All the gory details

I'm now two days post op and I'm feeling better with each hour that passes. I woke up this morning at 4am with seriously bad heartburn/wind pain. It was horrific! Its slowly passing as the day goes on but, god, its been awful.

I haven't really been counting calories yet, just drinking anything that might sooth the discomfort. When I woke up I had half a cup of tea, which took about an hour to drink and then later my mum made me another egg flip (skim milk, one egg, splenda, vanilla essence) and I took a good while to drink that too. For lunch I had another skim milk milkshake but this time with Milo. I loooove Milo! That's been it so far. Tomorrow I will start on the Optifast shakes. I feel like I've been managing a lot more than most post op because I have been feeling a lot more hungry than I thought I would.

I'm still taking loads of painkillers so I'm a bit dopey and tired. Especially seeing I've been up since 4! Noo has been a cutie all day. He senses something is amiss but he's been cool about it all. My dad took him over to see my brother and they went to the park for a run around and to get him out of the apartment to leave me to convalesce

Aaargh, as I type this the wind pain has started up again along with some serious farting. I wish it would all just blow out and leave me be!

So, going back to Monday, the day of the operation. Noo woke me up at around 7am. He'd been up very late the night before so slept past his usual get up time. We got out of bed and I took my usual medication with a small amount of water. I was fine actually, surprisingly so. I thought I'd be losing it with anxiety, but actually I was quite calm about it all.

I walked Noo down to kindy at about 9.30, said my goodbyes and then came home, finished packing and then we were off to the Mater Hospital. It is such a lovely hospital. I'd read and heard a lot about it, especially because it is the hospital where Sarah Murdoch (Rupert Murdoch's daughter in law) had given birth to her three babies.

I was admitted at 11am and mum and I were promptly shown to my room. The staff were all so lovely! Not long after I was asked to get into the hospital garb (see yesterday's post A new Bandit in town! for pics). A nurse came to give me a pair of DVT stockings to wear as well as to take my obs (observations - blood pressure, temperature and heart rate) as well as to prep my belly button for surgery.

DVT stockings

Belly button ready for surgery

 

At 1pm I was wheeled up to theatre and discovered the one thing the agency nurse forgot to do was give me my pre meds which included something to relax my nerves. So as soon as I got there I started to panic. I'd never had an operation before, except to have my adenoid out when I was 3, which I can bearly remember. I've also had a couple of minor procedures like a colonoscopy and endoscopy but nothing has full on as this! 

The staff let mum stay until I was wheeled down to the theatre bay. This is where the anaesthetist met me. She was so lovely and did a great job to distract me from what was going on. At this stage I started to have doubts about what I was doing. I thought, for god sake Vanessa, couldn't you have just stuck to a bloody diet! Or a fitness regime! What am I doing here all prepped to go under the knife and have a foreign object placed inside my gut to force me to eat less. Fucking hell! What was I doing? But before long I was moved across to the operating table and a oxygen mask was placed over my mouth and nose and there was no turning back. I just kept reminding myself about all the research I had done, all the stories I had read, and how sure I was that morning when I left the apartment that this was the answer to my getting healthy. Then the next thing I knew I was out to it...

These are the pictures Dr Taylor gave me yesterday, showing what went on in those 50 minutes I was out.

The band going around my fatty stomach

The band being clipped into place

The band being sown into my gut

**Stop reading here, anyone about to be banded who has a low threshold for pain like me - this might put you off!**

When I came to out of the anesthetic I was in a world of pain. Excruciating pain, almost equal to having a 39 hour posterior positioned labour as I'd had with Noo. Probably not as bad, or as lengthy, but close to it. I was screaming and crying and swearing, writhing in the bed they had me in with the sides up. I gripped onto those sides just like I had while trying to push Noo out, but this time the pain was up high, right under my left boob. It was incredible. Like the grim reaper had thrust his gnarly hand in my chest and was attempting to rip my heart out whole. I was begging for morphine but the nurse could only give it to me in small doses. 

I remember having an oxygen mask over my face and the nurse telling me I had to keep it on because the morphine would slow down my breathing. I was crying so hard and the nurse was telling me to calm down because the tension would make my wounds hurt more. I opened my eyes slightly and saw to my right I was near a wall that had posters up for children, one of which had the alphabet on it. So I started singing it. A-B-C-D-E-F-G... trying anything to calm myself down and distract myself from the terrible burning sensation in my chest. H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P... Slowly the morphine started to take affect... Q-R-S-T-U-... think that's as far as I got!

I was wheeled back down to my room and given two Endone (Oxycontin) and finally I felt some real relief. I was completely whacked out but at least the pain was bearable. The first thing I asked for was my iPhone so I could get some pics...

Loaded up on morphine and Oxycontin

I called my mum and told her everything went well and I was well under the influence of serious opiates so probably no good for conversation over the phone. It was arranged that my parents would come and get me the following morning when the doctor said I was good to go.

I don't remember much of the rest of the night but I do know I was up every couple of hours for more pain meds. But despite all the pain and suffering, I have absolutely no regrets. 

I'm so excited to be on this roller coaster ride to finding a newer, better, healthier me!

Vanessa