So it’s the day before my op and let me update you with what’s been going on.

Dietician

I had to see a dietician before I had the operation because it was obviously going to majorly affect my diet. I wasn’t hoping for much info when I went to this appointment as I had heard they weren’t very helpful, they would just tell me to blend my food up which is something I obviously already knew I would have to do. I was surprised though when I went because I found it extremely useful, she gave me a lot more information than what I thought she would. I’m glad I found this useful as well because the diet side was the bit I was most concerned about he operation. I’ve heard different statistics but apparently I could lose between 1/2 stone to a stone but the thing is I’m underweight as it is. I’m 5’10” and weigh 55 kgs that makes my BMI 17.3 (it should be between 18.5 and 25 for a healthy weight) so I’m pretty much half a stone underweight to begin with and losing more weight was the last thing on my mind. I had tried to put weight on in the months leading up to the surgery but I’ve struggled to do that. She gave me lots of ways I could make drinks and food more ‘calorific’ by adding extra things like cream and dried milk powder to my coffees, milk and butter to mash potato. She also gave me some milkshakes to try which would be full of all the nutrients I need. They weren’t particularly nice but I knew it wasn’t like I was going to have much choice when it came down to it.

Seeing the surgeon

I saw my surgeon on the 7th March just to have a final check of everything. He just had a quick check of my teeth but it was mainly to go through the risks that came with the operation and sign off some paperwork to say I understood and I give my consent. I had a few questions I wanted to ask Mr Knepil

1) Will I be able to take my tablets? (I take lymecycline capsules for acne and they’re quite big so I was wondering if it was going to be possible to still take them) He said I wouldn’t be able to take them like I normally do but I should ask my pharmacist if I’m able to open the capsules and put the powder in a drink and have it that way. (The pharmacy said it was ok to do so as long as it wasn’t put in dairy)

2) How long will I be banded for? He said it various from person to person and how the operation went but roughly about a week

3) How often will I come back and see you? Again, this varies from person to person but he said I would see my orthodontist fairly on after and I would see him about 2 weeks after and then that’s when they would assess when I needed to come back again

The pre-op assessment

I had my pre-op on the 12th March at the hospital to have a general check up to make sure I’m healthy enough to have anaesthetic and to make sure I’ll be ok to have the actual op. There were loads of questions hat I had to answer about my general health, I had my heart and lungs checked along with my blood pressure, pulse an oxygen levels. They were all very simple checks and the nurse said she didn’t see any need for me to have an ECG done as I was quite a healthy person. I then needed bloods taken in order to check all my levels e.g iron etc. The nurse also told me that I would need to come back just before the op in order to have more bloods taken just so they can have my details on record in case I needed a blood transfusion during the operation (The risk was ‘unlikely’ but obviously they needed to know just in case). The thing was, they needed fairly ‘fresh’ blood I assume because it had to be taken no more than a week before the op so the blood they were going to take today would be no good to them so I would have to go back. Luckily I was coming back on the 16th to see my orthodontist so I’d just get it taken then.

Final orthodontist visit

16th March was the final visit I would have to do before the big day and it was to visit my orthodontist to have a final check up. The week before I had some impressions done. One set was my teeth and I believe this was so the surgeon could see exactly what work he was going to be doing on my mouth . Another set of impressions was of my actual bite and this was so they could make something called a wafer which would be in my mouth after the op. Today was they day that this was all going to be double checked to make sure it fit. The wafer was so say a ‘perfect’ fit and she was happy with how the impressions of my teeth turned out so that was all good to go. I also had the bloods taken for the potential blood transfusion I would need that I mentioned earlier so as far as the hospital goes I was all ready for the op!

The last supper! (Make that about 10 last suppers)

Now my biggest decision was what I was going to have as my last meal but I’m not going to lie I just couldn’t narrow it down to one could I? I knew I wasn’t going to have ‘proper’ food for weeks so I wanted to enjoy all my favourite foods just one last time. So they weeks leading up to the operation date I’ve been slowly getting through the meals- Chinese, Indian, fish and chips, lasagne, homemade chips and beans, stew were only a few! Although as my final final meal was going out in true Lauren style…McDonald’s! After midnight I’m only allowed to have water so I just managed to finish my burger at about 11:50pm!

So tomorrow’s the day it all happens, after over 4 years of waiting it’s finally here! Ahhhhh!