First Shower advice..... Things you don't think of before hand

So yesterday I was given the green light to shower...... that is as long as I protect my final drain with my life... OK OK OK I promise... LOL (I'm sure Dr. K made me make that promise because my 2 hooch drains fell out prematurely.... WHOOPS I don't think it was my fault.. How could it be my fault when all I was doing was lying around... I think it was my 2nd emergency surgery but that's a whole new topic....)

Today was a spa day for me and my BFF.. I guess she got a look at my piggies and realized that I was in bad need of a pedicure. So OK I'm gonna take my shower this morning. WHOLLY CRAP.. your first shower is full of wow moments and things that you don't think of before hand. Here's my list... If there's anything any of you other veterans would like to add.... Jump in....

~ I still have 1 drain so I was told to put it on the ledge of my shower and to make sure it didn't fall off.... I have 1 better. I hooked the saftey pin to an Old Navy Lanyard that I put around my neck. There it was safe and secure and not going to fall.

~ You may want to consider taking your first shower while someone else is home just in case you get a little light headed or anything. My DH was at work and I actually thought to myself I prolly should have done it last night instead.

~ So when we shower we all have our little routines. Well well well, when there's 11 lbs less of you to wash around your mid section it makes things a little interesting. I could actually see my upper thighs and bikini line to shave, no rolls to lift and wash under... So much easier to wash well you know where. And to actually see what you're washing.

~ Your incision line is going to be numb and things are going to be really tight so bending over to shave and the water hitting your incision line and feeling the washcloth on the numbness well, it takes a little getting used to....

~ And last but not least... if you drop something just forget about it. Bending over to pick it up is almost impossible. I dropped the bottle of shampoo and there was quite a bit of fanagaling going on to get it to balance on the top of my foot so that I could raise it just high enough to bend over and reach it.

~ Give yourself plenty enough time to take your first shower. You would be surprised how slow you are. I had to leave here by a certain time and luckily I gave myself lots of extra time because I needed it.

Good luck to everyone with your first shower..... You feel like a whole new person afterwards...

Hi Lisa,
 there is nothing like that first shower!

My surgeons office gave me a great idea for handling the drains in the shower or even throughout the day. They made an extra long necklace for me out a roll of gauze. It went down to me belly button and I just hung the drains through the necklace. Another idea I read on this messageboard is to get extra long shoe laces and make a necklace out of it. It worked great for me since I don't have a shelf in my shower. i would tape them to my legs but the tape got wet and that was it.
You made me laugh about dropping things. First of all, I drop alot of stuff, never realized it before. Anyway the 1st thing I dropped in the shower was the soap...try picking that up w/ your feet? For the most part, I got pretty good at picking things up with my feet.

Speedy recovery my friend! Hugs, pat

It still is interesting taking a shower and I'm 5 weeks out.  I still can't believe it's my body!   I had some help the first week because I just felt so darn fragile.  I also had a breast lift so I was careful not to have the shower hit me directly on my breasts.  I used a lanyard every time I showered as well and it worked great.  I needed help drying my legs too because I didn't want to chance bending over any more than I needed to either.  I didn't shave my legs until probably my second or third shower. I was just lying on my recliner with a blanket anyway.   Now that I have all that skin removed, I am seriously considering laser hair removal.  I never ever cared about the hair around my bikini line before and now that I can actually see it, the hair around my bikini area bothers me.  I guess because it was hidden by the hanging panni. It's almost like the hair that was in the inner thigh area moved to a more visible location!  LOL 

What is a lanyard?  Probably a stupid question but my oct. 5th surgery is coming fast and want to be prepared. 

Thanks for the help

Hugs

It's like a badge holder that you wear around your neck.  You see nurses and teachers wear them a lot.  I wear one at my job so I had lots of extras.  It worked great in the shower.

http://www.lanyarddepot.com/

Thanks for the explaination.  i was so confused.  LOL

Hugs

I could not agree more! I first showered with two drains and it was like juggling eggs. I first taped them to my thighs with paper tape...came off. Then I  layed them on the built in seat thing in my shower which was a little too low because I'm tall. Then I set them on the little ledge but was horrified at the thought of the possibility of them falling and the weight pulling them out. It was STRESSFULL.
I can't tell you how many times I dropped the shampoo or razor (which I normally never do) and had to have my husband come hand them to me.
And...the numbness and lack of belly was WEIRD. It was almost like I didnt feel done because I had not lifted up the panni and washed underneath, and also because I couldnt feel anything and was realy scarted to touch my mid section because it was kinda gross looking and felt funny.
Girl I had forgot all about those early days...thanks for the memories! NOT! LOL

Now at 6 weeks out I am finding a new routine but about every other day find myself subconsciously reaching to lift up the panni and nothing is there! YAY

After I passed out in the shower, I took one of my plastic lawn chairs, covered it with a towel and put it in my shower.  It was great for shaving my legs, as I did not have to bend over and when feeling weak had a place to go.  The arms on the chair helped me stand up easier, and by using something I already had it was no cost.  Used it for a week in the shower.

I took a piece of rope and tied it around my waist to hold my drains. I'm 5 months out and still find it weird not to have a panni to wash under!!  LOL 

My doc said I could shower the 2nd day but just do my back LOL....thats quite  trick LOL..I have  shower head that I can hold so I do the underside with that. So far haven't gotten it too wet...It is such an adventure!