What to expect when I leave the hospital...

My mom is coming to help me since my hubby will be working. She is really stressed because she is a natural worrier...so could you help me out with what she should expect! Like what things are normal and what things aren't...she basically wants to know when she should call the hospital! What are signs that I need to go back to hospital and what should she expect as far as my eating, energy level, how much activity I should aim for, and whatever you all can think of! Thanks!

Signs of infection are biggies: Fever, swelling around the surgery site, obnoxious redness or heat in your belly (pink-to-red area around the incision is normal and a sign of healing; it's nasty looking redness that's an alert), opaque funky yellow or (especially) green discharge, or icky smelling discharge. Normal wound seepage is clear to cloudy and has next to no odor, only very slight.

Pain that is not controlled to livable levels with your prescribed pain meds. Do not skimp on pain management; it is crucial to good healing.

Nausea and/or vomiting that is not managed by your prescribed meds for that stuff plus going back to clear liquids.

Dehydration: Early signs are headache, funky thinking, fuzzy mouth, nasty fatigue. You'll then start to look kind of "sunken" in the face. Your skin won't bounce back immediately if you gently pinch a bit of it, say on the back of your hand. You'll also probably get nauseated and have a bellyache and be generally miserable. Get an amount in ounces from your surgeon of how much fluids you should be taking in daily. If you can't get in the minimum for more than one day, CALL. It's a LOT easier to go to the ER and get a couple liters of fluids than it is to treat complications caused by bad dehydration.

In your first couple weeks postop, the single most important thing is HYDRATION. It doesn't matter if you don't take in a single calorie, as long as you're getting in as close to 64 oz. of fluids daily as possible. (That might seem like ten gallons at first, but it gives you a goal to aim for. That's why I say ask your surgeon what he considers the absolute minimum.)

You should be up and about every couple of hours. Of course, you'll be doing that to pee and poo anyway. If you aren't, that's also a warning sign of dehydration. (Dark smelly urine is another one.) The first few days, getting up and taking a lap or two inside the house every couple hours is good. The more you walk, the better your circulation, the better for working out gas, the more stimulation to drink and to your appetite.

Pretty soon it will be time to venture outside for a couple hundred yards.

Change positions frequently.

You will probably nap one or more times per day and hopefully sleep more or less through the night. Or you might feel better than that and be awake more during the day.

You will eat, or what passes for eating at this point, a couple tablespoons at a time at most. Do not let your mother force food on you. It's a good way to puke and then it will hurt. Take one SMALL bite at a time. Put the spoon down, swallow and WAIT. Listen to your belly. Then decide if another bite is a good idea. Do not listen to your tastebuds. They will lie to you and lead you astray and you will discover the "eject button." Listen to your belly. As soon as there's the tiniest sense of, "Hmm, I don't know, but maybe that might be enough," STOP.

Ask your surgeon for a list of what he considers to be "call me NOW" stuff. Don't let him fob you off. (Not that I think he will, but the point is that you need to feel confident about the communication. Sometimes docs will assume that you'll know more than you really do. And even if you DO know a lot of this stuff<---points to self, you'll find ways to reason a lot of it away when it's happening to your own body. So be sure you really understand what he wants to communicate.)

It's lots better to call the doc too often than not often enough. Who cares if the whole office is moaning in protest when they hear your voice? That's what they get paid for. Don't worry about being a bother.

What Elizabeth said.  My mom wanted to come stay with me but I held her back.  I was concerned that I would naturally want to entertain my visiter and all, and really just wanted to be a slug if I felt so inclined. 

What she can help you do is get in and out of bed and other furniture for a couple days until you can do it yourself.  She can help with basic chores and food, etc.  I was overly independent so I kept sending people away with random chores to stay out of my hair while I stared at a spot on the wall, but that's me.  Someone to walk with you is nice, too.

Great info to bookmark, thanks EN!

You will be receiving discharge instructions on hard copy the day of your discharge.  Your nurse should be reviewing them with you, and you should be free to ask him/her questions.

In my situation, my nurse and I reviewed each line of the instructions and ensured that I understood them.  We also reviewed the list of medications to be taken at home.  She recommended that I refuse the prescription for narcotic painkillers because she thought I would do better with OTC painkillers instead.  I asked a few questions.  Both she and I signed off on the discharge papers, and I received a copy of them.  Mine were 3 pages long.

YMMV with each surgeon and hospital.

Your mother should expect you to have the energy of a slug and to take naps as needed.  Plus, you will be expected to walk around the block and to take in plenty of fluids so that you wouldn't get dehydrated.

Best of luck!

Print off what EN said....and hang it on your fridge!!!

You are gonna do fine, I just know it!!

Exactly what Elizabeth said.  She's taking care of me, and she's doing an awesome job. 

The biggest "problem" I had with my parents were that they were freaked out by me not wanting to eat.  They kept trying to feed me breakfast/lunch/dinner.  They were also a little concerned about how much I was sleeping, and afraid I might be taking too much pain medicine (when in fact I really took too little).

The only thing I wish that I had when I was released from the hospital was a sleeping aid for that first night. I did not sleep well and had buyers remorse for about an hour or two at 2am.

I walked to the hotel from the hospital so I was not in pain and did not have to take anything. Over the couse of the next few days, I walked and got tired but did it anyway to speed my healing. Take good care of yourself. Sleep when you need to, walk when you can...and know, this is the hardest part. It gets easier!

Dianne from FL