Preparing post-op wardrobe, is this a good idea?

Ok, I have been reading alot on preparing for the surgery. Getting my home ready, buying things I will need when I get home. I have read that clothes don't fix after surgery, because of the swelling. I don't want to buy clothes that I will not be wearing for a long period of time. So I was thinking about how I can save money and be able to wear my regular clothes. My daughter just had a baby and never wore maternity clothes. I bought her a belly sleeve. It is wide stretchy band that can be worn over you regular unbottomed jeans to hold them up. I was thinking. I will get me some to wear over my pants when I am swollen. I will just keep my pants unbottoned and put the belly sleeve over the waste of my pants. Has anyone ever use this idea?

Hi JellyBean04!

My advise, based on my personal experience with the most invasive type of hysterectomy surgery, is not to be overly concerned about aquiring a plethora of new post-op attire. Prior to my surgery I bought one pair of one-size-bigger-than-usual elastic waist comfy-styled pants. I wore these home from the hospital along with a roomy sweatshirt. I used this pair of pants a few times for a couple of weeks post-op. Otherwise, I made do with baggier-styled clothes in my wardrobe, empire-waist dresses and other looser items I already had in my closet.

I doubt it's necessary in most cases to go to the bother of constructing new wardrobe items but if you already have access to them, it certanly couldn't hurt to have them on hand just in case.

I had a vaginal hysterectomy and therefore didn't have any abdominal incisions to be concerned about, but the only new thing I bought ahead of time for clothing was a pair of lounging pants with a draw string. I have several pairs of elastic waist sweat pants, and those have worked fine for me. My preference for the first few weeks was to not wear jeans (my usual wardrobe) because it reminded me (and my family) that I was recovering and should not be doing too much.

I used drawstring men's sleep pants in a size larger, and big T-shirts which I still use to sleep in (I just cinch the waist up more now). This was perfect for me. Also granny panties in a size larger. These were high enough to go up to my waist so the elastic did not push on my incision. This is what I lived in for about 5 weeks until I could get my jeans zipped again.

I saw posts where some ladies wore nightgowns with no underwear, but I needed the added comfort and secure feeling of underwear and pants. I was also always covered up when anyone else was around.

I fortunately had some maternity pieces left over and that is what I am wearing now. I wore home a well used set of Japanese weekend pj's. My seems swelly even though I had a TVH. I tried on my belly sleeve and it seems to work well.

I am 5 weeks post op and have yet to put on a pair of real pants/jeans. I dont like the feeling on my incision. I wear sweats when i'm not wearing my nightgown. One time I did put on a pair of maternity pants I had laying around.

I wore nightgowns or Pajama Pants with drawstring waist. I enjoy lounging in PJ's anyway and within 2 weeks I was back to wearing my regular size jeans. I did not experience a lot of swelly belly. My surgery was the Davinci , I only needed to keep those 5 tiny wholes from being irritated. So the drawstring or the Nightgown worked well for me.
Good Luck.

I knew I would be returning to work and did not have any loose fitting work clothes. I bought only three pairs of granny panties - they lasted for as long as I needed them. I found dresses on sale on line and bought a few to wear when I returned to work. Also I bought pants in my regular size with an all elastic waist, which worked well. I will be able to wear these clothes after my swelly belly goes down, too.

I have two of those, and they've been great. They're also sold as Bella Bands and Tummy Tubes.

For me, I wear sweats when I am sick or going to work out. After about three weeks, I couldn't stand being in my sweats 24/7 anymore - it was psychologically bad for me! The bella band lets me wear jeans and other pants again and feel slightly more human.

I had an abdominal hysterectomy with a large vertical incision and I needed loose pants and undies for quite a while. The first couple of weeks I lived in my night gowns or pj pants. After that I found that loose track pants were the most comfortable.

I purchased 3 pairs of underwear and two pairs of track pants that were 1 size larger. Wal-Mart had the best prices, I also bought a couple of night gowns 1 size larger just for comfort.