Things to have postop

Hello all, This is the first post I've made on this site. I've been here for a few months but have just been reading and updating my profile...no posting until now. My surgery (Roux-en-Y) hopefully will be scheduled for May. I'll be seeing the surgeon in the next couple of weeks and would like to have surgery before summertime-so we'll see how it goes. Everything else has been done that needs to be done and my insurance doesn't require preauthorization. I was just wondering if you can give me ideas of things that can be helpful right after surgery (not just foods, but anything that was helpful to you). I would greatly appreciate any input about that. Thanks!

Welcome Sharon! It's just great that your process for getting scheduled has been going so smoothly. I hope you are on your way before summertime - that would be wonderful. Dr. Hong is the best! I will be in to see him next week for my two year post-op visit. Wow! It has been such a positive and incredible change in my life, and I am so very grateful that this surgery helped me to make the changes I so needed to make. You will be in great hands with Dr. Hong. When I think back to the first days after surgery the list of things I really ended up needing was fairly small. I didn't have a big supply of food items, because I wasn't sure what would work. I do know that bullion cubes are not all created equal, and after being fairly repulsed by whatever I had, I got some Knorr brand and it was so much better! Sugar free popsicles were a must, and I enjoyed a bit of sugar free jello and Crystal light drinks. Really thinned down cream of wheat and oatmeal were early day "meals". I thought the 3 oz. bathroom cups were an easy way to measure my meals, as long as it fit in those cups it was not too much. I had an pitcher that held 60-70 oz. and each morning I filled it. I knew as long as I finished it by the end of the day I had gotten the right amount of water in. Having a lazy-boy would have been great those early days, but I got along without it. Just had LOTS of pillows to put all around me and help me find comfortable. I think the best preparation I did was clearing the deck for that first week. Nobody was expecting anything of me so I felt able to nap when I felt I needed it, walked by the dishwasher and washing machine, only answered the phone or talked on it if I really wanted to, etc. With an active family in my house, more important than them "helping me" was me not helping them. If you are lucky enough to bounce back quickly, don't take back your usual obligations sooner, use that energy to be good to yourself and nurture your healing self. Keep in mind that even if your incisions are healing nicely, your insides are doing lots of mending too. There are these great band-aid things you come out of surgery with that cover the incisions. They are clear and waterproof and not like your average band-aid. I bought them at Rite-Aid to replace after a few days. They are spendy, but I thought they were well worth it. You can wear them for several days. In the hospital the only things I ended up using were my chapstick, my two very comfy feather pillows (with an extra set of pillowcases-because you can sweat a lot when your sleeping-not white so they don't blend in with the hospital's) my toothbrush and a little bottle of shampoo and liquid body soap. I don't think I even put on my robe when I made my MANY walks "around the block" as I called the walk around the little ward your room is in. With all that I.V. stuff the things they provided ended up being what I used. I wore my nightgown, robe and slippers for the ride home. I wasn't ready for a bra yet. Good luck to you and I am so happy for you! Patty

Thank you so much for the encouragement and advice! I appreciate it more than you can know. I'm looking forward to starting my "new life", and your suggestions will help make things easier! Sharon