My WGA Band From Start To Finish (Long)

[honey-dd]

Well I’m finally doing this feeling a little better except tired and a pulling stinging feeling in left hand side of tummy some wind and uncomfortable lower tummy .

Anyway

From start to finish Sorry this is long lol
I got a last minute op as got call to make sure all details were correct the day before consultation and I asked when was the soonest I could be banded?. Was told it would be end oct but they had one left for the following wed (6 days later ) so after some thought I booked it.

Went to consultation to be greeted by some moody unsmiling person at reception(Nottingham) who did not bother to tell me that there was a delay .The coordinator was in a room with door open talking to another person(who was banded on same day as me ) so we could hear it all !.Then after an hour and a half of still sitting there another two people had arrived receptionist had left and coordinator came out finally!, and spoke to the other women to tell them surgeon was late as he was stuck on the motorway (but did not tell me and my husband who had been there ages!!)

Went in for half the consultation to find her very rushed and keen to talk about herself only!! not much else ,surgeon turned up who was very rushed but lovely and did a group consultation, then 5 minutes each with him to sign forms .He was lovely can’t fault him although did not like the group thing and I don’t think the other two women that were there did either could see his point that if he did not do it due to the three hour wait we would be very late getting home. So all in all surgeon lovely people that work for WGA, the hospital group, very bad also asked for some band info that I should of had to be sent to me she said she would personally send it !!.

The following Monday rang up coordinator as forgot to tell them my family react badly to anaesthetics and again ask for info on band, to be told that she had just booked another patient in for the same wed (but the week before there had only been my place left lol!!Selling tactics I knew but she was bad at it lol) and again promised she would personally send info to me.

 

[honey-dd]

Wed 24th day of op
Travelled to Dolan park to be there at 7 to find a very full reception area and not how I expected it but not their fault as there had been flash floods but we were all sat waiting for ages all having our blood tests done in a room of reception by a lovely doctor very gentle and saw allot of him from then on lol there was not enough seats so at one point me and husband had to stand at the same time there were patients being collected to go home ,receptionists very nice doctor very nice only complaint not enough seats lol.

An hour and half later after nurses coming and collecting us to go to our room I finally get called to be shown to my room ,the hospital is lovely and clean smells nice and very quiet ,the nurse that fetched me was nice but don’t think he liked his job lol .The room was lovely and big with wardrobe and en suite shower room very clean I was on top floor just next to the nurses’ station ,was told that they would tell me were I was on list as soon as everyone was sorted and that I needed to have a shower and change in to gown and do a sample. And I asked for info on band as id still not had it (although coordinator had personally told me she would send it).

A little while later a nurse came in to fill out all the info they needed and was told I would be done at 5!! (Was told by coordinator 12!!) was not too fussed ,then the anaesthetist came to see me who I again told we had a family legacy of not reacting well to anaesthetics he told me he would sort that out !.The room was very very hot so I had windows open and the door open a little but I still ended up with a raging headache and the surgeon again lol was late he turned up at 1.30 and asked me to sign forms and was very nice still happy with him just like nurses say he works on another time frame. Asked for pain killers for head was told I could have some as id been allowed water until two this was 1.45 !I asked nurse who said they would sort it for me but by 5 still nothing so when 5 came and I had not been taken down. We asked for some and when I would get my op to be told it would be about seven as the surgeon had been late and she had asked someone to sort out pain relief and was very annoyed id not had any so went and sorted me an injection out as I was no longer allowed water.

7 came and 15 minutes later my nurse came to fetch me ,I said goodbye to my husband and walked in to the first part of the operating theatre and at this point became very scared and started crying as id never had an op and was so so scared ,Was put at ease and followed someone in to operating theatre and he undid back of dress and told to lie on the bed ,while we had a small discussion with the nurse on the choice of music he had lol .Then got more scared as he strapped my arm down and out of nowhere the anaesthetist came in and told me I would feel a scratch and that was the IV put in he did not tell me he was putting anything in I remember talking to their man about my job and then having my top moved from behind my neck and being told he was going to put a mask on me ....

Next thing I’m waking up on my bed listening to people talking about the next person on the list being postponed till the next morning and feeling miffed as I had been having a good sleep .Was asked if I was in any pain was in non talked to him for a bit about his tattoo lol and then was wealed back to my room only remember getting to my room and feeling upset as my husband was not there yet! (He came five minutes later)

Nurses then took over and I can honestly say there care was second to non. I had half hour obs from then to seven in the morning and was comfortable enough to sleep except for the heat and being woken by blood pressure machine and nurses lol but I had pain relief on and off threw the night and the nurses were again absolutely lovely.

