what to do before your surgery to prepare- the homefront stuff

Surgery is a big deal. Period. Even if it is a small surgery, you need to REST. It doesn’t matter if you wear a superhero cape and eat kale smoothies and can hold a plank for 10 minutes, your body needs the same time as every other body to heal. And that means you need to do nothing- not “nothing” like I”m just going to do one load of laundry or take the dog for a short walk or pick up milk at Safeway or do this small triathalon, but truly nothing.

And who are we kidding? Women run the households (and world?). We shop. We clean. We make sure the kids get to their dentists. We make sure the lunches are made and that jersey is clean for the soccer game and the dog has food and water. Want to see what happens when you truly check out? For two days do nothing. Don’t pick up the stray socks or straighten the cushions or sweep the dust bunnies that have multiplied overnight.

• Buy buy buy. Stock up on all those things.  Buy all those heavy things (Cases of water, bags of dog food, etc) now. Get ready made meals. Boxes of pasta and pasta sauce. Whatever favorite whathoozits your family can’t live without. Buy them in quantities that will last for the next month or year. You are not going to be functional for two weeks after surgery. Prep for it.
• Do all the laundry. Yes, sadly this may mean yours, your kids, your spouse, the sheets, towels. But you don’t want to do this after surgery. The few surgery bleeds I had after surgery were all two weeks out from – you guessed it- doing laundry. Bending over? Lifting something heavy? That is a big no and no.
• Meals meals meals. I don’t care how you want to do this. Frozen dinners? Those premade reheat things you can buy? Doordash on speed dial? Cooking, standing up at the stove, lifting pots and pans, cleaning it all up is a ton of activity. Nope. You are not up for it.
• Prep your area for you ahead of time. Your family may be useless (though there are some families who are amazing! so hats off to you! but you are not common)
  • • Get your medications ahead of surgery. Put them near your bedside table. Make a sheet to record when you take what. You will forget. For a sheet example, click HERE.
    • Get non-prescription medication things you may need too: Acetaminophen, antibiotic ointment, gauze, stool softener or miralax or suppositories. Talk with your doc about what those may be.
    • Get lots of beverages. Protein smoothies are good if you have no appetite. Kombucha is good to get probiotics back in your system. Smoothies, juices, electrolytes. All are absorbed better than plain water. And get a bendy straw. It’s hard to drink lying down.
    • Get lots of pillows, your kids “study pillows”, wedges. You are likely going to need to sleep with your head up or with a bend, and all those come in handy.
    • Get towels and dark colored sheets to line it all. So on top of your fancy pima cotton high thread count sheets, you should put a sandwich of towels and dark sheets you don’t care about. You may leak after surgery, so have things that are changeable and dark.
    • Get lots of clean, easy to wear clothing for you. This means loose pants (not the tight yoga pants or jeans). This means zippered hoodies (those are especially great if you have drains after a tummy tuck or breast reduction– the drains fit right in the pocket). This means shoes you slip on and off. Have multiple outfits. If you have compression garments or bras, it is good to have a back up so you can wash the other one. Again, think easy to wash. Easy to get on and off. Dark colors. You may get *gasp* bloody stuff on it.
    • Get snacks you will want to eat. This is not the time to be a rabbit. You need protein. Think protein snack bars, nuts, and the like are good.
    • Fuzzy socks. Do wonders for feeling cozy.
    • Every charger known to man and your phone and computer within reach. You. Will. Be. Bored. Have a movie/TV/Reading plan.
    • A stool near the bed is helpful to get into bed.
    • Hiking poles or a walker if you feel unsteady on your feet.
    • Keep clean. This means if you are leaking, dirty, smelly- clean it up. Wash gently. Talk to your doctor. I give all my patients surgical soap to use prior to surgery and it is great to use after as well. Some docs let you shower, some not for a bit. (and no one wants you in a bath). Know you may be unsteady! Have someone nearby, have a seat. If you are feeling wobbly, please do not shower.
    • If you garments hurt you, cuts into you, or feels bad DON”T LEAVE IT LIKE THAT. Garments need to be smoothed and adjusted when you sit/stand/lie down. They help with bruising and swelling and pain, but they should be helping not hurting. Again, here is a place where all plastic surgeons are a bit different, so talk to them.
• Arrange someone to drive/take care of/feed your kids. And you. You can’t drive for a week after surgery, maybe more.
• Spoil yourself a bit. Fresh flowers? A new fragrance? Plan a trip? One thing I know about women in the Bay Area is they never do things solely for themselves. They work for their jobs and significant others and kids and nonprofits. Nope. This recovery is all about Y. O. U.  By the second week you usually are semi functional- not your usual 24/7 marathon pace, but able to do a bit. My doctor ordered recommendation? Have a girlfriend over, bring you lunch, watch bad TV and hang out. You aren’t ready for prime time life, but the power of girlfriend time? priceless. (oooh. and now it’s doctor’s orders).

Bottom line?

Repeat this, verbatim, after me. “I”m sorry. I can’t do that.”

Keep repeating until you are pain free, off meds, (or never stop repeating if you find you like everyone taking care of themselves a bit more). 🙂