What happens when you have a tummy tuck?
- Thread starter icemoose
- Start date
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 3 Lunchtime Onwards - The Ward's On Lockdown
I am laying there looking across at an 89 year old guy who looks very rough and is constantly complaining of feeling sick. Then suddenly he has projectile vomiting and suddenly infection control arrive.
They suspect he had C-Diff (He did have C-Diff!) and hence the bay of the ward I am on suddenly gets locked down, this means that no one is allowed into the bay apart from the 1 nurse and any visitors have to wear gowns and masks etc, suddenly I feel like I am an extra on ET as people treat me like an infected alien.
At 2pm the infection control nurse comes and pulls the curtains round, now listen Mike she says....
The guy opposite has suspected C-Diff but the risks of you getting it are low unless you shared the same toilet (I remember going just after him as the seat was still warm!!), she also said the only people who got infected tended to have large scars (yes got an 18 inch cut across my middle) and finally the bombshell!! It is only very dangerous if you are on antibiotics (as I remember 20 minutes back when I had my last amoxiciliin). Suddenly I felt very very worried, I have to say I even thought maybe the whole thing wasn't such a good idea and could imagine the headline of the Great Yarmouth Mercury was "Man Who Wants Tummy Tuck For Vanity Gets C-Diff" and I have to say I was a bit panicky and was trying to think of a way to get out of the bay and into a private area (preferably with an internet station as I was missing Minimins)....
I am laying there looking across at an 89 year old guy who looks very rough and is constantly complaining of feeling sick. Then suddenly he has projectile vomiting and suddenly infection control arrive.
They suspect he had C-Diff (He did have C-Diff!) and hence the bay of the ward I am on suddenly gets locked down, this means that no one is allowed into the bay apart from the 1 nurse and any visitors have to wear gowns and masks etc, suddenly I feel like I am an extra on ET as people treat me like an infected alien.
At 2pm the infection control nurse comes and pulls the curtains round, now listen Mike she says....
The guy opposite has suspected C-Diff but the risks of you getting it are low unless you shared the same toilet (I remember going just after him as the seat was still warm!!), she also said the only people who got infected tended to have large scars (yes got an 18 inch cut across my middle) and finally the bombshell!! It is only very dangerous if you are on antibiotics (as I remember 20 minutes back when I had my last amoxiciliin). Suddenly I felt very very worried, I have to say I even thought maybe the whole thing wasn't such a good idea and could imagine the headline of the Great Yarmouth Mercury was "Man Who Wants Tummy Tuck For Vanity Gets C-Diff" and I have to say I was a bit panicky and was trying to think of a way to get out of the bay and into a private area (preferably with an internet station as I was missing Minimins)....
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 3 - Evening Dog Ears...
The consultant was due to pop and see me and discuss how the operation went etc so was quite excited to see what he would say.
He arrived and firstly apologised for all the pain which I thought was nice and very polite of him! He said the operation had gone to plan, apparently there are two ways of doing the tummy tuck, one of them goes right round the side and two inches around the back but at the Norfolk and Norwich they don't do it as they aren't happy with the results and apparently the operation is much more complex as you have to turn the patient during the operation.
He said therefore that he had done a front only tummy tuck for me which gives me an 18 inch scar from pubic bone to pubic bone (a little past that to be fair). He said the problem with it can be twofold, firstly you can get what they call dog ears which are little flaps of skin at the end of the scar, he said that if I did then I would need to come back in and have them removed but this is a day procedure and nothing to worry about.
The second thing is that you can get "lumps" at the end if you will which means that it wouldn't be dead flat but because it is low you would never really notice it (unless I decide that I want to do nude modelling in the future).
So I was happy enough with that, he said 4.1kg of skin was a lot but apparently has taken a lot more from some people but he wanted to me to stay at least over the weekend.
He looked at the two drains (which were really uncomfortable) and said that once they were draining less than 30mls of blood a day then they could come out, I checked and they had both got 150mls over the past 24 hours so realised it was going to be a time yet.
(One for the boys now!)
I then commented to him on the fact that my bits were literally black and blue and very very sore, it felt constantly like I had been kicked there and was making me feel sick all the time, he had a quick look and said that when they move you about they have to use things to get grip!!! I thanked him for changing me from Golden Balls to Melon Balls and he went on his way....
