Spending More Money Since Surgery But Enjoying It!

[Irina]

hi baroness,

i used to wear doc martens (years ago!) and i found the heaviness of the sole hurt my back after a while. but my back is so sensitive to the types of shoes i wear; this might not be a problem for you.

you might also want to check out campers. http://www.camper.com/en_US/women/shoes
they are well-made shoes and comfortable. not as heavy as docs.

i am so hoping that someday i will be less limited to the types of shoes i wear. almost 6 months after surgery and i still mainly have to wear sneakers... in fact i have a wedding tomorrow and im dreading getting dressed up.

Hi Springchicken,

It will get better and you will be less limited in your choice of shoes, just give it some time. Six months is still very early. You are doing great!

[Rise]

Hi Springchicken,

It will get better and you will be less limited in your choice of shoes, just give it some time. Six months is still very early. You are doing great!

Hi Everyone,

My surgery is scheduled for July 2 (Yikes!!) and I'm busy worrying about everything including wardrobe issues. Shoes are a definite concern. I plan on living in Sanuks and comfortable driving moccasins for awhile but am curious about how difficult it is to walk in heels (even low ones) or flip flops post surgery. Also, on another note, ladies how difficult is it (or rather how uncomfortable is it) to wear a bra after surgery? I bought front closing bras and am hoping that they will be suitable. Going braless is simply not an option for me.

I realize that this is likely a topic for another thread but what should I plan on bringing to the hospital in terms of personal items? Can you wear your own pajamas, sweats, etc. or am I best off in hospital gowns? How messy does the sizable incision get as far as oozing, bleeding, etc? Excuse my random questions. I'm stressing big time as I countdown to .....

Rise

[danicaf]

Hi Everyone,

My surgery is scheduled for July 2 (Yikes!!) and I'm busy worrying about everything including wardrobe issues. Shoes are a definite concern. I plan on living in Sanuks and comfortable driving moccasins for awhile but am curious about how difficult it is to walk in heels (even low ones) or flip flops post surgery. Also, on another note, ladies how difficult is it (or rather how uncomfortable is it) to wear a bra after surgery? I bought front closing bras and am hoping that they will be suitable. Going braless is simply not an option for me.

I realize that this is likely a topic for another thread but what should I plan on bringing to the hospital in terms of personal items? Can you wear your own pajamas, sweats, etc. or am I best off in hospital gowns? How messy does the sizable incision get as far as oozing, bleeding, etc? Excuse my random questions. I'm stressing big time as I countdown to .....

Rise

Hi Rise,

I haven't had surgery yet but I would say an absolute NO to flip flops. I fell twice last summer when the edge of my flip flop caught on my front step.

I'm with you on the inability of going bra less. Please let me know how that issue works out for you. Believe it, or not, that is one of my worries; not only right after surgery but down the road.

Good luck! My thoughts will be with you on July 2nd.

Diane

[Irina]

Hi Everyone,

My surgery is scheduled for July 2 (Yikes!!) and I'm busy worrying about everything including wardrobe issues. Shoes are a definite concern. I plan on living in Sanuks and comfortable driving moccasins for awhile but am curious about how difficult it is to walk in heels (even low ones) or flip flops post surgery. Also, on another note, ladies how difficult is it (or rather how uncomfortable is it) to wear a bra after surgery? I bought front closing bras and am hoping that they will be suitable. Going braless is simply not an option for me.

I realize that this is likely a topic for another thread but what should I plan on bringing to the hospital in terms of personal items? Can you wear your own pajamas, sweats, etc. or am I best off in hospital gowns? How messy does the sizable incision get as far as oozing, bleeding, etc? Excuse my random questions. I'm stressing big time as I countdown to .....

Rise

Hi Rise,

I wear flats, sandals and low hill shoes with no problems, but I avoid flip flops because I am just being careful. I could if I wanted, but think that it's easier to misstep and fall in them. I only wear flip flops when I get pedicure and go to a pool. I still prefer a thicker sole shoes, not just flimsy ones.

Front closure bras is a good idea. I could care less about any bras during first month postop, but then wore front closure ones. I still have them.

The best thing I brought to the hospital were Velcro strips. You will have a pain control release button - a thing on a long cord that you need to press and it will release a pain killer. You will definitely lose this button and search for it in a bed if you won't tie it to the rail with something. I brought those sticky Velcro strips and had my hubby tie the button to the rail so that I always knew where it was. You can buy the strips on Amazon. You will be most comfortable in a hospital gown, but bring a robe. Good luck and email me if you want to chat.

