I just finished FFS - it went great! Because it was a new experience for me, I wasn't sure what to pack and I benefited from people sharing their lists on here. I thought I should share my own for the benefit of future generations.

A couple of notes:

• I won't include things my surgeon (DB) told me to bring (like probiotics) or obvious things (like my id).
• I traveled to a different city, but I drove so I could take a lot of stuff.
• A lot of these items could have been obtained after I arrived. Some I snagged from the hospital.

Ok, let's get started!

Nutrition

• Ready-to-drink HUEL: this was what I used for my liquid diet. It worked well. The ready-to-drink was very convenient because I didn't have anyone to make shakes for me. I wish I'd gotten more flavors. I drank four bottles per day.
• Bottled water: You'll need to drink a lot of water. Having a case of bottled water was really handy. It's also sterile so it's better for cleaning incisions than tap water.
• A small (8 oz) reusable cup: With swollen lips and jaw it's hard to tilt your head back. A small cup is much easier to drink from than a bottle or larger cup.

Medical

• Medication log sheets: I had to write down all my meds. I used post-its. It would have been nice to have real medication log sheets.
• Salt: For making saltwater to rinse your mouth after eating.
• Stool Softener: After surgery you will probably be constipated. These can help ease you back to normal.
• Qtips: for cleaning sutures
• Kleenex: I like the travel packs.
• Medical tape and small soft gauze pads: If you have your nose done they'll send you home with a little drip pad to catch draining fluids. If it fills up, you'll want to change it.
• Vaseline: When you have to breathe through your mouth, your lips get dry. Regular chapstick was too hard for my swollen lips.
• Humidifier: When you're sleeping you will want your room very humid to keep you mouth from drying out. I got a little travel humidifier on amazon.
• Biotine: It's a rinse that lubricates your mouth and keeps it from drying out as easily.
• Wedge pillow: You'll have to sleep at a 45 degree angle. I got a memory foam wedge pillow on amazon to help with this.
• Heating pad: With all the weird sleeping arrangements my back was sore. It was really nice having a heating pad to loosen it up.
• Cold Gel Packs: I mostly used these when I got hot after walking, but they were nice to have.

Apparel

• Hip Bag / Fanny Pack with a key fob: I took this to the hospital and on a lot of my walks. The key fob made it impossible to lose my key - which could have easily happened in the post-anesthesia haze.
• Comfy clothes to lounge in: You want big neck openings.
• Several "walking outfits:" I found that walking after surgery can be as sweaty as running before surgery.
• A "nice" outfit: I didn't bring one but wish I'd been able to look a little nicer at my followup appointments.
• Soft headbands and loose hats: If you have forehead work done you will have an incision that will scare young children. You won't be able to wear a wig or shave your head.
• Some way to hide your mummy bandage: if you care. I wore a hoodie at first but eventually just rocked the mummy look.
• 3-4 large, soft masks: They'll get dirty from your leaky face, and coarse ones will irritate swollen lips.
• Velcro mask extender: This is a long velcro strap that converts an ear-loop mask into a mask that straps around the back of your head. When your head is wrapped like a mummy you don't have ears.

Msc

• Nintendo Switch: with the hulu app and HMDI cable. It was nice having golden girls constantly playing on the big tv.
• Bluetooth Speaker: for soothing pretty music.
• An extension cord: with multiple outlets and USB charging.
• LED Tea light candles: I packed these on a whim and they were super useful. Not only can they make your airbnb seem cozy, but you can use them as night lights so you can take your pills at night without having to turn on big lights.
• Ziplock bags: I ended up with lots of loose items and could have used a variety of these.
• Paper towels: for the first week after surgery eating was pretty messy. I went through 2 rolls of paper towels.
• Nose hair trimmer: I had to do that the night before surgery.
• Pepper spray: I had to walk two hours a day. For the most part I had no problems, but I did get followed by a creep for a few blocks. I didn't pepper spray him but it would have made me feel a little safer to be carrying it.

Things I thought I would use but didn't

• Straws: My lips were so swollen I literally couldn't use a straw
• Neck Pillow: I forgot to bring it.
• Games: - I bought lots of games for my switch before leaving, but I was too wiped out to play them much.
• Saline nose spray: You can't use this until a few weeks after surgery.