My Hysterectomy Supplies

pericolace is a stool softener. my grabber thing is like your gopher. i wasn't gonna get it but i have found myself at work the past couple of weeks now having to pick things up from off the floor and mine will even pick up a dime on the floor...we tested it out first. i'm planning on taking mine to work with me when i have to go back to work too.

debbie

Some things that I would add to the list to make your first few days at home easier are:
1. Bottled water. I know that I don't drink enough water, but having those little bottles handy made it easier to drink my water. I was also knocking things over those first few days, and keeping a lid on the bottle prevented spills.

2. Have everything in the shower ready before you go to the hospital. You don't want to bend over to get the shampoo during the first few showers after your surgery. Also have two bars of soap handy. I always drop mine!

3. Have your food, drinks, snacks, etc. set out on the counter or at least at a level where you don't have to bend, stretch, or reach for them. Also be aware of how heavy or how hard your cupboards, drawers, or refrigerator door is to open. You don't want to do any hard pulling or tugging those first few days.

4. For the first few days at home, you will want to have very light, mild food. Your tummy may not want the meatloaf or casseroles that friends might bring over. ( I learned that one the hard way!)

5. I was bored out of my mind, but my attention span was about 30 seconds long. I had no patience for the books that I had, but magazines were better.

6. Have a variety of juices, jello, soups, etc. What looks good to you before the surgery, might seem yucky afterwards.

Good luck with your surgery!!

Don't forget earplugs. They helped me get sleep when I had a roomate. I was told in my room that I wasn't allowed any stool softeners with the epidural in. Once it came out and I was eating solid foods, they then gave me stool softeners. I did not need a large box of pads. I took a few in my carry bag and it turned out that the hospital provided me with some because I wasn't even able to get to my back till after the second day of surgery when the epidural was out for a few hours. I'm glad I told my family to get my earplugs out for me that first day. I did take my donut pillow and used it for my belly in front of the seatbelt and after I got home on hardwood chairs. I really needed panty liners though since the maxi's were to big after the second week. I had to buy more boxes of liners because of discharge caused by granulation at the vaginal cuff.
I went home in a pair of pajamas that had drawstring pants so I didn't have to have anything tight around my belly. It was the only clothing left in my overnight bag since dh took out my going home clothes and my tummy pillow out of my bag and forgot to bring them back before I was discharged. I'm glad I didn't have to try putting on regular clothes. I also covered myself with a robe for the wheelchair trip to the car and used the donut pillow(my dh left in my bag) for my tummy behind the seatbelt.
At home...I didn't really wear long night shirts as it was harder rolling in my sleep. I wore shorter night-shirts with no pants on warm nights. We put flannel sheets on the bed because we have air conditioning and I didn't want to get cold or have heavy blankets on me. I threw the top sheets off after sweating through my warmer night clothes the first few nights. After that I slept in nothing but underwear. During the day I stayed in night clothes so I wouldn't overdo things. Getting dressed may put people in a state of mind to start getting some things done rather than focusing on recovery.

I just responded to your day surgery link. Now that I know you are having a vaginal hysterectomy. I sure hope you are allowed to stay overinight. If you stay overnight you can have better pain control. If I had been sent home I don't think I would have been able to tolerate oral pain meds. I was given zofran in my I.V. so I could be nausea and pain free after the epidural came out which did not cause me nausea. I had an epidural that stayed in for 24 hours post op. It was wonderful and I did not experience the side effects that are normally associated with a PCA pump (nausea fogginess, grogginess). I didn' t start feeling sick till after the epidural came out and I was put on oral pain meds with an empty stomach (they forgot my lunch) which was the reason I stayed an extra night. Please do mention if you had a problem with nausea in the past. I didn't find out till after I got home with my lap and I got very sick. With my TVH the zofran was right there to help me.

Here is a link about nausea. https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...pidural+nausea
"I had several bouts with nausea and vomiting that evening, and the following morning went right from the nausea to fainting (while unattended in the washroom, hitting my head on the porcelain , requiring 3 stitches). I fainted twice the following day(going into convulsions the second time) and they never gave me any anti nausea medications, as a matter of fact, they stopped giving me narcotics at all. I ended up staying in hospital for 5 days, with the catheter and IV attached for most of them. If you have had any experience with nausea after having had anesthetics, be firm."

I wasn't sure if I could tolerate morphine as a PCA (patient pump), but morphine in an epidural/spinal doesn't have the same circulation--effects are limited to nerve-endings in lower portion of body and drug does not cross brain/blood barrier. Before my mom passed away she tried a pca pump and said her biggest complaint was that when she'd fall asleep she would wake up in pain because iit requires the patient to administer the meds by pushing a button while awake. With an epidural there wasn't a button to push as it was delivered automatically regardless if I was sleeping or awake.


Here's a link about anesthesia.
https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...hreadid=120069
There are many more links about anesthesia, pain after surgery, fogginenss, and nausea in my response.

With general anesthesia the sleep is so heavy that it requires you to be intubated (tube in trachea) and have a respirator breathing for you during surgery. They sedate you so you don't experience the sensations when they administer the drug that paralyzes you, which is why you need the intubation.

No breathing tube needed for if you don't have general because the sedation used with a regional (spinal/epidural) is different from the sedation used for general. And with a regional, the level of sedation can be varied (light--just relaxed, medium-groggy, heavy--sleep through it all).

You can read my story here. (not everyone has to be awake, I just chose to be)
https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...&highlight=TVH

I was on a clear liquid diet for 3 days post-op in the hospital since my stomach did not "awaken" from the anesthesia until then. The hospital dietician provided me with a sheet of information on the clear liquid diet. I was surprised to see that "plain hard candy," was listed and immediately sent my DH downstairs to purchase a few rolls of Lifesavers for me.

You may wish to take some "plain hard cancy" with you to the hospital. Just make sure to check with the nurses before eating them and make sure you suck on them and not chew them.

vicklynn, thanks for the additional advice. it sure is nice to hear from someone who has already been though all this. i am t-minus 34 hours until my surgery now.

debbie