I'm alive , 4 days post op !

I'm alive, 4 days post op!
Today is Saturday the 29th November 2008; I'm alive and happy to say I made it through the surgery. The morning of the big day was so stressful I thought I was going to burst with nervous tension, I was shaking and stressed and going through in my mind all the things that might go wrong and asking myself if this is really what I want to do and is this the right thing.



I woke up at around 6.50am in a bit of a panic as I was asked by my anaesthesiologist to have at least 750mls of water before 7am, so I ran down to the kitchen and proceeded to drink close to a litre of cold water. The reason he asked me to d this was due to my veins being small, drinking water prior to the surgery helps with the drip the veins swell and the catheda is easier to get in.I then proceeded to have a shower making sure my legs and underarms were shaved, hair washed and ready to face the surgeon. I got dressed and basically snapped at everyone all morning as I was so scared.
Craig and I arrived at the day unit side of the hospital. I only had to wait around 30minutes and the nurse came to get me and they did the big weighing to ensure I had lost at least 4kgs on the optifast , thank god I had lost nearly 5kgs. She then took my blood pressure, it was slightly up but she said that was due to nerves and it was fine, she then placed all my ID bands on both my wrists and took me through to a bed, I then had to put on the very attractive hospital gown, they are such a fashion statement, the way they sit just right and the beautiful open back and buttons on the shoulder, NICE.

A student nurse from Newcastle University came in and the senior nurse asked if it was OK if the student nurse gave me my heparin injection. Heparin is to stop clots. I said sure stab away, she did a great job I didn’t even feel the needle, I had it in my stomach. Mum arrived so It was Craig mum and I waiting for the wards man to come and take me away hahahaha...

My anaesthetist came in and checked my heart and breathing and also checked down my throat and the flexibility of my neck , all these little checks are a little unsettling , however I guess I’m glad they are so thorougher, better than saying later, shit I wish I’d checked that before the op....

10 minutes later the wards man came and wheeled me around to the aesthetic bay, with a teary goodbye to mum and Craig off I went, I waited in the bay just outside the operating theatre and a chirpy nurse came bouncing in with hot towels to put on my arms and hands to keep my veins warm, as my veins are often difficult to find, like my mother's, they are small. She also place scuds on my legs, these are inflatable stockings that are attached later to a machine and they pump up and down your legs, they are also to prevent clots. I had these on when I had my gall bladder out in 2005 so I knew what to expect.
Due to the large amount of water and of course nerves I was dying to do another wee, although a little inconvenient off I ran to the nurse’s toilet up the hall, scuds and all... Arriving back Dr Goldsmith came in to put the catheter in for the drip , this was not fun , however he managed to get it in with the help of my water drinking and the hot towels and yes his skill and experience. I don’t even have a bruise where it went in. Dr Munro then popped in to say hi and make sure I was OK, he is such a dish......If you are going to have a surgeon you might as well have a good looking one....I waited for around 10 minutes then they came and wheeled me into the operating theatre, lights camera action, the show was ready to begin.
I was asked to wiggle across onto the operating table; I did have a flash of fight or flight, but decided it was the big girl thing to do to go through with it and wiggle I did. The massive lights in banks of 8 were all above me and there were a selection of instruments and nurse and doctors were everywhere. As I lay on the table I heard a hi Trace how are you going from a familiar voice and I looked over to see Iris my GP's nurse, she assists Peter ( My family doctor) at his skin cancer clinic on a Thursday's, it was nice to see her and she reassured me that I had the best team and that this would be the best thing I have ever done for myself.. She promised to look after me. I do remember seeing her last time Craig and I had our annual skin cancer check up and she did tell me she also works as a theatre nurse for Doctor Munro and we chatted about the lap banding.
Dr Munroe was there in his mask and gown looking very dashing in a surgeon kinda way, he was assuring me all’s well, the aesthetic nurse then wired me for sound placing small sticky receptors all over me, 4 on my arm , three on each leg and approx 8 around my heart on my chest and then hooked them up to the machine, all of a sudden I could hear my heart beat , beep, beep , beeping in stereo through the room, she also put the blood pressure cuff on and every 5 minutes it puffed up and tightened and then released with a hiss and projected my blood pressure onto the screen, it was a little high due to stress, 150/85. They weren’t worried and indicated it was fine... Dr Goldsmith then said we were ready to go and got the aesthetic injection ready and I saw the mask come up and then the nurse unclasped the buttons on my chest ready to reveal all , belly and boobs to the cast of doctors and nurses................!!!!!!
Then a high pitched alarm sounded and I thought, shit I’m having a heart attack, all the medical team stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, the alarm continued getting louder and louder, then a voice came over the alarm to say it was a fire alarm code red and all non essential procedures had to stop and all staff were to stand down until clear. I was now absolutely in a state of panic, the doctors were all mumbling and then doctor Munro said Tracey I’m sorry we will have to evacuate until we are given permission to start the operation, I asked if I had to go, and they then said no that procedure was that the patient remain with one nurse until further instructions, that is to either evacuate as there really is a fire or to proceed as it was a false alarm. Of course I looked at my blood pressure and it spiked at 165/90.
They all left and for 25 of the longest minutes of my life I lied there on that operating table with my arms out to the side like Jesus on the cross.
Finally the alarm stopped and they all came back in , trying to make light of the situation talking about people burning toast and joking, all I could say was knock me out, NOW..No sooner had I said that and Dr goldsmith placed the aesthetic in my drip and the nurse placed the mask over my face and said breathe deeply, This was a little scary at first I felt like I wasn’t getting any air or aesthetic, she then turned up the oxygen and I breathed deeply as the warm rush of the aesthetic pumped into my left arm, it was warm and kind of tingled and stung at the same time and that was it lights out.
1.5 hours later I woke up still in the operating room, and with the breathing tube down my throat, Dr Goldsmith remarked that “Tracey is back with us" and then asked me to stay calm and he will remove the breathing tube. I was able to stay calm as I was able t breath even with the tube taking up my mouth and throat, within a few seconds he had slid the tubes out and I was able to breathe normally. They then slid me across onto a bed off the operating table and I was wheeled back to the recovery ward. I was drowsy but awake.
A young pretty dark haired nurse came and had a brief chat telling me all’s well and the op was over and she slipped ice into my mouth that felt sensational. I was in recovery for around 1/2 hour then wheeled back to my room, bed 210.I arrived back to my room around 1pm, Craig , mum , dad and Nanna were all there waiting for me, I was groggy but knew what was happening and they all told me I did great and all went well. The nurse came in and washed my stomach to get the bedadine off me as she said it makes you itchy if left on the skin for too long. I was talking to everyone and felt quite OK, no pain and the nurse made sure I had plenty of ice to suck, so all was well with the world.
Renee and her boyfriend Dave arrive also to say hi and make sure all was well.It was around 2pm. Mum dad, nanna, Renee and Dave left and Craig stayed with me till after midnight, not even leaving my side to have dinner, he is such a devoted man. My male nurse Phillip came and gave me a pethidine shot in my leg at around 11.30pm as the pain was taking hold, I was on a drip of panadole and antibiotics and fluids and I had my scuds on hooked up to the machine inflating them every 10minutes, I also had the oxygen tubes in my nose, I love oxygen...

