My First: laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Well, that sounds impressive doesn't it!lol All it means really is that I had my Gallbladder removed via keyhole surgery this week! I thought I would share this week with my friends this way, it saves me explaining what happened a few times and might make interesting reading to someone looking up the subject online as well :-)

As you all know a few weeks ago I had an ERCP which removed a load of gall stones which had become stuck in my bile duct and replaced them with a stent to prevent it from happening again while I waited to have my gallbladder removed. Well, Saturday night I started having a lot of pain again but nothing that I've not become used to so Dave went to sleep and left me to it as I asked him to. At 4 am I woke him and asked him if he would take me to the hospital, I'd just been sick and there was some blood in it, not much but it made the pain I was feeling so much worse and I knew there was something very wrong inside me.

When we got to the Hospital some of the staff seemed to recognise me even though it was months ago I last went through there, they understood what I was telling them and gave me some painkillers to help (and then even more when they didn't work!lol) After a couple of hours, some blood tests and X-rays I was admitted and moved to ASU and from there on to a surgical ward where for the first 3 days I shared with the same 3 women and had a a good time with them.

When I saw the doctor in the morning, he said I had an infection and because I was already being treated by someone over there he was going to prescribe some antibiotics and get in touch with my usual consultant for him to take over my care since he knew my history better and there was a chance that since I was there anyway he might want to do my operation if he could fit me in!

When I saw him he explained that sometimes the stents could cause infections and I was unlucky enough to be someone that this happened to and I don't regret having it put in as it solved a lot of my problems so I would not go back and not have it put in even with the problems it caused. He also said that he would like to remove my gallbladder while I was there and I was put on the list for the next day (Tuesday), sadly there were a few emergencies that came in that day and I was moved to Wednesday but I was kind of relieved when they said I wasn't having it Tuesday as I'd had an odd thing happen which at the time was annoying but looking back it was quite funny!

In the afternoon my pain was getting worse so I asked for my oral morphine to be switched to the injections which worked a bit better for me, the nurse agreed and went to prepare it. When she started to inject it into me, the syringe exploded and covered both me and her with the medicine! Sadly this meant I had to wait an hour to see if I'd gotten any of it before they could give me any more but looking back it probably looked quite funny for anyone seeing/hearing about it and it does put a smile on my face thinking about it now and that wasn't my only needle mishap either!

On Wednesday I was second on the list so was taken down to theatre quite early. I had a few laughs with the staff who were there to look after me while I was got ready and being anaesthetised and was complemented on how calm I was, having had a couple of operations in the past, I knew that if you were stressed or worried it just makes it all so much worse, keeping calm makes all the meds work better and means a better outcome for me and probably a better time for those looking after me too :-)

After I came to I had to stay in recovery for a bit longer, I'd had my other needle incident! When they tried to administer the paralytic drug there had been a problem and they'd had to put another needle into me and give me another dose so they had to make sure I came out of it all OK which I did. I was moved back to the ward after lunch and was soon well enough to call Dave and text Cathy and Dawn to let them know I was back in the land of the living and all was well.

I saw my consultant the next morning and he told me he'd left a tiny piece of my gallbladder behind to keep the stent in place and from causing any more harm but that small piece would do me no further harm and the stent would be removed in 6-8 weeks. He also told me my gallbladder was very seriously infected so I'm so glad I listened to my body and went back last weekend as if I hadn't things could have been so much worse for me. He had put a drain in which he said could be removed Friday morning and if there were no problems I could go home YAY!

I spent the rest of Thursday continuing my work which I'd started the night before, I was determined to get better and back to normal as soon as possible and so with the approval of the nurses on the ward I was up and walking around as much as I could without doing too much. By the end of Thursday I was walking normally and able to get in and out of bed unaided, the nurses actually complimented me on how much I was helping myself get better and how well I was doing with it so I figured I was doing a good job :-D

Friday came around and so did my last visit with my consultant, he was very happy with me and my progress and said I could be discharged after having my drain out and set about prescribing my meds and after care so I set about getting myself ready and late morning the nurses came and removed my drain (which wasn't as bad as last time I had one out thankfully!) so I went and got washed up dressed and set about waiting for my drugs to turn up and discharge paperwork. As soon as that came I called Dave and got picked up and brought home.

