Topic: Mastectomy..What to pack?? And what to do when return home?

Oh my I did not even think of the seat belt (ooch)....thank you thank you.  That whould have been one long ride home.

You are such a great daughter, carly!   It really helped me to have my pain meds in advance of my surgery- you can call the surgeon and  ask her to prescribe them for your mom and send the prescription to your pharmacy. (be sure to ask for non-childproof caps!)  It was great to come right home and not have to stop to get meds.

   If it's cold where you are, a lightweight blanket for the car ride home might be nice.  I used mine.

   Be sure her bed has soft clean sheets and extra pillows- she'll need to sleep propped up for the first few days.

   Good luck to both of you!

Silky and satiny PJs ARE nice though -- I got some at K-mart that were really inexpensive and nice.

Recliner at home is great to have.  If you don't already have one, check Goodwill, or craigslist?  If you can't get a recliner -- lots of pillows for bed and couch.

Dinners cooked ahead of time and frozen is a great idea -- but maybe other people would like to help out with this?  Other relatives, neighbors, church?

Will your Dad be taken care of while your Mom is in the hospital?  Or will you be taking care of him too?  If so, all the more reason to enlist some other helpers if you can.

I'm thinking your Mom's breast surgeon will have at least one recommendation for an oncologist.  My surgeon didn't mention oncologist until my post-op checkup, and I first saw onc a month after mastectomy -- I think that's kind of typical, actually.

Oh -- almost forgot.  Kind of a "base" topic but important, I think. Constipation often happens after surgery -- usually a person has gone more than 12 hours without water ("nothing to eat or drink after midnight"), and without activity, and pain meds are constipating -- ask nurses for stool softener (Colace or Dulcolax) and your mom might want to ask for prune juice/stewed prunes, and avoid black tea and white rice, which are further constipating.  Might be a good topic to address with your mom ahead of time, if you can. She may have some good ideas about this.

Somebody's going to have to empty your mom's drain(s) once she gets home, and keep track of the output (hospital will probably give you some kind of  plastic measuring cup to empty drain into). Is this something you think your mom can handle?  (My mom handles her own colostomy care and her diabetes testing and injections at age 82 -- but she was a nurse and kind of prides herself on this.)  The nurses in the hospital will probably instruct both your mom and you in drain care.  It's probably just good for you and your mom both to be aware ahead of time that this is another care task to expect.  It's not hard.

Hugs to you Carly, and all best wishes to you, your Mom and Dad,

Ann

Again a millions of thanks to you guys......I have jotted the advise in my little "boob guide" I call it ,,trying to keep some sense of humor in a bleek time.

Yes I am concerned about the drains,,,,I am a PRE-nursing student so this should be some thing I guess I can consider practice for the future ....not sure if i will make to nursing now.  So off to K-mart I go and see what we can find still no date on surgury yet ............Is it true that even if it is invasive and triple that a few weeks wont make a difference for surgury???

I want a 2nd opion before surgury and its looks like the date for that might be in March and I think my mom surgeon wants in by the end of the month (FEB).

I agree with Deb.  The recliner was a lifesaver for about 10 days.  The hand held sprayer was great too.  I have balance issues so I planned ahead and borrowed a shower chair for a couple of weeks.  My dh helped me get in and out of the shower and I was able to do the rest. Gave me a sense of self control.

I wore 100% cotton  jammies with a drawstring/elastic waist.  The satin type stuff didn't breath and became uncomfortably hot.  My fingers on my surgery side had a little numbness for about 5 days so the drawstring pants loosely looped also helped me be more independent for bathroom breaks.  There was no way I could handle buttons or snaps that first week.  Think about nurse's scrubs, maybe.  They are relatively inexpensive and I didn't want to wear jammies ALL the time! 

I had a unilateral and am large chested.  Didn't feel comfortable going natural so I got 2 surgical camis.  They were covered by my insurance and slip up over the body instead of over the head.  They have removable pockets for the drains.  I hated the drains and emptying them grossed me out.  My dh and niece helped me empty them, God bless them both!  Wel, that's my input.

bump for SS

Sheila

bump

For the hospital -- I wore the hospital gown with pajama bottoms underneath.  I was only there one night, so it wasn't a big deal.  But when they want you to get up and walk it's nice have something substantial under the gown.  I wore a sweatsuit with inside pockets in the jacket pockets in the pants to the hospital and home so I had a place to put the drains and a small pillow for under the seatbelt is a good idea.  At home I mostly wore sweatsuits and pjs until the drains were out.  I had a belt from an old terrycloth bathrobe that I used to hang the drains around my neck in the shower.  I, too, slept in a recliner for a while but only about a week.  I found the hardest part of sleeping in bed was that, no matter how many pillows I used to prop up, by morning I was laying on my back and it was hard to sit up.  After a couple of weeks I figured out how to roll slightly to the side to get up and it was better.

One more hospital tip -- ask the surgeon to prescribe two different pain meds in post op orders.  Mine prescribed morphine and it made me sick.  It took a while for the nurses to reach him (they were calling the wrong doctor!) to get a new order for something different.  I had read this tip in a book before surgery but didn't take it to heart.  I am passing it on so maybe someone else can benefit!

 The absolute worst part of the whole experience for me was the month between finding out I had to have the mastectomy and the day of surgery.  It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  I had round two of chemo this week and am in the "expansion" process of reconstruction and I feel fine! 

theresa/ chicago

you sure make sure pj's or sweats is large enough, and a pillow for ride home . i had my surgery last thursday. also family members sure wear extra clothing or ask nurse for a warm blanket in the waiting room my mom is real sick from just sitting in the waiting room.

I would add a blanket and pillow for inbetween you and safety belt.  this was probably already added earlier.  Face cream and lotion.  Try to stay away from lavender, it contains estrogen.  In britian this year they had a study on how lavender ups our estrogen levels.  Not a helpful thing especially if you have bc.  Google a search on lavender girls before using it!

I used the hospital gown and slippers also.  Just wanted to throw it all away.  When I got home I used my new pj's friends had bought me with button up fronts.  I heard the cami's with drain pockets were expensive so I did not buy them and made out just fine.  Some girls really liked them, so you have to decide.  Money was an issue with me so I did not want them.  Small pillows to lay your arms on after surgery really helped.  I still use them 7 weeks later.

I used the black front bag they gave me at hospital for q pump to keep the drains in, and later to keep my home heart monitor!  LOL!  That thing was reallly handy!

Good Luck wishing you the best!

Daniella

What is a cami?

Wow that sounds nice! I am an E Cup (for now), I think I may qualify as big breasted LOL

Thanks for telling me. I have it down on my surgeons "ask list".

Thanks Ladies for that Because i will also be getting a masectomy sometime in april  know it will help me prepare better for it

Lynne, I bumped a conversation back to the top that is a list that has been compiled from all the suggestions in this thread and others. Hope it helps. (bumping posting a new comment to an old conversation to bring the conversation back to the top)

Sheila

bumping to the top for newbies.