OK its done!
Went in yesterday at 13:00. Got shown to room, settled in and waited. Issued with a gown and surgical stockings (you look like a cross between Orville and Widow Twanky
) and got changed. Had blood pressure, temp and pulse taken. BP was high (152/109) so the nurse said to relax and she'd come back when I'd settled in. I guess I was more anxious than I felt. 1/2 hour later it had dropped - still high, but OK for surgery.
Read Paul McKenna's diet book while waiting. Dr Ward (I think that was his name - the anaethatist = some of the details are a little hazy
) came up and introduced himself - another nice bloke. Mr Levick popped in to make sure eveything was OK and put me at ease. Made my menu choices for evening meal, breakfast and lunch Saturday, then followed the nurse (tiny oriental lady) down to theatre about 15:30 I think - a little vague as my wife had taken my watch and other valuables home with her.
Into theatre, onto the bed, and first Mr Levick took pre-op picks. Dr Ward started the anaesthetic while a nurse ran through a few questions - just to make sure I was the right person having the right op! Everyone was very friendly and I was perfectly at ease. It seems I was in the middle of a conversation about Apple vs PC with Dr Ward then no recall whatsoever ... until coming to in the recovery room.
Mr Levick was there, along with a nurse. He told me how much was removed (which he repeated the next day, and yet I'm still not 100% about the figures); I think it was 300cc of fat each side and 40g of "gristle" - about the palm of the hand sized apparently. A fair bit.
I felt fine in recovery, a little tight across the chest, but defimnately no pain. Everything OK, so I was moved back to my room. This was about 5:00 - again, I'm a bit vague as I was coming and going a bit, and lost without my watch!
I had my dinner, which was fine. Following Paul McKennas advice I drank water first, the chewed and savoured every mouthful and stopped when I was full. 14st here I come (I was a bit shocked to weight 16st 7lb).
I then settled back for the evening on the reclining bed, drinking gallons of water, reading, and watching TV. After the second jug of water I tried going to the toilet - doh! Drains are strapped to the bed frame, so its best not to even try getting out of bed! Buzzed for a nurse, who brought some "bottles". I was a bit dubious about peeing into papier mache bottles in bed, but they were suprisingly robust! Went through about eight of these during the course of the night!
I drifted between wide awake watching TV or reading and falling asleep throughout the night, and was entirely comfortable, no pain to speak of unless I tried pushing myself up the bed. Best to adjust the bed and get it to push you into position, less painful. The only real sensation in my chest was one of a snugly fitting bandage - quite comfortable really.
Saturday morning. Had breakfast (which seemed late but wasn't, I'd been awake from 5:30). Again food was fine. Had pills, several nurses came and went checking I was OK. I don't recall their names, there seemed an awful lot of them and they kept changing!
They seemed reluctant to bring another bottle, so I had to wait until someone came to unclip my drain bottles after Mr Levick had dropped by to check on me. The drains were pretty empty, and he was pleased with how things had gone.
So was I! It hadn't registered at first, but when reading I didn't have to prop the magazine on my boobs to read it all. There was just a flat expanse and I could comfortably rest the magazine anywhere on it. Amazing!
After the drains were unclipped I went to the toilet and freshened up. I overdid it a little at first, and was a bit eager flushing the loo. A sharp reminder that I was a bit fragile ensued, followed by nausea. I staggered back to bed and rested for 20 minutes. I then gingerly started getting dressed and tidied up. Another bout of nausea when I put my socks on, so again I laid down until it passed. I'd worked out by now that reaching down was a no-no! Carrying the drain bottles about was a bit of a pain, I was trying not to sit on them or something and rip them out!
Another nurse (Pauline - I remembered one!) took the drains out. I had to call to get that done; I was anxious to have them out before my wife and son (particularly) arrived to take me home. The first one out stung like b*ggery, the second I didn't even notice. Still wincing from the first maybe!
Still no real pain from the chest, and I did have to keep looking down at the flatness to reassure myself that I had been operated on! Once dressed I checked my profile in the bathroom mirror. I've been grinning since! Even over the bandages and some swelling, my shirt just hangs straight down! Result!!!!
It looks like I just dropped 2st overnight!
I had to wait around a while to get discharged, during which I had some lunch. Despite being warned that rooms had to be vacated by 11am, I was still there at 12:30 having just finished lunch. This must have been expected, as I was given the lunch menu on Friday afternoon. This unfortunately meant my wife and son hanging around for 1 1/2 hours, but he watched a DVD in the car so it wasn't so bad.
I'm home now, still no real pain, and very happy. There is a little soreness on the left side where the painful drain came out, but its probably a one on a scale from one to ten.
Obviously its very early to tell, but Mr Levick thought it went well, and I certainly feel better. Its hard to explain, but I am conscious of the chest just not being there. I have feeling in the chest - I can tense the muscle like normal, but it feels like there is nothing weighing down on top of the pecs now. Which there isn't! I can just feel the bandage against my pecs. I'm wearing a shirt which I know was tight and continually rode up before, if you know what I mean. Its just hanging there, no bulges, no pinching under the arms, no buttons gaping.
Did I say I was happy? I am
I'll post some updated pics ASAP.
To anyone not sure or wavering - go for it! It is a piece of cake, absolutely nothing to worry about, you've probably endured worse at the dentist. Yes, £3735 hurts, but thats about as painful as its been so far.
Bandages off in a week - can't wait! I'm expecting "craters" of course, and the infamous scarring, but time is the great healer. Mt Levick did say he was leaving a thin layer of fat to stop sticking problems - this is something I'd expressed concern about in another post on here, so for sure he does keep an eye on this forum!
So, hurdle no 4, the op. Probably the easiest one yet!Edited to correct reference to wrong spooky guy! It was Paul McKennas diet book, not Derren Brown. Always mixing those two up!
Topic: Gyne midlife crisis - my diary (Read 22161 times)
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