Stocking up for Post-op!

[Chessie]

Well my BF installed my new ADA standard height toilet today - yay! I can mark the toilet thing off my list!
My folding cane and my grabber thing came too, so I think I'm done. Oh - I did want to get a couple of the larger ice packs that everyone seems to rave about. Can someone post a link as to what they used, and liked?

 

[nogods]

Invest $155 in a Donjoy Iceman 3 + machine. You'll need your doctor to fill in the prescription form. BetterBraces is having a 20% off sale through June 30, so it will only cost you $124 plus $10 for shipping. It comes with your choice of one pad - get the universal pad as it is the most useful for hips and knees. The sale code is "save20" that you have to write on the prescription form when you fax it in. They have a toll free number you can call to get clarification how to place the order.

 

[Chessie]

Thanks, but I'll keep that $155 to spend on bike parts! I just wanted to know about the gel packs.

 

[alexthecat]

I just got regular blue gel packs. They sell them at Walmart or just about any store that has a first aid section. They just cost a few bucks, so you can buy 3 or 4 and rotate them.

 

[PuppyLove]

I made gel packs with my Foodsaver. My favorite formula is 1 cup of the 90 percent rubbing alcohol to three parts water, plus a few drops of food coloring (optional). Mine are about 11 in x 17in and stayed cold for many hours. Nice and slushy and easy to mold around my hip. Some people use ziplock baggies but I was afraid they'd come open. I sew, so I made covers out of flannel, but you could just stick them in a pillowcase.

 

[younghippie]

Sorry if someone has mentioned this already...
I discovered this after surgery... wish I had tried it before, as I needed it just as badly then! I bought a long handled bath sponge on Amazon (I bought it for reaching lower legs, feet after surgery.) I discovered I could tape my razor to the wooden end and shave my legs SO much more easily. I just pull the tape off (clear shipping type tape) when I am done. Works like a charm.
I cooked several meals and froze them so they could be easily taken out and heated in oven for dinners.
I also made sure to pay all bills week of surgery so I wouldn't have to think of it again for a month.
If I had it to do over again, I would have started eating prunes or something like that the day of surgery. I would go ahead and buy stool softeners and laxatives and have them just in case.
You'll do great!