stefletcher28
New Member
Hi All
I had my Gastric Band fitted yesterday at Dolan Park and I just thought I'd share my experiences so that it may help someone, as I know that information I have found on the site has really taught me a lot about what to expect.
So my operation date was Sunday 30th June.
On the Friday before I had a phone call from the hospital just telling me that I needed to be there for 7am and not to eat anything after Midnight on Saturday and not to drink after 5am on the Sunday. (Not a great problem as on the Milk Diet you don't "eat" anything anyway! lol) I then had a call from the Head Dietician who talked me through various things, but I've learnt so much on here and from watching Paul O'Briens 8 Golden Rules that I had pretty much heard it all already, he seemed impressed that I was quite well read about it which was pleasing.
I arrived at the hospital (although its like a really nice hotel) at 7am on Sunday and was told I would need my bloods doing again. This was done quite promptly by the ward doctor.
I then had to wait for a room to become available while the previous days patients were being discharged, probably waited half an hour then got taken through by a very friendly nurse who immediately put me at ease.
No sooner had I entered the room than the anaesthetist knocked the door to talk to me about the procedure, explained what they were going to do and again, was really very nice indeed, very smiley.
I asked him about having Emla on the back of my hand but he said the needle he used was very small and I shouldn't need it and really it wouldn't make that much difference anyway.
The nurse asked whether I'd already showered, which I had, so I didn't need to have another shower there, which surprised me. She said as long as I hadn't put any body lotion or anything then it would be fine. I'd put some deodorant on but she said this would be ok. She left me with a bottle for a urine sample and the paper pants/hat etc. I had taken some 100% cotton pants which they said were ok to wear instead. They did get covered in iodine during the op though so they've gone straight in the bin.
I was told I was first on the list to go in as I was a day case so wouldn't be stopping over.
Mr Sigurdsson then came in and I signed the final consent forms.
There are loads of questions they ask you over and over again at various stages which I suppose just covers there back. Things such as name, date of birth, whether you have any loose teeth/dentures/ crowns etc./ any jewellery.
I managed to produce a sample and then got changed into an ample and surprisingly well covering gown (it came all the way round at the back and ties at the side so there was no flashing going on.)
The nurse then measured me up for the surgical stockings and brought me them to put on, they weren't as tight as I expected so not difficult to put on.
Pretty much straight after that they came to walk me through to theatre. Glad I brought some slippers with me for this!
I met up with the first theatre nurse, a man, who was very nice, went through the same questions and he then took me into the theatre, there were 3 more nurses and the anaesthetist in there waiting. I lay down on the bed and they started to prep me.
The anaesthetist started to put the canular into the back of my hand, (this is the bit I was dreading the most really) it was a bit sharp but not as bad as I was expecting, he said I had wobbly veins but he eventually managed to get it sorted. They then put the oxygen mask on my face and started asking about my recent holiday.
Then......
I woke up in the recovery room, it was all done and quite frankly I was amazed. I haven't had a general anaesthetic since being a young child and it was like I closed my eyes for a second but in reality 30 minutes passed. I was so thrilled about it and the fact that there was virtually no pain I started singing in the recovery room, just to check my pipes still worked for a concert I'm singing in in a couple of weeks! lol
The recovery staff, in hindsight, looked at me like I was a nutter, but frankly I didn't care! It was done!
They wheeled me back to my room as I was on a high, saying hello to everyone as they went past.
The OH who was waiting patiently, probably not knowing what sort of state to expect me back in was shocked to say the least, We had a really good chat, I spoke to my parents on the phone to let them know I was ok then switched the telly on to see what was on! lol
This was then pretty much it for the rest of the day, after getting into my room at about 8.30, I was back there post-op by about 10am. The nurses brought me a jug of water to sip and after a while I nodded off a little, but mainly due to the poor nights sleep the night before and the early start I think. The box that my band came in was left in my room, I had a large 14ml band with 3ml put in during surgery.
