ANA Discussion Forum
Archive => Archives => Topic started by: Kate B on February 28, 2005, 07:21:12 pm
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Oftentimes people want to know what to bring to the hospital in order to prepare for surgery. This is the start of the list. Please add what you found helpful so that others can go prepared.
The beginnings of a list:
1. Button or zippered pajamas
2. Slip on shoes.
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Oftentimes people want to know what to bring to the hospital in order to prepare for surgery. This is the start of the list. Please add what you found helpful so that others can go prepared.
The beginnings of a list:
1. Button or zippered pajamas
2. Slip on shoes.
lip balm
toothbrush
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The beginnings of a list:
1. Button or zippered pajamas
2. Slip on shoes.
3. lip balm
4. toothbrush
5. Electric Razor if male, much easier and safer to use then a non electric razor.
6. An advocate, someone to look out for you, to speak for you, to keep track of things, including medications, someone that will act on your behalf.
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7. Wet wipes. You'll want to freshen up your face at least being in the hospital up to 5 days without a shower. I got my hair washed on day 5 and it was rough. Sitting at the bathroom sink with my head back; the nurse/a**istant was kind, but it was no fun for either of us.
8. Bath powder. Especially if you're going to be laying on your back (for translab anyway) for up to 5 days. A few sprinkles on the bedding helps a lot. I was almost a 3-day drive from my home for surgery. But, every day I was in the hospital, people (friends, cousins...) came to see me.ÂÂ
9. Cell phone. Once you're out of ICU you should be able to use your cell phone in your room, which is handy for non-local calls to friends and family.ÂÂ
10. Fabric hair band(s). I had translab, so what I ended up doing when they finally took the bandage-stuff off, was pull all my hair to the opposite side of the incision, with a hair band. Between the half-a-poodle (a one-sided pig-tail) look and the half-sided total-facial paralysis ... I suppose I looked like something out of the twilight zone. "Cute" someone told me. Imagine that!
Becky
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11. Your favorite pillow in a brightly colored pillowcase. I did this and found it most comforting. The hospital pillows were too firm for me.
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Yes, bring your own comfy pillow! ÂÂ
And a radio! My eyes tired watching t.v., but it was so nice to drown out all the other noise and to hear some calming music.
Also, small bin, basket or sturdy bag to keep by the bed for lip balm, lotion, phone and address book, and whatever else you want to have nearby.
(p.s. Has anyone else tried "Frownies" after surgery for minimal eye droopiness? They are little sticky shapes meant to use on the forehead and corners of mouth for first wrinkles, but I used them at night after I left the hospital, and I felt like they made my afftected eye look more open and "lifted". I did not have facial paralysis, but I did have some numbness and swelling on the right side of my face for a short time. My right eyebrow looked lower than my left and I couldn't fully smile for a few weeks. I did facial exercises (going through the range of facial expressions and saying the alphabet over and over, exaggerating each sound as much as I could), and I wore the Frownies at night. I felt like they both helped :).)
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Your own toothbrush, Deodrant, lip balm, my own pillow, slippers, M&M's. Sometimes only chocolate will make it better. :)
And definitely the ADVOCATE! My husband was invaluable. If it wasn't for him, they might still be giving me all those nasty pain meds that made me sick. :)
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A picture of whatever inspires you most to place on the table next to your bed.
Mine was my 9 month old son.
Also, ask for popcycles if your stomach is too weak for anything else. Orange was my favorite the first 4 days. If they don't have them, send someone to the cafeteria or gift shop.
:)
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The TV is too tiring. I brought a small tape player where I could play music of my own choice.
My daughter made a collage of different photos of my family, pets and garden that I could put on the self. I looked at it all the time. Have flowers sent to your room ! Why not, it is a good time for that.
Evelyne
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i dont know if this has been mentioned but bring some febreze or a sceent you like because often times, your hospital rooms gets really smelly and its disgusting
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Add to your list:
-a decent robe/bathrobe! Hospital-issue robes don't quite do it!
-underpants!
-any and all of your favorite toiletries
-personal address and/or phone list
-"lovies" - I may be a grown-up but having one of my five year old's blankies (that he so lovingly shared) really made me feel better
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More things you should take to the hospital...
Your own MOISTURIZING bath soap and lotion. (Dove soap and Aveeno lotion work wonderfully! The hospital sheets and towels are very drying.
