July 2015 Surgeries

[excitedbutnervous]

How are we all today?

I start my pre-op diet (see other thread for details http://www.wlsurgery.com/pre-op-diaries/159805-fat-fit-sleeve-diary-2.html#post2848937). I am excited, spoke to my best friend yesterday and she is super supportive. Worried of course about the risks, but accepts that this is something that I need to do as I have tried just about everything else.

I am also now counting down the days... 17 to go

 

[Toddshar35]

How are we all today? I start my pre-op diet (see other thread for details http://www.wlsurgery.com/pre-op-diaries/159805-fat-fit-sleeve-diary-2.html#post2848937). I am excited, spoke to my best friend yesterday and she is super supportive. Worried of course about the risks, but accepts that this is something that I need to do as I have tried just about everything else. I am also now counting down the days... 17 to go

Hi them 17 days will fly by I've got my surgery tomorrow and I'm full of mixed emotions, good luck with your pre op diet and that's great your best friend is super supportive, mine is to just she lives 3 hours away x

 

[violetangel]

Hi All Just want to wish you the best of luck. This time last year I was on LSD ready for my operation in July 2014. Enjoy your journeys xx

Thanks Sophiapink xx

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[stringbean]

Hi them 17 days will fly by I've got my surgery tomorrow and I'm full of mixed emotions, good luck with your pre op diet and that's great your best friend is super supportive, mine is to just she lives 3 hours away x

Good luck tomorrow.

 

[janet_hi]

Hi Toddshar35,
Good luck with your surgery tomorrow, your next on the losers bench x

 

[violetangel]

Hi them 17 days will fly by I've got my surgery tomorrow and I'm full of mixed emotions, good luck with your pre op diet and that's great your best friend is super supportive, mine is to just she lives 3 hours away x

All the best Toddshar35

We are all behind you and wishing you all the very best xx

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[Cagh]

Started my 4 pints of milk and 2 pints of water diet on Saturday! Op on 18th July in QA Hospital, Portsmouth. Mine says no food ie no yoghurt like other people seem to be allowed. Gutted I love yoghurt but not a fan of milk! No caffeine,no food is pretty hard going but I'm determined not to crack!!!

 

[violetangel]

Started my 4 pints of milk and 2 pints of water diet on Saturday! Op on 18th July in QA Hospital, Portsmouth. Mine says no food ie no yoghurt like other people seem to be allowed. Gutted I love yoghurt but not a fan of milk! No caffeine,no food is pretty hard going but I'm determined not to crack!!!

Yes the pre op diet really varies depending on the provider. Some hospitals don't even require one. I'm just looking at it as a kick start to my weight loss journey.

I am finding my pre op quite difficult but I'm sticking to it religiously. I feel quite pleased with myself as I do feel slimmer already.

Wishing you lots of luck for pre op and all the best for your op.

You can do it!!!!

Xxx

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[Cagh]

I actually feel pretty good overall. Just hard cooking for kids and hubby. Nibble my daughter's toast every day, have to keep reminding myself to step away!!! The constant need to wee driving me bonkers!

 

[excitedbutnervous]

Tiddshar35 good luck today. Let us know how it went

 

[Toddshar35]

Tiddshar35 good luck today. Let us know how it went

Thank you there is 6 of us waiting and I'm near the end so got a long day ahead of myself. I've seen dietitian and Mr super and had to do pregnancy test as I'm under 55 it was negative which is a good thing. Mr Super told me it's not that bad and I could be back at work Sunday night as he expects me to be walking quite far Friday I don't know if he was taking mick as he was so serious.

 

[n1kkx]

Saying Hi..

Hi everyone

I hope you don't mind if I join you Ladies on this thread (I haven't seen any other men?). I had my op, (revision from band to MGB) on July 3rd and have just arrived back home from Belgium this afternoon.

I hope everything all goes well for you all, as it has for me so far

Nick

 

[stringbean]

Hi everyone

I hope you don't mind if I join you Ladies on this thread (I haven't seen any other men?). I had my op, (revision from band to MGB) on July 3rd and have just arrived back home from Belgium this afternoon.

I hope everything all goes well for you all, as it has for me so far

Nick

Welcome nick glad to hear everything went went well.

 

[excitedbutnervous]

How's it going Nick, and yes all are welcome.

 

[janet_hi]

Hi NiKK
Welcome and congrats on your surgery, how have you been feeling since your surgery?

 

[n1kkx]

So far so good

Thanks for the welcomes.

So far it is going well with my biggest issue not really being about the bypass itself, more of that later.

After the op I obviously felt weak and tired, with the obvious soreness particularly where the drain had been removed, but every day I have felt a little stronger and less sore.

I hate the heparin (or is it wolferin?) injections that I'm now having to give myself but I will probably stop those going forward because I am out of bed and walking freely and easily. I only have two more to go and I intend to walk the dog at least 3 or 4 times tomorrow (only 30 mins each time) to make sure I stay mobile and aren't at risk from blood clots.

I also have to change my dressings tomorrow so that will be interesting. I'm also not clear what, if anything I need to do about the stitches. My surgeon said nothing but this morning as I was leaving another lady who had the same op as me was talking about going to her doctors next week to get them removed...I just assumed they were dis-solvable ones, so I will have to email the surgeon and get that cleared up.