I now feel so much better, I cant feel that pain anymore and it's such a relief that I know I'm never going to feel that again either. Yes, I'm a bit achey and I have enough tablets I need to take for the next week I think I'm going to rattle but I'm glad it's done now. I know some of you reading this will feel upset for me getting the infection from the procedure that I had done but please stop and think about the big picture. I needed to have that done, the infection was not intended it's just something that can happen in a small number of cases and without me having that, I'd still be in pain every day until June/July when I was scheduled to have my operation. So yes, it was a dangerous thing to happen but I'm glad it did as the end result was so worth it.

Finally, if any of them are reading this, I would love to thank the staff of Southampton General Hospital and especially the nurses from F6 and all the other doctors, nurses and other staff involved in my care who helped me so much, you're all amazing!

My First: ERCP

As most of you know this week I was in hospital to have an ERCP done to remove some gallstones which had left my gallbladder and become stuck in my bile duct. I was a little concerned when I went in as even with all the research I'd done about this procedure, I still wasn't exactly sure what would happen to me.

After getting my bed, having my vitals checked and being decked out in a gown it really wasn't very long till I was being wheeled down to radiography to have it done. I was first amazed at how much equipment they used, the little X-ray room was soon filled with trolleys carrying lots of different equipment alongside quite a few members of staff to monitor me as well as use everything! I also had 2 medical students in there as well, they have to learn somehow and I knew I'd be kind of unconscious so I didn't mind!lol

Once I was settled I was fed a cocktail of drugs and didn't feel a thing for ages but I came to a little early and they were still removing the stones (there seemed to be loads of them!) which was a little uncomfortable but the nurse was reassuring me as it wasn't much more they had to do. She was right too, before long I could feel the snaky thing coming back up and I was so glad I had a numb throat and mouth, it's a very odd feeling!lol

I was taken back to the ward and told not to eat or drink for 4 hours as they'd had to make a small cut since it was my first ERCP and they were checking me every 15 mins to make sure nothing had gone wrong. It was here I started to notice a real difference in me, since I've been attending hospital this year, my blood pressure has been incredibly high (the top number over 200 and the bottom over 120 each time and going much higher) which has been worrying to everyone who has seen me. Well, the first time they took my readings it was already lower than it has been all year and after 2 hours it was down to around 145/85 and stayed around there until I was released the next morning (I was on the afternoon list so had to stay overnight)

Now a could of days on, I've noticed so many other changes in me as well, I have more energy, I'm eating properly and I feel happy. It does make me wonder just what damage those stones were doing to me for all this to have changed in such a short time. There can be complications after having this done but thankfully, I don't seem to have any symptoms so I'm not worried about having to have it done again after I have my gallbladder removed. I only have to have it done again as they put a stent in to my bile duct to try to prevent this from happening again while I wait to have the operation done, so that will be much quicker and now I just have to wait for the next letter from the hospital but having this done will make the wait much easier no matter how long (or short) it is.

My First: Percy Pig Easter Egg!

Now I'm sure most of you can remember how disappointed I (and a few of you too) were last year when these all sold out very quickly and we were left pig-less at Easter! Well, thank you very much to M&S, they have them back this year and when we went there last night there were loads of them in stock, and since it's only 2 weeks till Easter I managed to persuade Dave to buy me one.

I know I wont be able to eat much of it but I'll be able to eat a little if I can bear to break him (he is very cute!lol)

I haven't actually seen any advertising for these yet (am I not looking or have I just missed it all?lol) but after what happened last year, if you want one too, go get one quick, they have a nice long shelf life so they will last and they are on 3 for 2 at £6 each right now too!

