Nic318
Post-op Gastric Bypass
Wednesday 16th July 2008
Woke up after having about four hours sleep and drove to my parent’s house who was taking me into hospital. We arrived really early at the hospital (6.30am) but sat in the car for a while.
A nurse came down to reception to collect me and Shell and we were shown to our rooms. Well it was all go from there, I started unpacking my things and the nurse came in and said you need to get your gown, paper knickers and stockings on. Unfortunately for me I’d only started my period late on Monday evening so will still in full flow (I love to make things harder for myself lol). Was taken downstairs to get weighed and found I’d lost another 5lb on the pre-op diet so that was 22lbs in total. Got back to my room and both the consultant and anesthetist came to see me and asked if I had any questions. The nurse had already told me I was first on the list although it’s not what I had expected. Anyway literally straight after that I was told that they were waiting for me so I said a very quick goodbye to my parents (welled up at that point so just said I love you and I’ll see you later)!
I was walked to theatre and a nurse came and checked all my details then I went through and lay down on the table to be prepared for theatre. The anesthetist arrived and did the necessary and the theatre nurses were chatting to me about general things, my new car, job etc obviously just to keep you calm and your mind occupied so you really didn’t have time to think about what was happening!
……. Well that was the last I remembered until coming round in recovery and this nurse telling me I had to take two tablets but only to sip!! Clearly wasn’t with it at this point but could hear them saying “yes she’s ready to go back to the ward” and I was wheeled back to my room. Straight away my nurse appeared with 12 red roses that my boyfriend had sent in and she was showing me the card that came with it and to be honest I was still only half with it but was just saying “oh yes they are lovely”.
I went down to theatre at 8.00am and was back in my room at 11.20am. Yes I was in pain and uncomfortable but not as bad as I’d expected it to be. My back hurt but that’s normal after being on the operating table. I was given painkillers to ease the pain, Tramadol and IV Paracetomol This sent me back to sleep again. I heard the nurses ring my Mum to tell her everything was fine and that I was back on the ward. The rest of the afternoon just went by in a blur to be honest, was hooked up to a drip to ensure I didn’t get dehydrated whilst still Nil by mouth and had IV Paracetomol and Antibiotics. I also had “moon boots” on my legs which inflated all the time to ensure you didn’t get a DVT and had an Oxygen mask and a blood pressure monitor on which kept inflating every 10 mins (but then seemed to keep stopping working), oh and a monitor on my finger too to monitor oxygen levels. I was given ice cubes just to suck. The nurse also informed me that I had a catheter in.
My parents came back to see me around 5ish but didn’t stay too long as I was still groggy from the anesthetic etc.
Just a note here – my poor Mum was so busy. She is brilliant at flowers and a relative of ours was getting married on the 18th July and Mum and my Aunty had agreed to do all the wedding flowers between them and this was in Leeds, so Wednesday she had run around picking the flowers up etc etc bless her.
In the evening the nursing staff at night came to get me up just for a while and yes it hurt and was uncomfortable and immediately I went faint and felt sick so sat back down on the bed. They were then helping me get back in bed and I asked if I could put my own PJ’s on so they helped me with those and I felt a lot better. I asked how long I would have to keep the Oxygen mask on cos that was annoying me and she initially said overnight but then it was taken off me about 10pm as my obs were fine.
The evening passed without much sleep which I had expected and it’s not easy to sleep with the nurses coming in and out to check your obs and with your “moon boots” on and the blood pressure monitor going off all the time.
Woke up after having about four hours sleep and drove to my parent’s house who was taking me into hospital. We arrived really early at the hospital (6.30am) but sat in the car for a while.
A nurse came down to reception to collect me and Shell and we were shown to our rooms. Well it was all go from there, I started unpacking my things and the nurse came in and said you need to get your gown, paper knickers and stockings on. Unfortunately for me I’d only started my period late on Monday evening so will still in full flow (I love to make things harder for myself lol). Was taken downstairs to get weighed and found I’d lost another 5lb on the pre-op diet so that was 22lbs in total. Got back to my room and both the consultant and anesthetist came to see me and asked if I had any questions. The nurse had already told me I was first on the list although it’s not what I had expected. Anyway literally straight after that I was told that they were waiting for me so I said a very quick goodbye to my parents (welled up at that point so just said I love you and I’ll see you later)!
I was walked to theatre and a nurse came and checked all my details then I went through and lay down on the table to be prepared for theatre. The anesthetist arrived and did the necessary and the theatre nurses were chatting to me about general things, my new car, job etc obviously just to keep you calm and your mind occupied so you really didn’t have time to think about what was happening!
……. Well that was the last I remembered until coming round in recovery and this nurse telling me I had to take two tablets but only to sip!! Clearly wasn’t with it at this point but could hear them saying “yes she’s ready to go back to the ward” and I was wheeled back to my room. Straight away my nurse appeared with 12 red roses that my boyfriend had sent in and she was showing me the card that came with it and to be honest I was still only half with it but was just saying “oh yes they are lovely”.
I went down to theatre at 8.00am and was back in my room at 11.20am. Yes I was in pain and uncomfortable but not as bad as I’d expected it to be. My back hurt but that’s normal after being on the operating table. I was given painkillers to ease the pain, Tramadol and IV Paracetomol This sent me back to sleep again. I heard the nurses ring my Mum to tell her everything was fine and that I was back on the ward. The rest of the afternoon just went by in a blur to be honest, was hooked up to a drip to ensure I didn’t get dehydrated whilst still Nil by mouth and had IV Paracetomol and Antibiotics. I also had “moon boots” on my legs which inflated all the time to ensure you didn’t get a DVT and had an Oxygen mask and a blood pressure monitor on which kept inflating every 10 mins (but then seemed to keep stopping working), oh and a monitor on my finger too to monitor oxygen levels. I was given ice cubes just to suck. The nurse also informed me that I had a catheter in.
My parents came back to see me around 5ish but didn’t stay too long as I was still groggy from the anesthetic etc.
Just a note here – my poor Mum was so busy. She is brilliant at flowers and a relative of ours was getting married on the 18th July and Mum and my Aunty had agreed to do all the wedding flowers between them and this was in Leeds, so Wednesday she had run around picking the flowers up etc etc bless her.
In the evening the nursing staff at night came to get me up just for a while and yes it hurt and was uncomfortable and immediately I went faint and felt sick so sat back down on the bed. They were then helping me get back in bed and I asked if I could put my own PJ’s on so they helped me with those and I felt a lot better. I asked how long I would have to keep the Oxygen mask on cos that was annoying me and she initially said overnight but then it was taken off me about 10pm as my obs were fine.
The evening passed without much sleep which I had expected and it’s not easy to sleep with the nurses coming in and out to check your obs and with your “moon boots” on and the blood pressure monitor going off all the time.
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