Life lately

Well, school has gone back and I’m quite enjoying the routine. I needed it, I think. I miss the relaxed vibe of the holidays, but I love the quiet {or that things are quieter with just one little person in the house}.

I’ve been chugging along here. I wrote a few weeks back about how I thought I was dying, but it turned out to be ‘just’ Gallstones.

Since writing that post, I’ve been to a specialist and eagerly booked a date for surgery… only to come home and find out that my health cover didn’t cover the operation {I’d Googled before my appointment and talked to the people at the health fund and they said I was, but it was some miscommunication}.

So we broke up, of course. So now I wait. My new cover with my new fund {Bupa} has a 12 month wait, and going public has a 6-18 month wait for the operation – so really, it’s whatever comes first. In the meantime I’m eating very plain food, and enjoying a little {or a lot} of nausea each day. Today I want to cry because I’m over it. I just want to feel normal again.

It could be so much worse, I know. I’m just having a one-person pity-party over here. Throw the confetti.

I’ve lost 6kg, which is an awesome side-effect of surviving on crackers. These are my crackers of choice, by the way. My local Asian Grocer sold out, so I made Hubby drive 40 minutes to find me some more. Thankfully my local place restocked and I bought up big. If you haven’t tried, them… please do. Good crackers. Just don’t buy from my grocer cos I need all the crackers I can get. {Health-types, don’t worry – I’m still getting all other food groups}.

Tell me what’s happening with you? And what’s your favourite snack right now?

46 thoughts on “Life lately”

  1. Aww hun I am so sorry to hear about your cover and having to wait for the public system or for your fund.
    I was diagnosed with Gall Stones back in 2012 and was on the waiting list for the surgery, however due to my weight they did not want to operate. Then in trying to lose weight and waiting for the surgery, I managed to be able to lesson the attacks of severe pain by changing what I ate. What no body told me, was the dairy plays a large factor (well it does for me), my cousin (a dr) told me when she came for a visit and we were talking about it, and what was I eating a lot of? Dairy! Doctors just see your weight and assume you eat the most horrible foods and don’t bother talking to you about how to help the pain etc. So I ended up being taken off the public waiting list as I wasn’t not in pain and not having very many attacks. I have found that if I eat fairly healthy most of the time, I do not have attacks. I am to get to their idea of a healthy weight, get back on the list and wait some more. I am lucky to not be experiencing pain and touch wood I have not had an attack in some time. I honestly couldn’t survive if I was still in pain. My doctors are not concerned about my stones as they are too large to make it down my duct and cause any further problems, so I guess that is a good thing. They have said that if I do start to have attacks that they would operate but that is a risk.

    I hope that you can get the pain under control and that your wait for the public system might surprise you, much love xxx

      • Yes, I wish I had known earlier, it would have stopped a lot of pain! But they would only see my weight as the issue and never discussed food groups or that to avoid. I hope that you are finding what works for you xxx

  2. Those gall stones suck balls and so do miscommunicating health funds. Hope you get your surgery and feel heaps better soon. Because the sooner you say goodbye to those stones, the sooner you can say hello to the cake and cake makes everything better.

  3. Hope your feeling more human soon, nothing worse then feeling unwell and not being able to fix it…. Gee,Thanks Mr health insurance.

  4. Gee lv I hope the queue spontaneously dispenses so you can get in for surgery soon! My tooth had been playing up for months and I guessed I needed a root canal so I saw my dentist only to discover that my wizzi’s were growing sideways through my jaw and into my sinus’. I was referred to Maxillofacial surgeon for surgery as it wasn’t as simple as a tooth removal, there would probably be further surgery required to repair sinus. Living rural meant a 3 mth wait for a visiting Maxfac (and that was going private) just for a pre operative consult. By the time I got a consult it was almost Christmas the wait and pain both equally agonizing. I was the perfect candidate to have immediate surgery, in April. But since the pain was so great the doctor said if I could come to Perth he could fit me in for surgery earlier. There was no way I could get to Perth before Christmas and the clinic was closed after that until the 7th of Jan. So I had to suck it up and carry on, I figured it was probably a blessing that I had to wait. I mean who would seriously enjoy the spoils of the Christmas having just had their wisdom teeth removed and sinus’ sutured shut?!? Haha well by the time Christmas rolled around I could barely close my jaw, the pain was THAT intense! I lived on strong pain killers day and night and when the clinic reopened I was booked for surgery just 5 days later. I had heard all the horror stories but I plunged forward ready to be done with this pain. The operation went well, all the teeth removed and the damaged sinus’ sutured up. Yes it was painful but in reality not. THAT. bad. I had very minimal swelling and bruising and I’ve recovered fully now. But you know I just don’t understand why my tooth is still sore….