I was in a shared room with a woman named Rebecca she was 10 weeks pregnant with IVF twins and she had to have surgery on her ovary, it had twisted. Her husband was also with her till late the only problem was he was asleep and snoring the ward down. Craig left around 1am and made the nurse aware of Rebecca’s husband and the snoring and they came and woke him up and suggested it was time to go home as the patients needed their rest.
I was awake till after 3am , could sleep , my night nurse was lovely , her name was Karen and her husband was having lap band surgery in three weeks so she was extra attentive and we had a few good chats in the early hours of the morning...I was awake at 6am with the noise of the bloody hospital, those places are certainly no good for sleeping and there were renovations taking place down the hall so I also had the jackhammer to content with.
The phone rang all morning with people ringing to see how I went, I got up and had a shower and put my face on and got dressed , I could truly face my public without my face on , I was stiff and sore and in pain but not too bad considering. I was still sucking ice and didn’t feel nauseous at all. Dr Munro came in to see me at around 7am and said I was OK to go home and that all went well, he said my liver was a little enlarged but the surgery went well and that I have to make an appointment to see him in his rooms in a month’s time.
Craig arrived at around 12noon and we checked out of hotel North Gosford Private and I was on my way to being thin.......The last four days have been OK, I’m stiff and very sore around my upper abdomen, and it hurts to get up and down and hurts to sneeze or cough, I have only been able to lie on my back in bed and I have been very tired. It hurts to take a deep breath, due to the gas they use to blow up your stomach so they can operate laproscopically. I have had a little shoulder tip pain, but not much, not as much as I'd expected. I have been taking liquid panadole during the day and I crushed up some panadine forte with codeine in them for the night, this has also helped me sleep.
I have been very tired and a little out of breath, but basically I’m recovering.
Day 1 after surgery we went up to Erina Fair and did a bit of shopping , walking around is uncomfortable but I managed. I had apple juice and water all day.
Day 2 I was actually feeling hungry so I had some clear tomato soup and some custard in the evening.
Day 3 I had custard and some pumpkin soup and also a little mashed potato with salmon and cheese sauce mixed into a mushy paste , it was delicious and I was able to tolerate it no problem, I even had a little bit of ice cream last night , and all went down well. I did have a little diarea on day 2 and 3 but that’s gone now.
Today I haven’t really felt hungry at all, Craig took me to the movies to see Australia by Baz Lowman with Nicole Kidman it was fantastic and went for nearly 3 hours, I loved it and I had no trouble or pain sitting in the theatre for all that time. Today I have had juice and water; I had some KFC potato and gravy for lunch at around 4pm after the movie. I will probably have my salmon mixture from last night for dinner. I weighed myself this morning and since I was weighed at the start of the optifast I have lost 7.6kgs (16.7 pounds) that’s amazing in just two and a bit weeks.....Tomorrow is another day and I’m feeling better and better every day, again thanks you to my fantastic husband and to my family and my friends for being there through the start of this transformation. Talk soon.

