Banded (take 2)

Yesterday I went in for my lap band to be replaced.

It wouldn't be me going somewhere if I wasn't running late.  I was almost half an hour late but this didn't effect were I was placed on the list as Dr Winnett was running a little bit late as well. 

I met my anesthetist to being with.  I had a different one this time.  His name is Leo and he was quite nice.  He asked me if I had any questions  and considering I've had about 20 general anaesthetics, the only thing that I did raise was the fact that I vomit after an anesthetic.

I was measured up for some TED stockings.  This was fantastic as this time they actually had some that fit me whereas last time they didn't.  I even managed to get into some thigh high ones.  This is when I realised how much weight I had lost. 

I had to put a Hospital gown on and was also presented with some disposable underwear which I didn't even bother trying on.  They looked more like a hat than undies!  I was then taken into a holding bay where I waited for about 45 minutes.  I was busy texting and Emailing.  It was a fantastic distraction chatting to Trishy xo I also Emailed Mum just telling her that I loved her (she already knew) but, I wanted her to know.

It was 4pm when I was wheeled into the Theatre.  I've got pin pricks up and down my arm from where Leo was trying to put the needle in (8, to be exact).  That was nut fun.  After that, they put the Oxygen on me and then the gas and then I fell off to sleep.

When I woke up, I was sweating and vomiting.  It was about 8.30pm.  I felt awful.  I had the shakes and was in pain and was quite disorientated.  Eventually, I got myself to a point where I feel comfortable.  I think it was when they were rounding up 5 people to put me on a hover board so I could change beds.  I didn't want anyone to have to lift me so, I happily slid.across and was then bought to my room.  I still had nasal prongs in as my Oxygen level was quite low and I had a really croaky voice.  I also had terrible shoulder tip pain.  I asked for a heat pack and I had it changed over for several hours until the pain went.

I got up pretty much right away.  I remember that is one thing that helped me was moving as much as possible.  Sure, it ached a little bit but if you can keep your chest clear and your legs moving, you will recover a lot quicker. 

I got hardly any sleep last night as I was being woken up every half an hour for obs.  I had my own room so at least it was a bit quiet when I was able to get sleep.

Jason came around this morning at 6.30am with the 'other Jason' who assisted in the operation.  Jason said that everything went fine and that I had a medium pouch.  Everything has been fixed up, including the hiatus hernia that they first discovered when I was 20..

I had a barium swallow this morning.  It was revolting as I hadn't had anything since 10pm on Wednesday night.  They (the barium swallows) are never nice but, after fasting and having one first thing was not the highlight of my day!  Everything looked fine with my band and I was discharged at around 1pm. 

It is great to be home.  I am sitting in my recliner, I have fallen asleep about 6 times since I started this as the pain killers I am on are really strong.  I am going to have some soup for dinner - I'll be using my 'knfie, fork and band' book which is what I used first time that I had surgery.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who is at any stage of their lap banding journey.  It covers from Opti Fast through to normal foods and it is full of variety and also has menus so you never get stuck when you are trying to think of something to Cook. There are a few sites that you can get it from but the price doesn't differ all that much.  To have a look at it, check out by going to

http://www.bandbuddies.com.au/store.php?ObjectPath=L1Nob3BzLzUzNTMxMDk0OTI3NDkxNzQvUHJvZHVjdHMva2Zi&page=L2VwYWdlcy9zb2xlaGVhbHRoLnNmL2VuX0FVLw-3D-3D

So, it's now time to recover and start off slowly again.  I am going to read 'The Lapband Solution' by Paul O'Brien again as well to remind myself of what I should and shouldn't be doing.  You have to be so careful during the first stage.  If you are wanting to check out his book, there are 2 versions of it - the first version and then the revised and updated version which also comes with a DVD.  You can check it out here...

http://www.thelapbandbook.com/

Thank you all for the messages of support that I have received over the past few days.  It's a lovely feeling to know that there are so many people looking out for you. 

So, here's to the next stage of my journey :)