Home from hospital!

I got back last night. Lance asked the black cab driver to drive extra slow as I had just had surgery, and he was a gem. Drove so gently and slowly round the bends etc. Was a difficult journey but the easiest I could have had I think.

I cannot shower as I had an allergic reaction to the plasters they used, am quite blistered. Lance (bless him) has bathed me, and I've been for a short refreshing walk in the garden. My abdomen feels so weird.

Given myself the anti DVT injection (Enoxaparin Sodium) which stings like hell and makes (yet another) glorious bruise, but it has to be done every day for 2 weeks.

Surgical team were fantastic, ward staff were (mostly) excellent. Had a good night's sleep, hardly slept in the ward, due to pain, and the ward staff are so noisy.

But I had trouble with cannulas. So they had to come out and I had dissolved/injected pain killers. After the first 2 cannulas (one in each wrist) had to come out as they were hurting too much after the first night, they tried to insert another 6 cannulas in different areas, all failed. I have small delicate veins I think. And I bruise so easily. Looks like I've been in a punching match, my arms are so bruised.

I have 6 key hole wounds (they are bigger than we thought they'd be tbh - the shortest is about 2-3 cms long), and a bigger drain wound. That hurt like hell getting out, even though they morphined me prior to taking it out.

Amazing to think it took me 6 months from start to surgery, it took others in the ward at least 1 year to surgery, I was fast tracked for sure. An answer to prayer. W e are delighted that the surgery went okay too... just over 4 hrs in surgery, 5 hours in recovery, 3 days in hospital, not bad for major abdominal surgery! 

I have not taken any painkillers today, am very sore (especially in drain site) and achy, but am bearing it and will try and use painkillers as little as possible.

Hubby has taken some lovely gory pics, will paste them on my blog. He is also cooking me some chicken vegetable soup... with everything in it... chicken, stock, carrots, onions, chickpeas, tomatoes, celery, potato etc. and it is smelling divine! He will strain it for me, as I can only have clear liquid for 2 weeks, then onto pureed for a month, softer foods for a month... then slowly building up to more solid food.


Onwards and upwards, small steps... and in my case... small sips :)

Liquid food diet

Optifast shakes. I bought my supply from the hospital. They are not cheap! But are full of protein and the necessary vits and minerals I need at this stage. I also used them in my pre op stage, the only difference being I mixed them with 200ml water pre surgery, and now I mix them with 200mls skimmed milk, for the added protein and nutrients.

I am on a liquid diet for 2 weeks. Crucially |I need water, protein and vitamins at this stage. I am a great water drinker (hubby calls me a 'reservoir') so this won't ever be a problem. The vitamins are in one multivitamin tablet the hospital gave me.

Slimfast... hmmm. The nutritionist said it has too much sugar in it so not to have it much/at all. The Optifast shakes do not have a coffee flavour and I am not enjoying tea/coffee currently (even my rooibos tea in small doses is unpallatable), so I have one of these shakes throughout the day, every second day or so.

I starined Lance's delicious chicken soup and put it into an ice cube tray. I melt a block as and when I need to. Protein!

The fridge is full of jellies... low fat of course. Cranberry and raspberry are my favourites currently.

My Slim Fast supply.

Lance's yummy chicken soup. He gets to eat the bulk, me only the strained bit sadly... but it does taste good! I'll try and recall all he put into it... chicken, celery, pepper, salt, chicken stock cube, chickpeas, potato, carrot, onion, tomato... cannot think of what else he put in.

Battered and bruised

Apologies for the pics below, but this is my record of my surgery, and this is a good reminder for me of what I have been through on this WLS journey. There are 5 wounds from the lapascopic surgery, and the bigger wound on the left (the 6th wound) not seen in this shot, is from the drain site.

My view from B1, my bed.

Battered and bruised... I had two cannulas in overnight, then they got too small (I have small, delicate veins), they put in another SIX cannulas (IV drips), all of which failed.. hence me being left with very bruised arms.

They gave me this gross tasting blue liquid, which, if there are no leaks in the stomach, make the urine in the catheter green... so.. in this case, green urine was GOOD :)

The bad for the drain, with excess leaking blood.

The drain. This hurt the most. It's cruicial though, as if blood is coming through, then the stomach is not securely closed. In taking this out, I had to be morphined, and it STILL hurt like hell.

Hubby

He has been just marvelous, he's been with me every step of the way, and at the hospital as much as possible. He went back to work 6 days after my surgery. My sis has also been great and visited as much as she could.

First 2 days in hospital

Friday am, first meal. Foul chicken soup (literally made from a chicken stock cube and some salt and pepper), and an equally gross little jelly. Only could manage a few spoons of each.

Putting on a brave face! I believe a lot of one's recovery is mental, so have pushed myself to be positive and as active as possible from the start. I managed a short, slow walk early on Friday am with hubby helping me.

