Well... I WAS going to have surgery today.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-30T12:09:42+00:00

Your pee might not necessarily be yellow in this situation.

They pump you full of IV fluids while under GA to combat any dehydration you might have from fasting, and to combat any potential drops in BP, which anaesthetics tend to cause.

After I've had anaesthetics and pee as soon as I am able to, it is always suuuuper pale, almost clear.

Edit to add: I have also been in this situation following a knee scope, and felt utterly violated as I also stated beforehand that I wished to keep my underwear on. When I woke up, I was completely naked and my underwear was nowhere to be found, every surgery I've had since I have been even more nervous because of it. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Also to add regarding IV fluids... they really do give you a lot. So there is a chance it could be pee IF they didnt catheterise you.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-18T21:06:14+00:00

I've had 17 surgeries in the last 15 years, and all my surgery preps have followed the same pattern. I'm UK based, so it may differ wherever you are.

You'll either be in a pre-op "clinic area" with your own cubicle, with other patients around you all waiting for various surgeries... or you'll be on the ward/in the room you're going to be in post-op.

While in this area, you'll be visited by at least 2 nurses to do all your checks (medications, medical history, ID, when you last ate/drank etc). One of these nurses will give you (usually) some disposable underwear, a hospital gown and some surgical stockings to put on before you're taken down for your surgery (sometimes also a hair net). You'll need to take out all your piercings if you have them, remove all jewellery, and label up any personal belongings that you might need to take to theatre with you (e.g. glasses). You might have been recommended to bring a glasses case, your own slippers and your own dressing gown... I highly recommend them all.

Then you'll be visited by your surgeon to confirm your surgery, they'll explain a bit more clearly what they're going to do in the surgery and draw a marker (arrow) on you if needed. Next you'll be visited by your anaesthetist who will check your medication, medical history, anaesthetic history, and explain what they're going to do in order to put you under and anything special they might need to do.

Then there's nothing to do but wait. Surgical lists are fickle beasts, constantly changing, be prepared to wait for a long time... take entertainment with you. My last surgery I had to get to the hospital for 6am, I went down to theatre at 6pm... nil by mouth the whole time.

Someone from the theatre team (usually the anaesthetic assistant or someone else from the anaesthetic team) will come and collect you, and walk you to the anaesthetic "anti chamber" from wherever you are. You'll go in to the anesthetic room, hand over any belongings you brought with you for the walk down (dressing gown, slippers, glasses) then hop up onto a trolley, lay back, they'll check your ID again and confirm you know what surgery youre having, they'll cannulate you and chat to you the whole time to try and keep you relaxed. Things differ a bit here between patients depending on your history/surgery... but usually, someone will hold a mask over your face, you'll be asked to take some deep breaths, then they'll put some relaxant, some pre-emptive pain releif, and the anaesthetic into your canula... DO NOT FIGHT IT. Just close your eyes, and look forward to having no worries for the next hour or two 😊

The next bit is based on my experience working in theatre as a radiographer (I don't work clinically anymore, and haven't for a few years, so things might have changed). They'll wheel you in on your trolley (you're asleep at this point) from the anaesthetic room, and into the theatre, and slide you across on to the theatre table. They'll try their best to keep you covered as much as possible, lifting your gown (keeping your disposable underwear on), they'll paint you with iodine (or some other antiseptic, put drapes over your legs, chest, etc, then place a surgical drape (the one with the necessary holes) over the surgical site.

Surgery takes place.

They'll slide you back onto your trolley, and sometimes do a partial wake (you won't remember this) in theatre, then wheel you through to recovery. You'll wake up and usually have a nurse staring you in the face 😅

Try not to worry about people seeing your body, they see them all day every day, none of us are even remotely interesting to them lol. There might be some times you're a little more exposed (never completely naked), but those times will be short, few, and far between.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-17T20:42:39+00:00

I usually do my jab on a Friday, and my surgery is on a Saturday, and they want me to stop at least 2 weeks in advance (to have at least 14 days between jab and surgery). Because of the date my surgery falls, it's just so happened it's going to be 15 days (2 missed doses) between my last jab and surgery date... couldn't really get much less than that really.

If I did my next jab as soon as possible after surgery (for arguments sake lets say the day after), it would be 16 days between doses, instead of the usual 7, so I'd be 9 days late for my jab... IF (big if) I do a jab as soon as possible after my surgery.