Ear plugs if you can't have a private room and have a noisy roommate.
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-"lovies" - I may be a grown-up but having one of my five year old's blankies (that he so lovingly shared) really made me feel better
I second that. I had something from each one of my kids, they did help alot. I also had a picture of them at my bedside. Everyone who came in my room noticed it and commented. That mother's pride was still there. :)
I ate popsicles, red, and chocolate pudding to get those meds down.
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I brought 2 little photo albums so when people came to visit me I could show them the latest pics of my son (away at college). It added something special to the visits.
I was fortunate to have people come to see me every day during my 5-day hospital stay.
Becky
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For those considering surgery, you may find the contributions made by surgery patients helpful when packing your bag for the hospital.
I have also started this question as a new topic under surgery. Please feel free to add to that list.
Kindest Regards,
Kate
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This is a great resource! I have surgery scheduled for the end of January and now have a nice checklist from this post. I have never had anything other than a quick day surgery, so a hospital stay - a multi-day one at that - is a whole new experience for me.
For what it is worth, I understand that having some large boxer-shorts style PJ bottoms are nice cover under a hospital gown, too! I'll have to let you know how this works out for me...
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Don't forget to take something that will slip easily over your head when you get dressed to go home as well as shoes that do not require bending to put on, unless someone else is going to tie/fix them for you. I found that a zip up hooded sweatshirt worked great because I could also use the hood to cover my head #1 to hide the incision until more hair grew back and #2 because it's cold in January in PA and the loose hood was better than a tight hat!! A big help to me also, was a pillow I could use to prop myself onto to get more comfortable sleeping because the AN side was the side I usually slept on and that wasn't happening! Also, I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for the nurse who gave me the cepacol sore throat drops that made my throat feel so much better that I could finally swallow. Having that tube down there for hours made it a bit raw. Also, because my nerves had gotten the best of me I got a few fever blisters and the hospital preferred that I provided my own meds for that, and if you get them, you know they need to be treated as soon as you can feel them. I know there's more but..........well, shoot, I just can't remember! LOL If your nerves get bad, tell your doc and take whatever they'll give you to get through this and make it easier. My thoughts are with you!
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okay here are some things I brought to many of my surgeries.
Pepcid complete. (steroids cause heartburn, but good luck getting anything to treat it.) They like to feed you fruit, orange juice, and cinnanim buns. none of that is going to improve matters.
personal dvd player. helps pass the time.
ear phone, can be hard hearing in a noisy hospital. only need one for translab. :)
roll of quarters for vending machines. sometimes hospital snacks don't cut it. Coke they had mt. dew they didn't. had to buy that.
cell phone. much easier. also when the nurses neglect you, (or leave you without call buttons in my case) you can call someone and have them call the nurses station, or you can do it yourself. annoys the heck out of them.
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This really helped my husband:
Our hospital room had a small refridgerator/freezer so we kept damp washcloths in the freezer and put them on his forhead to keep the headaches at bay.... and he never had to take any pain medication expect for tylenol!
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Here's what I packed and did not use:
- new cell phone to program and user manual (couldn't concentrate and surely couldn't read small font)
- DVD player and movies
- nail polish (hands not steady enough)
- high heels (Honest to God, I thought I could wear them home)
- cute clothes (to go with high heels)
- make up :-[
- snacks (no appetite)
Here's what I valued most:
- an ADVOCATE (in this case, my husband. He kept track of every pill, even got the IV's and catheter set-up correctly since the nurses couldn't)
- cumfy pajamas (to wear home)
- slippers (to wear home)
- hair thingy's (to get it out of the way)
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Anab I had to chuckle when I read this...
I didn't pack the high heels (heck couldn't walk in them before surgery) but I did the other things and nothing wound up at the hospital with me since I had to leave stuff with my mom at the hotel and was in ICU for 5 days. By the time I got to the regular room I could have cared less LOL
I did wear my jammies home (3 hour drive glad I didn't have to stop at the rest area with my lime green and hot pink thumper jammies) ;D Now the snacks (had they have shown up!) would have been devoured as I was always hungry due to the decardron LOL
I agree..you definitly need
an advocate!
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I wanna see pics of the lime green/hot pink thumper pj's! :D
I always bring either sweats or jammies to wear home, forget the makeup and hair (usually bring hair ties to hold it back), toothbrush and easy slide on shoes.
