i thought i had seen one earlier in my journey, but i can't find it.

thanks!

1. At my last pre-op meeting with my surgeon, I asked him about pain management and how he handles that shoulder gas I was hearing about. He said it comes from CO2 pumped into the abdominal cavity to expand it and allow more room to work with his surgical instruments. This is the gas that rises post-op into the shoulder area. (Personally, I don't see how Gas-X strips would help with gas that is not inside the stomach or bowels, but many swear by it). Doctor said he would extract as much as possible before closing up. For what it's worth, I did not have any shoulder post-op.

2. About the value of a notebook: good in case you just want to write something down. My best example is when I had ro go to a rehab facility after my knee replacement since I lived alone and could not take care of myself right away. The first night, my pain meds were delivered over two hours late, so I wrote that down and names of every nurse and nurse-aid who promised me I would get my meds in a few more minutes.

Every time anyone came into my room for anything, I wrote down their name, what they did to me, what they said to me, and how they teated me. About midway through the second shift on the second day, a nurse came in and asked me if I was a journalist. Well, I like to write things down and was midway through writing a book about surviving domestic violence, so I said yes, I am a journalist and I am logging my experience so that I can write up an article about it later.

From that point on, every med was on time and I was treated like the Queen of England! I thought is was hilarious. Since it was working, I just rolled with it. So anytime I am in the hospital, I write everything down - just in case.

I knew I should have done that! I guess I was feeling lazy. But you put your finger on the problem - they thought you would write about them because you were writing everything down. I wish I had done what my friend had suggested and had brought a notebook. The nurses were okay, but were late with my meds and with taking me for ,AND my Latanoprost (eye drops which have the side effect of making your eyelashes really long!) mysteriously disappeared. Imagine that! The nurse looked panicked when I remembered that it was in the room but somehow must have been "misplaced." I bet if I had been jotting down all information and happenings, it might not have gone "missing."

I Brought lots of items to the hospital, but forgot them in my moms trunk when I checked in. There are some items that make it more convenient, but realistically the hospital will likely have most of what you need. They gave me an extra gown to use as a robe, toothbrush and paste, lots of pillows, a heat pad, etc. While not all hospitals are the same, and I think some amenities are different in the Mexican surgical centers, most should have basic supplies if you forget something.

Edited November 23, 201411 yr by georgiare

So, I used only my pillow, phone, charger and diabetes supplies. Sweetie pie forgot the chapstick, wished I had it.