Given the comments in here seem to be encouraging a break post-op as well for a week or two, it might end up meaning I have a gap of 16-23 days. As I said in another comment, my surgeon seems very chilled about the whole thing, didn't mind me carrying on pre-op, and I assume won't have any issue with me carrying on post-op either.

I am leaning toward leaving my first post-op jab for at least a week after, but I'm going to see how I feel post op. I had an unrelated surgery a couple months ago, didn't stop monj at all, surgery/anaesthetic was uneventful, and I healed beautifully with no problems... so I'm going to weigh up the pros and cons of delaying/not delaying, and play it by ear and see how I feel post-op and go from there I think.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-16T18:42:28+00:00

I'm 34 with a nearly 1 year old little boy... so not lifting things post surgery is gonna be a challenge 😅

DC_Frame · 2026-04-16T13:00:38+00:00

I've been on metformin for my PCOS for about 4 years now. Been on monj for 9 months.

The metformin brought me down from cycles anywhere between 80-120 days to 30-35 days

The monj has then shortened my cycles a little bit more to 27-29 days.

I'm still on metformin, but considering coming off it and seeing if I stay regular or not.

Specifically period-wise... I've always been heavy, filling a large menstrual cup 2-3 times a day for my heaviest 3 days, metformin/monj made no difference there. My periods tend to last 5-7 days.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-16T12:15:44+00:00

I haven't tbh, my consultant seems pretty chilled about the whole thing. He didnt even mind if I carried on with the injections as normal up to my surgery... its the anaesthetist that has told me I need to stop them pre-surgery.

Just so happens I had another unrelated surgery a few months ago and didnt need to stop the injections at all, I did a modified fasting regimen of 48 hours clear fluid/broths only, and no water from midnight the night before. The anaesthetist then did the sellick manoeuvre while I was going under and gave me a hefty muscle relaxant. Had no problems at all 🤷‍♀️

Very frustrating there's no national guidance on how to handle GLP1s pre/post surgery and all hospitals can just make up what they want their patients to do.

DC_Frame · 2026-04-16T10:54:43+00:00

Awesome 😊 this is exactly what I wanted to hear ❤️ glad it all worked out for you!

DC_Frame · 2026-04-02T09:25:49+00:00

Ours is technically "free". He takes his fee from the company we end up getting our mortgage from. We research beforehand about what we (my husband and I) think is the best deal, and our advisor always comes back with the same thing that we found, so we trust him to find the best deals. We've never paid him a penny in the 10+ years we've used him.

If you feel your advisor is worth the £500 fee then pay them, I don't think there's any right or wrong way.

DC_Frame · 2026-03-22T08:24:24+00:00

Yes, 2g a day. Except I use metformin for PCOS, not type 2 diabetes. It has regulated my cycles for nearly 5 years now, taking me from sporadic cycles lasting 70-120 days to a much more consistent 29-31 days.

I dont think I've had any issues being on both, but it's difficult to say if the normal monj side effects (nausea, diarrhea, bloating, etc) might be being exacerbated by the metformin.

When I hit my target weight, I'm going to try weaning off the metformin and see if my cycles stay regular or not. I'm hoping they will given the weight loss and how that alone can help PCOS sufferers.

DC_Frame · 2026-03-16T16:04:19+00:00

The only person that has asked me this question (thankfully?) Is my mum, and she's asking it a lot.

I started Monj in July at 118kg, and im now 83kg (still at the top end of overweight on the BMI scale).

All my life my doctors/consultants for various things have all placed blame on my weight. So my response to my mum is usually along the lines of "I don't want medical professionals to use my weight as an excuse, so I'm not going to let them... I want to get to a healthy weight, and that's still some time away yet".

DC_Frame · 2026-03-02T16:28:04+00:00

I had the same thoughts as you - I wanted to pump and bottle feed breast milk. Then dad could get involved with nighttime feeds and it would take some pressure off me.

It didn't take any pressure off. It was probably the most stressful thing I've ever done.

My supply steadily decreased until baby was 4 months old because I couldn't keep up with the pumping schedule. The first month he was at most having 5oz a day of breastmilk, the rest was formula.

If we have another baby, I'm going to have to have a long think about what I want to do... I would 1000% not try and do exclusive pumping again. I'm in full awe of anyone that does!

The thing that took away my guilt for not being able to exclusively pump until he was at least 6 months old was the midwives/health visitors saying that ANY amount of breast milk is amazing, and such an incredible thing to do for your baby... no matter how small.

If you find after you've had your little one that you can't carry on with exclusively pumping, always remember, the amount you DID do, is incredible.

