Surgery: After Care/Tips/Advice

[knakag01]

UPDATE: My surgery has just been moved again. It will now (hopefully) take place, just a day later, on May 20th.

[sues1953]

Hi Kim,

So now your surgery is on the same day as mine  .  I will be thinking of you.

Thanks to you all for the great input.  Keep them comming.

Sue

[leapyrtwins]

Like someone said previously, we're all different.

I didn't have the issue with my fat graft that Debbi had with hers, so I wore my regular clothes home from the hospital without any trouble.  I never used chapstick post op.

I never wore pjs - just the gowns the hospital gave me - but found a robe to be a big necessity for walking the halls.  Nothing like that opening in the back of those fashionable gowns 

I packed a bag, complete with reading material, but never even opened it.  I had double-vision for a day or two post op and that, combined with the fatigue, lead me not to read a thing.  Even watching TV was difficult, unless I closed one eye.

The hospital pretty much provides a lot of "musts" - like a comb, toothbrush, slippers, etc. - so don't overpack.  A pair of sunglasses for the ride home is very helpful.

And once you get home a shower bench and baby shampoo are wonderful for your first post op showers.  Usually your balance isn't good and shampoo in your eyes just adds to the problem because you tend to close them.  Baby shampoo solves this problem nicely. 

Jan

[Lizard]

Even watching TV was difficult, unless I closed one eye.

Too funny I totally forgot about watching TV with one eye closed...hilarous!     Again not to worry it was only a couple days!

[Tracy Lynn]

* taking notes* 

I figured on the fan, when my mother had major knee surgery, she was given a morphine drip. When she came off the morphine (two different times) she was sweating buckets and was constantly hot. I bought her one of those cheapie little fans that take AA batteries, and she said it was her saving grace. I've only had morphine once, and it was only a shot. I'm more worried about being too hot than too cold. I brought my mom a gum and mints too that helped with the nausea and that irritable feeling when you can't brush your teeth every time you feel nauseated.

The facial wipes, fantastic idea! It put it on my list twice because I'm weird like that

The sunglasses, while you would think would be common sense, were not on my list before. Wow, and here I thought I was almost prepared!

Also on my list is my very embarassing little pillow I've had forever. Some kids have security blankets, or teddy bears, mine's a pillow. I sleep better with it, and even though I'm certain that I will sleep anyhow, it has tremendous comfort value.

Sue and Kim, we will have a postie party. Even though we may all have different or no complications post-op, its comforting to know someone else is going through the same thing at the same time.

[CHD63]

Hi Tracy .....

Sounds like you have all of your bases covered so now you can relax.

Just a thought on the sleeping ..... presuming you will be on steroids, many of us had major insomnia as a result so do not panic if you have trouble sleeping while on them.  It's a very small trade-off to avoid other annoying after effects.

..... and yes, the double vision seems to be a rather common event for a few days afterwards.  Reading was out of the question for me in the hospital.  I remember my husband would stop talking every time I closed my eyes until I told him, "I'm not going to sleep, it's just that there are two of you with my eyes open and I can only handle one of you."   

Re:  the sunglasses ..... I am presuming they would be useful for the drive home from the hospital, when everything will look and sound weird.  If you currently wear glasses, you need to take an old pair along, take the AN side bow off, or have flexible bows because the bandage will make it a challenge to put them on otherwise.

Clarice

[jaylogs]

Yes, there are hundreds of experiences out there dealing with post-op, so this forum is indeed a treasure trove of information!! It certainly helped me!! I wore the jammie bottoms, beats having me bum sticking out there whilst wearing those wonderful hospital gowns!! I also had my robe, which was in itself a nice security blanket!! On the subject of sunglasses, my wife got clever and remove the one arm that would have made contact with my scar, as it was right there where it would have rested. I would also suggest to refrain from any computer activity for as long as  you can stand it!! Also keep the visits to a minimum, too many people at once is info overload, as is the computer.  Good luck to all three of you on that week and let us know how it goes!
Jay

[james e]

I agree with Jay about visitors...you will probably want to be left alone and not feel like you need to be entertained. I told my wife and daughter to just go shopping...and they did. They came in the early morning, late afternoon and dinner time. 15-20 minutes and they were gone unless I asked for them to stay.

The clock seems to move rather slowly, so watch tv or read. I also set several goals for my self. I had to be able to eat and walk to leave the hospital. Eating was easy. Walking took some effort, so I set goals to get up every hour and walk the hall. There are grab rails to hold on to. At first I walked 3 door ways from my room and then back. Next time 10 doors. Later I walked without the grab rail. My wife showered me the first day, but my goal was to do it myself the next day. This really got me ready to go home and not be too much of a burden on my wife.

When you get home, just sleep. The steroids really bothered my sleeping pattern, and I was getting up 2 or 3 times a night because I could not sleep for long periods of time. Any sleep you get at any time of the day is good for you. Do not even try to get into your normal living pattern. Your normal timing will return when your brain is not full of all those drugs.

My taste buds changed, so things that I would normally drink or eat did not taste good. About one month later, I was back  to normal. Be prepared to change your diet.

Everyone has a really different type of recovery. Mine was really easy...not perfect...but better than most. ATTITUDE and EXCELLENT HEALTH were keys for me. Good luck to you and your family. I know you will do  well!