After scouring these pages and others, I've come up with a list of items that I have either purchased, will purchase or will borrow to help in my plastics recovery.  Only 8 weeks to the LBL and I've already got major butterflies!   Please review this and feel free to chime in with anything else you think will be needed.   

I will be having surgery on Wednesday in Kansas City, which is 3 hours from my home.  I'll stay in an acute care facilitiy for two nights and then we'll travel home (slowly) on Friday afternoon.  My husband will be with me for the weekend and I have help coming on Monday and Tuesday.  Hoping that I'll be OK on my own after that since I'll be using a lift recliner.  

List: 

1.  Lift recliner - renting one

2.  ScarFx silicone beltwrap

3.  Arnica Montana & Tumeric/bromelain tablets

4.  Two front open, zip up short gowns (like my grandma wore!) 

5.  Sanitary pads for cushioning under binder 

6.  Men's tank style t-shirts

7.  Alcohol wipes (for stripping drains) 

8.  Large moistened wipes (no showering until drains removed)

9.  Paper medical tape (to keep drains in place)

10.  Shower seat

11.  Gel ice packs 

12.  Walker, toilet seat riser, grabber 

13.  Dulcolax and Miralax

14.  Polysporin

Any other items?  

You may have tiny spots open as you are healing. My surgeon game me Xeroform strips (petroleum gauze) to put on these spots. I believe it helped them close up faster.

A pillow for the car ride home to put under the seatbelt and hold onto.

I hooked my drains onto a lanyard. This also helped in the shower- I was allowed to shower with my drains.

Cut a slit on the sanitary pads to put around the drain openings. Helped soak up any leaks and protect clothes.

Thank you, Laura!  

Here's an email I sent to a patient at my surgeon's practice.  Some of it is specific to what my surgeon recommends, but most of it is pretty generic.  I'm getting excited for you!

Bacitracin First aid Antibiotic Ointment, USP - this is the ointment they recommend for the incisions

Telfa Non-Adherent Dressing, 3" x 4"- this is the gauze dressing for the incisions

Micropore Paper Tape: White - tape to hold the Telfa in place

Freshette by Freshette - female urinal

Vitamin C

Benadryl - cream and pills

Colace/Miralax

minipads

The grabber and the walker were the other two things that were really useful, and you have them already.

Tips:

1.  The compression garment is your friend.  They'll put it on you in surgery.  But it messes with your blood pressure.  So when you take it off, make sure you're in bed laying down.  Undo it, and stay in bed for a few minutes to let your pressure normalize.  Sit up and let your pressure normalize some more.  Then you can stand up.

2.  Changing the dressing.  They'll have you change the dressing on the incisions twice a day.  Take a Telfa pad and cut it in two so you have two long strips.  It may take as many as 6-8 (or more, depending on swelling!) to get all the way around you.  When you have help around, you can have them get the strips prepared.  What I did when I was by myself is get up with the compression garment still on, prep the strips (cut them and put the Bacitracim on them, and get the tape ready), then go lay down, get the garment undone, then go change the dressings and take a cat bath and empty the drains.

3.  The drains.  They are a necessary evil.  They didn't hurt, but they're in the way.  You may want to have some Kotex minipads around.  The drain sites can get a little sore.  You can make a cut in the pad, slide it around the drain next to your skin, and it creates a cushion and keeps the drain from being pulled.  It doesn't hurt when they remove the drains - just feels a little odd.

4.  Keep all necessities within reach.  You'll be able to get around and do some light food preparation, use the microwave, etc.  But keep some simple stuff close at hand that doesn't require much preparation.  Protein drinks and protein bars are a good idea.  But you've done the whole weight loss surgery thing - you know the routine!  Keep your protein high for healing.  Vitamin C was the only other supplement recommended.

5.  I put benadryl on the list because you may have an allergic reaction to the internal sutures or the tape.  It's pretty common.  I didn't have the issue with the LBL, but I did with other surgeries.  Mostly just itching, although I've had mild hives as well.  The benadryl usually does the trick for me.  Claritin was the other recommendation.

6.  If they're still doing to same prescriptions, they'll give you a narcotic painkiller, valium, and an anti-nausea med.  Take them!  Don't be a hero.  And take colace or miralax or your stool softener of choice.  The narcotics will constipate you.

7.  I've always asked them to stick a scopolamine (motion sickness) patch on me as well when I go into surgery to help avoid nausea.  They'll give you IV anti-nausea meds, but I always figured having the patch wouldn't hurt anything.

8.  Clothing - at home, mostly in the compression garment with a zip up hoodie on.  When I went out, I pulled on some loose yoga pants with the hoodie.  Keep it simple and comfortable.

9.  If you have a recliner, use it.  Have lots of pillows around so you can shift pressure off of your body.  You won't be able to sleep on your side for awhile - you're going to be on your back with pillows under your knees.

10.  Expect to be on an emotional rollercoaster.  You'll go through the "what did I do to myself" phase, the "how did I do thing to myself!" phase, the "I look pretty darn good" phase, the hypercritical "gee, couldn't he have pulled me a little tighter" phase, and finally the happy phase.  Actually, I was pretty happy right after surgery because I was FLAT!  And you'll be flat too!

Thanks so much!  I think Tip #10 is probably the most important one to remember.  I'm trying to remain realistic. Intellectually I get that the results won't be apparent for months.  But I'm hoping the emotional "what did I do?" and "I spent money to look like this?" phases are short-lived.  

I spent more time than I liked in the "what the bloody hell did I do to myself and, Good God, I PAID to have this done to myself" phase than I liked.  But I got over it!  If your doc offers exparel, get it.

I was also allowed to shower with my drains as I had one for 19 miserable days!!!

The lanyard idea worked like a charm.

Don't get constipated -  I see that you have Miralax on your list, USE IT ;-) I normally take 4 colace a day and I had to double up and add Miralax to combat the post anesthesia constipation and the pain meds. 

I did not find the lift recliner necessary - but a regular one was a must for sure. You use your leg strength to get up - if you can get off the toilet you can get out of a chair.

Take your pain meds, don't get behind. Surgical pain is easier to prevent if you take your meds before the pain gets too intense. The first few nights I set a clock and took it in the middle of the night. The worst was getting up all stiff in the morning.

I also did not need to sit down in the shower - standing was the most comfortable thing I did!

I wore baggy sweatpants with pockets to help carry things, but I am not a huge fan of gowns.

Good luck - it's worth all the pain!!

Thanks, Sherrie!

Easy reacher/grabber -  great idea.   I had a couple small boxes or containers to organize my pills and other small things so I didn't have to reach. Somewhere to put the remote, phone,  e-reader etc.    Just make sure they aren't too full and heavy.   Protein Shakes as food made me feel too full and uncomfortable for a few weeks.  

Looks like you are organized and ready to rock. 

Best of luck and speedy recovery 

Kristie 

Honestly Tracy, I didn't have any of that. My surgeon specifically said no Arnica. Not sure why as I thought it was to prevent bruising but he was adamant so I listened to him. Might be worth investigating. I was in the hospital for four days and left without any drains. I had to put polysporin on my incision all around after the steri strips were off - about a week. Other than that, nothing. I was more comfortable standing up so no shower seat was necessary. I didn't have a recliner after the hospital bed which could be moved and twisted any which way. I did sleep on my back or sort of on the side propped up by as many pillows as I could get around me but other than that really I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that I did. I thought the sanitary pads under the binder idea was good but found it to be more bother than anything. I just wore a T shirt under the binder and that was enough. Not showering for a week was a pain in the neck. So yeah, sponge baths...but even that in the end was not a big deal.