Hospital and Home needs list

Well, I haven't been focused enough to add o my blog until now and even now I kind of don't feel like I want to, but some ladies in the PAO facebook group are about to go through their first PAO and are wondering what they will need to bring so I feel obligated to post my list of things I needed and used in the hospital and at home. :)

Things I brought with me:

• A backpack, inside the backpack was:
• Chap stick (soft lips is my brand)
• Expandable back scratcher $3.99 at Walgreen's
• Kleenex with aloe because I was sure the hospital had generic tissue and I didn't want to use that.
• Baby wipes.
• Shampoo/conditioner. I wanted my own instead of the hospitals.
• No-rinse shampoo.
• Lotion/Soap.
• Tooth brush/paste.
• Mouth wash/floss picks.
• Book and puzzle book.
• Notebook and pen
• Ear buds and set of speakers. The speakers plugged into my phone and did not use batteries or wall plug. $9.99 at Walgreen's 
• Earplugs and an eye mask
• Deodorant
• Snack foods: dried apricots, cranberries and prunes to help with the bowel movements
• Powerade (3)
• My glasses and case
• Ziploc bag with q-tips and pony tails so i could have my hair french braided in doubles so my hair didn't get dread locked. 
• Comb

Ok I also brought with us but my husband brought in later once I was in my room:

• My favorite pillow
• My daughter's thick blanket to have a reminder of home :)
• Phone and Charger

I wore the loose fitting clothing into the hospital that I was going to wear home and also the moccasin-type slippers  I got from Target.

Out of all the stuff I brought, this is what I didn't use:

• No-rinse Shampoo. My hair was too long and it was a hassle.
• Notepad and pen. I had good intentions but my headache was so bad I couldn't focus on anything
• Book and puzzle book. Same reason as above.
• Earbuds. I did use the speakers though to listen to music from my phone.
• Ear plugs and eye mask. I ended up having my own room. I tried using the ear plugs but the headache left a pounding in my ears that was so much more painful when I had the plugs in. Plus I had the nurses keep my door closed and the lights off all the time and my pain pump did not make much noise. I tried using the mask but because of the pain medicine my nose itched and plus all i wanted was a wet towel on my head. For some reason the weight and coolness of the towel felt good and made my headache subside a little.
• Snack food. I had bouts of vomiting. I tried to eat the apricots but later I threw it and some medicine back up so I didn't end up trying any more of the fruit. I brought it all home. I ate the cranberries and apricots at home and threw away the prunes.

Now at home this is what I got prior to surgery:

• Handheld shower head installed prior to surgery. VERY HELPFUL
• Scrub sponge on a stick to wash lower extremities.
• Standard Commode, 1 of 3
• Walker, 2 of 3
• Standard Crutches, 3 of 3. $25.00 for the set on craigslist
• Gopher grabber. I haven't used as much as I thought but in bed it really helped for many reasons: cover the blanket over my feet, if I dropped something on the floor, helping to put on or pull up my pants, reach the light switch for my lamp to turn it off, grab my drink, reach my phone charger. First week home it helped. It's up to you if the $25 is worth spending for a little help while you're in bed. For me it was.
• 4 extra pillows.
• Tall bedside table same level as my tall bed.
• bedside lamp with a reachable switch.
• Refillable rubber ice pack with a screw lid for my hip. It beat the mess of leaking water from Ziploc bags frozen. $12.00 Walgreen's
• Kindle fire :) and I loaded it up with books and games. though I didn't have enough attention to focus until 2 weeks post op to use it.
• Xbox 360 games to keep me busy. Same reason as above.
• Easy to make meals and snacks: Uncrustables, micro dinners and snacks, hot pockets, gogurt, powerade, etc. It was easier to take the pain meds with a little something in your tummy.
• Duralax suppository. Yes I used this 2 times because it took 8 days to poop and I still needed to use it again a few days later. Almost 4 weeks post and I still have problems. If you are not against putting it in your bum (I'm not). Other wise ask the hospital for milk of magnesia while you are there to help before you go a week without going poo. It is not fun delivering a baby sized dump :(
• Miralax. I used it everyday. Still had problems. I think my advice would be to use something a little stronger. Milk of magnesia in the past always worked the best but this time I didn't use it.

Ok now, Things I brought home:

• Bariatric commode. I am a little bigger and it gave me more room to spread my legs. Having them too close together did not feel good at all.
• New standard walker. I can resell on craigslist.
• Sock putter on thingy. Really helpful for tube socks or crew style. I like ankle socks and it was awkward to to bend my ankle and hard to get the ankle socks on.
• Gait belt from the hospital. For a while it was very helpful to lift your own leg in and out of bed, on and off the couch. Especially since it is really important that only you are moving your leg around so as not to hurt you. After a while you get sick of the belt and end up aiding your leg around with your hand. Also if the hospital doesn't send you home with the belt you can use your own belt. Just make the loop at the end and kind of lasso around your foot to move it. It also helped me at home to start to do "walking" motions because getting the leg used to moving that way is a little tricky at first.

That's about it as far as my list goes. Here are a few more helpful things to know. 

I got into shape before my surgery. I had practiced using the walker and crutches. I spent some time in the gym and spent most of the time working out my upper body and non-op leg strength to prepare. Still, there was nothing like the actual post-op life with the crutches and walker. I also lost 35 lbs (as you know if you read my earlier posts in my blog) which helped sooo much.

Well I hope this post helps you, enjoy :D