General tips and tricks

Here are a few things I discovered, or think may be informative.

Get your brows and lashes done before you leave NZ

This will help you feel good about not being able to wear makeup.  I had my brows tinted and lashes tinted and permed.  Definitely recommend.

Have your nail polish removed

I used to get SNS nails and no nail polish is allowed as your fingers are part of the process that regulates your oxygen levels.  I had my polish removed in NZ, which was something I didn't need to rush around getting done before being admitted.  I had my nails re-done the week after leaving hospital.

Buy a small notebook 

Keep it in your handbag and use it to write down information, notes that you want to discuss with the doctor, daily experiences and after surgery WRITE DOWN WHEN YOU PEE AND POO as the nurse will ask you this constantly, even if it's 3am and they are checking on you - show them your notes, it's much easier than trying to remember!

My trusty notebook

This is the power plug adapter used in Phuket and Patong.  

Take a 4 way powerboard from home and connect it to the plug adapter.  Power is 230/240V, so if you are coming from a country that uses lower voltage plug in appliances you will need a power step down transformer.

Power adapter

Get a Thai Sim card from a roadside convenience store

We bought sim cards for our phones at the airport when we arrived.  They cost about $50NZD each and had unlimited data to last us a month and had local calls included.  They didn't include overseas calling minutes though and we ended up having to call a NZ 0800 number and to get through had to put extra credit on the phones.  We did this at a convenience shop located on the road alongside the hotel, and to be honest it would have been more cost effective just getting the sim and it set up all at once - Nuya was very helpful in this regard as she could tell the shop keeper exactly what we wanted.

Money management - get money from roadside ATMs

Outside the same store we topped up our cards is an ATM.  I used my NZ Visa Debit card here to get cash out.  The transaction fee for each withdrawal was NZD $6, regardless of the value.  I often withdrew about THB4000, which was about NZD $200.  On one occasion the machine didn't dispense the money and it displayed an "out of money" error, the transaction was instantly reversed.  I used my Visa for our teeth whitening treatment and was charged a transfer fee on that of $6, too.  Don't use your eftpos or Visa for food or other purchases as the transfer fees will add up.

The shop for sim cards, money, drinks, food and snacks!

Paying for surgery

I had transferred money onto my Kiwibank Visa card before leaving NZ, and told Kiwibank what I was doing.  My credit card only has a $3,000 limit and the surgery all up was around $30,000, so I wanted to be sure it would not create an issue.

When time came to pay I entered the card, it processed and I entered my pin and signed the receipt. It really was no different from buying anything anywhere else, just with a few more zeros in the number!

Clothing - Dress for the season

It's hot in Thailand.  If it's not sunny it's raining, heavily, but it's still hot.  It was winter in NZ when I went, and I had packed jeans, trousers, jackets and so on.  Of course I never wore any of them, except on the plane (see earlier post about jeans).

Also, when you are in hospital you are naked except for a gown so you really don't need any clothing for that time either.

Buy a plastic container to hold everything for dilation

You will be given everything you need for dilation, including a small mirror, and a bag to put it all in, but I bought a small container 230mm l x 150mm w x 140mm h with a click lid that I can use to hold everything.  I got it at the nearby Big C shopping centre and it was a only a few NZD$, it doubles as a container to wash the dilators in when done (I use a few drops of dishwashing liquid add hot water, and stand them up to dry).

Sanitary Pads

I used liners to catch any discharge.  I used to use Tena liners in NZ pre-op to assist with tucking and took some of these with me, and soon ran out.  Thai liners are very small, I risked then disappearing inside me! On the other hand the thicker sanitary pads are like nappies.  Take a smakk supply, maybe a pack of 30 liners.

Period Briefs

I was getting irritated and chafed by the liners so purchased some period underwear.  I bought some at KMart, they were relatively thin and did a good job.  There are another types that look nicer and have a thicker gusset.  I wasn't bleeding as such, just a bit weepy, so didn't need to absorb a lot of fluid so for me the thinner ones were best.

These were comfortable

Medihoney Wound Gel

This product is very sticky but helped my healing, particularly near the entrance to the vagina, which was rubbed raw by wearing tight pants and liners. It's amazing, I didn't use it inside as I didn't want that area to heal up too quickly (or close up!)