Make room on the loser's bench for the wombat!

Here's an account of my VSG surgery, which took place on Monday, 11 June at 2 p.m. Ireland has a national health plan similar to that in the U.K., but I went private to avoid a 3 year waiting list for wls. My VSG was paid for by my private insurance (which my employer pays for). The surgery was performed in the Mater Private in Dublin, which is a private hospital.

I was well-rested on the day. I only experienced about a minute of nervousness, and that was during the last few minutes before I went under. The first thing I remember after surgery was opening my eyes briefly, seeing an unfamiliar room, and deciding it was just a dream. My surgeon asked how I felt, but I couldn't think of a meaningful answer, so he smiled and said "like you just had surgery, I suppose."

I did not have a pain pump, but that was fine. All I had to do was wave a hand at my nurse, who kept a close eye on me no matter where she was in the room, and she was by my side in an instant, giving me more medications as needed to keep me comfortable. Irish nurses have a well-deserved reputation for their compassion and skill; and when I say "Irish nurses" I am including the nurses who have come to us from other countries such as the Philippines and Australia. Every single nurse I dealt with was wonderful. I had been concerned about being on my own and having no one to advocate for me. But I needn't have worried. The nurses took care of me as if I were a dear relative.

I was never in pain, except possibly for a few seconds while waiting for the latest medication to take effect. I was just uncomfortable. I only had nausea for a minute or two, again while waiting for meds to take effect. But I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was thinking "I had a healthy body; why did I choose to give up part of an organ?" I felt a lot better the next day, and every day after that.

The next morning I had to pee. It was my first time using a bedpan, and the experience did not come naturally to me. After I rested a little, the nurse gave me a sponge bath, and I began to feel human again. The second time I needed to pee that morning, I insisted on walking to the toilet, which impressed the nurses. It was a military operation, though, getting disconnected from three IV lines, various monitors, and those boots that periodically squeezed my legs gently. I loved those boots: they gave me little hugs, whispered gently to me, and helped me fall asleep. I took every oportunity to walk a little, and the nurses were impressed by my progress.

The first night, I was in a bed in the recovery ward. The second night, I was in a private room on the recovery ward. After that, I was moved to a private bed in another wing. That room was fantastic, like a posh hotel! It was a huge corner room, and had a great view of the Dublin mountains. I kept joking that I might have to stay an extra few days because the room was so nice.

On Wednesday morning I had the swallow test. (In the meantime I had ice chips to suck on.) I had heard horror stories about the liquid you had to drink, and I was afraid it would nauseate me. However, it wasn't that bad. It wouldn't be my choice of beverage, but it didn't make me feel ill. It had a strong aniseed taste. The swallow test showed no leaks (I got to see the images), and I was very glad to have a light meal with some herbal tea.

I found was able to drink water fairly normaly. I couldn't gulp it down, but I could take normal-size swallows rather than having to just sip. I was also given a protein supplement to drink called Cubitan. Now that I could only sip. It felt like I was swallowing little cubes with rounded corners. At that time they also started giving me mild laxatives. (TMI warning: As of Friday evening, I still haven't pooped, but given that I've been living on soup and yogurt, I don't feel the need to.)

Bu Thursday morning, I felt GREAT! Apart from having sore stomach muscles, I actually felt better than I did pre-surgery. I came home today, Friday, and am still feeling great.

Welcome to the losers bench! Walk, sip, walk, sip. Repeat often. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Yay Wombat! It sounds like you had a really good experience, and I really love your description. The care in Ireland sounds really amazing...would it have been different if you had used the national health plan (other than three years later)?

I loved all my nurses as well, except for the first night...David...I felt like I was a burden to him and I didn't see much of him at all. He's not getting a thank you card or chocolate that I'm going to take to the rest of my nurses.

Are you on soft foods or pureed or....? I'm still on liquids, for another 5 days, 5 hours and 26 minutes, but who's counting?

I hope you have a quick and uneventful recovery!

The quality of health care in Ireland is good, whether you go public or private. The main difference is wait times. The fact that every single one of my nurses was a treasure may have been very good luck.

I'm on pureed foods, but I can use a bit of judgement. For example, I can have yoghurt with fruit bits as long as I make sure to chew the fruit bits.