Late night doctor arrived as I couldn't sleep due to the noise and the pain and gave me some extra morphine and some sleeping tablets, still didn't sleep much but cared less about it!!
The consultant was due to pop and see me and discuss how the operation went etc so was quite excited to see what he would say.
He arrived and firstly apologised for all the pain which I thought was nice and very polite of him! He said the operation had gone to plan, apparently there are two ways of doing the tummy tuck, one of them goes right round the side and two inches around the back but at the Norfolk and Norwich they don't do it as they aren't happy with the results and apparently the operation is much more complex as you have to turn the patient during the operation.
He said therefore that he had done a front only tummy tuck for me which gives me an 18 inch scar from pubic bone to pubic bone (a little past that to be fair). He said the problem with it can be twofold, firstly you can get what they call dog ears which are little flaps of skin at the end of the scar, he said that if I did then I would need to come back in and have them removed but this is a day procedure and nothing to worry about.
The second thing is that you can get "lumps" at the end if you will which means that it wouldn't be dead flat but because it is low you would never really notice it (unless I decide that I want to do nude modelling in the future).
So I was happy enough with that, he said 4.1kg of skin was a lot but apparently has taken a lot more from some people but he wanted to me to stay at least over the weekend.
He looked at the two drains (which were really uncomfortable) and said that once they were draining less than 30mls of blood a day then they could come out, I checked and they had both got 150mls over the past 24 hours so realised it was going to be a time yet.
(One for the boys now!)
I then commented to him on the fact that my bits were literally black and blue and very very sore, it felt constantly like I had been kicked there and was making me feel sick all the time, he had a quick look and said that when they move you about they have to use things to get grip!!! I thanked him for changing me from Golden Balls to Melon Balls and he went on his way....
Late night doctor arrived as I couldn't sleep due to the noise and the pain and gave me some extra morphine and some sleeping tablets, still didn't sleep much but cared less about it!!
Last edited:
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 4 - Old News...
Well two days post op now, I woke up again at around 6:30am due to the guy next to me wanting to chat to me about the diet (9am would have been better).
After two days post op the nurses treat you differently, they go from being soft and cuddly to very tough love and tell you to get up and get busy!! I was wearing those sexy stockings to stop blood clots which tickle your leg hairs and also was on injections to stop clotting so wanted to be up anyway.
I managed to get to my feet and the feeling is very weird, it is literally like if you stand up you will split in half, you can feel every inch of the scar and the tightness is not a nice feeling, also the back ache started to kick in this morning as you can't walk upright and also you are compensating for the scar and hence your back really hurts!
I got into the loo and managed to clean my teeth, you can't shower or bath at all as the bandage must stay dry so tried to use a flannel to get clean but was no good so had to ask a lovely nursing auxillary to give me a wash which was at best embarassing!! she asked if I wanted a number 2 and I laughed that it was hard enough when I was on my own net alone with someone cheering me on LMAO!
Doctor came mid morning and checked my drain, both still were filling up nicely so he confirmed that I would be in for the weekend and to take it easy, also put me on another antibiotic for reasons I never found out! He also took me off of Morphine and moved me over to Brufen which I was not happy about but that got changed back later in the day due to the screaming and general Mike being a moody git on the ward...
Well two days post op now, I woke up again at around 6:30am due to the guy next to me wanting to chat to me about the diet (9am would have been better).
After two days post op the nurses treat you differently, they go from being soft and cuddly to very tough love and tell you to get up and get busy!! I was wearing those sexy stockings to stop blood clots which tickle your leg hairs and also was on injections to stop clotting so wanted to be up anyway.
I managed to get to my feet and the feeling is very weird, it is literally like if you stand up you will split in half, you can feel every inch of the scar and the tightness is not a nice feeling, also the back ache started to kick in this morning as you can't walk upright and also you are compensating for the scar and hence your back really hurts!
I got into the loo and managed to clean my teeth, you can't shower or bath at all as the bandage must stay dry so tried to use a flannel to get clean but was no good so had to ask a lovely nursing auxillary to give me a wash which was at best embarassing!! she asked if I wanted a number 2 and I laughed that it was hard enough when I was on my own net alone with someone cheering me on LMAO!
Doctor came mid morning and checked my drain, both still were filling up nicely so he confirmed that I would be in for the weekend and to take it easy, also put me on another antibiotic for reasons I never found out! He also took me off of Morphine and moved me over to Brufen which I was not happy about but that got changed back later in the day due to the screaming and general Mike being a moody git on the ward...
