Preparing For Bariatric Surgery – What To Take To The Hospital and What Food To Have At Home

Packing your hospital bag

Having bariatric surgery can be very overwhelming. Especially with all that is going on in the world right now. You want to be as prepared as possible for your hospital stay and have everything that you need at home for when you are discharged home. The more prepared you are ahead of time, the less anxiety you will have before surgery and heading to the hospital. I took a lot of stuff with me to the hospital that I did not use but boy, was I prepared.

A hospital list is going to be individualized to your specific needs. But these were non negotiable items for me. First and foremost – AT LEAST FIVE pairs of underwear. You can’t shower while you are there. So I went in the bathroom and washed up and changed my underwear twice a day. I took extra in case I needed to stay extra nights. I took my own feminine wipes also to “freshen up.” They came in handy. I work in the hospital setting so I know that their products just don’t compare the ones that we are used to. So I took my own deodorant, mouth wash, toothpaste, dental floss, lotion, and baby powder.

Some other things that I took that were ultimate life savers that I could not have lived without were a portable charger for my cellphone. This one is my absolute favorite and charges iPhones and android devices and is cordless. It has a plug on the back that you plug in to the wall to charge the battery so that no cords are needed. I also took a robe and it was very nice to put on to walk the halls. This one has great reviews on Amazon and is size inclusive.

Make sure you take a few a chapsticks! Hospital settings are dry and you can thank me later. The hospitals have crappy chapsticks. I took a few lip balms/chapsticks and I kept losing them in my bed. I took dry shampoo to the hospital because I use it every other day and I was so happy to have it with me to freshen up my hair! Something else that came in handy was a spray for dry mouth, Biotene Mouth Moisturizer. I was NPO (nothing by mouth) for the first 24 hours after surgery. They won’t allow you to eat or drink by mouth until you go down for a barium swallow. So this mouth spray really helped during that time. I also took a few pairs of my own socks and some slippers. I was so glad I did!

Food and things to have at home for after surgery

There are so many items you can purchase ahead of time to make it easier for when you get home from the hospital. There are many things I had purchased and some I used and some I did not. I am only going to tell you the things that I personally used and found helpful for me. You are more than welcome to comment below things that I may have missed and you found helpful or that you have purchased for your journey! These items can also be bought later down the road after surgery.

Single serve blender – this little thing has come in so handy and its under $15 at Walmart. You can even take it on the go and drink out of it. It is a powerful little thing. I made smoothies in it and protein smoothies after surgery.

Nutribullet – if you are looking for something a little higher end, I also have this. I like it for smoothies as well. It is more powerful and more durable.

Food processor – this food processor is what I use to make my salsa, cauliflower mash, and some other recipes. It is super affordable, good quality, and has good reviews.

Shaved Ice/Snow Cone maker – Okay, I LIVED ON sugar free snow cones for like the first month. I couldn’t find the exact one I had but compared to Amazon prices, this one looked like the best reviews and the best price.

Sugar Free syrup – Torani is my favorite brand. But they are a little pricey. You can search on other sites to find individual bottles and other brands as well.

Premier protein shakes – Hands down my favorite protein drinks to drink after surgery. They have tons of flavors. Caramel and banana were my favorite. They have vanilla, chocolate, chai latte, peaches and cream, cookies and cream.

Unflavored protein powder – I used Quest unflavored protein powder and now I use this brand, Isopure. I added this to sugar free pudding, cream of wheat, oatmeal, ANYTHING. It was such an easy way to get fast protein in when I was not hungry. Because, believe it or not- YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE HUNGRY. For the first time in your life, you are not going to want to eat! But you have to get protein in.

Pill crusher – This was super helpful for the first couple weeks/months for larger pills. I was unable to swallow large pills because of my little belly.

Tupperware containers – These are my containers that are ideal for meals when you get to 3/4 cup servings. I loved these when I was ready to go back to work and was packing lunches. These are really great quality and I still use these for dense meals. I do recommend hand washing these so they hold up longer. I use Tupperware from the Dollar Tree also for less dense meals.

Kool-aid flavoring – I still have this on hand ALL THE TIME. Blue raspberry and watermelon are my favorites! You can also buy Crystal Light flavorings or near these in the stores are tons of different varieties.

Sugar free pudding, Sugar free jello, Cream of wheat, broth (chicken, beef, ham, or vegetable), flavored waters, Powerade zero, decaf coffee or decaf tea (no cream or sugar), sugar free popsicles, low-fat strained cream soups (you can strain with a wire strainer), unsweetened applesauce (I rarely ate this), Low sugar greek yogurt (under 12 grams of sugar (BEWARE- SOME STILL HURTS MY STOMACH) – I love the brand Two Good Greek Yogurt and I can tolerate it very well. During full liquids they also allowed me to have mashed up low-fat cottage cheese.

This is definitely not an all inclusive list and every person is going to have a different list from your surgeon/dietician. These are just some things that helped me for the first couple weeks.

With all the guidelines (on and off with Covid), I am not sure how long they will want you to stay home/not go out to the store. Once you move on to pureed/soft you will have much more variety.

The best place to get recipes, follow my journey of losing and maintaining 170 pound weight loss, what I eat, etc – is on my Instagram – I share bariatric recipes for the whole family, grocery hauls, motivation, inspiration for anyone who is on their journey to a healthier life.

If you do not have Instagram – I have a public Facebook page – Mornings with Maddie

Thank you so much for reading. Best of luck for whatever season of life you are in!!!

xoxo ♥ Maddie

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