Day 2

Had a pretty restless night, mainly with a sore bum having to sit in the same position with my back and knees elevated.

Oh and maybe cause I couldnt stop looking down... LOL.... it was somewhere around this time I remember sending my girlfriends a Txt message saying "OMG I can see my fanny - Lovin myself sick" LOL.

So today they are still keeping me bed ridden, thinking the pain will come today, everyone has warned me day 2 is the worst. So I am prepared for a rough day. Nurses come in to sponge bath me and tell me to press the PCA cause they are going to roll me. I am immediately nervous... and really cringe as they begin to roll me, but again - nothing! No pain! So I am thinking ok maybe the anesthetic is still working....

But no the entire day Im fine, no pain... uncomfortable from that position I have to stay in but not in pain.... exausted though, even 5 mins of talking and Im needing a nanna nap to catch up, you know when you feel like your awake and your still chatting but your eyes are glued shut.... haha or is that just me cause I can talk under water...

Lovin Myself Sick

Well Im back and soooo excited by my new look. The whole week was the most amazing experience and I am sooo happy with the results even though I still have swelling.....

Whilst in hospital I kept a diary so I could update my blog on my thoughts and feelings of each day. I wanted not only a record for myself but one for anyone considering having the surgery to know what really to expect. I know we all have different experiences but this is mine....

Tues 22nd Sept

Arrived at the hosp right on 7am - nervous as hell.. my husband trying to be funny on the way to the hosp asks me if Iam a donor!!!!!!!! (now in his brain he was thinking fat and skin donor and wanted to know if I wanted to donate my bullnose verandah for research LOL) but I was thinking OMG do you think Im going to die......hahaha funny now I can look back at it...

Anyway after arriving at the hosp, I said my good byes to the kids and to Ben and went on in to the prep room, to be calmed immediately by the beautiful nurses telling me how lucky I was to be having the hottest anesthetist they had ever seen. Well they wernt wrong (and in a state of pre med and nervousness - I told him didnt I hahaha).

By the time all the admin stuff was done and I changed into a gown they were ready for me... there was no backing out now! Off to theatre I went. I was told the op would take around 4 hours and it was right on 8am as they wheeled me into theatre.

Next thing I remember is being woken by Mr Hotness himself in recovery and looking straight at the clock and it was 2.30pm, apparently I have been told by the nurses that whilst they were trying to wake me, I was shaking my head saying "No No No, I'm Shopping" - how appropriate for me hahaha.

Back to the room we went at 3.30pm in quite a sleepy state. I remember saying to Ben, they must have me drugged real good cause Im not in any pain....

I was hooked up to a PCA, had a catheter in and 4 drains, they were also pumping IV antiobiotics, fluid and panadol through the drip. But I was feeling really comfortable and didnt need the PCA.

Tummy Tuck $$$$

As Ive had a few emails asking lots of questions regarding the prices and whats covered etc. I thought I'd pop them on here for you.

As I am having my tummy tuck done due to weighloss and previous ceasarians I am covered under medicare number 30177 as a life altering procedure (not just cosmetic), this does not however mean that I am covered by medicare for the procedure it just means that my private health insurance will cover my stay in hospital and the theatre costs. I still will have to pay the following:

Approx cost of Surgeon $6000 - out of pocket expense - not covered by fund or medicare

Approx cost of Anethetist $1700 - you get about $388 back from medicare

Approx cost of Assistant $500 -not sure on rebate for this one

If having Liposuction you are looking at around $2000 - not covered as this is classed as cosmetic, therefore they also then charge you for a portion of the theatre time in which the lipo will take and this has been estimated by the hosp to be around $500.

So all up you are looking at around $10,000.

You can however claim 20% of anything medical over $1500 in next years tax return so thats at least something...

And you can apply to APRA to have early release of your superannuation to have this procedure done provided your doctor is approving you "medically necessary and placing you under that item number mentioned above".

So there you have it, from what I hear, its pretty much the same price whomever you go to, but its nice to choose someone who you feel comfortable with.

Stay tuned for the gross "before" pics that I will post later LOL

xxTrish

Then because this is classed as cosmetic

The completion of my Journey

Oh my goodness this year is going fast isnt it...... once again I am shocked by how long it has been since I posted... well life has been treating me pretty good with the band, a while back I had a fair amount of fill taken out and decided to try life for a while with a little more normality.. well this has paid off, my weight dropped again and I am now happy to say Im down to 94kgs and have decided to go ahead with the tummy tuck.

All year I have been listening to the opinions of others and how they would express that maybe I was rushing it and that i should wait but I have done a lot of soul searching over the past few months and decided that I am very happy where I am, I am proud of myself and what I have achieved not only for me but for my family. The only thing holding back that last incling of confidence would be the huge amount of skin hanging in front of my stomach which is as Ive mentioned before causing more problems that just costmetic.

So Ive decided to go with it and complete my journey...

The big day will be the 22nd of Sept, I am so excited but also nervous, thankfully I have some wonderful friends who have already been through it to ask lots of questions to, and a fantastic surgeon who is about the only one Ive ever met with a sense of humor and a great communicator, hence makes this easier and gives me more confidence in the decisions I am making.

So stay posted people, of course I'll add some before and after shots soon

Take care

xxTrish

About time!!!

