Merry Christmas!!!!

Dear Santa. I don't want much for Christmas. I just want the person reading this to be happy. Friends and family are the fruit cake of life. Some are nutty. Some are soaked in alcohol (!!). Some are sweet. But mix them together and they're my friends and family :).
Merry Christmas!♥♥

The Aftermath - Week 7 Pre Op

After arriving home - it honestly took about 3-4 days before my mind was clear of the daze of the drugs, apparently thats normal.

My body felt like lead, muscles in my arms and legs ached (also apparently normal side effect).  Plus a sore neck where that bloody big needle was in me. The best position was standing, but with no energy I was predominantly in bed for the next 24 hours.

On the Sunday, more mobile, I baked to take my mind off things and keep busy (easier for me, and during this process I have grown to love baking - its like an escape).  Anyway, this is what I produced!

Firstly - My first attempt at a Christmas Fruit Cake - With a few dashes of Rum

Secondly - Hazelnut and caramel truffles - I did taste one - delicious :)

The weather had improved remarkably so those truffles had to be made quickly and chilled to help set.

In Week 7 I lost 2 more kilos - totalling 17.1 kilos lost - a bonus to everything else that happened.

On the Monday - had the day off - still too sore and out of it.  The anaestetist rang and explained what had happened and what was going to happen from there.  He stated that he was 99.9% sure I was allergic to the drug suxamethonium which is a muscle relaxant. It was pointed out to me, that I was in the right place to have the reaction, where it could be treated.  Anywhere else, and I would be dead.  Oh joy!  However I needed to wait 6 weeks for my cells to recharge to react to allergy testing.  Once it was confirmed, I could then have the operation with another suitable drug.  He also sent a letter outlining what happened and what not to give me in possible future situations. Arghhhhhh....more waiting!!!!!!  Now I know I am a teacher who has to be patient, but seriously - I am so not a patient person outside of work!!! 
The other thing is that I will now have to wear a medic alert bracelet, as it is the most popular drug of that type to use.  I have heard now they are a bit better looking that in years past.  I checked the website:

 

The bead ones are cool, although maybe not completely practical.  A bit of time to make that decision though!


What was nice though, was that the nurse from the Surgical Obesity Clinic rang to check I was ok and what happened. The dietician also emailed and was available to chat anytime.
We also returned to Boulcott which was weird - like the scene of the crime.  Everyone knew who I was, and me knew nobody - pretty intense.  Any who - got a refund for the time being.  Better in my account than theirs!
My department were lovely at school.  I got flowers and a card - very sweet.

 


Went back to school on Tuesday - too early.  I know people care, and I dont want to sound ungrateful, but I wish that other than my closer peeps at work, that everyone else would just leave me alone.  I also wish that I had a tape recorder that I could just play the story and walk away.  There were all the aww tilt head sideways.  You must be so disappointed (really...nooo I was stoked..WTF).  Some people at work are just plain nosey and dwelling on the negative.  I just wanted to move on, and the constant questions just got me depressed.  The students were really my saviour.  Being teens, its all about them - so while they cared that I was ok - it was quickly back to their dramas, nice.

I lasted the week - and made it to senior clearance and their leavers dinner on the Friday night.  One bonus - instead of liquids as pre planned - I could actually eat a normal meal.  I had carbs (kumara) for the first time in weeks and it was nice :)



When things don't go as planned :( (Part 2 of 2)

So Anaphylactic shock means I was allergic to one of the drugs the anaestetist gave me - in this case it seemed the muscle relaxant that stops me moving during the operation was thought to have caused it.

According to the report, my blood pressure decreased, my respiratory rate decreased, as did my circulation.  I later found out that if I was not in the operating theatre under specialist care at the time it happened, I would have died - woah!

Now according to reports and what people have said, I had a tube put down my throat to breath, I had a central line put into my jugular vein which lead to my heart to put adrenalin straight into me to get me going again (see pic of it below)

Not me- but same deal

From the blue piece to the right was in me going to my heart!

Now I also was transferred by ambulance from Boulcott to Hutt Hospital (I was unconscious so don't remember that).  I was bummed to know that the lights and sirens weren't used though - although since the two buildings are beside each other, I guess thats reasonable ;)

Now my poor husband was conscious the whole time, and got a call 21 minutes after he left me.  He ran (doesn't generally run - bad knee) back to the hospital in 3 minutes.  White as a ghost, they took his blood pressure to make sure he was ok - it was high surprisingly (well duh, not that much of a surprise).  When he saw the surgeon coming towards him, he thought I was dead - but no takes more than that...