What's keeping me awake at night, (it's 2:30 in the morning as I write this), is my arm which is nothing to do with the by pass surgery. I do still have some slight soreness in both shoulders from the gas they pump into you but that's easily bearable and not intrusive. My issue is that I woke up a few days before surgery with a really bad shoulder ache that later traveled down my right arm and now seems to be effecting my hand too. Two trips to the doctors last week and a last minute appointment with the orthopedic consultant for a cortison injection and I hoped that it was under control. I carried on with the Co-codamol and Nurofen combination up until my surgery to control the pain and of course once I was under anesthetic and afterwards it has been OK. Not gone but OK.

However, now that all of the meds have finished and worn off the pain is back with a vengeance so I need to start the Co-codamol again...problem is they are big capsules so how to take them? I did suspect this might happen so I asked the surgeon before I left and he said to take the capsule apart and take the contents with a teaspoon of yogurt which is what I've just done. Although it took the whole yogurt pot not just a teaspoon and that stuff inside the capsule tastes vile! So back to the doctors tomorrow to try and get the soluble version, and back to the consultant secretary to try and get an earlier follow up appointment as this obviously isn't going to be as easy to shift as I had hoped. Anyway the good news is that in the 40 minutes since I took the Co-codamol I can now feel some relief to the pain, so I'm going to go back to bed soon and see if I can get back to sleep.

 

[excitedbutnervous]

Hi Nick

Good plan to return to the docs , hopefully they will sort your arm out. Any idea what has caused it?

In regards to your op I hope things continue smoothly. I assume you were self-funded as you went abroad, how was that for you ... Tbh I wish I was brave enough to go outside the UK, but I'm not so have to pay the massive UK cost

Keep us posted on your journey to skinny hood.

 

[n1kkx]

Hi Nick

Good plan to return to the docs , hopefully they will sort your arm out. Any idea what has caused it?

In regards to your op I hope things continue smoothly. I assume you were self-funded as you went abroad, how was that for you ... Tbh I wish I was brave enough to go outside the UK, but I'm not so have to pay the massive UK cost

Keep us posted on your journey to skinny hood.

A couple of days DIY at my mother in laws new place seems to have set it off although I had a day inbetween where I just drove for 14 hours so Im still not 100% sure that was the reason...seems strange that it would take 48 hours to kick in. Anyway I'm now trying to get an earlier appointment.

I went to Brussels to Dr Chris because I have been there before for my band and he has probably done more of the Mini Gastric Band than anyone else. If there was someone in the UK with his experience in this particular type of bypass then I would have gone there but when I looked I couldnt find anyone, and as you say it is cheaper there and I already knew him and the setup it was OK. Of course there is the risk that once out of the hospital if you have any complications then you are initially in the hands of the Belgium Health system, but with the specialist 'on the doorstep' I would hope this wouldnt be too much of an issue. If I have any urgent problems from here on in then I dont know how the good old NHS will react but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. My local GP surgery have been generally supportive so that's good news.

Good luck with the sleeve. Im told its much like the band but without one or two of the band side effects. My band was great initially and I lost over 125lbs with it over about 3 years, but the fills and the reflux got to me in the end and I started to get all sorts of problems hence the revision. I do know many people are very happy with just restrictive surgery and it is still working very well for them.

 

[weegie]

@ Nick

My discharge sheet from Dr Chris says the stitches are to be cut at the skin after 10 to 12 days. Its about half way down the page. The nurse at my GP practice did this for me.

My GP gave me soluble CoCodamol before my surgery for my knee/hip pain, as you know Nurofen and other NSAIDs are out of the question for us bypassers.

Hope the shoulder/arm pain passes quickly for you. It seems as you are doing really well otherwise.

AFAIK MGBs are only done at Sunderland and at Southampton. Dr Van Den Bossche is a very experienced Belgian surgeon operating out of Southampton, both NHS and private. I am not sure the name of the surgeons doing this at Sunderland but we do have people on here who have had MGBs there. It would have been juts as messy me going to Southampton as Brussels and then Dr VDB would probably have charged for band removal as well as the bypass and maybe even done two ops.
No brainer for me. You may find people referring to this op as a OAGB or a Loop bypass.

Take care x

 

[n1kkx]

@ Nick

My discharge sheet from Dr Chris says the stitches are to be cut at the skin after 10 to 12 days. Its about half way down the page. The nurse at my GP practice did this for me.

My GP gave me soluble CoCodamol before my surgery for my knee/hip pain, as you know Nurofen and other NSAIDs are out of the question for us bypassers.

Hope the shoulder/arm pain passes quickly for you. It seems as you are doing really well otherwise.

AFAIK MGBs are only done at Sunderland and at Southampton. Dr Van Den Bossche is a very experienced Belgian surgeon operating out of Southampton, both NHS and private. I am not sure the name of the surgeons doing this at Sunderland but we do have people on here who have had MGBs there. It would have been juts as messy me going to Southampton as Brussels and then Dr VDB would probably have charged for band removal as well as the bypass and maybe even done two ops.
No brainer for me. You may find people referring to this op as a OAGB or a Loop bypass.

Take care x

Thanks Chrissy

It's great that you are here to watch me! I must start reading everything they give me properly! Yes I see it now and I'll get that set up, although I am in California next week so its going to be a bit longer than the 12 days unless I find somewhere there to do it. I'll check with Bart or Fredrick about the issues, if any, of leaving it until 17 days afterwards.

Also I had forgotten that about Nurofen etc, although I dont see that in the pre op or post op notes now I have read them again. Thanks again as that could have caused me all sorts of problems in the future I expect.

Nick