I thought I would come on and do an update and I was shocked that it had been sooo long.  It feels like yesterday when I was on here and it was January... I couldnt believe it.

Well the past few months have been pretty smooth with the band. I only had one hiccup around Easter when I got the flu and the constant coughing chose to tighten my band. To which my beautiful Dr Fill came and did a house call and took 3 mls out...... and could'nt that come at a nicer time... I was very naughty and totally took advantage of it being Easter and all the Hot Cross Buns and Chocy's.... hence why I managed to gain 3 kgs in one weekend!!!!!

So from then week by week I have been going and having 0.3mls put back in, and at the moment I am managing most foods but in a baby bowl. Which is the place I really like to be. Its amazing how much you enjoy the taste of food when youve been too tight to eat it....

I now weigh 96kgs. I have been to visit a few plastic surgeons in the past few weeks too, as I have been left with a very large over hang of skin and everything down below seems to have headed south too. The surgeon assured me that by having a tummy tuck and by pulling everything back up not only will I realise I DO have a fanny.... but I will loose that weak bladder aswell....so in my eyes there is really no reason NOT to.....BRING IT ON!!!!

I have decided on a lovely surgeon who is new to Newy and plan on having the surgery at the end of the year. I would hope that I am around the 90kgs by then. Which really should be an achieveable mark.

Well thats about it for now. Till next entry, take care xx

Still in my Happy Little Place

Well nothing much has changed, its just dawned on me that it coming up to 2 years since I was banned and wow alot has happened in that time.... most of all I would say that I am content these days, I am comfortable in my body for the first time in years.
Since my last post I have lost another 3kgs and although I have been this weight before, this time its different, everything seems to have shifted into a different place. I have gotten alot of compliments of late even though my weight has been relatively the same.
Anyway not much to tell, Just wanted to touch base and say Hi......Oh and I guess to tell you that yes I am loosing and still eating. Im back at that happy place where really anything will go down,but it is taking me around 30mins to eat anything. I personally think this is a good place to be.
Attached Ive added a pic of me, this is of the board shorts that I had on in the photo of me in the pool below. At that time a size 26 was snug and I was having trouble getting clothes. This is the only item of clothing I have kept from "the old me" as it was a true indication of how big I was, boardies as many of you would know have no stretch in them. So I am very proud to say I can not only fit in one leg of them know, I can put my kids in them too...lol.

Happy as a pig in mud

I've finally got it!!!!!!!!! Yes I perservered and I finally understand what the "sweet spot" is. All this time I was thinking just a little more fill and I will be on a whirlwind of weightloss. But since my slippage I decided that slow and steady would hopefully win the race.
Well thanks to my ever so beautiful and understanding new doctor, slow and steady is winning the race.
I am proud to say that I had cancelled the last 2 appointments I had booked with Dr Fill, mainly cause I just wasnt sure where I was, somedays I felt like I could eat a horse, then the next day the horse would get stuck...and ouch I'd be back on fluids for a day.

So I was putting off my appt mainly scared he would want to take some out and in this 3 weeks I discovered, well my brain finally got it, that there are foods that are going to be a no no, nomatter how many times I try.

So I have come to the conclusion I want to be able to eat, I dont want to miss out like I was a year ago. So I went back and saw Dr Fill and admitted that I can eat just about anything and I am loving it, but that the reflux was still a major issue, so he went through the usual questions, am i eating after 7pm.....NO, have a elevated my bed....YES, blah blah, and yes we have agreed that I am just one of those unlucky ones that is going to suffer from reflux, So he put me on pariot tables and so far so good. The relief was instant.

But then.........he weighed me, and here I was thinking well my mind is in a really good place at the moment and my pants are feeling looser so it has to be something good and yep it was.....I have lost 4 kgs since seeing him 4 weeks ago. Whoooo Hoooo, I was so happy. and thats with eating!!!!!!!!! Ha Ha.....

So while I sit here on my little high, I am going to enjoy it......

On another note though, there is something that I would like to mention. For those of you out there that are finding your are emotionally struggling. I would have to say that up until around a fortnight ago I was feeling really down emotionally, not coping with the normal day to day stuff with the kids and really feeling out of control. I actually went to see my GP about going on antidepressants. Thankfully I am blessed with a wonderful GP aswell and she had a chat to me about the hormones, and how the hormones in our bodies change dramatically with such big amounts of weightloss and that this can often lead us to thinking we have depression when all it is is needing some leveling out to get the hormones right. So she actually suggested that I went back on the pill (something that I havent been on since having my tubes tied almost 4 years ago) as the pill mucked me around and i am hopeless at remembering to take those damn little tablets, I asked if I could go back on Depoprovera then, but she explained that apparently there is something in Depo that increases your chances or osteoporosis, and as having the band also increases your chances of that we didnt want to double that. So the last choice was to have an IUD put in called the Mirena. It has a slow release hormone in it that lasts 5 years, and this should help me level out the hormones.
So 2 weeks ago I went to the gyno and had one put in. Although extreemly uncomfortable procedure, I cant tell you the difference I feel it is already making....... I am feeling more in control. So I just wanted to share this with you as I know others who have had the same experience with the out of control feelings and maybe this is why alot of surgeons all over Australia are insisting you see a psychologist as part of the whole banding package. It acutally makes sense...... Well till next time. Keep Safe xx