Clothing

ladytriker

I don't know what to take, not to wear, etc. I have been educating myself about my surgery, removal of l Rt lung lobe, pain, breathing, etc. Surgery this Friday 9/16! Also have stairs in my house 4 level, so coping with that and bedtime.

Your advice and experience would be appreciated. Thanks

stayingcalm

Hang in there ladytriker
There are plenty of people here who have had that kind of surgery and can advise you. I can suggest not to wear or bring jewelry, because you'll have to leave it in your room or a hospital safe. Don't wear a bra with underwire in case they want to do an MRI first, and after surgery you most likely won't want to wear it, either!

Bring something loose and comfortable to go home in, and that's the whole of my expertise on the subject!

Others will be along soon, I'm sure

stayingcalm

z

ladytriker
Hello, I also had my lower right lobe removed. I wore a jogging outfit, always comfort first, and like stayingcalm said don't take jewelry or any valuables. I was lucky to only be in the hospital from Thursday to Sunday and had someone stay with me until the following Thursday. I don't have steps. It took a while to get my stamina back, but gradually it comes. Try to get up when you can and walk around, this will help the healing process. Also when you get home you might want to prop pillows behind you so your at an angle, and this will take pressure off of your lung area. Also do the breathing exercises. I did them before I went in the hospital and after. I was fortunate that I didn't have to return to work for a month, thus no bra. The bra is the painful piece of clothing. When I went back to work I wore it loosly and loose clothing. I am sure more will comment. I wish you well, and keep us posted. Lori

mamacita5

z said:

ladytriker
Hello, I also had my lower right lobe removed. I wore a jogging outfit, always comfort first, and like stayingcalm said don't take jewelry or any valuables. I was lucky to only be in the hospital from Thursday to Sunday and had someone stay with me until the following Thursday. I don't have steps. It took a while to get my stamina back, but gradually it comes. Try to get up when you can and walk around, this will help the healing process. Also when you get home you might want to prop pillows behind you so your at an angle, and this will take pressure off of your lung area. Also do the breathing exercises. I did them before I went in the hospital and after. I was fortunate that I didn't have to return to work for a month, thus no bra. The bra is the painful piece of clothing. When I went back to work I wore it loosly and loose clothing. I am sure more will comment. I wish you well, and keep us posted. Lori

I just wore sweatpants and a
I just wore sweatpants and a zip front sweatshirt to come home in. My hair looked really squirrely after not being washed for a couple of days so I also wore a ball cap out of the hospital. The pillow idea from Z is right on. You will want to prop yourself up however makes you feel the most comfortable. Strangely it felt most comfortable for me to lie on the side of my surgery. Hold a pillow close to you when you cough, and you will cough, a lot! Good luck to you!

lekkerone

Clothes
My experience is a bit different from the first two posters. You won't want to deal with a bra for quite some time. Wear loose tops so you will be comfortable. Sweat pants or capris with elastic waist depending on the weather where you live.
I had a friend stay with me the first night and it didn't bother me to lie down on my stomach as I always do. Friends brought in dinners and did some housecleaning for me.
Unless it is necessary, I feel the worst thing you can do is to stay in bed. You really need to get moving as much as you can. ....a little bit at a time at first.
When you wake up in the morning, lie on your back and breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can. Do this for a few minutes before you carefully get up. You will feel out of breath quite quickly as you visit the bathroom, get some breakfast and so on. Just take it slowly and each day you will improve. Use the spirometer you get at the hospital.

Good luck and keep us in touch with your progress or questions. Diane

lekkerone

Clothes
My experience is a bit different from the first two posters. You won't want to deal with a bra for quite some time. Wear loose tops so you will be comfortable. Sweat pants or capris with elastic waist depending on the weather where you live.
I had a friend stay with me the first night and it didn't bother me to lie down on my stomach as I always do. Friends brought in dinners and did some housecleaning for me.
Unless it is necessary, I feel the worst thing you can do is to stay in bed. You really need to get moving as much as you can. ....a little bit at a time at first.
When you wake up in the morning, lie on your back and breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can. Do this for a few minutes before you carefully get up. You will feel out of breath quite quickly as you visit the bathroom, get some breakfast and so on. Just take it slowly and each day you will improve. Use the spirometer you get at the hospital.

Good luck and keep us in touch with your progress or questions. Diane

soccerfreaks

mamacita5 said:

I just wore sweatpants and a
I just wore sweatpants and a zip front sweatshirt to come home in. My hair looked really squirrely after not being washed for a couple of days so I also wore a ball cap out of the hospital. The pillow idea from Z is right on. You will want to prop yourself up however makes you feel the most comfortable. Strangely it felt most comfortable for me to lie on the side of my surgery. Hold a pillow close to you when you cough, and you will cough, a lot! Good luck to you!