My First: Burned iron :-(

I'm the sort of person who actually enjoys ironing, I find it relaxing (I know many of you don't and no, I wont do yours for you, I have enough of my own to do thanks!lol) but today I had a major problem with my ironing. Part of the way through ironing a delicate shirt I must have nudged the heat dial higher as when I checked after, it was set a lot higher than I had when I started so yep, it melted it and I ended up with a yukky black smudge across the plate and a huge hole in the shirt (kinda lucky it was one of Dave's really, he has loads!lol)

After doing some googling I found some products I could get to help (my iron has a non stick plate so I cant use the wire wool option!lol) but someone suggested while the iron was still hot, apply a damp very cold sponge carefully to the smudge suggesting that it would peel off. I figured it would have to be worth a go, it couldn't make things worse anyway so I turned the iron back on to heat the plate back up, ran a sponge under the cold tap till it was nice and cold and tried it. I couldn't see any difference to be honest so I turned it off again and gave up.

A while later I went up to put the iron away and thought the smudge looked a bit different so I nudged it with the tip of my finger and sure enough it moved! I carefully peeled it back and almost all of it peeled off in one piece! I simply used a rough towel and buffed the plate to remove the remaining particles and YAY my iron's back to normal again. I just had to share my mishap incase it happens to any of you too since the solution to it is so easy (and free!)

My First: iPad Game

This one is entirely Zoe's fault over at Splodz Blogz, she made a post this week about a couple of games she's been playing on her iPad and one of them looked so much fun that I just had to try it out for myself.

It's a bit like the games I love playing on Facebook where you have to build things to raise money to be able to build new things. You get tasks to complete which advance you through the game but with this one being The Simpson's it's just that much more fun! You get to order about the characters that we all know and love from the TV show, getting them to complete jobs while you build the town up again (yes, Homer did destroy Springfield yet again!lol) I've been playing it for a couple of days now but I'm totally hooked and looking forward to seeing what the game has in store for me over the next few days/weeks/months :-D

And if you want to play too, please add me as a neighbour, I'm MunchKim2013

My First: Hair Mask

I know I have won some of these a few times over the years but my hair's always been in really good condition so I've given most away to friends and family. Unfortunately I had to use one recently, a set of hair products I was sent to trial left my hair extremely dry and brittle after 2 uses (yes I did stop using them then and reported this to the company) so I needed to find something to help me out of the mess my hair was in.

The answer was sat on my shelf from a win last month, I was lucky enough to win a Herbal Essences Intensive Hair Mask on Twitter and it was just sat there looking at me. I've always had good results from this brand, I know some people have problems with them but I'm sorry, they smell good and my hair likes them so I will continue to use them.

Anyway, after just one use (used instead of conditioner & left on for 5 mins) my hair was straight back to normal again, soft and silky and looking healthy, so I'll certainly be keeping it handy incase I have any bad hair experiences again!

My First: Passport!

Yes, I know I probably should have got myself one of these years ago but the need just didn't arise until recently but anyway I started the process in December and finally this week I received my first passport.

I really cant wait to use it, there are so many firsts I can have from this one too, first flight, first time in each country, there are so many to look forward to :-D

I will be back .... again!

I had such a promising start to the year with this blog didn't I? And I really did mean to keep it going but sometimes life gets in the way sadly. I know some of you know what is going on with me but I wanted to explain here as well incase anyone had missed it and thought I'd just given up on my blogging challenge to myself this year (I haven't by the way, it's just on hold temporarily)

A week or so into December last year I had quite a bad bout of gall stone pain which was quickly followed by what we suspected to be norovirus (vomiting & diarrhoea for a couple of days) and then I had more stomach cramps again which seemed to be something some people suffered from after having that horrible virus. All over Christmas most times I ate I would get crippling pains but I managed to cope and we had a good if quiet time together while Dave was off work.

