Surgery booked any tips please?

Hi @xcgb, a very warm welcome to the forum although I am very sorry to hear of your diagnosis.

My top tip is to buy one or two 2m charging cables for phone/tablet etc. The standard length is very difficult to use in hospital. In addition I have popped a link below, which includes a list of what to take.
I am sure others will be along with their to tips as well! Take very good care and please stay in touch, Kim

bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/...s/YourOperation_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Thank you so much! I have already thought if a long cable but it's a good tip, I will look through your link as well

Hi @xcgb

It is all very daunting if you've never had surgery, but the whole surgical team will put you at at ease and explain very clearly what will happen, so you should have no worries on that front. But make sure you ask any questions that might be nagging, even the most trivial.

Baggy comfortable clothes(I had joggers, Tees and a hoody) for sitting or wandering around, slippers, book, iphone, ipad (with downloads), earphones and charging cables are all a must. I also took some isotonic drinks and biscuits.

Good luck with the surgery and keep us posted.

Thanks Mark that's very helpful👍

@xcgb I would also suggest eye mask and wax earplugs (foam are useless). Good luck! Sue

Thanks will do that

Hi @xcgb - just wanted to say a big good luck for your surgery, really good step to be getting out of the way. I just came out of hospital for mine today, I had LAR surgery with temporary illeostomy and was in a total of 4x nights/ 5 days. Things that I used the most / thanked the lord I had were:
- chewing gum
- peppermint tea (soothes the bowel)
- double charger adaptor so you can charge kindle/iPad/iPhone at once, and long lead charger
- headphones
- phone / iPad / Kindle
- magazines
- toothbrush/ paste / toiletries
-earplugs
- dressing gown
- bottle of orange squash (water gets old quickly)
- baggy clothes for leaving hospital (just wear in what you wear out)

The one thing I forgot to take which I needed so badly was dry shampoo. I could only really stand for long periods from this morning and 5x days of not washing hair was not the best...!

I pulled this list together from those who helped me before surgery, this is a wonderful welcoming forum with such helpful people. ❤️

Best of luck for your surgery
Betty

Thank you so much Betty that's very helpful!

Good luck with your surgery, my husband is going in on Tuesday and I have been pulling all these tips together to pack his hospital bag. Don’t know where we’d be without this forum. Let us know how you get on

Hi @xcgb when I had my op last August I too had no experience of hospitals/surgery despite being married to a theatre nurse.
I remember the cubicle I was in being a lot smaller than I imagined(TV has to allow room for all that additional equipment etc) with very little storage & I overpacked so most clothes stayed in my case.
Your cubicle has a chair but it can be uncomfortable so you often need a pillow so get a Health Care Assistant to assist if possible as things catch on your tubes.
The beds are large & I have short arms so I soon learnt to make sure the stuff I needed regulary was in easy reach as when you have drips & tubes coming off you attached to various bits of machinery your mobility decreases as you are restricted by the length of tube etc.
I to was given a list of things from this site to take as you have which was invaluable.
I would recommend some pens & a notebook as medical staff come & speak to you at various times & because of the surgery/medication you may not always be at your most alert so I found jotting stuff down meant I did not have to rely solely on memory.
My hospital provided free TV from 8am-12pm but you could purchase a card to use for the rest of the time.
Basically your time on the ward post op will consist of frantic periods of activity (usually just as you have dropped off to sleep )followed by long periods of not a lot happening so as recommended stuff to keep yourself entertained is a must.
They like you up & out of bed as much as possible as helps the healing process.
I was restricted to the Ward due to Covid precautions last year but I understand I could have strolled longer distances otherwise.
Hope everything goes well.
Take care

The only thing I would add to this excellent list is an eye mask as lots of lights everywhere as helped me sleep.

Thanks Steve some great advice there 👍