Tobi's Band :)

[Tobi]

I am now a proud owner of a 10ml band with a 1ml fill thanks to my Superman surgeon Mr Paul Super

A bit sore where the port is and wind pain is a ***** but overall I'm feeling much better than I thought I would.

I went in at 10:30 and been waken up in the recovery room and taken to my room. I thought I just arrived when I opened my eyes but apparently I slept for a couple of hours!

I had half a cup of water and a cup of peppermint tea so far and I'm on seconds now. I can't believe how easily I can sip.

No nausea, yay! I have a swollen lip which isn't painful just the top bit is swollen to a pea size. And my scalp is itchy! Apparently morphine does that, how bizzare...

Everyone here at Dolan Park are so lovely and even though I went to the op theatre in tears, I was laughing by the time I was lying down!

I'm very happy

Tobi xxx

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[angiemason]

Well done that's great xx speedy recovery and happy losing

 

[top_kat]

We share the same surgeon (although different providers) and he was lovely! Glad to hear your surgery has gone well and welcome to the losers bench

 

[p_relf]

Congrats! Welcome to the losers bench!

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[Tobi]

I napped on and off until half an hour ago. A nurse came to help me get up, change into pyjamas (deffo pjs by the way, couldn't get comfy in nighty). They changed my bedding too, it was covered in iodine.

Walking was agony. The two larger incisions hurt a LOT! Like a tugging stretching sensation. One is the port and other is where they poked around with the camera.

Wind pain is in the middle of my back, on the left mostly. The gastric band specialist nurse said it must be stuck behind my lungs

I took Windeze and sucked it although she said when it's almost finish, spit it out don't try to chew and swallow.

Not sure if it's the stronger painkiller she gave me or Windeze but it feels a bit better. Actually feels like it will make me sleep shortly

I can hear the sheep baaaa and birds chirp outside my room, its so nice, I keep the window open

Yay for my new life!! X

Sent from my iPhone using WLSurgery

 

[flutterby1966]

Good luck Tobi. Mr super was my surgeon too

 

[Tobi]

Thank you ) he was so lovely today before and after the op. Apparently my liver shrunk good and he was very pleased with my weight loss.

I did manage to get up and walk around the corridors and thanks to whatever that anise flavoured painkiller is, it didn't hurt and felt so good.

I had a cup of chicken soup afterwards - it was heaven!!!

One thing to note is that i am not allowed to use a hot water bottle as it might cause bleeding. It helped a lot with the wind pain on my back before i had to stop using it.

Also not allowed to use ibuprofen for the next two weeks, only paracetamol, with or without codeine.

Next challenge is to pee. I managed two drops, sorry if TMI, but i can't pass the rest.

My mouth is so dry but lips aren't too bad with a bit of lip balm. Dry mouth spray works for a couple of minutes then back to furry dry mouth and throat. Ah and my scalp doesn't itch anymore.

This is the worst it will be. From today onwards it will only get easier and better and i just cant wait! X

 

[Gemby28]

Congratulations Tobi! This is the beginning of a right old adventure! Only a week until my surgery, not sure if I want time to speed up or slow down... Your updates are really detailed and helpful so thank you. I look forward to joining you on the other side

 

[tealovingsleever]

Ask for a cup of ice cubes. I sucked them to rehydrate my mouth x

 

[Tracey12]

So pleased to hear everything went well. You sound happy and positive!

 

[Hanako]

Also not allowed to use ibuprofen for the next two weeks, only paracetamol, with or without codeine.

Oh, no, I am allergic to paracetamol. I get very bad itchy spots (hives), like if I was bitten by a mosquito hundreds of times. It is usually everywhere, including on my head and some seriously weird places where mosquito would not go.

Is there any alternative to paracetamol? I am ok with ipubrofen, with codein and with tramadol.

 

[Meggie moo]

So pleased all gone well Tobi x welcome to the losers bench x

 

[Tobi]

Is there any alternative to paracetamol? I am ok with ipubrofen, with codein and with tramadol.

i dont know why we cant have ibuprofen, i was hoping to take it alongside co codomol. You can have codein, dont know if it comes on its own though?
Now Tramadol is another story. It's what worked best for me, thats the anise flavour i was talking about earlier. However, the nurses are kinda reluctant to give you tramadol because it makes some people very sick. Obviously you dont want to vomit with the incisions and a brand new band. I was lucky, it worked great for me.