  5. .. Hello Chantelle….. wow… you are having a bad time health wise…. I’ve never had gallstones but my mum, daughter and grandson all have and it’s cruel. I hope the wait is shorter than you were told.. sending (((hugs))) …
    My favourite snack is plain Jatz with cheese..
    Hugs… Barb xxxx

  6. At the moment, my biggest love is brie cheese, crackers and any kind of fruit paste. It’s not really the best thing for me, but gosh I love it. I haven’t had a gall stone attack in many years, and my god am I grateful for that fact. WORST FEELING EVER! I’ve got my fingers crossed that the public wait isn’t as long for you. *hug*

  7. Oh you poor thing my gallstone pain was horrendous and I went elective. I am praying you are bumped up the list. I suspect a visit to ER in the midst of a gallstone attack may help with that 😉

  8. Sounds like a well deserved pity party right there you poor thing. I hope your surgery comes round sooner than expected. Until recently my snack of choice was timtams and anything chocolate. Now I’m trying to shift the baby weight so it’s bliss balls and fruit.

  9. Aww you poor thing ? sending you good vibes ❤
    What’s happening right now…storm Imogen!! Gale force winds and rain ?
    My favourite snack… Ryvita and houmous ?

    Sending hugs x

  10. I know too well that feeling. Mine happened when my youngest was 6 weeks old. Well today I had whole day planned organising our School mkt, but ended up having Miss 12 home sick. Nothing to serious luckily.

  11. you probably have received so much advice but what worked for me, (while I was waiting for a specialist appointment) was to not eat any fat at all for 5 days nada.zip somehow that stopped the flare ups and only occasionally now I get a mild pain, maybe once of twice a year, and a slice of whole grain bread seems to clear it up lol

  12. Oh shit we had a similar drama just before my second child was born….. so long story he wasn’t born in the private hospital we thought he would be, as his sister was, but his fab ob still saw me throughout, I had a dual-care plan! Gutted for you and cracker diet, that is just pants. 🙁 xx

  13. Cracker diet, that’s no fun. I hope you have more good days than bad and get the surgery soon xx

  14. I really have to get this off my chest….I am a little disappointed with this post…well a lot actually! Life has been really hectic here the last few weeks and I haven’t had time to read anything from my few favourite bloggers (you being one them). So when I first glimpsed this post, it was the image that caught my eye, I liked what I saw, in fact I got a little excited with anticipation. I knew I had a small window of time coming up that might actually allow me the time to read the post from start to finish. I was really really looking forward to this post……why? you see it my haste of rushing from here to there when I glanced at the picture with this post I thought it was some kind of new chocolate…at a squint you can see it does kind of look like a kit kat shape. I also thought it was going to be some new white chocolate…..alas its not some divine new chocolate sensation….just a dull and dreary cracker!
    I am truly sorry to hear of your gall bladder woes, I really do hope you get a chance to have the dreaded thing removed earlier than 6 – 12 months. I can sympathise, I had mine out in July, I had a very quick recovery, and I am now eating anything I want…including chocolate!
    Love your posts…even if they are about dry crackers!

  15. I’m so sorry to hear that you have to wait like that, Telle. That is tough, tough, tough. I guess a weight loss is the silver lining, but what a way to get there. Wishing you some calm and respite. x

  16. I’m so so sorry to hear that:(
    I had kidney stones as well, but I decided not to have the operation because there was a possibility of getting the stones again so I decided against it and instead my doctor in mexico prescribed me a special medicine to help my body get rid of them but what I think helped the most is that I drank like a gallon of water a day and tons of pomegranate juice… oh and also natural herbs. This helped me hope it helps you too… and I know it hurts a ton and you feel like dying but it will get better! You’ll see 🙂 ??

  17. Oh I feel your pain, I had gall stones after my 2nd child, hot shooting pain on your right side and up to your shoulder blades, vomitting, diarrhoea feeling shite really. I changed my diet less yogurt, cheese & fatty foods and started taking Bio Magnesium tablets ( Blackmores) – my Mum said that Magnesium was a wonder vitamin it cures a lot! I also drink more green tea, take fish oil and drink lots of water. Ironically my bouts of gall stones came after I started increasing my exercise!! My Doctor recommended surgery but I chose to watch my diet in the interim and haven’t had a bout of gall stones for over 3 years now and no surgery!! I’ve heard that surgery isn’t always a fix and those that had it done still have to be cautious. I Must admit I’m more fit now and am more relaxed with my eating, but still keep up with my supplements. Good luck!

  18. I’ve totally have grown up with these crackers. It’s a top Filipino brand of crackers. They are a fave of mine as well. Have you tried the onion ones? Mmmmm…. so good…. dang…. now I need to head back to the asian store for some.

  19. Hoping the schedule for your surgery gets around asap. Nothing worse than waiting for these things. Sending love. Xx

    On a lighter note, so thrilled to see a staple from the Philippines here on your blog. 🙂 This reminds me of time in university where I survived on these things when we scrimped on food and used our allowance for alcohol hahaha those were the days. We crushed these and mixed them with sauteed tuna (the canned variety) plus a little bit of onion and garlic, sometimes with egg to scramble it all in. Sooo good! 😉

  20. Oh no not your gal bladder! I had that issue, it’s ghastly. You’ll feel better once that nasty little beast is gone. I hope that comes sooner rather than later for you.

  21. That’s rough! How much would the surgery cost if you had to pay for it? (I would totally be waiting for insurance to kick in aswel !!) I’m currently going through Pineapple Lumps like they’re going out of fashion, which is odd because I’ve never been big on them before!

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