WOW, only 14 hours and I'm off to hospital for the big banding adventure, what a trip, who would have thought that I would finally see the light at the end of the optifast tunnel. No more optifast for this fat black duck....

The 24th November is a special day all round , today is our 1st wedding anniversary and I had an absolutely lovely day , with my boy spoiling me rotten with new diamond huggie earrings , they are beautiful ( see photo), three layers of bling and a bottle of my new favourite perfume “Jessica Parker, of sex in the city fame, called Covet” it is divine...

I can’t believe that it is 12 months since we walked down the aisle to ABBA. Ahhh memories.... I do, I do, I do....What more scary is that it has been 12 months since all of our friends were with us from around the globe, Bonnie, Ben and Cass from the US, Susan, Corrine and Tank from Cairns and all our gorgeous friends and family from near and far, time just speeds by, its crazy, life is not about the amount of breaths you take its about the moments that take you breath away, and that day was one of those moments.

Today was fun for another reason I had a kind of get out of jail free pass from my dietitian and had Chinese for lunch, pssst don't tell my doctor. It was really, really, really, really, really ,really, did I say really nice, especially after almost 2 weeks of Optifast and nothing else. I must admit as bad as the optifast torcher , it truly works, I have lost 5.6kgs ( almost 12.5 pound) in 12 days, that’s the most I have ever lost in such a short amount of time.

It was very hard the first three to 4 days then I kinda got used to it and I was also aloud to add a little protein and that made it bearable. The carb craving also subsided by about day 6-7. I couldn't live like this for as long as it takes to lose the weight I have to lose, but for all intents and purposes it works, its hard work , but it dose the trick , so if you wanna drop a dress size or more in two weeks this is how to do it.

The big day is almost here, I go in at 8.30am tomorrow 25th November 2008 , I hope I’m one of the first people to be operated on so I can get it over and done with, I feel a bit nervy now, especially when the hospital called and said I have to fast after midnight tonight, (dam that rules out the 2 liters of cookies and cream ice cream i had planned for 2am snack, hahahahahahaha, I'm funny , berry funny....) I can have nothing but black tea, water or apple juice up till 7am, then nothing after that, scary stuff...

To all my gorgeous Friends , my husband, my mum, my cousins and the kids Thanks for the love well wishes and I’m sure all will be fine..mighty fine indeed and in the end also mighty slim, hahahaha,here we go, here we go , here we go......say good by to the big Tracey....

Blood test done- check , ECG done, check

Today was the big ECG and blood test, one of the final hoops I have to jump through before the big banding. Dr Munroe requires his patients to have an extensive series of blood test and an Echo Cardio Gram ( ECG) done on the heart , just to make sure the old ticker is A-OK for surgery.



It was a scary process, of course it doesn't hurt, however me being the hypochondriac that I am , of course I was worried sick that I would have a heart problem or even worse a heart attack right there on the ECG table. I guess the many years of partying hard ,eating ,drinking and smoking what ever I wanted probably didn't help with my stress levels. I thought maybe I would have to pay the piper someday - but was that someday today. But thank God , all is well , my heart was just fine, great in fact , the test showed complete normal heart function, phew....
Let me say that again, Normal.

I must admit I was lying on the bed in the ECG room with wires coming off me everywhere and I could feel my pulse racing and throbbing in my head , actually throughout my entire body , it was freaky. Not to mention having to lie down in front of a complete stranger with no cloths on, not even my bra , nude from the waist up , with wobbly bits everywhere, loads of wobbly bits I might add, it put a whole new meaning to lovey jubilees.....



Anyway I survived, my modesty dinted, but intacted. They also took 5 tubes of blood , I guess I will hear the results of the bloods at some stage? I'm sure the insulin and cholesterol wont be telling a good story., but that's why I'm doing this, contary to popular belief its not just for the Mischino designed cloths but to improve my stats and therefore my health



Day 6 and the Diet from Hattie's seems to be getting a little easier, I guess I'm actually getting used to it. I must admit however I really need some meat and I would sell my first born for a slice of bread. Ahhh well, one week to go , no , actually only 6 days as I don't count LPO (lap Band Op ) day and then no More OPTI FAST.


