Today was a big day of living...
Firstly, we took a trip into the Royal Melbourne Hospital for pre-op bloods.
One of which confirms I have quit smoking for just over a month now.
Finding out recently that one of my best friends has been diagnosed with lung cancer sure helped as a motivating factor to quit. As did being stuck in hospital for the week, and the fact that unless the test comes back with a negative cotinine result, they won't do my mastectomy operation. Not gonna shit in your back pocket though, even as I type this now on the 7th of Feb 2020, the cravings are still there!
I will also be real with ya, I didn't do it on sheer will power alone. I tried, but couldn't make it stick so I decided to give champix another go. This time around I had no side effects. I haven't been able to take them for the past week though as I have had a flare up, so all meds other than pain have been stopped, hmmm thats probably why my cravings are stronger at the moment.
Mind you they aren't strong enough to want a herbal ciggie, which really don't taste very nice BUT in the beginning helped to fill a void. The vaping I found was mostly handy on long car trips (without the boys in the car ofcourse).
I have also been using my aromatherapy roller blend, just to take the edge of the cravings. Every little bit helps.
From Melbourne, it was over to Williamstown to see my lapband specialist/surgeon. I initially only went for a lapband adjustment (fluid out, a precautionary measure in preparation for the operation), which didn't happen as despite 4 jabs to the gut plus lots of moving the needle around, she was unable to access the port.
Feels nice when your surgeon says to you "it's because you are now a skinny mini and the port has moved", even though I really do believe they need glasses, as I am certainly not a skinny mini!
On Thursday 16th I need to go to Footscray private hospital to have it done via CT scan *sigh*.
Side Note: CT was done and it was confirmed that the port has indeed done a complete 180 degree flip! So, on Monday 20th, it was back to Williamstown to see Professor Nottle, who confirmed that I will need another port revision surgery. I was placed on the waiting list at Western Hospital but the answer of when could not be answered. So, its just a waiting game. I was sure to ask whether it being flipped would affect my upcoming surgery, and again the answer was No, it just means that we can't put fluid in or take any out.
For those of you thinking, it is the band that is the cause of THE problem, let me assure you that all the docs have said that it is not...I asked that too!
Anyway, something that really hit home for me was the way the specialist/surgeon properly listened to me, AND spoke to me as equal rather than talking down to me like other doctors have done recently.
Oh, she said something really interesting. The CT/Ultrasound in hospital showed that one of my ducts was larger than usual for someone of my age, but that nothing could be done about it. Anyway, Dr, Chadwick believes that it is larger because the stones already passed through, which is also why they didn't find conclusive answers. She does however believe that it wasn't the main cause of THIS pain but in fact a secondary revelation.
Turns out that Professor Nottle deals with that kind of stuff too, so she booked me in for a gastro/colonoscopy on the 10th of March. I know, I know, such a long wait...but apparently I need at least 6 weeks for things to settle down, and I allowed a little extra for recovery from the foob op, given that they told me it would be Feb!
As we were close to it, we figured we may as well drive by the beach and I couldn't help but bury my feet in the sand - love the squishyness.
We made our way home via Altona stopping for some lunch - Fish and Chips ofcourse YUMMY!
We got lost (took a wrong turn) in Point Cook and came across an awesome slide that the boys couldn't resist, and I attempted a swing.
To end the evening, the 3 boys went for a bike ride whilst I took a slow stroll. Got to the corner and then spent the rest of the evening on my good mates porch chatting about everything.
Admittedly the walk home was slower due to the pain being higher on the chart, but it was so worth it to actually feel like today was a day of living and not just existing!
I will also be real with ya, I didn't do it on sheer will power alone. I tried, but couldn't make it stick so I decided to give champix another go. This time around I had no side effects. I haven't been able to take them for the past week though as I have had a flare up, so all meds other than pain have been stopped, hmmm thats probably why my cravings are stronger at the moment.
Mind you they aren't strong enough to want a herbal ciggie, which really don't taste very nice BUT in the beginning helped to fill a void. The vaping I found was mostly handy on long car trips (without the boys in the car ofcourse).
I have also been using my aromatherapy roller blend, just to take the edge of the cravings. Every little bit helps.
From Melbourne, it was over to Williamstown to see my lapband specialist/surgeon. I initially only went for a lapband adjustment (fluid out, a precautionary measure in preparation for the operation), which didn't happen as despite 4 jabs to the gut plus lots of moving the needle around, she was unable to access the port.
 |
| This is not a picture of me...if I took pic, it would be with eyes closed! |
On Thursday 16th I need to go to Footscray private hospital to have it done via CT scan *sigh*.
Side Note: CT was done and it was confirmed that the port has indeed done a complete 180 degree flip! So, on Monday 20th, it was back to Williamstown to see Professor Nottle, who confirmed that I will need another port revision surgery. I was placed on the waiting list at Western Hospital but the answer of when could not be answered. So, its just a waiting game. I was sure to ask whether it being flipped would affect my upcoming surgery, and again the answer was No, it just means that we can't put fluid in or take any out.
For those of you thinking, it is the band that is the cause of THE problem, let me assure you that all the docs have said that it is not...I asked that too!
Anyway, something that really hit home for me was the way the specialist/surgeon properly listened to me, AND spoke to me as equal rather than talking down to me like other doctors have done recently.
Oh, she said something really interesting. The CT/Ultrasound in hospital showed that one of my ducts was larger than usual for someone of my age, but that nothing could be done about it. Anyway, Dr, Chadwick believes that it is larger because the stones already passed through, which is also why they didn't find conclusive answers. She does however believe that it wasn't the main cause of THIS pain but in fact a secondary revelation.
Turns out that Professor Nottle deals with that kind of stuff too, so she booked me in for a gastro/colonoscopy on the 10th of March. I know, I know, such a long wait...but apparently I need at least 6 weeks for things to settle down, and I allowed a little extra for recovery from the foob op, given that they told me it would be Feb!
As we were close to it, we figured we may as well drive by the beach and I couldn't help but bury my feet in the sand - love the squishyness.
 |
| So sad how smokey it is from the fires! |
We got lost (took a wrong turn) in Point Cook and came across an awesome slide that the boys couldn't resist, and I attempted a swing.
 |
| Swinging when sore is not the best idea...but fun all the same! |
Admittedly the walk home was slower due to the pain being higher on the chart, but it was so worth it to actually feel like today was a day of living and not just existing!
