GregJ’s Journey - To Infinity And Beyond!

Same as you, never been in Hospital for anything other than a few stitches. I had no idea what to expect. But the clinical staff really do lead you through the process on the day.

Having the GA injected and going to sleep is not like it's shown on TV. "Count backwards" etc

Mine was right Mr X I am just going to give you something to help you relax and bang that was it, out for count. Probably 4 hours in fact. Next thing I knew I was in the recovery ward asking to get up since I needed to go to work... I really must get my priorities right.

Best of luck! I had my op just after Easter and went in feeling fit and well but knowing I would feel awful afterwards! It’s the 1st time I had any form of anaesthetic and I must admit it was a wonderful feeling suddenly going off and then waking up thinking where the hell am I! There’s a thread from a few weeks ago called practical advice before surgery which covers many points. I just took in change of clothes (loose baggy ones) some snacks phone and charger. Before op suggest you get personal grooming sorted - haircut toe nails etc as it would be  6 weeks or so before I could get out to have my hair done and bend down to cut toe nails! Finally take it easy and be patient remembering everyone is different. 

I can't say exactly that it was an anti-climax because it's serious stuff but it was about 10% of what I feared.

Walking into the theatre is daunting but lots of smiling eyes (I am sure they were really smiling behind their masks). Lay on the bed and breath into the oxygen mask which is quite hard to do and then the last thing I remember was a nurse with the prettiest blue eyes and then bang, I'm gone.

I wake up (apparently) 5 hours later in recovery with no pain but a couple of inflating devices around my legs that would stay there for 24 hours. After an hour or so I am wheeled back to the ward and I just sleep on and off until tea time. Given a full meal and no signs of being sick or anything.

Nurses pop back in every hour or so to check on temp, blood pressure and the state of my urine bag - still no pain. Manage to get a couple of hours of sleep that night.

Next day the shoulder pain started which is a side effect of the CO2 gas they use to inflate your abdomen. It's the most painful part of the procedure and you will need some good painkillers so don't let them fob you off with a paracetemol!

The catheter is awkward but unless you catch it wrong it's not painful - ask them for someway to fix the pipework to your leg to stop it swinging about.

You will be up and walking around the day after the op and probably asked to shower and then released home. No driving with the catheter of course.

You will have prescriptions for day and night urine bags, painkillers and daily anti-coagulation injections - get some antiseptic solution as well as you need to keep the catheter sterile clean.

That's about it - the wounds heal after a few days, you need to have a bowel movement within 2-3 days of getting home and you need to take things steady for a couple of weeks - as the wounds heal quickly it is easy to forget that you have had some serious internal surgery.

Yep, about 10% of what I imagined was going to happen :)

I was fortunate that I was #1 for the day at 8am in theatre so they had me in the night before but yes, staying local to the hospital sounds like a good idea but I doubt you will sleep much unfortunately - but there really is nothing to be concerned about. Just remember not to eat or drink after the allotted time but if you are staying in a Travelodge then that's not going to be difficult :) :)

I had zero abdominal pain - just the shoulders and in my case my back as I have some arthritis in my back and side sleep but had to sleep on my back for 3 days.

Keep smilin'

Great you have a date now Greg. I was nervous about the general anaesthetic too but the team in the anaesthetic room were brilliant at reassuring me they would look after me.

I knew I had to have the treatment so just placed my faith in the team. 
I came around very gently after the anaesthetic and was looked after by a great team in the high dependency unit until I was moved to a ward.

The hospital teams are expert in this.

At one point as I drifted in and out of a very pleasant sleep I realised that one of the nurses in the high dependency unit was the daughter of a neighbour of ours. That was very reassuring!

Wishing you all the best for the 28th.

You will be back on here in a couple of days saying "why was I worrying about that" - really, it will be a lot less than you are expecting.

See you soon!

Well, it’s getting closer 😳😳🤢

Sitting in a Travelodge room … bored, bored, bored … 

Just sitting thinking about tomorrow morning. Up at 5am to get to the hospital for 7. 

Sure I’ll be fine once I get into the hospital and talking to the team but at the moment I’ve just got anxiety and nerves rolling around my noggin. 
Hope I get some sleep at least. 

See you on the other side. 
Cheers

Greg. 😬