Anyway, he was in the ambulance as I was transferred.  I was taken to ICU where I eventually became conscious after a while.  I woke not knowing anything, but only responded to Anthony calling me Munter (after doctors used Cassandra for a while)!  From reports I was in and out of consciousness for a while.  When I remember things, the tube from my throat had been removed but had scratched up my throat.  I had vague recollections of something being pulled out of my throat in a semi conscious state - that must have been it.  I had tubes in me, IV drip, electrodes stuck to me, oxygen tubes, various tubes and lines in me and a catheter - my underwear had gone!!! (note - don't wear underwear you want to keep when going to hospital, it may be cut off).  I wasn't in the best state.

Anyway, I soon realised the op hasn't gone ahead.  I patted my stomach area and found nothing.  Anthony told me, and I got upset.  Various doctors, nurses came in.  I got angry at Anthony as I wanted to go to the toilet ( had a catheter in me).  He said I couldn't go and held me down as I got quite agressive about it ( the adrenalin apparently plays a part in that).  I called him various names (which I do regret now).  Luckily, since he has had operations - he knew this would happen and found it funny more than anything...phew!

I got my way though, but had to go on a wheelchair toilet.  I think I was in and out of consciousness for the afternoon, but slowly improving.  My O2 was low and I beeped a lot.  Later on that night, they gave me a low carb meal, the drip was removed, and the surgeon came and saw me. It had never happened before to him, but assured me that the operation would go ahead, just a matter of finding out what drug I reacted to and I had to wait six weeks to take allergy tests.  My cells need to 'recharge' to react properly and that is how long it takes.  NOT HAPPY.  But nothing I could do about it either.

And so, I dozed on and off - throughout the night and through about three nurses shifts.  By morning, I had improved enough to go to the toilet by myself and get bored.  I just wanted to go home. I had to wait to be discharged by the surgeon and doctor and get all the tubes etc taken out of me.  Once that was done, it ended up being about lunchtime when I got to go home, and to my own bed to recover.



When things don't go as planned :( (Part 1 of 2)

So Friday was it!  Operation Day, the start of the rest of my life and all that other cheesy stuff.  I was over the fear and anxiety of the op, and uber excited.  So packed and ready with my 15.1 kilos lost - off to the hospital I went, but not before a couple of pics to hopefully show progress!

Week 6

Week 1

 (So a skirt for the week 6 photo - but you get the idea there is some change going on! )

And off to Boulcott Hospital I went.  Joan and Anthony came in with me, we waited briefly (it is a private hospital - so are actually treated like people) and then was taken to my room.

The room - I shared with another woman, but had complete privacy and a shared bathroom for the both of us - nice too.  The admin lady even went through the features.  I had a tv with sky (even movies and sport), the dom post and a list of options for my "fluids" after the op.  Sweet!  On the bed was my burgundy gown and the shower cap used to wear in surgery.

My nurse came in and went through general checks, blood pressure, O2 rate, heart rate etc, and gave me some ever so sexy white opaque pressure socks to put on....they were truly styling!

The anaesthetist then came in, asked more questions, checked my teeth and went through risks which included possible allergies to the drugs (how if I had known that was very important!) and the risk of breaking teeth when they intubated me (ACC covers it though - so all good really), also how I would feel, what would happen, and sign the consent forms for him.

Then Atul the surgeon popped in for more briefing and consent signing, and also said how pleased he was with my weight loss to date (yay).

Then it was waiting for a little while - then on with the shower cap and off to theatre.  I was pumped!

I was wheeled down the hall in the bed, chatting away to the nurses (no one looks like the tv doctors and nurses I found...) and arrived in the very white and stainless steel new operating theatre.  Felt a bit space age, but the surgeons seemed most excited and very eager to show it off.  Apparently, it has cameras in it, so if they want to broadcast it to the world, they can.  My response:

"This op better not end up on You Tube."  - I got laughs, I was happy.

Next the anaesthetist started to try and find the vein for the various drugs to give me and send me on my merry way to unconsciousness.  This was not to be easy.  I had warned them my veins (even regardless of fat factor have always been sneaky and hard to find).  So after many pokes and prods they got a line in for the anaesthesia to go in.  This is when I decided to say:

"Looks like you are going to have to earn your money today looking for my veins."  The theatre nurses erupted in laughter. I'm thinking now, when a guy is poking needles into you - maybe leave the jokes until later...oh well!