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 4 Evening - Blood everywhere!!
Well it was Friday night and the ward was actually quite quiet (that was to change!) but decided to get an early night, I was being very melancholy tonight as no visitors since 7pm so had been sitting thinking about whether it was such a good idea and did I really need it done.
"Going for a tummy tuck" is such an easy thing to say, even the name sounds like a little snip and then your sorted, but the reality is that it is major abdominal surgery with all the associated risks and also is it ultimately just for vanity, even though I know that I "needed" it doing for self acceptance and also could get sweaty (don't ask!) but I could have lived with it, it didn't show when I was dressed and most people seemed to be shocked I needed it so maybe it was a mistake, but then I thought if they removed 9 pounds of skin then it must have needed doing!! But I realised I had started saying I had had an abdominoplasty done as opposed to tummy tuck as somehow tummy tuck triviliased the operation and also made it sound like plain old cosmetic surgery.
Anyway too much time by myself is never a good thing!! I end up reliving my past and not good so I played on my phone texting everyone till about 10pm (I know Linda must have got bored of getting messages from me!).
At 10:30pm I got into bed for the night, I was laying there relaxing but I could hear a noise, it sounded like when you leave the top gently off of a coke bottle as a slight fizzing noise. Then a loud pop was heard!! One of my drain bottle had lost it's vacuum and shot it's load everywhere, the floor was covered in blood and the pulling feeling in my stomach was at best uncomfortable, I pushed my emergency buzzer and the nurse came and ended up having to do a full clean of me and then put a new drain on, also because the blood had shot everywhere they didn't know how much it had drained but was clearly more than 30mls so not the end of the world.
Well it was Friday night and the ward was actually quite quiet (that was to change!) but decided to get an early night, I was being very melancholy tonight as no visitors since 7pm so had been sitting thinking about whether it was such a good idea and did I really need it done.
"Going for a tummy tuck" is such an easy thing to say, even the name sounds like a little snip and then your sorted, but the reality is that it is major abdominal surgery with all the associated risks and also is it ultimately just for vanity, even though I know that I "needed" it doing for self acceptance and also could get sweaty (don't ask!) but I could have lived with it, it didn't show when I was dressed and most people seemed to be shocked I needed it so maybe it was a mistake, but then I thought if they removed 9 pounds of skin then it must have needed doing!! But I realised I had started saying I had had an abdominoplasty done as opposed to tummy tuck as somehow tummy tuck triviliased the operation and also made it sound like plain old cosmetic surgery.
Anyway too much time by myself is never a good thing!! I end up reliving my past and not good so I played on my phone texting everyone till about 10pm (I know Linda must have got bored of getting messages from me!).
At 10:30pm I got into bed for the night, I was laying there relaxing but I could hear a noise, it sounded like when you leave the top gently off of a coke bottle as a slight fizzing noise. Then a loud pop was heard!! One of my drain bottle had lost it's vacuum and shot it's load everywhere, the floor was covered in blood and the pulling feeling in my stomach was at best uncomfortable, I pushed my emergency buzzer and the nurse came and ended up having to do a full clean of me and then put a new drain on, also because the blood had shot everywhere they didn't know how much it had drained but was clearly more than 30mls so not the end of the world.
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 5 - No Sleep At All!!
I didn't sleep at all Friday night into Saturday, the pulling on the drains and my lower regions aching put pay to that, also they brought in a guy who had been baseball batted and another guy who was clearly a very violent chap in and had security everywhere, the violent chap was throwing up everywhere and trying to smoke on the ward, I had my curtains pulled all the way round but felt very vunerable as you could only imagine what was going on and the nurses sounded scared hence so was I ! Suddenly thought that if I hadn't of had this operation I could go and help them but for the the next few months and I a weak guy who hobbles about.
Saturday morning arrives which is nice as family coming to visit today, I mad a real effort to get up and get myself washed as I want to get home on Monday and hence need to show I am ok.
I stood in the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, the look around my tummy is very strange, the new belly button seems 2 inches too high and the fact it drags up your pubic hair does look very strange, I remember though being told by someone that the skin does relax but still looks weird!
