walks around the block, circling the nurses station can get a little boring.

Ok a lot of it was sarcasm - the saying "Nurses make the worst patients" is kind of what I was getting at. I really am too self conscious to want to walk around in a gown though It'll just make me uncomfortable to have people "taking care of me" but I know thats part of it.

Actingnurse- you're funny

Try not to worry, as a nurse you know nurses have seen it all, just concentrate on getting better and let them do their *job* (taking care and helping you)

You might get lucky and get a nurse who doesn't do his/her job, then you get to do it yourself

That was sarcasm Hehe

I wish u the best! You'll be fine

Buy or take a comfy robe to cover your backside. For me, the worst part of the hospital is always those thin little blankets, so I took a robe and a wool shawl. Between the two, I was warm and comfy. I probably was a bad patient because I refused to get in the bed, even right after surgery. I stayed in the chair when I wasn't walking. I won't say I was anxious to walk, but I kept getting up and pacing in my room because I just couldn't sit that long. I anticipated hating those stupid socks, but I loved them while I was in the hospital.

I think that the other ladies are right. A lot of your experience post-op is determined by your attitude. If you "know" you'll have a lot of pain and a tough recovery, that's what you'll get. A positive attitude goes a long, long way to helping our body recover. I bet you know that already, since you're a nurse. Your patients with a good attitude probably recover more quickly than those whose entire attitude is negative, don't they?

Ask for a second gown to put on the other way. All but your legs are covered. Every patient in the hospital is in a gown. Believe me when I tell you I DREADED this. But, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. You will be fine. By the way, I appretiated your sarcasm, but did not realize you were a nurse. Do you work at the hospital where you are having your surgery? I would see this as a plus in many ways but could see the downsides as well as far as ego and comfort go. If they let you wear your sweats and you can get them on, then wear them. I would have. But if it's against policy (which it was at my hospital) then you will have to deal with it. It's not that bad. I ran into two of my friends who are nurses who worked at my hospital while I was doing my laps (in my double gowns...) Looking back, I wasn't embarrased at all. It was just nice to see a friendly and familiar face. For now, just put it out of your mind and worry about it when the time comes. Why borrow trouble?

last time i was in the hospital, i was there for a 6 days/nights in the ICU & 1 day in the regular part... 5 days i was fine.. when i was asleep & they'd come in jabbing me with needles or wanting x-rays or i had to drink that nasty sulfer smelling stuff or for whatever it was that they needed, i would wake up & say "thank you" and go back to sleep & i was pretty pleasant & everyone thought i was very nice. lol by the 6th day i was like "i really miss my dog.... i wanna go home"... that night i was having a fit.. having anxiety attacks.. i couldn't sleep.. etc.. they had to give me shots to lower my blood pressure & whatnot.. the following day one of my labs came back & said i had staff infection (which they found out later that i really didn't, it was a contaminated sample).. so they were trying to find veins to pump me full of whatever that stuff is that gets rid of it.. but since they'd been taking blood from everywhere, all my veins were bad & they had to dig around to find one.. and then the vein popped & that stuff made my arm have a knot on it the size of a grapefruit (no lie.. a big one, not a small one) & i was freaking out & crying & was pretty much hysterical... i was really mean to the nurse (not meaning to be, but i was just sick of being there and having everyone wake me up for everything all week & i apologized profusely) and i was mean to the x-ray guy.. well, not directly.. but i was saying to my mom how i'm F'ing tired & just want to SLEEP & i'm 1/2 naked & he can just wait a darn minute & etc.. he laughed it off, but i still feel bad.. so i was exhausted and i really wanted to see my dog, who is a senior (he'll be 12 this year), because i was worried about him.. lol and it made me go from being a happy camper to a sour puss.. but i finally got out & i was SOOOOOOOO happy.

in regards to a catheter.. lol pants would so not be fun with one of those. i had one & hated it.. wonder how long they make you wear one, because they really suck. :/

i have to say.. i am so thankful for nurses.. you really have to love people and care about them to do that work.. and it is tough work. on the same note.. being in the hospital was the most embarrassing thing i have ever gone through.. and some nurses have lost their touch... i'm a VERY modest person & i had nurses come in & fling my gown open (because i ripped off my monitoring stuff on accident) and even though i know they weren't trying to look at me, i felt very violated.. not to mention having people looking at my bare butt & cleaning areas that i don't want anyone to see.. lol it was absolutely humiliating in that regard.. but most of the nurses were very nice and i appreciated them very much.. i still feel very ashamed and embarrassed when i think about my stay in the hospital, though... totally humiliating experience.

ActingNurse, I know exactly what you mean! I tell everybody from the time I get in the hospital till I leave that I am a nurse! Why? I am hoping for a little "professional courtesy". I know I have to get up & walk & pass gas. Yes, the nurses' jobs are difficult but hopefully I will be LESS trouble because taking the initiative to take care of myself will help me recover faster.

Tracey - It's one of the sister hospitals - I'd be too self-conscious to have it at the same hospital I work at. Not too crazy about the idea of everyone knowing my business lol.

I'm actually a NICU nurse so my patients don't really apply.

I just have a feeling I'll be saying " nah I got it" a lot when they come to do stuff lol. Too self-conscious. Also - I'm going to request no catheter if at all possible. I know when I did a brief stint in OR the guys never got catheters for whatever procedure they were having - unless they couldnt go AFTER surgery THEN they got one. Then again it wasnt bariatric patients.. so who knows.