I set myself up with a memento/reward system today . I have never been a real fan of the Pandora charm bracelet fad, however I saw a gold and black toned bracelet today and feel in love with it. So I ordered the bracket and with every 5kgs (11 pound) I lose I will by a charm , sort of like a reward and as it has nothing to do with food I thought this was a very healthy way to pat myself on the back. The charms average at around $50 each give or take, the solid gold ones are more expensive , but hey I thought this was a great idea and I will always wear my bracelet with such pride.

No carbs No protein , 9 days to go

Its been 5 days since I started, what I now lovingly call, the "Diet from Hattie's".This is the most difficult eating challenge I have ever faced, forget weight watchers core program, forget low fat , low Carb, forget celebrity slim, forget the Israeli diet and all the Hollywood fads, this is seriously low kilo joule at its best.


The first 4 days were the worst , today is day 5 and it hasn't been as bad. Yesterday was difficult as Craig and I went to a corporate box at the Stadium to watch a soccer game between Adelaide United and The Central Coast Mariners last night. In the corporate suite they serve loads of delicious nibbles and the staff wait on you hand and foot with drinks & food all night. Just what a girl needs , no wonder I'm over my healthy body weight. Then to cap it all off they bring out the dessert platter, by then I could have cried. But to my credit and with the support of my amazing husband I didn't weaken, no mini lemon meringue pie for me and I said a big no to the evil pecan pie monster to boot.



Food aside I enjoyed the game and the company and a coke zero and nothing more. Craig is amazing he also needs to shed the pounds so he is doing this "Diet from Hattie's "with me, it is so much easier when someone is suffering with you, that age old adage of misery loves company is sad but true. The light at the end of the food tunnel was the local lads The mariners won the game 3-0.

Day 5 started great with a weigh in this morning and according to the scales I have lost 2.9kg ( 6.3 pounds) . I have to have lost over 4kg (8.8 lb) in the two weeks on this diet to be eligible for the surgery , doctors rules , so in 5 days I have lost close to 3kg, that means only a little over 1kg to go.

Ready steady Go

My big adventure has started, today is the first day of my journey of transformation. Today I started a very controlled eating plan, I will follow this eating plan for the next 13 days then on the 25th November 2008 I go into hospital to have lap band surgery. This was a huge decision to make, weight loss surgery should not be entered into lightly.



I have always had a weight problem, I started high school in a size 20 school uniform. My weight has never really had a major impact on my life. I guess my parents have been amazing and have ensured I have always felt loved and secure no matter what my weight was. My self esteem has always been very much intact ed. I have always known I was pretty and smart and had a clever wit. In my life I always managed to do , go and be where ,who and what I have always wanted to do , go or be... I have travelled , I have had adventures I have made the most precious friends, I have an amazing husband, I have partied and there is no doubt I have been the dancing queen that will some day come sliding into to her grave with champagne in hand screaming what a hell of a ride my life was.



BUT, and ain't there always a but !!!! At some stage we all have to pay that piper , genes, donuts and ice cream have caught up with me and I have reached a pinnacle in my life where I'm sick of being fat. I want life to be easier and I want to be able to wear Sass & Bide and just be more comfortable in jeans, I want to feel less cosy in a plane seat and I want to live longer to enjoy my great life and my wonderful relationships and I want to just be a healthy weight, simple.



So on November 25th I go in for lap band surgery.I'm currently on an Optifast diet that's special low kilojoule meal replacement diet , breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yep all meals are replaced for two week prior to surgery. This is required by my surgeon to shrink my liver. As the stomach sits behind the liver and people who are overweight have whats called a "fatty liver" and experience has show that if the patient goes on this very restrictive diet prior to surgery that it reduces the size of the liver considerably and ensures the surgery is as safe as possible.

People have to be on the Optifast diet for 2, 4 or 6 weeks depending on there BMI ( Body Mass Index) this is the magic number that indicates how much fat you have in your body. A BMI of over 25 is unhealthy and my BMI is 39 so I'm hoping to get it down down down. 12 days of Optifast shakes and no carbs, sugar or protine except whats in the meal replacements, yumo... Of course Im starving but in two weeks I will be banded so let the games begin...A journey like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, come with me and watch the transformation from a pretty colourful caterpillar to a stunning free butterfly.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. My life so far has been blessed I have a great family I have wonderful friends, I live in a great part of the world and life in general has been good to me. Like most I have ups and downs but I'm happy to report more ups than downs.

I'm in my 41st year and look forward to the next 41 and beyond and being able to share this journey with those I love most , we have to work together to create a bountiful future for us all. When life gives you lemons stuff making lemonade, simply add a dash of lime, a nip of vodka maybe two and fizz it up with soda and drink whilst still fizzing.....