 

[Tobi]

Ask for a cup of ice cubes. I sucked them to rehydrate my mouth x

Good idea! Thank you x

 

[Tobi]

i dont know why we cant have ibuprofen, i was hoping to take it alongside co codomol. You can have codein, dont know if it comes on its own though?
Now Tramadol is another story. It's what worked best for me, thats the anise flavour i was talking about earlier. However, the nurses are kinda reluctant to give you tramadol because it makes some people very sick. Obviously you dont want to vomit with the incisions and a brand new band. I was lucky, it worked great for me.

Hanako hi hun - i asked the nurse and she said ibuprofen is aspirin based and thins the blood and it's not gentle on the tummy that's why we're not allowed for the first 2 weeks. They have small doses of codeine on its own too so looks like you can be on tramadol and codein hope this helps x

 

[Tobi]

Hi fellow banders and banders-to-be, this will hopefully be my last post from Dolan Park and i shall continue to report from home afterwards

Last night i managed to pee properly for the fist time, yay and managed my first satisfactory burp also, yay again! Mini burps did obviously help but a big one felt soo good, i never thougt i would be so grateful for a burp lol.

I felt a bit bloated before i went to bed last night because ive been drinking pretty much all afternoon and evening. I had several cups of water, a chicken soup and hot chocolate. I think i'll need to learn not to drink too fast.

They put some sort of wraps around my legs to improve blood flow and circulation When i wnt to bed and the wraps are connected to a machine that inflates and deflates left and right at a time - a bit like a blood pressure Monitor, only very gentle. I thought it would be awkward to sleep in those, it was fine.

I woke up just before 5am having slept great, had to call the nurse to get up as my legs were connected to the machine and went for a pee while she brought me a cup of tea. It was lovely, especially because i woke up with a sore throat.

Walked up and down the corridors a bit. My wind pain seems to have shifted from my back to my shoulder, still on the left side. Its much more bearable than yesterday though.

My incisions were red and hot yesterday, as expected. But today i found them much better to my surprise. I'll try to attach a photo. There are 3 small and 2 large ones. Small ones are barely visible. They are all glued.

I had a cup of tea, then half a cup of cappucino this morning. Im sipping my breakfast smoothie now, strawberry and banana and its lush! I was also given a muller light vanilla yogurt, i asked if it's not too thick for the liquid stage and the nurse said it's fine, slides down easily. Keeping that for later.

I've been given another Clexane injection this morning (had the first one yesterday after the op) and i will not need to self-inject anything when i go home.

Im not allowed to shower for 5 days but it's ok to wash the rest of the body, trying to keep the glued incisions dry.

Im feeling MUCH better than yesterday, just a bit of shoulder pain and bloated feeling and tenderness in the tummy and haven't had painkillers since 11pm last night.

Waiting for my husband to come and pick me up at 7 and we'll head home. Normally the journey is around 2.5-3 hours. Looks like we'll hit the rush hour traffic this morning so i'll take some more tramadol before the journey, it lasts around 4 hours. Then i can top it up with the liquid paracetamol they gave me with my discharge papers.

Overall, a fantastic experience so far. I was up all night the night before my surgery crying and scared but they staff are so lovely and helpful and they look after you so well. Im very impressed with Dolan Park and every single person i met who works here.

Thank you for your supportive messages, it means so much to know others are on the same boat as me.

Tobi x

 

[Meggie moo]

Safe journey home Tobi and hoping the traffics not too bad x glad your feeling so good x

 

[JO28172]

Take it easy over these next few days x

 

[Hanako]

Thank you for the photo, Toby. I was a bit curious how big the scars are, but did not dare to ask here! They don't look bad at all, considering that you had it done only yesterday! I am really impressed. On your photo I can see only 4 though, not five.

 

[JO28172]

Thank you for the photo, Toby. I was a bit curious how big the scars are, but did not dare to ask here! They don't look bad at all, considering that you had it done only yesterday! I am really impressed. On your photo I can see only 4 though, not five.

There's a pic of my wounds in my photo album if curious lol