Then mid morning the problem of number 2's arrived, I had been eating well and had lots of fruit but hadn't had a poo since the day I arrived. I remember when I had appendicites that going for a number 2 was very very difficult as you don't have the stomach muscle to move things along and it is too painful to push.
So I sat on the loo for ages!! Hoping it would sort itself out but it didn't. Went back to the bed but was trumping terribly but managed to kind of blame it on the old men in the bays by looking up to the sky everytime a smell was made (too much detail I know!!)
Doctor came mid morning to check me out, he said he was happy with the scars and the drains and was "amazed" at the mobility I had which was nice, I may be walking slowly with a bend in my back but he said most men don't get up at all for a few days.
I didn't sleep at all Friday night into Saturday, the pulling on the drains and my lower regions aching put pay to that, also they brought in a guy who had been baseball batted and another guy who was clearly a very violent chap in and had security everywhere, the violent chap was throwing up everywhere and trying to smoke on the ward, I had my curtains pulled all the way round but felt very vunerable as you could only imagine what was going on and the nurses sounded scared hence so was I ! Suddenly thought that if I hadn't of had this operation I could go and help them but for the the next few months and I a weak guy who hobbles about.
Saturday morning arrives which is nice as family coming to visit today, I mad a real effort to get up and get myself washed as I want to get home on Monday and hence need to show I am ok.
I stood in the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror, the look around my tummy is very strange, the new belly button seems 2 inches too high and the fact it drags up your pubic hair does look very strange, I remember though being told by someone that the skin does relax but still looks weird!
Then mid morning the problem of number 2's arrived, I had been eating well and had lots of fruit but hadn't had a poo since the day I arrived. I remember when I had appendicites that going for a number 2 was very very difficult as you don't have the stomach muscle to move things along and it is too painful to push.
So I sat on the loo for ages!! Hoping it would sort itself out but it didn't. Went back to the bed but was trumping terribly but managed to kind of blame it on the old men in the bays by looking up to the sky everytime a smell was made (too much detail I know!!)
Doctor came mid morning to check me out, he said he was happy with the scars and the drains and was "amazed" at the mobility I had which was nice, I may be walking slowly with a bend in my back but he said most men don't get up at all for a few days.
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 5 Afternoon - Really Tired
The family all started arriving at 2pm, it was then I realised how tired I was, I couldn't cope with Emily being there, even though she is my own little daughter and I love her more than life I just couldn't cope with the energy she had and hence Jo took her off for a drink, Dad and Step Mum stayed for a while and then some other friends came but I just felt so drained I wanted to just be left alone. I was actually pleased when everyone left which is a terrible thing to say but I definately was feeling sorry for myself and the aching in my middle just reminded me all the time of the operation, I also became fixated with trying to have a number 2 and also standing in front of the mirror in the loo and deciding whether it looked better or worse than before!
The family all started arriving at 2pm, it was then I realised how tired I was, I couldn't cope with Emily being there, even though she is my own little daughter and I love her more than life I just couldn't cope with the energy she had and hence Jo took her off for a drink, Dad and Step Mum stayed for a while and then some other friends came but I just felt so drained I wanted to just be left alone. I was actually pleased when everyone left which is a terrible thing to say but I definately was feeling sorry for myself and the aching in my middle just reminded me all the time of the operation, I also became fixated with trying to have a number 2 and also standing in front of the mirror in the loo and deciding whether it looked better or worse than before!
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 5 Evening - Saturday Nights For Fighting
Saturday night came and went, loads of people bought onto the ward due to fighting and other injuries so was very noisy and I couldn't sleep, I put my Ipod on loud to try and drown it out but ended up listening to Ricky Gervais until the middle of the night while sniggering to myself.
At 2am I was back in the loo trying to do a number 2, I debated whether to ask for a suppository but not into putting things up there and the thought of it was not nice, did regret sitting eating a punnet of Strawberries while watching big brother though....
Saturday night came and went, loads of people bought onto the ward due to fighting and other injuries so was very noisy and I couldn't sleep, I put my Ipod on loud to try and drown it out but ended up listening to Ricky Gervais until the middle of the night while sniggering to myself.
At 2am I was back in the loo trying to do a number 2, I debated whether to ask for a suppository but not into putting things up there and the thought of it was not nice, did regret sitting eating a punnet of Strawberries while watching big brother though....
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 6 - I've Been Shot!