They came back in about every half an hour or so to check blood pressure and to see that I was drinking the water, although I was on an IV drip as well to keep me hydrated.
This carried on till about 3pm when they asked me if I'd like a cup a soup. I had a tomato one, it was the nicest tasting thing I've ever had!!! lol
The wind pain got a bit annoying after a while, but moving around definitely helps, I have more wounds than I thought I'd have, about 7 in total, but they're not large and I reckon they'll pretty much disappear quite easily. A couple of them are more sore than the others, the larger one where the camera goes in and the port one.
It got to around 5.30pm and I was getting bored, I felt fine, was walking round, drinking was no problem, no nausea, no tightness or anything. So I had a walk up the corridor to see the nurses about going home. Just as I get up there Mr Sigurdsson came in, went with me straight to my room and said there were no problems, I can go, just follow the rules and I'd be fine.
Once I'd got my discharge pack, some documentation and a bottle of liquid paracetemol (no self injecting clexane Yay!)
We were then out of there, said thanks to the nurses for looking after me and that was it. The journey back home was fine, stopped at the shop for some cup a soups where I went in myself and got some cash.
Got back home and unpacked then the in laws came round for a pizza supper while I had a lovely chicken cup a soup! Yum!
The first night wasn't overly pleasant, the trapped wind feels worse at night and so I went down stairs with a big superking duvet and got my self into a comfortable position without having to disturb the OH. Managed to get a few hours, But I'm off work for the next 2 days at least so will no doubt cat nap (surrounded by our 3 cats) for most of the day.
Its not even 12pm and I don't know how much more of Homes Under the Hammer I can take! lol
Anyway, that's my ramblings about my experience. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask, overall the treatment at Dolan Park was very good, cannot fault it and after previous NHS experiences was like a different planet!
The whole experience has been a thousand times better than I expected, maybe I was lucky or maybe I've got a high pain threshold, I don't know. But I hope I can put some peoples minds at rest that sometimes things just all go well and the procedure, while not a stroll in the park, is not as bad as you might imagine!
I had my Gastric Band fitted yesterday at Dolan Park and I just thought I'd share my experiences so that it may help someone, as I know that information I have found on the site has really taught me a lot about what to expect.
So my operation date was Sunday 30th June.
On the Friday before I had a phone call from the hospital just telling me that I needed to be there for 7am and not to eat anything after Midnight on Saturday and not to drink after 5am on the Sunday. (Not a great problem as on the Milk Diet you don't "eat" anything anyway! lol) I then had a call from the Head Dietician who talked me through various things, but I've learnt so much on here and from watching Paul O'Briens 8 Golden Rules that I had pretty much heard it all already, he seemed impressed that I was quite well read about it which was pleasing.
I arrived at the hospital (although its like a really nice hotel) at 7am on Sunday and was told I would need my bloods doing again. This was done quite promptly by the ward doctor.
I then had to wait for a room to become available while the previous days patients were being discharged, probably waited half an hour then got taken through by a very friendly nurse who immediately put me at ease.
No sooner had I entered the room than the anaesthetist knocked the door to talk to me about the procedure, explained what they were going to do and again, was really very nice indeed, very smiley.
I asked him about having Emla on the back of my hand but he said the needle he used was very small and I shouldn't need it and really it wouldn't make that much difference anyway.The nurse asked whether I'd already showered, which I had, so I didn't need to have another shower there, which surprised me. She said as long as I hadn't put any body lotion or anything then it would be fine. I'd put some deodorant on but she said this would be ok. She left me with a bottle for a urine sample and the paper pants/hat etc. I had taken some 100% cotton pants which they said were ok to wear instead. They did get covered in iodine during the op though so they've gone straight in the bin.
I was told I was first on the list to go in as I was a day case so wouldn't be stopping over.
Mr Sigurdsson then came in and I signed the final consent forms.
There are loads of questions they ask you over and over again at various stages which I suppose just covers there back. Things such as name, date of birth, whether you have any loose teeth/dentures/ crowns etc./ any jewellery.
