Pantai Hospital

I've just come back from an overnight stay at Pantai Hospital here in Kuala Lumpur. I went in for a colonoscopy and a haemorrhoidal operation.

I went in a bit nervous as my colleague had had a terrible time at another hospital when she woke up in the middle of it and had felt very uncared for. I was also nervous as another friend had had the op six years before and had really suffered. I'm beginning to wonder if he was a bit of a drama king as to my relief, I suffered no such pain.

It might have been that he'd had a different method to what my doctor used which is to stitch the haemorrhoid up and let it fall off. Other methods, such as stapling and rubber bands are a lot more intensive and are usually for bigger haemorrhoids.

I went in on the Thursday morning. I'd taken laxatives the night before so I was completely clean for both procedures. They did the colonoscopy first. I'd decided to do this on the same day and get it all out of the way. I fell asleep and the next thing I was awake and the doctor said he was finished. I was really surprised and I can remember asking him in my dopey state to verify that he'd done it. I'd thought I'd be awake for that. I'm glad I wasn't though.

Then I was taken to a waiting room as apparently my heart rate was slower than normal and they wanted to check whether that was normal for me or not. I think I was in there for an hour or so before they decided that I was ok and could proceed to the operation. Again, I woke to find it all over and they keep me in a recovery room to ensure I woke up all right before they took me up to my room.

What a especially liked about the whole experience was the care. From admission to leaving they communicated with me and kept me in the loop. My doctor answered all my questions and the nurses were lovely. Once they felt my blood pressure was fine and I'd urinated they left me to sleep all night until a six o'clock wake up and blood pressure check. I must admit that I kept my blanket over my head and turned out the light as soon as the nurse was gone and went back to sleep. Which was fine as they didn't come back until a newspaper delivery at seven thirty and breakfast.

I got to go at about twelve after the doctor's and anaesthetist's  visits, the medication drop off, payment check with insurance and payment of admin' fees.

All in all a good experience.
In the post-op phase here at home, I do feel a bit sore as if I'm bruised a bit, but no pain otherwise. I have a check up in three weeks and I'm not allowed to exercise in two of those weeks. The only time I have to contact my doctor is if there is any bleeding or excessive pain. As I intend to obey all instructions, I hope that won't be the case.

Hi, welcome to our first posting.  We've created this blog because we're both passionate about our health and well-being and it's been an important part of our lifestyle choices over the years. 

In this posting, I'm (Nic) going to talk about me and why I feel that our choices are so important and why I've made it a priority in my life.

I come from New Zealand and had a pretty standard upbringing. My family is very sports oriented which I think saved my health for many years. The reason I say this is that although Mum endeavoured to provide us with healthy meals, I had an immensely unhealthy craving for sugar. I'd tip half a can of sweetened condensed milk into my tea and then drink the other half of the tin whilst stirring it in; have about five dessert-spoons of sugar on my weetbix and lots of chocolate and ice cream besides! My dad caught me with the condensed milk (I had sneaked it, you see) and made me have a cup of unsweetened tea for a week until I could stand it without sugar. That and health issues in my twenties forced me to look at what I was eating and I think it saved my health today.

In my mid-twenties, I started having stomach pains about 30 minutes after eating. The doctor couldn't find anything wrong and it wasn't until I had touch-testing when I found out I was having a reaction to wheat, dairy and avocados! I took them out of my diet and I immediately felt a lot better. I also lost a tonne of weight to the point my friends were really worried (even though I was eating a lot!).

The hardest part about my new diet was that I couldn't just go into the store and get a pie, or sandwich. I had to cook everything. I got some excellent books on cooking for food allergies and learned a lot. It really changed my attitude. Although I can now eat wheat and dairy again, I still watch out and listen to my body. It tells me a lot.

So, that's a bit about me. We'd love to hear from you too. Your stories or questions are all welcome.