1. Bring along a family member or close friend to the pre-op appointment.  Regardless of whether you think you're going to be OK, you need a second pair of eyes and ears.  If you don't have anybody close by who can accompany you in person, consider this next tip---
2. Bring a tape recorder to your office visit. This may seem intrusive, but, trust me, it can be very helpful to play back the conversation with your doctor after your visit.  It will refresh your memory and if you have questions, you have time to get them addressed before the surgery.   
3. Use the internet.  Yes, while the internet is full of half-baked hokum and untested snake oil, there is also still plenty of credible health information available.  It is a missed opportunity not to get on-line and tap into it.  Just make sure you go to reputable sites that are not covertly sponsored by pharmaceutical companies or other nefariously minded for-profit groups.  
4. Ask healthcare workers to wash their hands before they touch you or any critical site like a wound dressing, drainage tube, or catheter.  Or, if you are more comfortable, try thanking them in advance, as they approach you, as a polite reminder.   
5. After the surgery or procedure, ask the doctor for a copy of the operative note for your own records.  If there were diagnostic images taken like a CT scan or MRI, get those images on a CD that you can file away with your paper records. (Don't try to actually look at the CD as you are likely to damage the files.) So you are not frightened by the language used in the operative report, suggest to your surgeon that you'd like to review it at your post-op visit.
6. Make sure you understand your discharge and your post-op instructions.  My discharge papers listed two different narcotics that were supposed to have been prescribed. It also listed my anesthesia as 'general' which was wrong.  My post-op instructions were illegible and confusing. I did end up calling the surgeon's office a few days later to confirm what I was supposed to be doing and not doing--like driving.
7. When your surgeon tells you to not do something, it's probably because you're not supposed to do it. Likewise, if you're told to do something, best to pay attention.  Listen to the professionals.  I can tell you that an ice bag to an operative site does help with swelling and pain.
8. Be honest with yourself, it will take time for your body to recover from surgery.  As a friend gently reminded me, "It's not like you're 18."  Be mindful that recovery takes time and every one is different.  
9. Lastly, don't set the bar too high. As my surgeon said to me at my post-op visit, "You're not a lousy patient. You showed up on time for your surgery, you did well intra-op, and you didn't bug me after for extra narcotics."  To which I responded, "Geez, nothing like setting the bar too high."  So, take it one day at a time and pretty soon, you'll be back to yourself before you know it!   

And to all my "support team," thank you!