Right, then once I had the pillow under the head situation sorted - apparently the head at the right height is important - I was given an oxygen mask - my lungs needed as much pure oxygen in them as possible to proceed with the anaesthetic and muscle relaxants (stop twitching, and enable tubes down my throat without gagging etc).  Then the drugs started going in, I thought I was nodding off, but thats when my body and events decided to take a different path, and I went into Anaphylactic shock.

Pre-Op Diet Week 6

Supposedly the last week before the big operation (next post will explain further).  But the day before the operation I went and did my final weigh in.  Lost another 1.9 kilos, which brought the pre op weight loss to 15.1 kilos.  I was stoked!  So were the people at the surgery - saying it was probably one of the highest weight losses and could be a record (I was hoping this was true, as deep down, I'm kind of competitive and a bit of a geek, so its kind of like more of a win! ;)  )

So 15.1 kilos - thats 33.2lbs or 2 Stone, 5.2 lbs - YAY!

Going out for my departmental dinner to Silver Spoon on Wednesday was another achivement and avoidance of temptation.  I think I have developed a small fear of carbs, and even though for my main I had a butter bean puree under my eye fillet steak (which was divine) - because it looked like mashed potatoes, I couldn't bring myself to eat more than a mouthful before giving it away and swapping it for someone's salad - CRAZY!!!  Anyway, avoided entrees, breads, dessert, and alcohol - good effort Cassie :)

So what weighs 15.1 kilos?   Lets see!

This fish

This bike

This pig which serves 50 people!

This amount of seized cannabis

And the cat on the left.



More Baking Efforts!

So at the weekend, decided to do some more baking, including some Christmas treats.  Did not have a single bite of anything I made.  Strangely enough - it felt theraputic making it, and definitely did not make me hungry.

So I made:

Christmas Mince Tarts - Mince soaked in lots of brandy (These lasted maybe an hour or two)

The tried and true date scone

The ever popular Rum Balls

and Banana and cinnamon loaf

Loving the baking and will soon attempt my first Christmas cake and truffles :)

Pre-Op Diet Week 5

This week  was a 1.7kg  loss, so that means 13.2 kilos all up (29.1lbs).  I'm stoked.  This week has been good.  Have managed to exercise a little more, which is great - makes me happy!

The actual diet is getting manageable - The hunger is disappearing.  I do get the tummy rumbles but I can live with it now.  The only time of day I struggle a little is just before lunch as it has been about 6 hours since my shake.  So it is understandable.  I make sure I have a coffee at interval as it gives me a little boost.

So one more week.....becoming so real now!

So what weighs 13.2 kilos???

This camera holder

This bike

This chair



 This fish

And this TV!

Not much else to report on Week 5 - bring on the last week!

What Not to Wear

Last week took the Mother in law to a fundraiser for a local College (some Vietnam trip - I wish my school went on cool trips like that)  basically along the same lines as "What not to wear" the TV with Trinny and Susannah.  A lady - Lisa O'Neill who used to work in the fashion industry goes around the country talking to women of all ages (not being sexist - there were literally no men there!) about how to make the best of what they have and what to and what not to wear.

It was a brilliant, funny and very informative evening!  There were also raffles  - Joan got wine, I won an broach and scarf, jewellery stalls - yes I bought more accessories, and supper.  Score there was something I could eat there - celery sticks!!!!  woo hoo didn't have any competition with others there ;)

Anyway, what did I learn from the evening???

Well my body shape is an Apple 

What Does an O Shape (Apple) Body look like?

O shaped bodies carry their weight through their middle. Quite often they have a slim leg (which should be shown off). Usually they have a short waist, which is why they put their weight on first at stomach rather than on their hips and thighs like the A (pear) shape body does.

O shape bodies shoulders and hips may be narrower than their tummy, or may just be kind of even, but there is a rounded appearance. Often the shoulders are not square, but slope a little, and so the curve starts high and ends at the hips.

Often an O shape body was an H shape (rectangle) before they put on weight. It's very unusual for an O shape to have ever had a really defined waist.

And what did it mean that for me......

Well she highlighted that great shoes will draw attention away from my problem areas - I took that as buy more shoes :)  I knew I could never have too many pairs of shoes, and justified my purchasing of three pairs the day before!

Wear V necks - low line - great skin at neckline - don't wear skivvys or anything high around the neck!

Wear dark on top, and lighter or patterns below

Apparently I had great ankles and should highlight them (shoes!! :) )

Because I'm bigger, accessories should be chunky and bigger - keep it in proportion!

