practical surgery tips

I had a panniculectomy 3 weeks ago tomorrow, with no muscle repair. I am healing well, though it's going a bit slower than I thought it would due to some unforeseen issues (anemia). But I wanted to put a few tips on here that might help people going into surgery that I haven't seen other places:

1. I braided my hair into two tight braids right before surgery, and they kept my curly, long thick hair well tied up. By the time I was ready to wash my hair the first time, I was able to pull it out of the braids and there were no knots, easy peasy.

2. A lot of people talked a lot about a recliner that lifted them. I didn't find this necessary. I slept on a wedge pillow in my bed and rested on a recliner during the day.

3. I pre-made a lot of individual meals (mostly soup) and froze individual portions for myself to make it easy for people to give me food.

4. I found a cane very useful to get around the first week. I was very dizzy and unstable walking around, and the cane was very useful.

5. The nausea that came with surgery made it hard for me to eat, and I wasn't feeling well because I wasn't getting enough calories. I came on here and asked for advice, and the advice I got was to eat more calories and to eat more iron, as I was likely anemic. They were right on both counts. In recovery, make sure you eat enough calories and eat enough iron.

6. You don't have to buy too many things ahead of time in the days of Amazon. Figuring out several things has been trial/error, and many things I thought would work, didn't. I literally ordered compression shorts from the hospital and they were at my house waiting for me when I got home. I tried several different types of bandages; each arrived the same day. If anyone's interested in what I arrived at for someone who can't use tape, let me know.