Tips for Surgery Day?

I'm being banded in four days. I'm reading all I can here, which helps a lot. Please post what you wish you had known/done/asked for/etc. in and out of the hospital before and after your surgery.

For example, my nurse practitioner gave me an Rx for a liquid painkiller to take at home after being discharged. I told her I probably wouldn't fill it because I had a painkiller Rx at home if needed, that I take occasionally for severe arthritis pain. But then I remembered yesterday that my own Rx gives me nausea on an empty stomach. And I'll have an empty stomach for weeks! So I definitely will fill the one she's given me to be prepared.

Also, I saw a post about walking a LOT to prevent clots. So I know to do that even after returning to work.

I'm on day two of Clear liquids. I'm having surgery on Thursday and returning to my desk job on the Monday after.

Those of you post-op, what other tips, big or small, for this week going into surgery?

Thanks so much!

Make sure your current pain meds are not an nsaid? Most doctors don't allow nsaids as they can cause ulcers in the stomach and eventually erosion if taken for too long and too often.

Oh, and Miralax to relieve gas afterwards.

I went off my NSAID in September. Tylenol sux. LOL.

I'm also being banded on Thursday. Trying not to be nervous. Good luck.

I went off my NSAID in September. Tylenol sux. LOL.

Yes it does. Waste of time even taking it.

The only things I really needed/used at the hospital were a robe (for walking in the hallways), hair brush, and toothbrush/toothpaste. They gave me those skidder socks to wear and I used their pillows/blankets because I didn't want hospital cooties on my own stuff hahaha

Definitely bring a pillow for the ride home. The bumps in the road can hurt and it's nice to have it to hold on to. I also recommend asking for a prescription for an anti-nausea before you leave the hospital since you know you get sick from pain meds. I ended up having to call my doctor's office the day after I got home so they could call one in for me so I wished I had asked before I went home.

If you don't have a heating pad, I highly recommend one of those too!! That thing was a life saver the first 4 or 5 days post-op. It helped ease the shoulder pain caused by gas as well as the soreness in my abdomen.

Before I left for the hospital I got my room ready for when I came home. I moved our reclining chair into my bedroom and set up a space next to it where I could keep my blankets, pain meds, Water bottle, heating pad, laptop, and tv remotes within reach. It was like a little recovery station. I ended up sleeping in that chair for almost a whole 2 weeks after surgery! I was glad I set it up before hand because when I came home I just went right to sleep.

I know you probably read this a lot, but don't forget to walk after surgery! It seriously does help with the gas pains and it makes you feel more awake and alert. I tried to walk every couple of hours or so. I'd even walk around the house when I woke up in the middle of the night because it helped break up the gas so I could go back to sleep after.

I hope this helps a little! Best of luck to you!

Pillow for the car ride home is a great suggestion.

Might want to have a liquid laxative on hand...just in case.

Loose stretchy pants.

Hope your recovery is quick and not too uncomfortable!

xo

Great suggestions above. My only suggestions are sense of humor, positive attitude, and the oomph to get up and get around as soon as possible. I really recommend the latter -- so important to do as much walking as you can. I felt like I needed to pee fairly frequently so I used that opportunity to grab the IV pole and take a stroll down the hallway and back again each time. By morning I was up to quite a few laps, then I continued that when I got home around and around our driving circle. I believe this really helped shake off the anesthetic and kick my body into healing mode.

My doctor also gave me a prescription for narcotic painkillers which I filled but never used. In the hospital I had Ibuprofen in my IV and then once home I used some liquid Tylenol and tried liquid Ibuprofen a time or two (yuck!). My surgeon has no prohibition for NSAIDS but I try to take them as little as possible. Today I took a couple of Tylenol for arthritis pain, not an NSAID. I think it's helping a bit. Every body is different.

I'm a tea drinker and was glad to have my own brand of tea with me. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I brought a juice bottle filled with our own Water. We have great water and I'm not used to the chlorinated stuff in a city. I had a CPAP machine so the water was for that but I also used it for my sipping as soon as I could do that. I had an eye pillow and a pillow from home -- both were comfort items for me. Things I took to the hospital that I didn't need: a book to read, my journal. I mostly took little naps, did the walking, then another little nap, etc.

At home I really enjoyed having Popsicles. I got a brand from MinuteMaid called Soft Frozen Lemonade. They have sugar in them, but I prefer that to artificial sweeteners and in any case I was having so little it made no difference calorie-wise.

I had never been an overnight patient in the hospital before (and I'm 52!) so I was a little nervous. It all was so much easier than I thought it would be. People are really there to take care of you and the sense of humor comes in handy for the moments when it's just sort of absurd -- like being wheeled around, etc. Good luck to you! Best decision I've made for myself -- I'm so, so happy at four months out. Best wishes for smooth sailing and a speedy recovery.

I would suggest having the clear liquids you need after the surgery when you get home, plus the protein drinks, then the liquids after that- like soups. Get what you think you will need for a few weeks so there won't be any thought going into what you should eat and you won't need to go into a food store.

The pillow is a great idea, in case you start yo cough.

They told me to get a nice fresh bottle of Milk a Magnesia. Pain killers can block you up.

Get the liquid pain killer filled, some pills can get stuck. You should start looking for liquid stuff.

Good luck, you will do well.

Ice pack helps with the incision pain especially where the port is placed. Chap stick - lips were so dry after surgery. GasX strips - melt in mouth so one less thing you have to swallow.

This is great. Thank you all so much. Day two of clear liquids was hard, I'm tired and draggy, but probably didn't get enough calories. Just two big Isopure bottles, two big mugs of broth, and a Jello cup.Went to see Frozen with my daughter. Food? "Let it go!" Lapper, good luck!

Thank you. I'm on the count down