On Friday July 10th 2009 I had surgery as part of a medical trial for a new weight loss procedure. It's called a Percutaneous Paragastric Single Port Balloon Implant System.
Basically it's a kidney bean shaped balloon which is stitched in place between your abdomen wall and your stomach then filled with saline. When filled with saline the balloon fills the space in your abdomen that normally your full stomach would and puts pressure on the stomach, reducing it's available capacity so you therefore can't eat as much food. It also has a long tubing with a port attached on the end for adjusting the level of saline in the implant without the need for further surgeries.
My starting weight was 152.4kg with a BMI of 53.
On the day of surgery my weight was 145kg with a BMI of 47.9
We were told that we would have the same recovery time as those who have lap-banding surgery. 2-3 days at most in hospital and should be ok to go home on the second day.
This was not the case with myself and a friend who had surgery the same day.
I remember waking up in the recovery room in the most pain I've ever been in, and I've given birth to a 9.1lb boy! On the pain scale, birth was like a 5-6 for me. This surgery was easily a 10. The worst pain I've ever felt. They hadn't set up my pethidine drip yet so I was feeling everything with hardly any, if any, pain meds in my system. I remember groggily thinking to myself 'Who's parked an elephant on me?' It felt like my chest/abdomen was being crushed.
Once my pethidine drip was up and running the pain subsided some and the vomiting started. It seems I don't react well to anesthetic or pethidine, or maybe it was a combination of both that set me off. Either way throwing up when you have a balloon full of saline newly attached to the outer side of your stomach is not pleasant. I remember at one point in the early hours of the morning begging the nurse to call the surgeon to come take it out. I didn't want it anymore. She of course refused and tried to comfort me.
The next morning the day nurses came on and a lovely nurse named Annie came in to check on me before promptly telling me I was getting up for a shower, whether I wanted to or not. I'd feel better, she said.
I couldn't move without pain or throwing up so that was an eventful shower. I sat on a chair, bin in hand to throw up into, whilst Annie undressed, washed and dried me before redressing me in my own clothes from home rather than the hospital gown I had been wearing.
It was amazing but after that shower I did start to feel better and the second day even managed to stand long enough to wash myself.
On the third day I was taken off my pethidine drip and was given endone (Oxycontin) and panadol to control my pain. I was even attempting small circuits around the hallways.
By Monday I was well and truly ready to go home, but there was no way I could drive myself, as I had planned to and was told I'd be able to. I think everyone involved underestimated the reaction we'd have to the procedure. Unlike lap-banding we are opened up 5-10cm on the right hand side of our abdomen, near the liver to have the implant inserted. Lap-bands are done with 5 small incisions through which instruments are poked and gas used to inflate the abdomen so our procedure is very much more invasive. I do hope in future they find some way to do it laproscopically and save future generations the pain - if indeed this procedure is to become mainstream.
I ended up having my ex partner, father of my son, take me home whilst his Grandfather drove my car home. I really wasn't up to doing much but I had my son to look after. He ended up looking after me though.
I couldn't lay on my side and I couldn't lay on my stomach (my preferred sleeping position) so I camped out on the couch for the first week so I could sleep on my back and not turn over during the night, causing myself pain. Endone was my best friend for those first few days. I took it exactly 4 hours apart for 3 days because it blocks your emotional reaction to pain, not just the pain itself and would knock me out. I was in blissful pain free sleep for 4 hours at a time.
On the 3rd day home, Wednesday, I decided to get up and have something to eat, or rather drink, as we were told fluids only for the first 2 weeks. I made myself a protein shake with berries in it to make it more palatable and forced myself to drink it. I felt better almost instantly. It had been 3 days since I'd had anything other than water and medication in my stomach and that seemed to be exactly what I needed. I managed to get a load of laundry done and some dishes washed.
The following day I had an appointment to have an MRI and X-ray to check the position of the implant, which I proudly managed to get to by driving myself.
Everything was deemed to be fine and I went home to rest up.
It took about another week for me to be back to my usual self, but I still couldn't sleep on my stomach which meant that I wasn't sleeping well at all. I'd moved back to my bedroom as I found I was able to sleep on my side comfortably but every night I'd try to roll onto my stomach to sleep in the position I knew to be most comfortable and wake myself from the pain of it. I was lucky to get an hour or two of uninterrupted sleep at a time per night. This pattern continued for a good 6 weeks post-surgery. Now I can sleep on my stomach without any pain, just slight discomfort, especially if I've just eaten.
I think now it's time for some photo's yeah?
My incision
Me - 5 days post-surgery. Not happy Jan and still really swollen.
August - 141kg BMI 46.6
September - 140.8kg BMI 46.5
October - 139.5kg BMI 46.1
I have had two "adjustments" as they call them, where more saline has been put into my balloon. The first was in the month of August, just one month after my surgery and I had to have it done under Xray as my port was hiding and I was still quite sensitive around my incision site. It went without a hitch. I was given local anesthetic at the site and they stuck the long needle right into the port then proceeded to add 160ml of saline to the 840mls I had during surgery to make a full Litre of liquid.
The second adjustment took place on the 8th October and was done in the surgeon's office without a problem and without local anesthetic. It didn't hurt at all. I had 110mls added to make 1.110L and restrict my stomach's capacity further. So far so good.
I can now only fit in about 1/2 a cup of toasted muesli with 4 tablespoons of low fat yogurt and a cup of coffee in for breakfast and that will keep me satisfied until well after lunch, usually around 1-2pm I'll start to get hungry for lunch which usually consists of a single tuna, tomato, onion and lettuce sandwich which keeps me satisfied until around 7pm when I have dinner.
I have also started exercising regularly for the first time in my life. I walk 30 mins 4 times a week and actually enjoy it more than I ever thought possible. I love the adrenaline high I get afterwards and can see myself becoming a gym junkie when I'm down to a weight where I feel comfortable going to a gym.
I will update when I can, when there's news or when I want to have a bitch.
If you've managed to read this much I thank you for persevering. It was long, I know! Should have started a blog back when all this started not 3 month into it. Live and learn hey.
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