Do you really want to know?

As i feel so much better now and finally able to talk about it and recall the day of the operation, i thought i would go into a bit more detail about it. I hope it will be helpful for others about to have their band fitted. I dont want to scare you, but i would have wanted to know more about what to expect so that i would have spoke to my surgeon more and asked more relevant questions. I am sure each hospital and surgeon have their own routines and way's of doing things, but this was my experience at the Dolan Park and my surgeon Mr Alan Li.

As i went to the hospital the day before the op to have my bloods done, i was told i didnt need to arrive on the day until 10am, as oppose to 7am which would be the usual time for arriving.

I woke early after having a good nights sleep, i was a bit nervous but i had resigned myself to the fact that this is what i have got to do, if i want to enjoy the rest of my life being slimmer and happier about myself. My 2 daughters were going with me so we set off on the 52 mile journey, taking just over an hour to get there. It was a weird feeling walking in there, voluntarily, knowing this is my choice to put myself through this operation, it wasnt a medical condition i have, i am doing this by choice. I felt surprisingly calm, i didnt allow myself to feel nervous i chatted away to my daughters and the staff with ease. After a short wait i was shown to my room which was quite basic but big and spacious. I was given a gown, theatre cap and disposable knickers and told to have a shower and change at about 12. The Anesthetist came to see me at about 1 and then Mr Li came in at about 2, he said i was 2nd on his list and it would be around 3ish that they would come for me. Mr Li was lovely, very easy to chat to and reassuring. So that was it, at 3.30 the male nurse came for me to walk me down to theatre. I said goodbye to my girls and floated down the corridor, im sure my feet never touched the ground, it was surreal. We went into the anesthetic room where i sat shaking like a leaf while they connected electrode pads to me and then they took me through to the theatre, which was rather full of theatre staff in gowns. I was asked to get on the table which had 2 feet rests which i had to shuffle down until i was in the correct position, there were 2 outright armrests that they then strapped my arms to and then they strapped my legs in place. I was absolutely terrified as noone had actually explained any of this to me and i did not know what to expect or what was going to happen next and lying there strapped in a crucifix position, i felt vulnerable and scared to death, i thought any minute now im going to have a heart attack and die just out of sheer terror. The anesthetist then put a venflon in my left hand and a nurse connected the wires to the electrode pads and told me she was putting a cold slab on my left thigh. I just lay there thinking what are they doing, why are they doing this to me? cant they just put me out of my misery? Then to my horror they said they were going to put a mask over my mouth and nose and to breathe normally, i just couldnt believe they were doing this, why didnt they just inject me? It took what seemed like an eternity of breathing into the mask before i was told to take some deeper breathes, what i really wanted to do was shout out no, stop, i cant take anymore, but then eventually i felt like my legs had gone a dead weight and that was it. The next thing i remember is being back in my room and hearing my daughters voices, i knew it was all over then, thank god it was all over. I was aware of people talking around me and my daughters talking to me but i couldnt reply, i was exhausted, i just wanted to sleep which is exactly what i did! I had a reasonable night drifting in and out of sleep and the following morning when my daughter arrived i just couldnt wait to get home. Mr Li came to make sure i was ok before being discharged.

I am so relieved it is all over, but if i had any idea that i would have to go through all that in the theatre i may well have gone elsewhere. I would have talked to the surgeon before i even booked the operation to ask if it was possible to be put to sleep immediately on entering the theatre, had it not been possible i would then have made enquiries elsewhere to find out the procedures at other hospitals as i am certain they all do things differently. I just feel that it was a traumatic experience and wish i had been warned beforehand before making my decision.

I have to go back to see Mr Li at the Dolan Park in 2 weeks for an xray check-up and at the moment i have to decide whether to have a fill at the same time. Even though my band is empty at the moment, i do feel like i have some restriction but i assume that is due to swelling around the site of the band so i will see how i feel during the next week. Now that i feel so much better i am keen to get this band working for me as much as possible so a fill seems very tempting right now.