[jbalParticipant]

Husband due in for SCT in a couple of weeks. Any hints and tops on what to pack that was particularly helpful?
Many thanks
Jane

[racheljParticipant]

Hi Jane,
I had my SCT in November. Ask if there is a fridge in the room so your husband can keep things such as smoothies or decent yoghurts etc. And a selection of snacks he likes. Plus some cutlery, plate, cup etc so he doesn’t have to keep buzzing for help if he wants to eat outside of meal times.
Take extra underwear and pyjamas and empty plastic bags so you can take them home in case if accidents. (Yuk, I know, but better to be prepared.)
My room was much hotter than expected so my husband had to keep bringing in and taking away my clothes! They advise you to get up, showered and dressed every day which is good mentally too.
Otherwise books, tablet preloaded with films etc, chargers etc
Other people had exercise gadgets to keep exercising in their rooms but with several collapsed vertebrae this didn’t apply to me. Although I know someone took in a step to do aerobics!
I hope it goes well for him and for you.
Rachel

[jbalParticipant]

Thank you Rachel, that’s very helpful. Any advice on specific toiletries? I know oral hygiene is very important. Any special toothpaste required? Toothbrushes….type and quantity? And any advice on shampoo for the inevitable hair loss?
Jane

[marty2019Participant]

I had my SCT the beginning of last year. Mouth hygiene is very important as a lot of people going through SCT report severe mouth sores which are both painful and prone to infection. Luckily, I didn’t suffer this. The hospital provided me with what can be best described as a small cube-shaped sponge on a thin stick (looked like a lollypop) as even soft toothbrushes were considered too coarse. Ask your hospital if they provide these. Otherwise try a pharmacy. Get a good supply of underwear that you don’t mind throwing away. I found frequent and sudden bouts of diarrhoea was an issue. Looking back I can laugh about this now, but it was not funny at the time. I found boxer-type pants worked best. Head coverings are also a good idea as I lost my hair (again) during my hospital stay. Your husband might also find his sense of taste and smell changes radically. Normally, I would willingly crawl over broken glass for a good cup of coffee. In the lead up to my SCT and for about a month afterwards, I could not stand the stuff or any other drinks provided by the hospital. I also found it difficult to eat as food that I like also tasted horrible. As a result, I got so dehydrated that I was often put on a drip and lost quite a bit of weight. So there might be a bit of trial-and-error to see what your husband can tolerate.

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