Question:
What should I bring to hospital?

For those who have had the surgery, What do you recommend one brings to the hospital. So far I know to bring Chap stick or some other lip moisterizer. Any other suggestions?    — Dayana E. S. (posted on June 22, 2001)

June 22, 2001
I just had surgery, I took the minimum of things and used almost nothing. I could not stand anything on my lips, not even the stuff they give you. I used my slippers for walking and also underwear and pads (couldn't bend to use tampons) I started my period the 3rd day. I also took bathroom wipes and asked the nurses to use them on me. Gowns, shower stuff, talc, toothpaste they provided it all for me. #1 thing for me I took was a fan but the hospital put one in my room so I did not even use that.
   — Mandy M.

June 22, 2001
A fan is great to take not all hospitals can provide you with that. Next is a body pillow it makes getting up and down from bed much easier and helps with laying on your side. Also antibacterial wipes. Use them everytime you touch anything go for a walk anything this helps a lot so that you dont get an iinfection. Lip balm you said yoou had. So other than that some slippers and something comfy to go home in. Good Luck
   — Robin C.

June 22, 2001
Dayana, if you're having a lap surgery, your hospital stay will be brief and you will only need the bare necessities. I was in the hospital only 2 days. The day of surgery, I slept except to get out of bed to the bathroom, so I wore a hospital gown and didn't care about anything else. The second day, the IV came out and my instructions were to take a shower and walk, walk, walk. Then in was nice to have my own gown, a nice robe and slippers, my own shampoo and personal items. I actually felt well enough that 2nd day to care about my appearance, so it was nice to have my blow-dryer and a brush-iron. I lived within 3 hours driving distance from the hospital, so I wore my gown and robe home. If that's not practical for you, just take something loose and roomy to wear home....and if you are comfortable without a bra, that might help too, because the band might be a little close to one of your upper incision sites. I took a book and some magazines and never opened them, but it was nice to have a portable CD player with earphones and some of my favorite music....it was great relaxation "therapy" and helped to drown out the hospital "noise" (overhead paging, doors opening and closing, non-essential talking in the room, etc...) Good luck!
   — Diana T.

June 23, 2001
Here are a couple of thoughts on the topic since I am just 12 days post op. My hospital had a special bariatric floor for the WLS patients so they had experience with larger people which was great. 1. my lap rny incisions were lower on my abdomen than I thought they would be... I am large breasted and a soft sports type bra would have been more comfortable than having them lay over my surgical site. The band would not have come close to my incisions. 2. I didnt think that I would need the 'tongs' people sometimes suggest on this site for personal hygiene. However, I did find myself in awkward positions the first two days in not being able to reach because of an IV. I did bring a box of those new premoistened toilet paper wipes (basically repackaged baby wipes) which were a godsend. I would recommend purchasing some sort of plastic utensil to wrap them around even if you dont normally have trouble reaching. There... did I get that out delicately enough...lol. 3. Something to wear home. I didnt give this much thought. I just figured I would wear the jeans and tshirt I wore in. Wrong! I had such water retention in my lower belly that I had to leave my jeans almost completely rolled off my hips... I was lucky my tshirt covered everything. Leggings that you can roll off your belly along with a long loose shirt would have been best. If I put my waistband in the right place two incisions would be below the band... so you have to scoot the band down. 4. Antibacterial wipes would have been great. It was difficult for me to wash my hands properly because of my IV site. Also, every time I walked around the floor and had to touch the IV pole or doorknobs, I would have liked to clean my hands. 5. bring your favorite pillow... it is bad enough being uncomfortable without having to deal with a bad pillow. What to leave home? EVERYTHING. Makup bag, robes, gowns... if you are feeling good enough to primp, you will be leaving in ten minutes.
   — SusanMaria

June 23, 2001
Take plenty of things to read and some money for a tv or phone.
   — Danmark

June 23, 2001
My hospital stay sucked. I had no shower, nor was I allowed a shower until 24 hours after they removed this nasty thing from my neck (some kind of a tube into my vein)...they didn't remove it until I was ready to leave! I brought cd's and a player but, I was too miserable to enjoy. The anesthesia did a number on my brain and I did not function well. I would have brought anaseptic wipes, and also toner for my face. Toothpaste and a toothbrush (thought I would get one at the hospital and but it was pathetic. Pads, and plenty of changes of undies, and perhaps a bigger better hospital gown than what they had. I had a fan, since the hospital a/c was broken (it was NOT good) and it saved my life. I would do this all over again, but just wanted to say, my hospital stay was the worst!
   — Karen R.