Before my husband left the anaesthetist came in and said to tell my family I’m an exception(ohh how wrong he was lol) and bariatric nurse came to see me, luckily my husband was there as I remember very little of her visit lol.

Came to 6.30 and after having two lots of fluid given me I was desperate for the loo so the nurse helped me get up that was ok, walking was ok, but sitting on the loo and the rest was agony!!, felt like something was ripping. I got up eventually and got to the door for the nurses to rush to me as I was blacking out managed to get on bed but was at very verge of passing out .My husband came half hour later to find me in agony and in between fainting and crying as I was in so much pain and felt so ill ,he was taken back as he had left me the night before and id been fine !.
Well you’re usually discharged at 7 in morning but I was there till four in the afternoon as I needed strong pain killers and a glucose drip by dinner. And was still in and out of passing out ,so at four the woman that had been postponed was walking around and asked my husband if I was ok and that really peed me off as could not understand why she had op 5 hours before and was up and fine and I was sooo ill lol.

 

[honey-dd]

That leads me to coming home they gave me a suppository as could not have any more injections as id have to wait for that, and they would of happily had me in another night but I wanted to come home. So like I said the care was second to none there was a few nurses that stand out but the main one was Betty the ward sister ,she even had a go at one of the nurses for interrupting her as a doctor wanted something as I came first her exact words were “my patient comes first not anyone else” .need more like her on nhs!!!! And they were concerned as they had not seen anyone have the reaction id had in the time they had been doing this type of surgery so I had to be the one in thousands as they said lol

I’m now 3 days past op and tired and still sore and I hurt most on my left side but no were near as bad as the day after or yesterday I’m taking things slowly and being pampered lol

My only complaint is coordinator who loved herself too much and I still don’t have the info she said she would personally send (luckily nurse at hospital gave it me) I think that WGA and the hospital group are given a bad name but I can see why but I want to state that the hospital the nurses and surgeons were first class it the paper pushers who are not up to scratch!!
I’m also three days past op and I got my apt for my x-ray and phone discharge so although I’ve heard people have had to wait and pester them for the apt iv not had to. So overall id go back with the same hospital (of which I will be doing in the future) and would recommend it as long as you expect the hospital to do their job first class and the rest to not be up to standard but you still get good treatment

Sorry this is long but wanted others to see what happens that go with the hospital group or WGA,and if this helps one person ill be happy

 

[shelbell]

Great read Honey, thanks for sharing!

 

[hopelesscase]

Great read and good insight but still glad im going NHS. The care i have recieved so far and in the past far outweigh having a nice room and onsuite bathroom. I went private when i had my gallbladder removed due to being in Bupa at work. Cant fault anything that they did but what you describe sounds to cattle market. In, done, Out. I know they offered you the extra night but i would of been walking when i met the coordinater at the end of the day she is front of house, the fact that she had the door open whilst doing a consultation with another patient was unproffessional but luckly for you the rest of yr experiance was good.
Hope you recover well
take care
HC

 

[e.green69]

wow honey i enjoyed reading that
takecare emma

 

[Silversurfer]

well done Honey and welcome to the losing side, sounds like you had a bit of an epic in more than one way, but at least your on the right side of the op now and can focus on the losing to come. Good luck and i think the best advise anyone gave me was to take things easy and slowly, and even when your feeling fine and fighting fit your body will still be healing itself inside.

Richard

 

[honey-dd]

Great read and good insight but still glad im going NHS. The care i have recieved so far and in the past far outweigh having a nice room and onsuite bathroom. I went private when i had my gallbladder removed due to being in Bupa at work. Cant fault anything that they did but what you describe sounds to cattle market. In, done, Out. I know they offered you the extra night but i would of been walking when i met the coordinater at the end of the day she is front of house, the fact that she had the door open whilst doing a consultation with another patient was unproffessional but luckly for you the rest of yr experiance was good.
Hope you recover well
take care
HC

so lucky you can go NHS then isn't it ,not many of us have that choice!.so im glad you had it .