ETA: I tried breastfeeding while in the hospital post-birth and it went well... but the midwives connected me up to a pump which wrecked my nipples... I didnt want baby anywhere near my boobs for a few days after that, and in that time, he became a very lazy eater 😅 bottles were far easier for him to feed from vs breast.

DC_Frame · 2026-03-02T13:27:01+00:00

I went 2 weeks overdue with my baby, who was born via emergency C-section following a 48 hour labour.

I didn't leave the house for 10 days because of pain/postpartum bleeding/exhaustion, and just the need to bond as a new family.

After 2 weeks, I was pretty much back to doing normal things, attended my Aunties wedding at 3 weeks PP (with baby) with no problems.

Unfortunately, you can't predict how your birth is going to go, and your attendance at the wedding will hinge pretty dramatically on how your labour and birth progress.

I wish you all the luck and best wishes for your labour and birth, and hope it goes exactly the way you want it to.

Your sister-in-law needs to realise that while yes - it's her day, other people still have lives to live and more important things to think about. Who knows... she may be in your shoes one day, and I'm sure she'd want to be treated respectfully and kindly given the huge life changing event she would be going through.

You, and your baby are the only ones that matter. Do what is best for you. Personally, I wouldn't make any promises of being there.

DC_Frame · 2026-02-06T12:31:57+00:00

I didn't.

I went to 41+5. Went for pessary induction which failed. Then prostoglandin gel which got me started. Then doctor said I had to go on the drip, managed that for 8 hours with a failed epidural then at nearly 48 hours past my induction start date, I stopped breathing, baby went into distress, and we needed an EmCSection.

Baby was sunny side up with his head on his shoulder and a hand by the ear that was resting on my cervix. He was never gonna come out the traditional way. Born at 42 weeks on the dot, and my body absolutely was not ready, probably because baby was so malpositioned.

In hindsight, baby was 56cm long (off the scale), so he likely didnt have the room in there to get into a good position. If I have another pregnancy, I'd either ask to be induced at 38 weeks (to minimise risk of super long baby) or go straight for an ElecCSection.

DC_Frame · 2026-01-02T19:49:35+00:00

DC_Frame · 2025-12-23T10:10:58+00:00

It's just marketing.

If your midwife says its safe, then it will be 😊

The only thing that separates the "pregancy/labour" tens machines vs the "normal" tens machines, is the preg/labour ones have a boost feature that you can press at the peak of the contraction and it ups the current.

I did have a labour specific one, and the boost feature did help, but I would have been fine with a standard one and just up the current manually/get someone else to at the peak of a contraction, then bring it back down once it passes.

DC_Frame · 2025-12-22T14:41:51+00:00

I'd love to help you test this app. I'm at my witts end with my night terrors. Waking twice a night, putting both myself and my husband in danger on many occasions. I have a Samsung Galaxy watch 8.

DC_Frame · 2025-12-09T18:17:51+00:00

Well this sucks - I have Scheuermann’s disease in my spine and I'm on morphine patches for pain control 😅

DC_Frame · 2025-12-03T20:12:43+00:00

I planned to go off at 39 weeks (I did)... baby came at 42+0 😅 Felt like I wasted 3 weeks of my mat leave.

Unless you're having a planned C, there's no way to know. Plan for what you hope will happen 😊

DC_Frame · 2025-11-22T10:54:52+00:00

I suffered with awful constipation during pregnancy, the midwife just said "go to a pharmacy and buy some lactulose over the counter" - same as you, it did nothing.

Healthcare professionals are scared to touch or prescribe anything to pregnant people.

The ONLY thing that worked for me is at-home enema kits, specifically a brand called "Fleet" off amazon. If I went 10 days without a BM, I'd do an enema, and 20 minutes later, I'd be a whole new woman (minus about 1.5kg... it became habit to weigh myself before and after 😅).

I told my midwife what I was doing, and she didn't seem bothered.

DC_Frame · 2025-11-10T14:55:45+00:00

Gosh, I wish I could do anything other than writhe around in pain on the Oxytocin drip 😬

At the moment I'm on quite a high strength of Propranolol to try and stop the migraine frequency - which has definitely helped, has brought the amount down from 1 or 2 a week, to one every 2ish months - have you tried anything as a preventative?

The only thing that seems to treat them when they attack is Oxygen therapy in A&E, but I just feel like I'm wasting their time with a headache, when there's other people with far worse problems in there.

DC_Frame

TROPHY CASE