by Benny

Here is a list of tips I compiled after surgery:

Eating

Eating small portions and pacing yourself is effective in preventing a "food baby" which will undoubtedly make your binder feel way too tight. Flexistraws are great and make drinking less painful.

Clothes

Pack at least two pairs of sweat pants or other comfy pants because that will be all you feel like wearing for a while. You will need to pack an array of button-up shirts for the first week or so. Make sure at least four or five of them are baggy enough to hide your drains comfortably. The drains are shaped like footballs and are about the size of tennis balls.

Meds

If you find yourself so medicated that you can't hardly do anything but space out try decreasing your meds. You may find that the pain is surprisingly minimal after the first couple of days. I stopped using meds alltogether after the third day. Also, I found that I needed chapstick quite often.

Sleeping

Laying flat on your back can make your lower back hurt tremendously. The best sleeping situation after surgery is in a reclining chair. If you don't have one of those at your disposal I would reccomend getting a lower-back support pillow to sleep on, or sleep sitting up in bed.

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