A couple of weeks ago the pain got really severe one night and Dave took me over to A&E, they kept me in overnight while they ran some tests but there wasn't time to do the ultrasound scan as I was getting really stressed and my blood pressure was getting far too high. They sent me home and last week I went in again and had the scan done. The operator told me what she'd found and after a bit of googling I discovered that it would probably mean me having to have an operation which has been confirmed by my consultant this week. I really need to have my gallbladder removed now and one of my stones has escaped it and become stuck in my bile duct and that is what is causing me so many problems right now.

So thats where things stand right now, I'm waiting to have a scope go down my throat to pick out that escaping stone (about 2 weeks he said) and also to have my gall bladder removed via keyhole surgery (about a month on this one) both of which will be new things for me so they do kind of fit in with my plan for this year but not exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for really.

Anyway, on the bright side, I have my interview arranged for getting my first passport (another first here you see) and I know, no matter how stressful being in hospital might be for me it will be worth it as I'm getting rid of the part of me that has caused me so much pain on and off for virtually my whole adult life (I've also heard that it can help with weight loss having it out so there's another positive too!lol)

My First: White Chocolate Lion Bar!

Last year my friend Kym (yes this one is all your fault!lol) told me about white chocolate lion bars, I'd never heard of them before but was instantly curious. I used to love normal lion bars but for the past few years Nestle milk chocolate has given me terrible heartburn so I have avoided it. Their white chocolate however has not presented me with any problems which made me even more keen to try these out. After hunting for them I managed to find someone selling them on Amazon and added them to my Christmas wish list for Dave to select my gifts from. Luckily for me he chose to buy them but sadly they didn't get delivered in time, in fact they were only finally delivered to us this week!

Because of my health this week I've only tried a small piece of one, Dave has done some more rigorous testing though and given them a thorough thumbs up!lol

The piece I did try was really good, very very sweet however so don't try these unless you have a real sweet tooth, they will be too much for you! They start off being sweet and crispy and after a little chew they go creamy and soft, possibly a little too sweet for me but I'm sure I wont mind having a couple every so often while the ones I have last!

Be careful what you ask for ...... around me!

Me: Do you want a mince pie?

Dave: Please

Me: hot?

Dave: Yes

Me: Cream?

Dave: Yep

Me: Do you want me to do it?

Dave: If you don't mind

Me: A little or a lot?

Dave: ...... A lot!

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Yes there is a mince pie under all that cream!lol

1st First on the 1st!

Well, I've already done something that I've never done before, I've set myself a list of things I'd like to win and written them down here!

Each year there seems to be one challenge or another and I join in to some which appeal to me, fun ones I remember were winning the Alphabet and win a prize a day, both were quite difficult to complete and so last year I set an easy one (to win less tat) and I succeeded with that too!

I've never really gone for the win a wishlist ones before though as I really don't want to appear to be greedy especially with the things I've won over the years I've been comping already so I took some time and really thought about what I would like to win. Yes, some things are for other people but I always try to help my friends and our family out with the things I win anyway. And Yes, I have been deliberately vague with them as well, mostly this is because I've won so much recently, I'm not really sure what I want exactly right now.

 

I did have an all time wishlist but the last 2 years have wiped that out (well, except for the lawn mower but that's not for this house anyway) with winning a BBQ, Xbox, iPad and just last month a 3D TV but I'd just had that list in my head and heart. So now I've let my wishlist out into the world, I wonder what will come from it, I'll certainly be letting everyone know what does/doesn't :-D

A year of Firsts!

I've decided to set myself a fun challenge this year, something that will stretch me a bit and I'm not sure I'll be able to complete but it should be fun and I really hope I'll keep it going this time! :-)

I've decided to try something new every week this year, from a new recipe or food to new genre's in music/film and books right through to getting my first passport, going on my first foreign holiday and (hopefully) us buying our first house together! So there's some small, some huge and I'm sure I'll think up some middling ones too through the year and if any of you have any idea's for new things to try (please bear in mind I'm not very fit & have agoraphobia when you make suggestions!lol) I'd love to hear from you :-D

So now to think up something new to try this week ...... I'll get back to you soon &