Tips??

Hi, I recently signed up and I want to say how grateful I am to have found this site. I have learned a lot and it has been very helpful. I am still just as nervous and getting worse by the day for the unknown as the date nears. Any advice anyone can give about what I should be preparing for including but not excluded to what are the best kind of clothes to have ready for post op, what kind of pain meds to have by my bedside, how to prepare my room, good healthy snacks..etc etc etc?? There is no better advice than from experience.... Any and every tip would be helpful and appreciated. I don't have a lot of help so I really want to be ready for everything, the more I can do in this next week the less stress I willl have when I get home, and the less I will have to depend on other people. I am hoping to make it as comfortable for myself as possible, as every Princess should. I always put everyone else first but I really feel this needs to be about me right now if I want to heal properly. We definately do not want or need any added stress. I don't want to be telling myself "I wish I would have known that, it would have been so much easier".
So I am trying to be proactive. God bless and good luck to those who are post-op and those who are still "ladies in waiting". You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs and Blessings to ALL...

Here are some things to have at home for your recovery:
Gas X, peppermint tea (these help with the gas you will more than likely have) lots of bottled water, juice, easy to heat foods, movies, personal items such as panty liners and pads. The 1st couple of weeks all I wore was lounge pants with elastic waist, tshirts, sweatpants, etc. For good healthy snacks...anything high in fiber...stay away from things that make you gassy. Some things that you might want to take to the hospital with you are chapstick, earplugs (hospitals are noisey) hard candy, throat lozenges, body lotion as some meds can make your skin really dry.

Best wishes

Wendy

Thank you...these are all great tips and I will definately be using them...I have this weekend to get it together an that is is so I am making lists LOL..I hope you are you doing well since your surgery...
Hugs

I am doing absolutely fantastic since my surgery. Best thing I've ever done for myself. No more pain, no more Aunt Flo (the old hag) no more heavy bleeding that ruins clothes, sheets and trips....lol

I hope you have a great recovery.

Wendy

Hi!

I remember those days of being so hungry for information! I'm glad you're eager for help right now.

We actually have a forum right here at Hyster Sisters full of advice: It's the Hints for your Hysterectomy sub-forum of this pre-op message board. Many have shared their favorite hints to make your pre-op and post-op experience better. Keep in mind, this is just what worked for them -- but if something hits your fancy, you'll be prepared!

I also found it really helpful (and comforting) to read the stories in the Tell Your Hyst-Story subforum of pre-op. It really helped me to read so many experiences... each unique, yet it really helped give me a good idea of what to expect when my time at the came.

Hope this helps.

As for me -- the best advice I can give is to pack light when you're going to the hospital! I only used a few things -- toothbrush and toothpaste, a notebook and pen, a light-up alarm clock (so I could see the time without my glasses), a comb, and a magazine. That's really it. I could have packed in a Ziplock bag! Anything more you need can be brought to you if you really need it. The less you take to the hospital, the less you need to lug home.

WickedWoman
Thank you again, it makes me feel better everytime I hear a success story, and there are so many. Everyone I know at home here keep telling me it is the best thing that they have done as well. I do hope that I will be saying the same thing. One of my problems, and I supose I should consider myself lucky, is that I didn't even know I had this. Hard to go into surgery when you feel fine. I know Aunt Flo has gotten Nasty over the past 12 years or so but I thought it was a part of getting old as I have no pain. Now that I am looking for signs, I do beieve I have pressure that I probably didn't have before as I have been telling DH I can't stand the belly I have been getting as it didn't feel right and felt bloated. Thought I was just getting the mid life bulg LOL. I also have daily back pain and thigh cramps when Aunt flo visits, but again, thought it was just a part of life. DR says large Alien is tipped towards the back..so who knows if it has been causing other problems. DH says I will probably be a new woman when I am finished. Hope he is right.

MJD Thank you for all the advice and the links...I am going to check them out right away so I can finish my list, shop, then hopefully relax before I have to go to the Castle. I feel so blessed to have found this sight. I am going to give it to my doctor and suggst he post it in his office, not as medical advice of course, but something we need more of and more often do not get...SUPPORT!!
Thank you all again and best wishes...
Hugs...

Everyone has given you great advice on what to prepare for. THe only thing I would like to add is please do not be afraid to tell the nurses if you want/need pain medication. I was under the false impression that they would just automatically bring me pain meds on a regular, predetermined schedule. I was so WRONG!! Later I found out that my nurses weren't allowed to give me anything stronger than Motrin unless I asked for it. Now, that being said, they were more than willing and happy to give it to me when I did ask. I just sat around forever not realizing that all I had to do was ask.

Good luck with your surgery!!!

I am so sorry to hear that you had to endure that. Thank you for the advice. I will definately remember that one...Thank you so much. Good to see you are well enough post op to be back and supporting the "ladies in waiting". I do hope this is the toughest part as they say...the wait is truly aweful for me, don't know how I am going to make it another week without going nutz...