Hi everyone,
I’m 4 days post-op (buttonhole, no drains) and I have found this sub so useful during all my anxious prep time. I wanted to return the favour by sharing some genuinely useful items I purchased for recovery. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on products to use once before being wasted, but these ones have turned out to be (affordable!) essentials for me - and they’re not recommendations I’ve seen in most posts.
Firstly, a 1 litre hiking/running bladder with a bite valve tube. This has been perfect for drinking without lifting a heavy glass, especially at night when I don’t want to move out of my propped-up position. The 1 litre capacity means that it’s not too heavy for me to move but it also helps me keep track of my fluid intake. It will make you feel like a hamster but it’s handsfree and leakproof. I’m hoping that I’ll continue to use it in future once I’m back to being active, so not just a single-use product.
Secondly, I bought an inflatable wedge pillow. This has been great, especially since I travelled for surgery so I couldn’t fit a normal pillow in my suitcase. It packs totally flat and was easy to inflate.
Finally, I really recommend a handheld travel bidet as it will just make everything easier and you will feel more fresh/clean, especially if you are advised not to shower for a while. I had already converted to the bidet lifestyle during lockdown so didn’t buy this especially, but I can’t imagine recovery without one.
Other than these, the biggest tip I can give is to spend some time strengthening your core by doing sit ups and practising getting out of bed without using your arms. I was worried that I hadn’t spent enough time building muscle before surgery as I’ve been so busy with work in recent months, but the relatively small amounts of strength training I managed to do in the last 6 weeks have really benefitted me.
I hope this is useful for someone else who is preparing for surgery! I am an anxious person so I spent weeks scouring this sub for every possible tip. In the end, the actual operation was far far less scary than I expected and my recovery (so far) has been really manageable. I’m wishing everyone reading this all the best :)