I woke up Sunday morning and did the usual!! I checked the drains, you end up becoming addicted to seeing how much is in the bottles as you know as soon as it is less than 30 mls a day then they get them out and ultimately let you out!
You also try and guess how much is in the actual tube and on it's way into the bottle which I worked out at around 20mls if it is full.
The right hand drain which was always the slower of the two had around 40mls in it but the one on the left which was the fast one had nothing new in it, also the tube was empty so was feeling really pleased!
The nurse popped in and looked and said "that will come out today" so was generally feeling on a high and texted everyone to say I was on my way out!!
Then at 9am I got up, I put my hand behind me to help myself get balance and when I looked at my hand it was soaked in blood, I looked behind me and the blood was everywhere, the drain had split right up against the skin and was everywhere, I suddenly felt very sick and was gagging as the nurse came in and helped. My new pyjamas were ruined and it looked like a scene from pulp fiction, the doctor arrived and put a new drain pipe thing in and tidied it up, it was not very nice and very uncomfortable and they had to cut some of the bandage off and I could see the edge of the main scar and it looks huge!
I woke up Sunday morning and did the usual!! I checked the drains, you end up becoming addicted to seeing how much is in the bottles as you know as soon as it is less than 30 mls a day then they get them out and ultimately let you out!
You also try and guess how much is in the actual tube and on it's way into the bottle which I worked out at around 20mls if it is full.
The right hand drain which was always the slower of the two had around 40mls in it but the one on the left which was the fast one had nothing new in it, also the tube was empty so was feeling really pleased!
The nurse popped in and looked and said "that will come out today" so was generally feeling on a high and texted everyone to say I was on my way out!!
Then at 9am I got up, I put my hand behind me to help myself get balance and when I looked at my hand it was soaked in blood, I looked behind me and the blood was everywhere, the drain had split right up against the skin and was everywhere, I suddenly felt very sick and was gagging as the nurse came in and helped. My new pyjamas were ruined and it looked like a scene from pulp fiction, the doctor arrived and put a new drain pipe thing in and tidied it up, it was not very nice and very uncomfortable and they had to cut some of the bandage off and I could see the edge of the main scar and it looks huge!
kazbro
jelly belly
wow
i think you are doing so well
i have to admit once i`ve lost all of my 145lbs i so want a tummy tuck
as you say you just think ya bit of cosmetic surgery and up and about in no time
how wrong people are
it is major surgery and bloody painful
well done mike
as much as you are in pain i hope it you feel it was worth it
loving this thread
i may think twice now though about surgery
kaz
i think you are doing so well
i have to admit once i`ve lost all of my 145lbs i so want a tummy tuck
as you say you just think ya bit of cosmetic surgery and up and about in no time
how wrong people are
it is major surgery and bloody painful
well done mike
as much as you are in pain i hope it you feel it was worth it
loving this thread
i may think twice now though about surgery
kaz
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 6 - Sunday afternoon...
Definately got my head on going home tomorrow, I had always "planned" to go home Monday in my mind and was determined to convince them that I should be let home as I was walking around ok (well hobbling) and the drains weren't too bad and anyway surely Jo could change them.
In terms of the scar everyone wanted to have a look!! To be honest there is little to see as the main scar has a wide dressing on it, the only thing you can see is my new belly button as that is uncovered and also my black and blue bits which I wasn't showing anyone!
Nurse popped in to say no more morphine after Sunday night as it is addictive so would need to have something less but to be fair although it hurt like hell when I moved about and was "stingy" a lot of the time I agreed with what she said.
Noticed that the drains had stop draining blood and had yellow fluid in instead! Weird but was interesting to watch it going down the tubes. They also moved the C-Diff guy to a private room and did a full clean of the bay which was something to watch and I felt a little safer when someone could visit me without having to put on latex!
Definately got my head on going home tomorrow, I had always "planned" to go home Monday in my mind and was determined to convince them that I should be let home as I was walking around ok (well hobbling) and the drains weren't too bad and anyway surely Jo could change them.
In terms of the scar everyone wanted to have a look!! To be honest there is little to see as the main scar has a wide dressing on it, the only thing you can see is my new belly button as that is uncovered and also my black and blue bits which I wasn't showing anyone!
Nurse popped in to say no more morphine after Sunday night as it is addictive so would need to have something less but to be fair although it hurt like hell when I moved about and was "stingy" a lot of the time I agreed with what she said.
