What helped and what didn't

I read a lot on this site about what to take to the hospital (and what not to!) and it was really helpful. So I thought I'd add my two cents.

A little background: I was scheduled for, and underwent, a Davinci (robotic-assisted) hysterectomy, with the unexpected removal of massive adhesions from my bowels, so my surgery took an hour longer than expected. I was told I'd be staying overnight, and I did, leaving around 3 pm the next day.

The best advice for packing for the hospital: Pack lightly. I made sure to pre-register, and pre-pay what my insurance would not cover. This way I didn't have to take in a credit card, or cash. I had my driver's license and insurance card, but I had my son hold on to those during my surgery, rather than put them in the care of a busy hospital staff!

I had prepared a Power of Attorney document, and had a copy to give to the nurse when I was checked in. They were very grateful for this! I recommend anyone undergoing medical treatment to have one of these drawn up, it gave me and my husband peace of mind that if, God forbid, anything happened, he would be in charge of medical decisions and not be questioned by the hospital.

I packed a notebook and pen, lip balm, facial wipes, Ricola drops, some lotion and shampoo, a brush and scrunchie, a paperback book, some magazines, and some gluten free crackers and bars, just in case (as it happened) the nutrition services didn't have a lot of GF options. I also packed my phone (with charger and headphones).

I ended up only using: the snacks and my phone, and the magazines. Maybe the lip balm once.

Reading was difficult due to the anti-nausea meds and post-anethesia fog. So in future I would skip the book and magazines and just resign myself to listening to my Pandora via my phone, or watching dreadful yet amusing TV.

I never did take a shower, so the shampoo wasn't necessary. I was pretty out of it the day after my surgery, and had a catheter and IV in anyway. The next day the catheter came out, but i have never been a fan of trying to shower with an IV in. I figured I was pretty clean since I had showered the morning before my surgery. And I would be home soon enough.

My headphones were great--I was able to listen to quiet music and nap with my headphones on, and while my room was in a quiet area of the ward, I bet it would have helped block out annoying or disturbing sounds as well.

If you're lucky your hospital will give you a nice big plastic mug with a straw, and the nurse will fill this with ice water. You get to take this home! I still use it because i can track how much I'm drinking. I made sure to drink a lot in the hospital, they want to see you pee.

I wore the same clothes home that I wore to the hospital--this was a great tip from this site. A loose, comfortable knit skirt (Sonoma from Kohl's) and a tank top. Slip on shoes--these are a MUST.

I didn't bother taking socks, or a bathrobe, or my own nightclothes. They provide nice nonskid socks at the hospital--I still have mine!, and they will double up the gowns for you if you want more coverage. The hospital gowns make it easier for the nurses anyway. If you are chilly, they'll adjust the heat for you. I actually asked for and received a nice hot-water-type heating pad for my back and this helped a lot!

What I didn't expect:

The Foley catheter (for urine) was SO annoying. I don't know why, but mine seemed not to empty properly and they had to keep fiddling with it. I was pushing for it to be removed ASAP and they did. What a relief to pee on one's own!

Lower back pain after surgery. I am sure this was from the position I was in during surgery, but it was annoying as heck. The heating pad helped.

Gunk in my throat. I was given a spirometer to use for deep breathing exercises. They really want you to keep your lungs clear--pneumonia (fluid in the lungs) is always a risk after general anesthesia. My FIL recently died of pneumonia after emergency surgery, so I took this seriously. The gunk in my throat was annoying, since coughing was hard. But the deep breathing was good practice and helped clear it out.

I told the anesthesiologist that I am prone to nausea after anesthesia, and they gave me a scopolomine patch behind my ear. All well and good, but as they were transporting me on the gurney to my room from the surgical wing, I got motion sickness anyway! I ended up getting something in my IV that helped with that, and I tossed the patch--but I had blurry vision for a few days thanks to that patch. That didn't help with reading or focusing on my phone. If I had known that was a side effect of the patch, I wouldn't have taken it, just asked for something in my IV after surgery.

All in all I had a very positive experience, though. My last piece of advice is to be completely honest with the nurses and doctors taking care of you. They are there to help and most want to give the best care they can, but they can only do that if they have all the information about YOU they can get. Even if you think your reaction to anesthesia back when you were ten and had your appendix out isn't important, tell them anyway.