Hi all! I am having my gastric sleeve done on the 21st of June and I was wondering if anyone has any hospital stay must haves to make my stay more comfortable?

Also! I would love some suggestions on exercise shoes and exercise gear I might want to get for when I can start doing more strenuous exercises?

Let me know and thank you in advance:)

Edited May 20, 20233 yr by hannah grace

don't take much, because you'll probably be sleeping most of the time. Your phone and a charger. Very comfy easy-to-put on clothes for the ride home (although I just wore the same outfit that I wore TO the hospital). Some people use Biotene spray (for dry mouth) and Chapstick - so I did take those, but i don't think I used them (but a lot of people do use them). I also took toiletries, but I didn't need to because the hospital gave me a bag with travel-sized shampoo, deoderant, soap, toothbrush, and toothpaste. You'll get a hospital gown and slip-resistant socks, so no need to take your own unless you want to (although those gowns do make it easier for them to do things like listen to your lungs (if they even do that..) since they're open in the back. Although some people take something like a robe to put on while they're walking the halls (because they'll have you up and walking pretty quickly) - when I say those hospital gowns are open, they ARE open - all the way down...

I agree, you wont need much. I took my own toiletries & changed into my own pjs - made me feel better. I was glad I threw in extra pjs & knickers though (you can experience very sudden diarrhoea - unpleasant).

Different surgeons will have different advice & restrictions in regards to activity post surgery & when you can begin more strenuous activity, usually everyone is told to walk - gentle slow walks as you’re able (a couple of short walks every day even just around your home your yard is a good place to begin). Remember you will have restrictions on how much you can carry (lift, pull, etc.) in the first couple of weeks while you are healing. Check with them before embarking on an exercise program.

Oh, those surgical gowns can be thin too. I’ll never forget the man wearing his gown sunning himself in front of the windows in the ward lounge area without a care in the world. The sun was highlighting everything under the gown & believe me when I say he was only wearing his hospital gown. ?.

all the best.

For excersice: I got the Adidas Adizero SL Running shoes & they're 10/10. They're weightless!

A Fitbit. Hitting my daily goals on there is my #1 motivation

Compression shin sleeves are wonderful for preventing pain from walking/running/stair climbing etc

A fanny pack makes life VERY easy at the gym/on your walks

Look up cooling towels you can drape around your neck or tie around your wrist when you work out, they're fantastic.

Lip balm. Sometimes we get dry skin after surgery & a lot of breathing during working out can cause lip dryness. Trust me, keep one in your fanny pack & you will use it A LOT.

Edited May 21, 20233 yr by qtdoll

The hospital stay was such a blur. I agree with above posters about bringing as little as possible. Hospitals are notorious for stealing too, so nothing too valuable. I brought my asthma meds, phone, earbuds, charger. You can use a backwards gown as a robe and ask for as many warm blankets and pillows as you wish.

Afterwards, after recovering or during, I made it a game to get up every hour. Just keep moving to keep blood flowing and get that gas out. Later the Fitbit or something step counting can motivate you to eventually get your steps up to 8-10k a day. That’s later on, not right away. Yeah, on the lip balm before during and after!

I wasn't expecting dry mouth from hell, so agree with lip balm, mouth spray for that. I told the nurses, and they brought me ice chips. Said it was caused from all the anesthesia.

I took very little to the hospital. Wore same clothes home. Took my phone and didn't even use it till drive home. I slept most of the time while there.

Walking is the best thing you can do for exercise starting out and it's free. I bought a Garmin GPS watch to map out my routes, track my distance, heartrate etc. It even has an emergency call option if you're out somewhere and go down. It will pinpoint your location.

There are a bazillion types of watches to choose from in all price ranges and options. Great for tracking your progress.

Earplugs!

Put 1 gown on open back and put another gown on open front....no need to bring a robe.

I brought the bare minimum toiletries (bar soap, facewash, tooth brush, Listerine, deodorant, panties) and used the tooth brush, face wash, clean undies. I didn't shower there. I was just ready to go.

I wore a pretty sun dress and crocs in and the same thing out.

The only things that were consistently utilized were my long phone charger, carmex and silk bonnet for my long hair.

Congratulations and good luck!

I'm in the hospital now, had my surgery yesterday) and so far I used only my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, deodorant and phone (obviously). And I'll be wearing home the same clothes I came in with.

But I still think that you better pack everything you think you might need (like chapstick, charger, may be mouth spray) that people also posted above, because you never know what you'll need in your particular situation. Good luck!

Maybe I'm wrong but shouldn't the hospital supply anything we need as in toiletries? We pay them so damn much anyway. We shouldn't have to be lugging all our stuff from home. Unless you are going to Mexico and/or uninsured.

On the flip side, I have seen a hospital bill once that showed I was charged $25 for a band aid. So, might depend on if your deductible is met for the year to decide what to take.