I managed to produce a sample and then got changed into an ample and surprisingly well covering gown (it came all the way round at the back and ties at the side so there was no flashing going on.)
The nurse then measured me up for the surgical stockings and brought me them to put on, they weren't as tight as I expected so not difficult to put on.
Pretty much straight after that they came to walk me through to theatre. Glad I brought some slippers with me for this!
I met up with the first theatre nurse, a man, who was very nice, went through the same questions and he then took me into the theatre, there were 3 more nurses and the anaesthetist in there waiting. I lay down on the bed and they started to prep me.
The anaesthetist started to put the canular into the back of my hand, (this is the bit I was dreading the most really) it was a bit sharp but not as bad as I was expecting, he said I had wobbly veins but he eventually managed to get it sorted. They then put the oxygen mask on my face and started asking about my recent holiday.
Then......
I woke up in the recovery room, it was all done and quite frankly I was amazed. I haven't had a general anaesthetic since being a young child and it was like I closed my eyes for a second but in reality 30 minutes passed. I was so thrilled about it and the fact that there was virtually no pain I started singing in the recovery room, just to check my pipes still worked for a concert I'm singing in in a couple of weeks! lol
The recovery staff, in hindsight, looked at me like I was a nutter, but frankly I didn't care! It was done!
They wheeled me back to my room as I was on a high, saying hello to everyone as they went past.
The OH who was waiting patiently, probably not knowing what sort of state to expect me back in was shocked to say the least, We had a really good chat, I spoke to my parents on the phone to let them know I was ok then switched the telly on to see what was on! lol
This was then pretty much it for the rest of the day, after getting into my room at about 8.30, I was back there post-op by about 10am. The nurses brought me a jug of water to sip and after a while I nodded off a little, but mainly due to the poor nights sleep the night before and the early start I think. The box that my band came in was left in my room, I had a large 14ml band with 3ml put in during surgery.
They came back in about every half an hour or so to check blood pressure and to see that I was drinking the water, although I was on an IV drip as well to keep me hydrated.
This carried on till about 3pm when they asked me if I'd like a cup a soup. I had a tomato one, it was the nicest tasting thing I've ever had!!! lol
The wind pain got a bit annoying after a while, but moving around definitely helps, I have more wounds than I thought I'd have, about 7 in total, but they're not large and I reckon they'll pretty much disappear quite easily. A couple of them are more sore than the others, the larger one where the camera goes in and the port one.
It got to around 5.30pm and I was getting bored, I felt fine, was walking round, drinking was no problem, no nausea, no tightness or anything. So I had a walk up the corridor to see the nurses about going home. Just as I get up there Mr Sigurdsson came in, went with me straight to my room and said there were no problems, I can go, just follow the rules and I'd be fine.
Once I'd got my discharge pack, some documentation and a bottle of liquid paracetemol (no self injecting clexane Yay!)
We were then out of there, said thanks to the nurses for looking after me and that was it. The journey back home was fine, stopped at the shop for some cup a soups where I went in myself and got some cash.
Got back home and unpacked then the in laws came round for a pizza supper while I had a lovely chicken cup a soup! Yum!
The first night wasn't overly pleasant, the trapped wind feels worse at night and so I went down stairs with a big superking duvet and got my self into a comfortable position without having to disturb the OH. Managed to get a few hours, But I'm off work for the next 2 days at least so will no doubt cat nap (surrounded by our 3 cats) for most of the day.
Its not even 12pm and I don't know how much more of Homes Under the Hammer I can take! lol
Anyway, that's my ramblings about my experience. If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask, overall the treatment at Dolan Park was very good, cannot fault it and after previous NHS experiences was like a different planet!
The whole experience has been a thousand times better than I expected, maybe I was lucky or maybe I've got a high pain threshold, I don't know. But I hope I can put some peoples minds at rest that sometimes things just all go well and the procedure, while not a stroll in the park, is not as bad as you might imagine!