I learnt a lot - if you ever see Lisa O'Neill in your area for a fundraiser - go - it is informative and very entertaining :)

Pre Op Week 4

Week 4 was an improvement on Week 3 by a long shot.  Although seniors were still in for tutorials, there were no classes with them and only those who wanted to learn were there.  Win win!

Because of less stress, I think I had a bit more energy to spare, yay!  This week I managed some walks, and two workouts with my PT.  Although hard to got there, it was was so worth it, and I felt better for it afterwards.

This weeks weight loss was 1 kilo - less than last week but still in the right direction.  This totals 11.5 kilos or 25.35 lbs (1,81 stone) in total :)  Two more weeks to go until the op.  Excited - it seems so real now.  A few jitters but more excitement.

Other things - adoption process has moved forward slightly, have been placed in an education series in March/April and people have recieved referee forms to fill out.  Im guessing we have passed the medical and police checks so can move on to the next stage.  All good!

Senior prizegiving was on Thursday.  Did over indulge a little on the free coke zero afterwards (took a while to sleep that evening ;)) but was not tempted by the food spread, instead happily passing plates around to others.


PICS FROM WEEK 1

PICS FROM WEEK 4

Although week 4 pics are closer, I do see slight differences.  My stomach has lifted slightly and is just a little flatter.  My top at the shoulders now falls off to one side more often and is a little longer due to this.  The top is also looser along with the denim pants (yes these are different to week one, but these did not fit 4 weeks ago :) )  My butt may have decreased just a little too...I'm hoping.  All positive though and good to actually see there are physical changes!

So what weighs 11.5 kilos......

 This baby

 This snapper

And this baby llama!!

Pre-op Diet Week 3

Week three saw the lowest point in this journey so far in terms of energy and general strength.  My will power was tested the most this week to stay on track.  Good news - I did!

My tiredness does show physically.  Ive started getting the comments of looking wiped out, bags under eyes and looking pale.  Can see why this preop diet and in general the optifast diet is not a long term thing.  Have had a little more red than white meat this week to keep my iron levels up (and hopefully reduce paleness!)

So anyway, had a day of on the Wednesday and slept most of it.  Felt a lot better for it to be honest, and now coping a lot better.  I think with school being hectic this week with the seniors leaving - energy levels were drained.

This week also saw the first signs of looking like I had lost some weight. I have now lost 10.5 kilos as at 7th November.   My jeans are a lot more comfortable, and have got a couple of comments saying Im looking a bit different.  A couple said they can see the 9 kilos from last week had gone.  It's nice to hear.  My efforts are working :) 

My dietitcian emailed and was pleased with the progress to date.  I was worried about the dramatic weight loss from the past two weeks, but she said it would have been a lot of fluid and it would slow down.  This week it had with 1.5 kilos lost.  While I do realise it is still a good weight loss, I couldn't help but hoping for more.  I know its silly.  I'm still losing and that's the main thing.  I did ask about cottage cheese (I love the stuff - light of course).  The dietician said as I was doing long term optifast, it would be ok but to restrict the meat more.  Sorry...I like the meat too much.  I look forward to it each day.  I will live without the cottage cheese for now.  Other thing - while gross have been 'blocked up'  - finally found alpine tea at the supermarket - wonderful stuff - now very regular :)

In the mail this week was a letter from my surgeon to my GP (I got a copy) stating the surgery was going ahead on November 26th and how I had chosen Lap Band surgery, and results of the consultation and his positive opinions about my commitment to the surgery and weight loss to date.  It was good to read it in print.

There were three main tests to my diet this week.  Two involved end of year treats with my two Year 13 classes. The first, taking one class to breakfast at McDonalds.  I passed with with having a trim mocha only :).  The second was a staff shout from the Teachers College at morning tea.  Chorizo sausage rolls, little salmon canopies, chcocolate brownies etc.   I did not move from my seat all interval nursing my coffee, surrounded by all the smells of this goodness but not taking a bite.  The last was fish and chips with my other Year 13 class, easy to miss this one.  The yellowness of the batter and fries put my off and since it cooled quickly - it gets gross.  Passed!

Highlight of week - winning $70 on the Melbourne Cup in the staff sweepstake - score!

Thoughtful note of the week - a student bought me Hershey Kisses as a thank you present.  She knows what is going on, but said "Miss, I checked the expiry date and it is Jan 2011.  By then you will be able to enjoy them, so don't give them to your husband!"  Cute :)

So how many pounds is 10.5 kilos? Well it is 22.1 lbs (1.65 stone for those old school folk) - Here are some other things that are 10.5 kilos

 This fish!

 This guy's hair

And this bag of flour plus a 500g block of butter!