I was pretty uncomfortable when I got home and found it hard to stand from sitting or twisting in any way. This got better every day and by the end of the week apart from the odd twinge as long as I took it easy and slowly I became a lot more mobile. On the Tuesday I just took a few steps round the house but spent most of my time lying down and watching La Vuelta and Hong Kong squash on Eurosport. Wednesday I had a very slow walk around Greengates Park, about 15 minutes, with Julia but since then I have been doing two walks a day of between 20 minutes and 40 minutes, definitely getting a bit stronger and a little quicker each day.

I was surprised when I got home and weighted myself the next morning that I had gone up form about 13 stone 2 lb before the operation to 13 stone 10 lbs on my return 2 days later. I wondered if they had left some instruments in me. My tummy was quite bloated but for the best part of the operation day, Sunday, I hadn’t eaten of drunk. The next day, however, Wednesday 24th, I weighed in at 13 stone 3 lb which made a bit more sense. I had already decided to go on a low carb diet when I got back without sacrificing protein intake as I was concerned about putting on weight and losing muscle over the weeks of relative inactivity to come. I had also been advised to eat small amounts more frequently and avoid large meals so as not to overload my stomach. Constipation and straining were a concern, hence also the laxatives I was given as part of the discharge pack. By the end of the first week, Saturday 27th, I was down to 12 stone 10 lb.

One concern that is worth recording is that my wee remained bloody (rose, not claret) until Thursday evening, 4 days after surgery. The notes given as part of the discharge pack stated that this should clear within 24 hours and if not phone the hospital. This I eventually did Thursday morning where I was told not to worry about it too much if it was only pink but let them know if it continued for more than another couple of days. Needless to say since Friday 26th it has been clear a a bell. The other problem I had was quite a pronounced ache across my shoulders and occasionally at the top of my chest. This passed after a couple of days and when I mentioned this I was told it may be due to the gas they pump into my abdomen to make space for the operation which is generally dispersed within my body and has been known to cause some temporary chest and shoulder pain. So, so far so good.