[Irina]

Hi Rise,

I haven't had surgery yet but I would say an absolute NO to flip flops. I fell twice last summer when the edge of my flip flop caught on my front step.

I'm with you on the inability of going bra less. Please let me know how that issue works out for you. Believe it, or not, that is one of my worries; not only right after surgery but down the road.

Good luck! My thoughts will be with you on July 2nd.

Diane

Diane,

Please don't worry about bras. I am fused t6 to sacrum and never had issues with any bras, tight jeans or any clothes. Under wire bra is the only bra I'd wear. The only thing I can not wear is anything lose, baggy and stretchy because I am sick of it! After all the years of trying to hide my deformity I would not be caught dead in anything baggy now!

[springchicken]

Hi Springchicken,

It will get better and you will be less limited in your choice of shoes, just give it some time. Six months is still very early. You are doing great!

Thanks, Irina. I am always encouraged by your posts- you seem to be doing so well! Great to hear.

[springchicken]

Hi Everyone,

How messy does the sizable incision get as far as oozing, bleeding, etc? Excuse my random questions. I'm stressing big time as I countdown to .....

Rise

Hi Rise! Best of luck to you with your upcoming surgery! I don't know if anyone answered this, and I guess others might have had different experiences, but I wouldn't worry at all about the incision being messy.

You will have a drain for your incision and the nurses will keep an eye on it. You shouldn't even feel it. After my drain was removed, I just had bandages covering my "glued incision"; no staples or stitches or anything. There is always the possibility of infection, so make sure to follow the guidelines the hospital gives you on care for the scar. But it shouldn't be gory or anything like that.

You'll do great!

[the_baroness]

Rise - the main reason I avoided bras for the first month was that my incision was very sensitive. So front closure, back closure, didn't really matter. Although looking back now I think it would have been hard back then to reach behind me to do up the hooks. The incision was not messy, and didn't hurt per se, but it felt like an electrical shock for a while if anything touched it. It was a real milestone for me a month after the surgery when I could wear bras again. Definitely made me feel more human and less like a mental patient (no disrespect to mental patients everywhere.) The incision was only really "messy" about a week or two after the surgery when all of a sudden part of it popped open a bit and started bleeding, for no apparent reason. That made me irrationally scared, particularly since my husband wasn't home at the time and I was craning around attempting to see it in the mirror. But I went back the next day to the plastic surgeon who handled the incision, and he put a new stitch in it, and there were no further issues. The fun part with your incision comes when it's time to try to scrape all that itchy glue off! You might want to try some cotton tank tops or something to wear under your shirt. They won't give support, but at least they'll give coverage. But then again, I seem to be the only one who is so intolerant with any restrictive clothing, which is the whole reason I posted here in the first place, to see if I am the only one, and it seems as if I am! Oh well, I will just chalk it up to a very weird side effect of the surgery.

Agree with the rest of the team: flip flops = death traps! Cardinal rule for us back surgery recovery-ers: do not fall. Flip flops seem to be expressly engineered to make people trip. I found myself some bedroom slippers that were shoe-like, with a nice rubber sole.

I still can't walk in heels. My whole center of gravity has changed now that I went from having flatback to having a lordosis. My balance still is not there yet, and I fear I will never wear heels again! But to be honest, I wasn't all that good at them before the surgery!

Also agree, you probably won't want anything but a hospital gown in the hospital. I was so out of it while in the hospital I couldn't even manage to get at my suitcase to retrieve any of the nightgowns or robe I brought. I do remember being chilly though. If I could have managed to find it and put it on, I think I might have liked to have had a robe.

Wish I'd known about the blow-dryer hands-free thingy last winter - could have used that! And thanks for the Campers link. Cute, I will check them out!

[jrnyc]

there are rubber soled sandal/slipper thingies...made by Foot Eez....
you can find their website online...very comfortable for me
as i have messed up toes...they might help you with indoor
walking in summer, anyway....
also, some of Ugg slippers are rubber soled and pretty safe.

best of luck
jess...and Sparky

[the_baroness]

Uniqlo now sells long pullover dresses with built in padded bra cups. Wish these had been available last year right after I got out of the hospital. I wore a lot of long pullover dresses because I wasn't able at the time to bend my legs easily to put on pants or shorts or skirts. And I only wore long dresses because shaving my legs was such an ordeal. Those of you who say going braless is not an option, well, I guess I can relate on some level because for me showing my unshaved legs is not an option. Anyhow I thought of the group here when I saw these dresses because it seems like a good post surgical dress for those of you getting ready for your big day. Built in bra and everything!