Be comfortable, pack accordingly of things that also will not "disappear" from your room when you are not there (ie: valuables). Let someone else hold them for you or keep them at home.
Just my 2 cents/pence.
Phyl
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I don't know what else to tell you what to bring but make it clear that you will probably be dry and to leave a cup of water at your bed side. After my surgery, when I was feeling better, I would alway have to beg those nurses for a cup of water. Never would I have any at my bed side. I have nightmares about this!{kidding} I would have to ask them[when I could get a hold of them} and 20 mim latter would come my water.
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Hey those jammies are HOT I tell ya! My gf gave them to me prior to surgery and it was the only thing I could get in to come home in due to the bloat and buttons and zippers just weren't happening...Now I could have worn the baby doll nighty home :o But was scared I might have to stop at the rest area LOL
The heck with the hair..brush it ??? OUCHY!!
of course I did cute mine short thinking they'd shave my head and they didn't really.....lesson learned..next time ask!
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I want piccies of the jammies! :D
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next time I put them on I'll snap a few LOL Or go to disney.com and you'll find them LOL ;D
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Anab - Ok now I don't feel so bad. I packed like I was going on a 7 day cruise and was laughed out of admissions.
These are just the highlights..
~I packed all of my hair styling products, blow dryer and 2 hot irons  (thinking at the time was, if you look good, you feel good) Still laughing over that one
~different shades of nail polish, thinking I would be bored and would need something to do everyday lol
~several different styles of jammies and matching slippers
MY ALL TIME FAVORITE...
~two shoe boxes full of photo's that needed to be organized into a photo album ( guess when I got tired of painting my nails, I could do this ??? ??? ??? ??? ???)
turns out the only thing I ever took out of my suitcase was my toothbrush and toothpaste. Stayed in my hospital gown the whole time and didn't care that I looked like crap.
Still don't know what the heck I was thinking, I have been in the hospital several times and never packed like this, MUST have been the AN clouding my judgement.
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Looking back, I wish I had taken a comfortable pair of walking shorts, walking shoes, and large shirt. The reason, is that you will have some Physical Therapy during your short stay and the more comfortable the better.ÂÂ
I like the idea of your favorite pillow. Also, if you get tired of watching the TV, get up and walk around. It will help to restore your balance. You will need to have help with that at first most likely, so be careful.
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I packed a bag of goodies for my family and friends that were waiting duing my surgery. 8 hours was a long time to wait. I packed all kind of snacks, a couple decks of cards, hand held games and magazines.
Lynn
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I packed leopard satin jammies, leopard satin robe with tiger trim, and leopard slippers. Got more attention from the nurses cuz they thought I was such a "hoot!" Pack some good choccie and don't forget the no more tears baby shampoo, cuz if you try to close your eyes in the shower, you just might end up on the floor! I packed reading material--my eyes kept jumping so bad I couldn't really see much for a few days and couldn't concentrate, either Your own pillow is a must--hospital pillows are nasty.The hooded zip front sweatshirt is a must, too. Sunglasses for the ride home--I had to face into the sun with a towel over my head.
Captain Deb 8)
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TV there was TV at the hospital? I was in ICU for 5 days and couldn't focus on the tv when I finally got to my room. The only thing I remember seeing on tv was the big red dot for hurrican katrina and them trying to decide if tampa was on the hit list...Whew! Glad it missed tampa!
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Lollypops!! .. with facial problems, small hard candy got lost on the AN side!! .. Lollypops on a stick worked great! ... Thanks to my wife for thinking of this one!
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Oh Yeah, I had lots of lollipops post surgery after I got home as my mouth was always so dry! Would have been nice at the hospital.
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I ate lots of popcicles and chicken noodle soup post surgery. I had a hard time keeping other things down but popcicles felt really good.
Lynn
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I didn't use it in the hospital but found a heatable neck wrap very helpful after I was discharged for neck and jaw pain.
Lynn D
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I agree 100% Lynn D. I have several microwavable wraps and I love them!!! My favorite one is a cherry pit pack, however, the surgical nurse said a tube sock filled with rice would work and it will.
Take care,
Lynn
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I took my MOSHI pillow and it was really great to have with me. For those who don't know what a MOSHI pillow is, it is a small pillow filled with the very, very small little beads. It felt great after my surgery.
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Bring your loved one..I had my wife...couldn't have made it without her.
Joe-
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I was wanting to update this list if others had suggestions.