Spot on!
The respondents are spot on! I know nothing of bras, at least in the wearing of them, so cannot advise in that regard, but DO recommend clean, even new, underwear (perhaps because I am a man and some of us, not saying me!, but some of us develop skidmarks which can be quite embarrassing when revealed to the entire population of a hospital.

You should not need to bring street clothes, since you can wear home what you wore to the hospital, to be honest, and the ladies are quite right about having something casual to wear while in, sweats good, cotton pajamas (pants and top), that sort of thing, something you find easy to put on and comfortable to wear.

As for the pillow and sleeping on the side where the surgery was, a nurse advised me that this is the case for many if not most lobectomy patients, and it was true of me too. She could not explain why, but only noted that it was so. For me, my hospital provided a horseshoe shaped pillow that I could place around my bicep on the surgery side and this helped immensely, given that there were draining tubes there too!

Best wishes for a successful surgery and an outstanding recovery!

Take care,

Joe

ladytriker

stayingcalm said:

Hang in there ladytriker
There are plenty of people here who have had that kind of surgery and can advise you. I can suggest not to wear or bring jewelry, because you'll have to leave it in your room or a hospital safe. Don't wear a bra with underwire in case they want to do an MRI first, and after surgery you most likely won't want to wear it, either!

Bring something loose and comfortable to go home in, and that's the whole of my expertise on the subject!

Others will be along soon, I'm sure

stayingcalm

clothes
Thank you all very much. Your info is is helpful!

ladytriker

z said:

ladytriker
Hello, I also had my lower right lobe removed. I wore a jogging outfit, always comfort first, and like stayingcalm said don't take jewelry or any valuables. I was lucky to only be in the hospital from Thursday to Sunday and had someone stay with me until the following Thursday. I don't have steps. It took a while to get my stamina back, but gradually it comes. Try to get up when you can and walk around, this will help the healing process. Also when you get home you might want to prop pillows behind you so your at an angle, and this will take pressure off of your lung area. Also do the breathing exercises. I did them before I went in the hospital and after. I was fortunate that I didn't have to return to work for a month, thus no bra. The bra is the painful piece of clothing. When I went back to work I wore it loosly and loose clothing. I am sure more will comment. I wish you well, and keep us posted. Lori

Thank you Lori, don't mind
Thank you Lori, don't mind saying I am a bit scared. My husband will also appreciate understanding why I am doing certain things.

ladytriker

lekkerone said:

Clothes
My experience is a bit different from the first two posters. You won't want to deal with a bra for quite some time. Wear loose tops so you will be comfortable. Sweat pants or capris with elastic waist depending on the weather where you live.
I had a friend stay with me the first night and it didn't bother me to lie down on my stomach as I always do. Friends brought in dinners and did some housecleaning for me.
Unless it is necessary, I feel the worst thing you can do is to stay in bed. You really need to get moving as much as you can. ....a little bit at a time at first.
When you wake up in the morning, lie on your back and breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can. Do this for a few minutes before you carefully get up. You will feel out of breath quite quickly as you visit the bathroom, get some breakfast and so on. Just take it slowly and each day you will improve. Use the spirometer you get at the hospital.

Good luck and keep us in touch with your progress or questions. Diane

Everyone has such good ideas
Everyone has such good ideas and I'm sure that I will be checking again for those helpful hints and encouragement.

lekkerone

lekkerone said:

Clothes
My experience is a bit different from the first two posters. You won't want to deal with a bra for quite some time. Wear loose tops so you will be comfortable. Sweat pants or capris with elastic waist depending on the weather where you live.
I had a friend stay with me the first night and it didn't bother me to lie down on my stomach as I always do. Friends brought in dinners and did some housecleaning for me.
Unless it is necessary, I feel the worst thing you can do is to stay in bed. You really need to get moving as much as you can. ....a little bit at a time at first.
When you wake up in the morning, lie on your back and breathe as deeply and as slowly as you can. Do this for a few minutes before you carefully get up. You will feel out of breath quite quickly as you visit the bathroom, get some breakfast and so on. Just take it slowly and each day you will improve. Use the spirometer you get at the hospital.

