Very very very tight!

The past week and a half has been dreadful.

I am not happy at all with my move to Sydney. It has just been too difficult: financially and emotionally.

All I want at the moment is to get out of here... but I know I can't, so I have to come to terms with all this.

The past week and a half my band has been extremely tight. Just like that! I haven't had any fills or anything. Just woke up one morning and couldn't even get water down. Anything I put in my mouth, I had to bring up myself, otherwise the pain in my chest and back wouldn't go away and I couldn't breathe.

Moving states means changing doctors for adjustments and consultations.

So I had all my files and reports faxed tot he O Clinic... Up until now, I would see my doctor once every fortnight if I had problems... and when I had no problems I would just go every 5-6 weeks. I was bulk billed and never paid anything since my surgery.

However, now I am going to pay $250 per appointment, and I will be getting just under $100 back from Medicare. I don't know if any other doctor does bulk billing, but I so need it at the moment! I have actually heard a lot of wonderful things about Dr. Craig Taylor (O Clinic), but when you can't afford it, you just can't afford it!

So last week I was in excruciating pain and couldn't breathe properly. I called the clinic and the doctor was not available and of course there was a fee... but the thing is, I had no money at all other than the $20-$30 I could use to put petrol in the car to drive up there (no job, no centrelink, had to wait for hubby's salary to come in the next week).

They suggested I go to St George Hospital Emergency... I was told they had bariatrics there and they could do the adjustment. I waited in pain and tears for hubby to come home from work. Went to the hospital. Waited for hours (naturally! emergency! ironic). Then all they did was give me a drip because I must have lost a lot of nutrients etc and asked me to wait till morning and maybe a surgeon might come along after their surgeries. The other doctors just did not know what to do. All they did was attempt to take blood samples from me, but they couldn't get any out. I told them I was anemic, and they kept on trying to get out whatever tiny amount of blood I had left. LOL

OMG! I lay there freezing (I'm anemic so I just can't warm up easily, and with no food in my system, it was impossible). Then I had a drunken man in the next bed who kept on coming over me and staring at me. He was constantly shouting and swearing. Igh! It was horrible. So I just signed the forms and asked to leave.

So this afternoon I finally have my first appointment at the O Clinic. However, I believe it may be a little late as I think I'm going to have problems. The past 2 days I feel anything I eat just sit inside for a couple hours. I'm feeling a pouch. Damn! And whose fault is it? Who do I blame? I don't know...

It's actually sad that my original clinic in Melbourne could not provide me with sufficient information. I think the bariatrics in Oz need a better networking, because I have noticed in forums that there are quite a few people who relocate or even travel!

Ok ok, I'm just ranting, but seriously, I need to get better. I did lose an extra few kilos this week and a half, but it doesn't make me happy as I know it wasn't a healthy loss.. .and they will come back once the band is opened.

Another thing, since last night I have been feeling pain in my port area. I just hope there has been no serious damage. :(

Scared...

Where I'm at... and everything else... UPDATE!

It has been such a long time since I've updated my blog! I only have a small number of followers, but even if it was 1 person following, I should keep doing regular posts. :( Sowwy... However, I have been updating my ticker every month. Religiously!

I am currently down to 85 kg. I actually get down to about 84.5 kg, but I prefer to think I'm 85kg, because I weigh myself every single day! It's an obsession, and so my actual weight does not 'settle in' for about a week. :)

I am so very happy... grateful... ecstatic... I mean really, words cannot explain what I feel. Cliche, yes, but true!

I am now a comfy size 14 and actually some stores now I wear a size 12 (even with stuff that don't have stretch). I never ever remember wearing sizes 12-14 in my entire life. The only size I remember wearing is a size 16 at age 10-12. So you can only imagine...

However, I am having problems... 2 problems actually...

1- My reflux just continues... When it gives me a lot of pain and trouble I do go and get some fill taken out, however having fill taken out means a weight gain of about 2-3 kgs, and that I cannot handle. :( So in 2 weeks time I would go and get my fill back in. I am only at 5.3 mls now. I had gone up to 6.4 mls in the past, but due to reflux, the maximum I can have to be safe is 5.3 mls. It's fine, I'm still losing weight thank God! So I have learnt to deal, accept and live with my reflux... I try to manage it so it's at a minimum...

2- I still am unable to accept my new size/body... It's weird... I look in the mirror and I can see a lot of changes... I do have excess skin, but my tummy isn't as bad as some I have seen. My arms are horrible (the worst in my body... they were also my biggest body part), I'm fitting into sizes I never have even as a child... But I still feel fat.. absolutely, very very fat... I am told I now look standard... average... People I have known for years are seriously unable to recognise me even though it has only been 4-6 months since I last saw them!

I walk into a store and I pick up sizes 16-18 to try on, but yeah, I'm swimming in them... Then I try one smaller... then another smaller... until I get the correct size. I bought a size 14D bra... cos I couldn't find size 16C (I've gone down from a 26D to a C cup). So I come home with a 14D (I really wanted it, so I thought it being a D cup would make up for the bra not being a size 16 LOL dumb, I know), I try it on thinking I may need a bra extension at the back BUTTTTT it's too big, and I wear it at the 3rd (tightest) notch. Hmpf!

I think I need to see a psychologist soon. :( I really do not know where to stop. I know I need to slow down now. It's been 18 months... actually I'm in my 19th month since surgery... 1.5 years and I have lost 63kg now... So down from 148.5kg to 85.5 kg (I swear, photos coming very soon!)... I've been told approx 8-10 kg of me is now excess skin --- I wont be getting rid of them too soon, too expensive and I can't even afford it if it were cheap either!

Pfffff yeah I need some help! I'm really really wanting to get down to 79kg at the moment. I'm saying I will really slow it down once I get there, but I know me... I wont be able to stop myself. :( I think the fact that the weight dropping off quicker in the last 8 months is the reason why I have not been able to adapt as well as I should...

Hearing all the compliments is great, but it feels a little weird after a certain time too... and I probably think that if I stop losing the weight I will stop hearing the compliments... what happens then? wow I really am going koo koo and this post is now too long. :) I wonder if anyone else has been experiencing similar things?

hmmm I actually have 3 problems, so here is no. 3:

3- I'm relocating from Melbourne to Sydney next weekend. I have called Dr. Craig Taylor's rooms at the O Clinic. It is going to be damn difficult for me. :( I've heard great things about the clinic and Dr Taylor, but the fees are so high. :((( I had the surgery with private health insurance and of course through the Centre for Bariatric Surgery. All my follow-ups, adjustments were bulk billed. So nothing came out of my pocket. I just don't know how I am going to manage up in Sydney, especially with my reflux problems. :(

So that's about it from me for now. I shall be posting progress photos in the next couple days, so stay tuned for those. :)