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General health

Had my op. On HDU now. Slowly on the road to recovery

79 replies

Germgirl · 13/05/2015 10:22

I had a gastric band removal and sleeve gastrectomy operation yesterday (stomach stapling')
Just wanted to tell people really. :)
I lost 10kg in the 2 weeks pre-op on the pre-op soup & yogurt diet but I'm still a massive 143kg. Which is frankly disgusting.
But I'm here now, in lots of pain with 6 incisions and a drain poking of of me plus 2 IVs, the usual wires & oxygen lines. Tied to the bed almost!
The physio has been to see me & we went for a stroll up & down the ward.
Everyone says I'm doing ok.
Very very very tired.
Just rambling now. Wanted to say I'd done it. I didn't tell many people before the op but now I can :)
I have s long road ahead. But this has to be the start of a new life.

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DramaAlpaca · 13/05/2015 10:24

Wishing you a speedy recovery Germgirl and all the best on your weight loss journey Flowers

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Germgirl · 13/05/2015 10:32

Thank you Drama :)

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GilbertBlytheWouldGetIt · 13/05/2015 10:34

Glad it went well for you Germgirl, brave of you to share. Will you come back to the thread and keep it updated?

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Germgirl · 13/05/2015 10:41

I will. I want to document things & may as well bore some of mn while I do it! :)

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googleisnotyourfriend · 13/05/2015 11:45

Good luck with your recovery Germgirl. I hope everything works out as you hope.
Sounds like you need lots of rest. Flowers

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Germgirl · 13/05/2015 20:22

I'm on a normal ward now & allowed to drink. Drinking causes a lot of pain at the moment but I must continue.
Am absolutely knackered but I've had a stroll along the ward with my husband. He bought me a TV card so I'm watching The Orange One round up swans :)

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DramaAlpaca · 13/05/2015 21:19

Take it easy & get as much rest as you can.

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helzapoppin2 · 13/05/2015 22:25

Best wishes for a brilliant new life. You sound really brave and determined.

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Preminstreltension · 13/05/2015 22:30

all best wishes germgirl. Family members have had various sorts of bariatric surgery and the more involved surgery has been very successful. Hope this is the start of a new life for you.

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QOD · 13/05/2015 22:44

Hey there!
Drink warm.drinks instead of cold, way less painful.
I had a gastric bypass April 2011 and have lost 8 stone and maintained.
I'm a size 13 lol. Squeeze into some 12 but 14 fits best Smile
Have had to convert your weight Wink but I was around 20 stone
Can't wait to follow your story!

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Germgirl · 13/05/2015 23:03

Thanks QOD. I had a hot chocolate earlier, that caused far less discomfort :)
I'm half excited & half terrified. This is it now, no turning back. I'm sure there'll be days when I wish I hadn't had it done but it is done. I can't change it and I want it to work.
I just want to be a bit more normal, not scared of unknown chairs in case they break, not worried about going into a strange cafe in case they have fixed seats that I can't fit in. Not unable to go on fairground rides or fit comfortably in aircraft seats.
I want to be able to pick up a top when I go to sainsburys rather than pay a fortune in one of 3 online shops!

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AlpacaMyBags · 13/05/2015 23:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Germgirl · 13/05/2015 23:12

The band just never worked. I had it done in Belgium in 2007, it cost me £4500 plus £90
Each time it needed adjusting.
I had it adjusted loads of times & it was either so tight I vomited whenever I ate anything or it was too loose to work.
I will admit that I also cheated by drinking with my meals.
I probably only lost a stone or two with the band.
You have to be much more mentally disciplined with the band. It's very easy to cheat it and sadly I did.

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QOD · 14/05/2015 02:06

They've pretty much stopped doing the band in nhs hospitals that do a moderate amount of bariatric surgery due to complications with them slipping and Imbedding etc. Cost wise to the nhs it's not cheaper due to the continuing adjustments
I love my bypass.

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BoxofSnails · 14/05/2015 02:43

I'll be very interested in your journey from here as I'm considering (probably will have to be privately) asking for bariatric surgery in the near future. The evidence seems to be that it's the only proven thing for obesity and I feel I should listen to that.
Wishing you an excellent recovery and that this really is the start of a great new phase in your life.

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QOD · 14/05/2015 02:52

If they've not told u, check the fat and sugar content of everything! I can almost guarantee that if something is less than 5g of sugar and 5g of fat per 100 then I'm OK.
4 yrs on I can risk it to 10g of sugar but it's hit n miss. Very frustrating with yoghurt as they're mostly low fat ...
Natural fat us usually ok so normsl cheese, butter cream fine ... greasy food obviously no!

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Germgirl · 14/05/2015 08:43

Is that because of sugar dumping QOD? You don't tend to get that with the sleeve apparently.
Because I'm not eating anything yet I haven't got to worry about sugary drinks etc. once I'm on proper food I have to look at sugar content etc but I've been told to avoid low fat desserts etc because of the high sugar.
It's still very early days, I won't be eating for a week or so.
Thank you for your support ladies.

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Germgirl · 14/05/2015 09:00

QOD, I hope you don't mind me asking you questions, every time I drink I get a 'trapped wind' sort of pain & I'm doing some very unladylike burping. I assume that's normal? Do you remember?

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DramaAlpaca · 14/05/2015 09:48

How are you doing this morning, OP?

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Germgirl · 14/05/2015 10:53

Feeling good :) I'm hopefully going home later :)
Not much pain, just discomfort and trapped wind type pain when I drink.
I've got to have the big drain that's in my stomach out later which I'm not looking forward to! They're going to load me up with morphine before they do that so I imagine it smarts a bit!
But I feel ok, happy to be going home to my own bed :)

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Germgirl · 14/05/2015 10:59

Hmmm. Nurse has just been round. They've decided not to give me morphine before taking the drain out.
I'd really rather they did!

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Preminstreltension · 14/05/2015 11:40

Yes DM had a band which wasn't successful for all the reasons you describe. But DAunt had a bypass which has been very successful. I think there's a lot of sniffiness about bariatric surgery but it clearly helps some people a great deal when nothing else has.

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Germgirl · 14/05/2015 11:44

I do feel guilty, terribly guilty that I'm taking Nhs resources etc. but I have tried to lose weight for 20+ Years with limited effect and now my weight is making me ill. I'm not diabetic yet but it's only a matter of time. My knees hurt, my heart probably isn't in tip top shape, I need to lose weight before I get worse & cost the Nhs a lot more money keeping me alive.
Of course vanity is a big reason for wanting this surgery but health is the overriding reason. I was offered the surgery and I took it.
Anyway. Drain is now out. It wasn't so bad & I didn't have the morphine. I'm well tough! :)
Hopefully going home later. I'm very pleased about that.
Good to hear some bypass / sleeve success stories. Hopefully I can be one myself :)

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DramaAlpaca · 14/05/2015 12:08

Good for you, I say. Don't feel in the least bit guilty, you've done the right thing for your health, which is what the NHS is there for, and like you say by doing this you'll be costing the NHS less in the long run.

You're very brave having the drain out without morphine - go you!

Hope you get to go home later.

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Pispcina · 14/05/2015 17:31

Good luck lovey. I think you are extremely brave Flowers

Out of curiosity, if you decide one day you can manage without it, is it reversible?

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