Noticed that the drains had stop draining blood and had yellow fluid in instead! Weird but was interesting to watch it going down the tubes. They also moved the C-Diff guy to a private room and did a full clean of the bay which was something to watch and I felt a little safer when someone could visit me without having to put on latex!
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 6 - Sunday Evening Chat...
I ended up Sunday night chatting to a girl from the next bay as she was in for a tummy tuck as well, she was having them after a few children and really got us both thinking about it.
I had definately got in my mind that I must have the operation done, that somehow it "completes" the journey and the transformation and the fact I would always be pinching the loose skin surely meant it was worth it.
I had never really thought this through though, when I had loose skin I never was in pain with it, I was never having pipes coming out of me and having to have morphine to live and also I have cost the tax payer thousands of pounds to remove the skin, I also had the mind set on Sunday that it was my fault, at the end of the day if I hadn't eaten so much then I wouldn't need the operation doing in the first place so maybe I should have lived with what I had. The lady also talked to me about whether I was worried about putting the weight back on, I said I wasn't and that I had been at goal weight for 18 months but then I thought "Oh my god just imagine if I did put all the weight back on, how poor would that be"
So Sunday night I wasn't in a good mood, I was trying to be positive about going home on Monday and tried to convince myself that whether or not I should have had the operation it was done now so no point in deciding I shouldn't have had it!
Went to sleep quite early and the ward was quiet so got a good nights sleep...
I ended up Sunday night chatting to a girl from the next bay as she was in for a tummy tuck as well, she was having them after a few children and really got us both thinking about it.
I had definately got in my mind that I must have the operation done, that somehow it "completes" the journey and the transformation and the fact I would always be pinching the loose skin surely meant it was worth it.
I had never really thought this through though, when I had loose skin I never was in pain with it, I was never having pipes coming out of me and having to have morphine to live and also I have cost the tax payer thousands of pounds to remove the skin, I also had the mind set on Sunday that it was my fault, at the end of the day if I hadn't eaten so much then I wouldn't need the operation doing in the first place so maybe I should have lived with what I had. The lady also talked to me about whether I was worried about putting the weight back on, I said I wasn't and that I had been at goal weight for 18 months but then I thought "Oh my god just imagine if I did put all the weight back on, how poor would that be"
So Sunday night I wasn't in a good mood, I was trying to be positive about going home on Monday and tried to convince myself that whether or not I should have had the operation it was done now so no point in deciding I shouldn't have had it!
Went to sleep quite early and the ward was quiet so got a good nights sleep...
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 7 - Going Home (NOT!)
So Monday morning arrived, I woke up and checked my drains immediately, there was 20mls in the slow one and 40mls in the fast one. The doctor arrived at 7:30am and looked, he said that one of the drains could come out (the slow one!) but wanted a few more days on the other drain before letting me out, to say I wasn't happy was an understatement. I was fine to him but looked like thunder, I got upset when he left and the nurse tried to cheer me up but I wanted out.
I remember texting Linda and she texted me back to say hang in there but I could feel my happy-ometer on rock bottom and just felt totally pissed off.
The nurse came mid morning to take out the slow drain, all I can say is OH MY GOD!! Frick me it hurts to take out, she cleaned it all first and got it ready and was trying to get me to breathe properly but I though it was like 1cm under the skin and not 4 inches deep.
When she pulled it out it hurt! And I mean hurt, she pulled it out slowly and you could feel every little millimetre of it, I was crying while she was doing it and she was trying to cheer me up but I had totally had enough, just wish I was home and well again even if that meant I had the skin back.
Late morning and I decided to go and try and sort out the number 2 situation, Jo had said the best thing was to stick a finger in that area and that would sort it but that wasn't going to happen!! I decided I would pop my eyeballs but I was going to have a poo!!
So I went to get up, then I noticed blood, and not just a bit of blood, where the drain had come out it was pouring out like a tap (exaggeration but there was a lot!), I called the nurse and she was shocked at the amount of blood, she said it could be because I had anti clogging drugs as they couldn't stop it, the doctor came and ended up putting some stitches into it to stop it which again hurt a lot! (I keep saying it hurt and maybe I have a low pain threshold but to me it all bloody hurt!)