and id still go with WGA over anyone else as its the surgeon i was intrested in and the hospital not the paper pushers,and so far my after care has been great ,and i did not chose them because of there en suite and nice room .but its what you get

maybe my reply may come across as rude but like i said not everyone gets the choice of NHS

 

[charliegirl]

Thanks for posting it made interesting reading. I think you can get good and bad in both the NHS and private and I think its just a case of the luck of the draw. I would not favour one over the other its what happens at the time that gives us our impressions. It only takes one person ie the co-ordinator to marr any event. I find it very interesting at how everyones experience differs, we are all different and no two experiences can be the same. I am so glad your done and dusted now and look forward to following your progress.....great post honey....Linda x

 

[claireydingdongbell]

Sorry this is long but wanted others to see what happens that go with the hospital group or WGA,and if this helps one person ill be happy

Thank you - I am that one person and very grateful for your frank and honest account xxx

 

[baby jayne]

Hi Honey

So glad you are recovering well. Goodluck with the rest of your weight loss. xxx

 

[Skip]

WOW!! you are right it was a long diary! but great reading

Can I ask you exactly what you ate pre and post and if did you use any books or dvd's that I can buy? I have looked on the net but not sure where to start?

Any ideas?

How much have you lost? who was your doctor and coordinator?

Looking forward to hearing from you shortly.

Cheers xx

 

[djbp98]

Onwards and upwards. Welcome to a skinny 2009!! x

 

[honey-dd]

Onwards and upwards. Welcome to a skinny 2009!! x

Thank you but look at the date on my first post lol. iv been banded ages now .im suprised to see this back on front page over the last few days

 

[honey-dd]

WOW!! you are right it was a long diary! but great reading

Can I ask you exactly what you ate pre and post and if did you use any books or dvd's that I can buy? I have looked on the net but not sure where to start?

Any ideas?

How much have you lost? who was your doctor and coordinator?

Looking forward to hearing from you shortly.

Cheers xx

Long but wanted to put everything down lol in the hope it will help somone

pre op there was nothing but confusion im not sure if i put it on here but if you re search my posts i tell all somewhere .i just did low call lost 7lbs i believe .

Amazon have books for banders you just have to search for them but can come in handy

not lost anything gained all pre op and post op weight and more over Xmas but hey ho iv not had any fills and waiting on my first (and thats a whole other story lol)

Think iv posted this before but Mr sigurdson was surgion, and sally was coordinator

hope this has helped

 

[honey-dd]

Thank you - I am that one person and very grateful for your frank and honest account xxx

ohh bless you thanks ,i hope its not put you off but just given you a frank post on how it went from day one ,xx

 

[honey-dd]

Hi Honey

So glad you are recovering well. Goodluck with the rest of your weight loss. xxx

i recovered a long time ago thank you for the good luck i need it

 

[shelbell]

Hi Honey

Blame me for the resurection, (this one, not the religious one), think i linked the thread into another one on WGA/Dolan Park.

Hope you're not feeling bad about putting the weight back on. You know that right now you're in no better position than before you had the surgery, as the band isn't doing anything. So if you, like all of us, couldn't lose the weight any other way then you aren't going to lose any with an empty band As soon as you get your fills sorted you'll be off and running.

Let us know how things are going with the pub when you get a chance,

Shel x

 

[Skip]

Long but wanted to put everything down lol in the hope it will help somone

pre op there was nothing but confusion im not sure if i put it on here but if you re search my posts i tell all somewhere .i just did low call lost 7lbs i believe .

Amazon have books for banders you just have to search for them but can come in handy

not lost anything gained all pre op and post op weight and more over Xmas but hey ho iv not had any fills and waiting on my first (and thats a whole other story lol)

Think iv posted this before but Mr sigurdson was surgion, and sally was coordinator

hope this has helped

Hi
I think i remember Mr Super mentioning that it is likely that some weight may be gained immediately after the band is inserted... when is your first band fill? I bet you cant wait!

I met sally in June 08 and then I met with her area manager (Judith), Judith was fab!!

Good luck on your journey!

Skip x

 

[honey-dd]

Hi
I think i remember Mr Super mentioning that it is likely that some weight may be gained immediately after the band is inserted... when is your first band fill? I bet you cant wait!

I met sally in June 08 and then I met with her area manager (Judith), Judith was fab!!

Good luck on your journey!

Skip x

I had my band last sept this thread is very old ,so no weight was gained immediately after i lost weight but iv had so long since and no restriction iv gained weight .