Pre-OP Prep

[rdsoxfan]

I'm having small bowel surgery Dec 9th. I will be in the hospital 7 days minimal and then out of work 4-6 weeks recovering.

For those of you who have had major surgery, what did you do (or wish you did) pre-operation to make the recovery period easier or even faster? This could be anything from physical prep to stuff around the house.

Thanks for the suggestions! A

 

[SawyerAshton]

Go SHOPPING and buy the simple stuff that you take for granted. Also, look up what you will be able to eat/drink before hand.

Do all of your laundry and cleaning before hand as well.

I only had gallbladder surgery so it was a short recovery, but I had to send someone to buy simple stuff, like bandaids, drinks, etc. Hindsight is worth quite a bit!

I live alone, so it was a bit more of a hassle to ask friends and family to run errands for me.

 

[archie]

I tried to stay as fit as possible before hand then walked loads post surgery, I brought comfy trackies and hoodies into hospital as I hate sitting around in pj's the biggest problem post surgery was not being able to drive so try to have someone help you out especially with doc's appointments. I had small bowel resection and the first 2 weeks were the hardest but I felt pretty good by week 5 and back to work. Check what diet your allowed I wasn't allowed fruit or veg for 6 weeks after. Good luck with your surgery and hopefully you'll be a good lot better by Christmas

 

[rdsoxfan]

What were some of your comfort foods after surgery?

 

[archie]

I got my sister to make me shephards pie (no veg) to eat in the hospital and soup, my appetite was a lot less for a couple of weeks post sugery but has since returned!!! everyones different with the food they can tolerate it was a bit give and take but I wasn't allowed fibre for 6 weeks.

 

[KWalker]

Unfortunately I can't really give advice for long surgeries, but I wish you the best of luck for a quick recovery. I am currently recovering from an abscess surgery, so they kept me for 4 days after. Make sure you have someone to bring you food lol. There is nothing worse than hospital food. I got so excited one morning because I got "french toast". It was more like microwaved yellow bread, and the "meat" for dinner is cooked some weird way so its practically mush. No thank you! Lol

 

[glum chump]

Get a haircut. Get hair dyed before surgery if it applies.

Access to movies/TV/computer/music. Books/crossword puzzles/games.

Something that will help you pick up what you drop on the floor---bending is hard after surgery...something as simple as pulling on socks is hard. Pharmacies carry this item.

Hot water bottle, if you don't already have one.

Stock up on tea/coffee/hot chocolate/juices. And Ensure if you need 'food' in a hurry. Canned stuff like tuna, soups in case there's no one around to help.

Get all your bills paid.

If you celebrate Christmas, set up your decorations and get your shopping done before going for surgery. Fairy lights are wonderful while recovering!

Yep, get your home cleaned up and spiffy.

Kismet

 

[Tcam]

I had a laproscopic resection and my recovery was about 6 weeks. The best thing I did was stay at my parents place for the week after I got out of hospital, I live with a couple of housemates but there is nothing like having family around to help out. I also had lots of my amazing friends bring me meals so I didn't have to cook and my housemates kindly did the housework so I could focus on recovering well. I slept A LOT - don't expect to do too much too quickly.

Good luck!

 

[lseibert]

I got home from my second surgery yesterday and my advice is to do a bowel prep before. The first surgery I didn't have one and on the day after the surgery I had many urgent trips to the bathroom for many days. This time it took longer to go and when I did, half a day of urgency, then just whenever I eat.

Good luck and quick recovery

 

[Sybil Vane]

I would definitely have some good, easy books to read and some favorite movies on hand. I went through a bunch of TV series that were on demand on Showtime and they really helped pass the time when I was too loopy from pain meds to really enjoy reading. Do you have a family to help? My mother-in-law came and stayed with us and it was a miracle. We have two kids so she helped cook dinner and take care of the kids while my husband worked and I stayed in bed. She also made casseroles and froze them before she left so we were able to eat off of those for awhile. Make sure you have really comfy clothes that are lose around your waist or don't touch your stomach at all.

Believe it or not, my comfort food was Coke. It helped with the nausea. Ensure is also wonderful as another poster said. Toast, poached or scrambled eggs, boiled potatoes, and orange and apple juice were some of my other favorite foods. Bland foods were the best and I enjoyed iced tea. I'm actually really fortunate because my hospital serves really good food. I've been to different hospitals and I'm always surprised that my local one serves normal, tasty food that I actually look forward to. My last surgery was at the University of North Carolina and their food was AWFUL. They also served a can of Minute Maid lemonade with every meal. How gross is that?! I also had to share a room there and a woman beside me made a pyramid of her full cans of nasty-ass lemonade. It was pretty funny. My hubby brought me bottled water and other drinks.

 

[brieyourbest]

Rest before your surgery. I had a few complications with waking up and staying awake because the night before surgery I didn't get any sleep.

Be prepared for some pain and stomach rumbles. I didn't go in with pain do I was kind of shocked when I had it.

 

[nygman]

I have had 3 operations and I recovered faster on my last one, but I was also not that sick at the time. I highly recomend an epidural as it numbs all the pain from the operation after you wake up. Having no pain right after was amazing, and I feel it for me home earlier than when I had the morphine pump, and I didn't feel loopy on it.

Granted you still have to take it easy, but I was walking around in no time, and that got me home early.

Good luck with the operation, hope it goes well.