Surgery Countdown what do I need beforehand!

Hi!  Our dates are not too far apart, so I'm trying to get everything ready too.  What I've made note of so far:

For the hospital:
- Fan, as it can get hot in the hospital
- Ear plugs
- Chapstick
- Hair clips
- Pillow for my neck (and one to hold for my trip home... will leave it in the car)
- Pads

For the home (I'll be on liquids for 3 weeks):
- Broth
- Cream of whatever soups
- SF popsicles
- Protein shake varieties (I have some ready to drink ones, as well as a bunch I've ordered from Vitalady)
- Decaf green tea
- Water bottle
- Vitamins from Vitalady and chewable samples for the first week or two
- Condiment cups to put my shakes and water into, in oder to get into the habit of drinking 2 oz every 15 min
- Wipes
- Poopourri Spray

Things to do beforehand:
- Update Will
- Update Living Will
- Pay my bills for the month
- Print hand outs w/ my surgeons name and new anatomy arrangement, just in case.

Thanks to the advice above I'll be adding extension cord and back scratcher to my list!

Hope this helps some!

We'll be surgiversary sisters!!!  I wrote your list down as well.  Thanks so much for the advice and let's keep in touch!

Sher-

In addition to your favorite pads, some bigger granny panties that you wouldn't mind losing. You'll be swollen after surgery, your normal undies will be too tight, and after both of my surgeries I started my period day 2 post op (pretty common, I guess), so I had 3 days in the hospital dealing with that, and between being in strange positions, laying down, etc., even the biggest pad probably won't cover every area.

It's getting close! Exciting

Thanks for the suggestions.  I've been wondering if I'll get my period there after surgery.  I have PCOS and my periods come very late--my cycle is about 6 weeks and i just had my period.  I think I'll go off my Metformin which helps keep my regular--and if i go off of it now, maybe I'll delay the whole cycle--but with my luck, I'll bring granny panties and BIG pads as well!!! Definately need the granny panties since the ones I wear are snug (as I like them that way).

I'm excited and scared and nervous as well!!!!

S

This is great I am adding to my list too. I will also be packing my seatbelt extender for the plane ride. I got mine from Extend IT.

Regarding the shower chair....I have a back injury that flares up from time to time.  This last time it happened, I couldn't stand up to shower. I didn't want to spend money on a shower chair, so I looked around my house to see if there was anything I could convert.

We buy our laundry detergent in bulk, and it comes in a rectangular bucket container and we happened to have an empty one! It was perfect. My hubby put some water in it to stabilize it, and placed a folded towel on top to make it comfortable, and it worked like a charm. It was the perfect height so I didn't have to struggle to get up or down, wide enough to sit on (with the towel), and we saved money!

I'm sure I'll be using it in 2 weeks when I get home from my surgery.

Lets see, the things I used at the hospital were:
my pillow - much more comfy than the hospital one & also used to hold against stomach on car ride home.
underwear and comfy pants - I wore those under my hospital gown.  Made walking the halls more comfortable
Cell phone and charger
Laptop - I didn't use, but my husband who stayed with me used it quite a bit
comfy loose clothes for the ride home
lip balm
toiletries - I took toothbrush, brush, soap & shampoo. 

I think that's about it, I was only in the hospital for 2 nights and slept a lot of that time away. Oh, I was going to pack a fan, but left it at home - the hospital provided one for me when I asked.  So depending on the hospital, that's something you could leave at home

For at home, I had to purchase products from my surgeons office for my first 2 weeks post op.  They were high protein soups, puddings, jello.  I also did a big food shopping trip right before my surgery so my kids would have plenty of food in the house. 
I think it was about 5 days post op that I started getting pretty bored at home.  My husband took me on a couple trips to the store, we walked slow and it got me out of the house.  I wouldn't recommend shopping on your own, but it was nice to get out with his help. 

Good luck with your surgery.