Hi all - I' back - Andy

[Guest guest]

Firstly thanks to all of you for your support, help and

advice – Things would certainly have been much different without the

invaluable knowledge gained on here from all of you.

Thanks also to Ann and Pippa for the ‘get well’

cards that were there waiting at the hospital before me – bit of

detective work on Pippa’s part I suspect and thanks again to Pippa for

keeping you all updated.

As far as I knew I was going in Thursday at 3.30pm with surgery

the following day but I was booked in for surgery the same day at 5.30 –

thought it stage when the admissions clerk said I was just in for one night!

Anyway no time to panic, stayed in home clothes until the anaesthetist had

visited then changed into gown and paper pants – nice! Then the

consultant visited to check things and an hour later I walked to the anaesthetic

room, within minutes I was prepared and under.. and hour later I was back in my

bed with just one drip with fluids and paracetamol – thought it would

have been something stronger like morphine but didn’t need it. In fact I

had no pain whatsoever – one of the nurses commented ‘I won’t

get extra points for being brave’ but I said no there is no pain. Had a

very good night, just the oxygen mask and drip which was removed mid morning

and was told I could leave the same day. However later in the afternoon they

checked my temp and it had risen slightly (around 38) so they said they would

rather keep me in just to be ultra cautious. It rose a little more (38.4) by late

evening so I had some more paracetamol’s and by this morning it was

around 36 so after another visit by the consultant I was def allowed to leave

and here we are now.

Regards the food it was quite weird as I have not felt any different

whilst it was going down... Surgery Thursday evening and by breakfast I was on

a bowl of rice crispiest and tea (this was a def no beforehand), mid morning

was biscuits and tea (again a no beforehand) lunch was chicken soup, mashed

potato and gravy followed by rice pudding (again apart from the mash this was

also a no). Evening meal was soup, scrambled eggs and ice cream (surprise

surprise this would also have been a no before surgery). This morning was tea

and biscuits around 6.30 and cereals around 8. All of this just seemed to

go somewhere it didn’t before and with no problems or pain or anything –

should I have been expecting much more as from what I have read I have had an

easy ride – definitely not complaining though and to get private

treatment paid for by our National Health Service was a big bonus – would

recommend it to anyone if they get a chance. My only thing at the present is

slight discomfort when I cough so I just hold a cushion on my stomach and take

it steady.

My follow up is with a local nurse in a week to remove the staples

and in a month with the consultant.

For reference my consultant was Mr Ackroyd - http://www.surgery4obesity.co.uk/introducing.asp

- and I was treated at the Claremont Hospital - http://www.claremont-hospital.com/

- my bed was exactly as per the shared room layout and I had the first bed on

the left – He also treats NHS as I was – it was just to help the

NHS waiting lists that my surgery was taken out of the system

Does this make me an ex -Achalasian ?

Andy

Yorkshire, England