So Monday morning arrived, I woke up and checked my drains immediately, there was 20mls in the slow one and 40mls in the fast one. The doctor arrived at 7:30am and looked, he said that one of the drains could come out (the slow one!) but wanted a few more days on the other drain before letting me out, to say I wasn't happy was an understatement. I was fine to him but looked like thunder, I got upset when he left and the nurse tried to cheer me up but I wanted out.
I remember texting Linda and she texted me back to say hang in there but I could feel my happy-ometer on rock bottom and just felt totally pissed off.
The nurse came mid morning to take out the slow drain, all I can say is OH MY GOD!! Frick me it hurts to take out, she cleaned it all first and got it ready and was trying to get me to breathe properly but I though it was like 1cm under the skin and not 4 inches deep.
When she pulled it out it hurt! And I mean hurt, she pulled it out slowly and you could feel every little millimetre of it, I was crying while she was doing it and she was trying to cheer me up but I had totally had enough, just wish I was home and well again even if that meant I had the skin back.
Late morning and I decided to go and try and sort out the number 2 situation, Jo had said the best thing was to stick a finger in that area and that would sort it but that wasn't going to happen!! I decided I would pop my eyeballs but I was going to have a poo!!
So I went to get up, then I noticed blood, and not just a bit of blood, where the drain had come out it was pouring out like a tap (exaggeration but there was a lot!), I called the nurse and she was shocked at the amount of blood, she said it could be because I had anti clogging drugs as they couldn't stop it, the doctor came and ended up putting some stitches into it to stop it which again hurt a lot! (I keep saying it hurt and maybe I have a low pain threshold but to me it all bloody hurt!)
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 7 - Afternoon
I spent the afternoon texting people moaning that I wasn't allowed home!! I must have sounded like a right moody git, the nice auxillary came on shift who had washed me the other day so I asked if she could give me a good wash as I felt really dirty and still had dried blood all over my back from the drain spill and split.
Monday evening the doctor came round and asked if I had had a number 2 ! I said yes of course (white lie and all that!) and off he went, spoke to Jo and she said that I must be honest as I shouldn't come home until I had been.
So I tried the old Cambridge trick, I drank 3 litres of water in an hour and then got the feeling!! I basically ran to the loo bent over like an old man and things sorted themselves out, without getting too technical though wiping your bum after a tummy tuck is agony as you can't bend your arm round to clean things up ! (too much information I know!)
I spent the afternoon texting people moaning that I wasn't allowed home!! I must have sounded like a right moody git, the nice auxillary came on shift who had washed me the other day so I asked if she could give me a good wash as I felt really dirty and still had dried blood all over my back from the drain spill and split.
Monday evening the doctor came round and asked if I had had a number 2 ! I said yes of course (white lie and all that!) and off he went, spoke to Jo and she said that I must be honest as I shouldn't come home until I had been.
So I tried the old Cambridge trick, I drank 3 litres of water in an hour and then got the feeling!! I basically ran to the loo bent over like an old man and things sorted themselves out, without getting too technical though wiping your bum after a tummy tuck is agony as you can't bend your arm round to clean things up ! (too much information I know!)
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 7 Evening - Surely tomorrow...
Loads of new people arrived on the ward for elective surgery this week, they were all really nervous and I felt like the old experienced patient on the ward, there were two young guys who were in surgery who had never had a general before so I was telling them what happened and that it wasn't too bad etc. Felt good that they seemed quite relaxed about it and felt like I had helped.
Also then had a lovely nurse come and talk to me about the diet as she wants to trim down for an operation so gave her an hour on the diet and she went away convinved to do it.
Checked my drain before I want to sleep and it was at 20mls, was hoping I didn't wake up to find it full as if it stayed at 20mls then surely I could go home.
Loads of new people arrived on the ward for elective surgery this week, they were all really nervous and I felt like the old experienced patient on the ward, there were two young guys who were in surgery who had never had a general before so I was telling them what happened and that it wasn't too bad etc. Felt good that they seemed quite relaxed about it and felt like I had helped.
Also then had a lovely nurse come and talk to me about the diet as she wants to trim down for an operation so gave her an hour on the diet and she went away convinved to do it.
Checked my drain before I want to sleep and it was at 20mls, was hoping I didn't wake up to find it full as if it stayed at 20mls then surely I could go home.
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 8 - Going home WOOHOOO!!
I woke up yesterday morning and did the drain check!! It was bang on 30mls so I was confident.
