I'm having the op open and they said this was the best way to administer the pain meds. The nurse I spoke with said that they keep you in up to a week post op to reduce the risk of complications which seems a little long to me based on most peoples experiences here but you can be released sooner if you make a quick recovery

Think i will be climbing the Walls if I'm there 7 days!

Morning all

I have my surgery in two days and i'm surprisingly calm but I do have two issues. I'm going to raise them tomorrow when I go for my pre-op fragmin injections but was wondering if anyone had a similar experience?

Before I go down to surgery I have to have an epidural inserted so that when I come round my pain meds can be administered this way for the first 4/5 days. Is this common practice? I mentioned it to the nurse at my pre-op assessment and she said it was nothing to worry about but since i've never had an epidural before i'm starting to panic about how much this is going to hurt? Can they not do the epidural once i'm under?

And speaking of being under I have the lovely experience of having a cathetar fitted (also first time!) and i'm starting to freak out about this. Obviously going to the toilet after the op is going to be difficult but do you think it would be possible to ask if this can be foregone and try and go to the loo myself when i wake up and if needs be have one fitted later or do i just have to accept my fate? :(

Omg that is absolutely amazing! Way to go!

I was supposed to start liquid diet yesterday for 14 days but started it on 1st April to get a head start so am technically on day 5 and I agree with David, it does get easier.

I've been trying to keep busy with work and exam revision, cleaning the house etc to take my mind off it and i'm actually surprised how UNhungry I am.

Generally by day 3/4 on a diet I would have fallen off the wagon by now but I think because I have the op in my sights it's giving me the extra determination.

Hang in there, it will go quickly

I went for my pre-op assessment yesterday and am all cleared for surgery on 18th April (woop woop) and part of the assessment needed 3 vials of blood.

I'm also taking part in a study by one of the consultants at the hospital to try and find out if there is something in the stomache that can lead to obesity which requires frequent measurements, blood tests and stool samples pre and post surgery.

So the consultant says to me i'll take the 3 vials for your pre-op assessment when I take my blood samples to save sticking you twice and I thought great. Prior to all these pre-op tests the last time I had blood taken I was 5 and I fainted and have been really worried about ever having to have a blood test but the three I had up until yesterday were pain and faint free.

So I sit down in his chair and he takes the 3 vials out of my left arm, blood is a bit slow coming out but I get through it and then he starts taking more vials out for his sample. 1, 2, 3...I jokingly say "you don't need the full box do you?" "No" He replies. 4, 5, 6... Yeah, he didn't need the WHOLE box, he left 2 in there!

So i'm sat with the needle still in my arm and another 13 vials on the table and I start getting a little hot and then a lot hot and then a lot dizzy and before you know it i'm outta there! Two nurses start fanning me to bring me round and I walk next door to lie down on a bed for 5 minutes.

Consultant walks in with his 11 vials and says "let's give it another go" and he tries and gets 1 vial out of 1 vein and then has to move to back of my hand and then inside of the other arm and so on.

Ended up being stuck 8 times and he still only managed to get 14 of the 16 vials he needed! He looked so disappointed I kept apologising for taking so long and causing such a scene.

So today i'm black and blue and my left arm is aching like a b*tch! Moral of the story, consultants are fab at their jobs but leave the blood letting to the vampires!

Thank you all for your comments and advice. I want to be successful with this so will follow my surgeons advice the best I can but since we need the 60-80 grams of protein per day I don't see how else to get it in of you can't get it from food alone? I'll mention it again at my pre-op assessment for further clarification

Wow what a huge transformation already! Congratulations and keep up the awesome work! :D

Good afternoon all

Don't get much time to post but i'm still lurking around and learning new things every day

Anyways, found out on Monday that I have a date!! Woop woop! 18th April - 21 days to goooo!

Question - I know when you have the op laproscopically they pump you full of air so they can see everything which can cause the dreaded gas pains....i'm assuming if you have the op open you wouldn't have this? Slap me if i'm being dumb

x

Hi Nicole

I'm so sorry to hear about your little girl and am sending positive vibes your way. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you that everything turns out ok in the end

I'm based in England so can't really recommend a specific protein brand but my partner is into body building and he drinks protein shakes daily but choses the 'bulk up' kind?

They tend to have more calories than the lower calorie ones most post-ops drink so this could be a way of getting more calories in per day instead of force feeding yourself food?

I hope you manage to get the weight loss under control. I bet when you started this journey you never thought being underweight would be a problem!

Sending you lots of hugs

I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time, I can imagine being stuck in the hospital isn't making you feel any better. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your quick recovery and that the heart beat picks up...let's hope you're home soon

These are the random thoughts that go through my head when I'm waiting for 5 o'clock finish to come!

Thank you all for your replies. It makes sense that the inside will be reinforced with multiple sutures I guess it's the outer layer that i'm most worried about.

Does anyone know if you're required to wear some kind of binding post op? I'm thinking along the lines of a corset type device?

I'm still pre-op but I know that when I do have the RNY my surgeon is taking mine out at the same time. This could be because I'm having it done open rather than laproscopically so he figures "while i'm in there" ...it does make little sense to be fully recovered or just about fully recovered and then need to have another surgery so soon after but they must have their reasons?