Good luck and keep us in touch with your progress or questions. Diane

Hi Again
I think it would be much easier for you for the first couple of weeks to sleep downstairs.
Is there a sofa you can make into a bed?
I had my lower left lobe removed and it is not a terrible pain at all. The hospital staff will keep you comfortable.

grannylove

Loose and comfortable
clothing is the way to go, for sure! I am 4 1/2 months ot of surgery and still cannot wear a bra for a long period of time. I did find some spandex camis at K-mart that seem to hold everything in place I had an upper right lobectomy and did NOT have the VATS procedure, so my incision was somewhat larger and recovery alittle longer but nonetheless, the advice given is ditto. Just move slowly at first as you will tire easily. But moving about and breathing exercises are key. There are some really good exercises on youtube also. Just punch in lung exercises on youtube and they should come up. Check them out. Don't be afraid to keep ahead of the pain for a couple of weeks. Your body will have gone thru quite a traumatic experience. But do remember to eat a well balanced diet and drink alot of fluids. Taking pain meds have a tendency to curb the appetite and also can make it difficult for your bowels so a stool softener might help. Of course mention this to your Dr. beforehand so he can give his blessing. If you can have someone be around with you the first few days, (if hubby has to work), it might be helpful, especially taking a shower. As Diane suggested, if you could sleep downstairs on a sofa or recliner for the first week or so, sounds like a good idea. Always good to have a backup plan just in case the stairs are too much for you. Me, personally could not lay on my surgery side, due to very sore ribs, so I had to lay on my back in a reclining position. I used a few extra pillows that were soft to prop myself up. This is a doable surgery, just take good care to take care. I know you are very scared, it is normal to be scared out of your wits. Just try and stay as calm as you can. Getting the cancer out of your body is a good thing so just keep a positive attitude, Ladytriker. You and hubby are not alone. Keep us posted on how you are doing. My prayers are with you. God bless. Cheryl

Deb0202

Will be thinking of you and saying an extra prayer. My experience was much like Grannylove (thoracotomy/rt upper lobectomy/removal of 2 ribs last November). Her advice is excellent, right down to the stool softener. Be patient with your recovery, but do the breathing exercises and push yourself a little more each day as you get your strength back!

sleepless in jersey

soccerfreaks said:

Spot on!
The respondents are spot on! I know nothing of bras, at least in the wearing of them, so cannot advise in that regard, but DO recommend clean, even new, underwear (perhaps because I am a man and some of us, not saying me!, but some of us develop skidmarks which can be quite embarrassing when revealed to the entire population of a hospital.

You should not need to bring street clothes, since you can wear home what you wore to the hospital, to be honest, and the ladies are quite right about having something casual to wear while in, sweats good, cotton pajamas (pants and top), that sort of thing, something you find easy to put on and comfortable to wear.

As for the pillow and sleeping on the side where the surgery was, a nurse advised me that this is the case for many if not most lobectomy patients, and it was true of me too. She could not explain why, but only noted that it was so. For me, my hospital provided a horseshoe shaped pillow that I could place around my bicep on the surgery side and this helped immensely, given that there were draining tubes there too!

Best wishes for a successful surgery and an outstanding recovery!

Take care,

Joe

OMG Joe
You gave me a chuckle for the morning...ha ha ha
I hope everybody else as well!
God Bless

Hope4Marge

soccerfreaks said:

Spot on!
The respondents are spot on! I know nothing of bras, at least in the wearing of them, so cannot advise in that regard, but DO recommend clean, even new, underwear (perhaps because I am a man and some of us, not saying me!, but some of us develop skidmarks which can be quite embarrassing when revealed to the entire population of a hospital.

You should not need to bring street clothes, since you can wear home what you wore to the hospital, to be honest, and the ladies are quite right about having something casual to wear while in, sweats good, cotton pajamas (pants and top), that sort of thing, something you find easy to put on and comfortable to wear.

As for the pillow and sleeping on the side where the surgery was, a nurse advised me that this is the case for many if not most lobectomy patients, and it was true of me too. She could not explain why, but only noted that it was so. For me, my hospital provided a horseshoe shaped pillow that I could place around my bicep on the surgery side and this helped immensely, given that there were draining tubes there too!

Best wishes for a successful surgery and an outstanding recovery!

Take care,

Joe

Joe, you make me smile every
Joe, you make me smile every time I read one of your posts. I love your personality. Have a great day!

Deb0202

How Are You?
Wondering how your recovery from your surgery is going? Wishing you well - Deb

laynie11

Deb0202 said:

How Are You?
Wondering how your recovery from your surgery is going? Wishing you well - Deb

Yes, How are you doing?
Yes, How are you doing? Would like to know how your recovery is going. Prayers from Santa Barbara,
Gretchen