Nights are horrid. Aside from being in pain and away form the comforts of home, putting up with the noist nurse station (which was right next to me), and being awoken to have bloods taken at 2am, and then given painkillers every 6 hours... not an easy time. I have been catching up on sleep since I have been home.

Thursday, after 4.5 hours in surgery, 5 hours in recovery, I was taken to my ward, where my sister immediately took these two flattering shots below!

WLS stats

I will update my weight loss now and again... basically, when I remember!

So...first weight loss stat: 7kgs loss.

Pre op diet, lost 7kgs (surgeon was happy as this makes the liver lighter, easier for him during lapascopic surgery). The diet consisted of Optifast shakes, where you mix the protein shake mix with 200ml water.

Tomorrow morning is surgery, we are both nervous, Lance more than I tbh. Dear lad.

We are having an early night, as we are having an early morning, the cab will come at 6:15am to take us to Chelsea & Westminster Hospital.

Gnite all.

Well, Thursday beckons!

I have to say I am rather nervous, never having had an op before, and me having dodgy lungs for a general anaesthetic, but I do have faith in the surgeon and anaesthetist, they have taken every eventuality into account.

I have lost just over a stone for the surgery... 7kgs. Not as much as I had hoped for but I hope this satisfies the surgeon.
I have so may friends and family praying too, am sure all will be 100% :)

Okay, own up please!

Who's taken my slippers???

I am packing my hospital bag and cannot find them. I have underclothing, facecloth, towel, 2 x PJs, gown, toiletries, a book and meds packed.

As well as charger and earphones for my iPhone when I leave ICU (I can use it in the ward).

What things might I have forgotten to pack? Hmm.

Why WLS?

I have asked myself this often in the run up to the surgery.

My main aim is to alleviate my asthma, and get me off the steroids my body currentlyneeds. The inhalers I use do not do what's needed anymore... so a weaning off period is needed... and the weight loss will enable this to happen.

You get the band, the sleeve and the bypass. The first and third are the most popular, the middle is newer.

The band is least invasive but I don't like the thought of a foreign object in my body, there are many complications often too, I have noticed in my research. Low surgery risk.

The sleeve is a stapling of the tummy and they make your stomach smaller, low to moderate surgery risk.

The bypass is pretty hectic, they bypass your digestive system so you don't absorb any fats etc. BUT you also aren't absorbing all the good nutrients your body needs, like iron etc. so supplements are needed for the rest of your life. Surgery is moderate to high risk.

My asthma and pathetic lungs elevates the surgery risk somewhat and I have decided to go for the sleeve... it's newer and the results thus far seem to be really good.

It's no quick fix this WLS... many think it is... but it isn't. A strict diet needs to be adhered to etc. Small quantities too.

I spoke on the phone today to a lady who had the bypass a year ago (with the same surgeon I am using), she's lost 7 stone (all she had to lose), and is now managing half a tea plate of food at a sitting. Everyone's different, and some people have adverse reactions to some foods now post surgery, and the same food is fine for others. It's a very individual scenario it appears to me.

Op is 14th, back to work 1 Nov. My work is quite physical and I am hoping this will be long enough - there again, some people get back to *normal* quicker than others.

I see this op as a last resort, there is nothing I can personally do besides starve myself to lose weight quick enough to counteract the steroids weight gain. I have put on no weight since April, at all, due to better weather (less steroid use), and me hardly eating at times. So not being able to eat a full plate of food is nothing new for me anyhow.

I have lost 4 kgs pre surgery (liver cleansing diet) thus far, but my chest infection meant steroids.. and a 2 kg weight gain :( In the next 2 weeks I am trying to lose as much as possible on a shakes only diet.

I am better now, after a sickly September, and am feeling good!

What is your most frightening experience?

My worst by far was my near fatal asthma attack in 2008. Thankfully I had this attack in the doctor's room, was delirious very quickly, they nebulised me immediately and called an ambulance. Was hospitalised for 5 days.

Next was when I was attacked by 5 dogs when I was 11. 2 dobermans and 3 cocker spaniels. Pack mentality. Took some mega chunks out of my right leg, still have the scars. I was terrified of all dogs thereafter for a few yrs, till mum got Max... my beloved staffy.. who I was scared of at first, but then he helped me overcome my fear of dogs.

Next was the bombs in London, I was about 3 tubes behind the one they blew up on the Piccadilly Line. Took a lot for me to get on a tube the next morning for work.

Another scary time was in the early nineties when I was studying for my degree at Johannesburg University, in the middle of a turbulent Johannesburg. There were often marches by Cosatu etc. where tens of thousands of people were chanting and singing in protest. Moderate violence generally, except when they blew up Shell House,a couple of blocks from us. Vespas everywhere. We were shut up in our building and when they thought it was safe enough, we were escorted by the army to our cars to go home. Looking through the windows I saw a couple of people panga'd :( The atmosphere was so tangible and electric those days.