Doctor came dead early and checked it and said it was up to me as he was happy for me to stay a couple more days, I said I wanted out as I could feel myself becoming more and more down in the dumps and he said he was happy.
The nurse came a little while later to take the other drain out, I had definately got myself very wound up about it as the other side had hurt and taken me by surprise so much. She knew I was nervous and got another nurse to chat to me but officially taking drains out is very very very bloody painful and not nice!!
So the drain was out, I could officially walk around without carrying bottles in a bag!! I got up and started to pack my bag, after 2 minutes I was back on the bed, sweating and knackered, the sister came and said that I had to realise I wasn't well and couldn't just get up and start doing things, she then noticed the other drain site was bleeding everywhere so had to get changed again!
At 11am I went to the loo to get dressed, I took my jeans a nice t-shirt and also some boxers. I was fascinated to know if the jeans would be too loose!! If all the skin was gone then surely 2 inches or more would fall from my waist size. Anyway got the jeans nearly done up but the pain was incredible, the belt was right on the scar so off came the jeans, I kept the boxers on under my pyjamas but 20 minutes later they came off as the pressure on the scar was too much.
Step Dad arrived at lunchtime to pick me up, they gave me loads of drugs to take home and an appointment for next Monday to have the dressing changed. I walked down to the car in my pyjamas which was a slow process and the drive home was painful as I felt every single bump in the road.
I woke up yesterday morning and did the drain check!! It was bang on 30mls so I was confident.
Doctor came dead early and checked it and said it was up to me as he was happy for me to stay a couple more days, I said I wanted out as I could feel myself becoming more and more down in the dumps and he said he was happy.
The nurse came a little while later to take the other drain out, I had definately got myself very wound up about it as the other side had hurt and taken me by surprise so much. She knew I was nervous and got another nurse to chat to me but officially taking drains out is very very very bloody painful and not nice!!
So the drain was out, I could officially walk around without carrying bottles in a bag!! I got up and started to pack my bag, after 2 minutes I was back on the bed, sweating and knackered, the sister came and said that I had to realise I wasn't well and couldn't just get up and start doing things, she then noticed the other drain site was bleeding everywhere so had to get changed again!
At 11am I went to the loo to get dressed, I took my jeans a nice t-shirt and also some boxers. I was fascinated to know if the jeans would be too loose!! If all the skin was gone then surely 2 inches or more would fall from my waist size. Anyway got the jeans nearly done up but the pain was incredible, the belt was right on the scar so off came the jeans, I kept the boxers on under my pyjamas but 20 minutes later they came off as the pressure on the scar was too much.
Step Dad arrived at lunchtime to pick me up, they gave me loads of drugs to take home and an appointment for next Monday to have the dressing changed. I walked down to the car in my pyjamas which was a slow process and the drive home was painful as I felt every single bump in the road.
icemoose
The Diet Guy
Day 9 - Today!
So this is today! Laying here in bed with a big bandage around my middle and my laptop on my side, feels like a very long week and not sure whether I am happy to have had it done or not.
I haven't seen the final results due to the swelling and the bandage so will be next Monday until I see.
Would I recommend to anyone to have this done? Not so sure.
I think that if you need it done for technical reasons (infection and soreness etc) then yes of course but if you are having it because it bugs you in the shower then you really need to understand that this is major surgery and regardless of whether it is free on the NHS or whether you pay it is still a bloody painful and major operation, I now have at least 4 to 6 weeks of being off of work, unable to drive and generally being an invalid.
Time will tell if I think it was worth it but I am already worrying that the scar will look bad so hope I haven't replaced loose skin that bothered me with a scar that bothers me :-(
So this is today! Laying here in bed with a big bandage around my middle and my laptop on my side, feels like a very long week and not sure whether I am happy to have had it done or not.
I haven't seen the final results due to the swelling and the bandage so will be next Monday until I see.
Would I recommend to anyone to have this done? Not so sure.
I think that if you need it done for technical reasons (infection and soreness etc) then yes of course but if you are having it because it bugs you in the shower then you really need to understand that this is major surgery and regardless of whether it is free on the NHS or whether you pay it is still a bloody painful and major operation, I now have at least 4 to 6 weeks of being off of work, unable to drive and generally being an invalid.
Time will tell if I think it was worth it but I am already worrying that the scar will look bad so hope I haven't replaced loose skin that bothered me with a scar that bothers me :-(
