Good Changes
I wish I could really express how my life has changed in these last few months. It is hard to explain how bad, how sad my life had become these last few years. Actually if I am really honest the changes began about 15 years ago. I was 48 and having problems with my knees. I went to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Richard Evans. He told me that he would do arthroscopic surgery and fix both of my knees at the same time. He was highly recommended and I decided to go for it. My surgery was on a Monday and Dr. Evans assured me I would start therapy on Wednesday and I would be driving within 2 weeks. Sounded good to me. I awoke from surgery to hear the words you never want to hear from a doctor. "Honey, I am really sorry but things were so much worse than we anticipated. You are going to be non-weight bearing for 2 months." "You mean 2 weeks", I said. "No, I mean 2 months."
I went home, we got a hospital type bed and put it in my living room. I was strapped in a contraption called an immobilizer that pretty much kept my entire right side from the hip down from moving. My sweet husband began to sleep on the horribly uncomfortable couch in our living room. I had an adult potty chair IN MY LIVING ROOM! And so the waiting to heal began...
About 2 1/2 weeks into this drama, a really good and wonderful friend, Darla, came over to my house to cut and color my hair. We got me into the wheelchair and through trial and error and a lot of laughter, managed to get my hair washed in my kitchen sink. Just after she had finished my phone rang and it was my mom. I told Darla I could get myself into bed, hugged and thanked her and then proceeded to talk to mom. Part way through our conversation I started having this really bad, sharp pain in the right side of my lower chest. I felt just like when you get a stitch in your side from running. I told mom I was going to have to get off the phone and I rolled myself into the living room and got into the bed. Lying down hurt as bad as sitting but I got myself into a half sitting/half lying position kind of on my side and it wasn't too bad.
A couple of hours later another good friend, Teresa, stopped by on her way home from work to visit, bringing me a beautiful gift of 2 little candleholders and candles. We visited and she could see I was in some serious pain and asked if I wanted her to take me to the hospital. I declined, telling her I would be fine. She kept trying to talk me into it and about then my hubby came home from work. He wouldn't listen to my protests that I was fine and he called my PCP, Dr. Greta McClaren. After he explained the entire situation she said, "Get her to the emergency room, immediately!!" I could not climb up into our big van and I could not get down into our little Dodge Charger. I managed to get into the back seat of Teresa's car kind of on my side again.
I kept protesting about the need to go to the ER but when we arrived at St. Joseph's hospital they took one look at me and moved me to the front of the triage line and then after a pulse ox of 57% suddenly they were running me back to a room and there was a doctor standing on either side of the door. At that point I began to think, "Hmmmm, maybe something is going on!" They immediately sent me for an MRI, x-rays and a ct scan. Turned out I had a massive Pulmonary Embolism. I was given a drug called TPA and we were told it was extremely dangerous and could cause a bleed in the brain. We spoke with our PCP, whom we greatly respected and she told us we really had no choice. The embolism could kill me as easily as the brain bleed so we chose to go ahead with it.
I am going to stop here and continue this saga tomorrow. What you have read so far is the easy part of what happened to me during my 13 day stay in the hospital. I promise I won't leave you hanging, I will continue tomorrow!
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.Sunday, October 27, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Real Food!
I guess that title is a bit of a misnomer because I have been eating real food all along but when you are on the soft diet phase there are lots of things you really can't add. So last Thursday I met with the nutritionist, Erica. We went over lots of stuff, like am I still staying away from straws, yes, am I still not drinking caffeine or carbonated drinks, yes, do I still wait 30 minutes before a meal, during a meal and 30 minutes after to drink anything, yes, am I chewing my food very, very well before swallowing, yes, am I making sure I am focused on the eating and not distracted, mostly yes, am I still making sure I take 20-30 minutes to eat my meals, resounding yes! Why would people stop doing these things, they work! ! I lost over 20 pounds before my surgery by following these rules, my hubby has now lost about 17 following some of these rules (and he is not eating diet food!). Apparently a lot of people stop doing these things after surgery. People, that is not a good idea. You are trying to make permanent changes to how you eat! This surgery is a wonderful tool but you can still gain back all your weight. Some of these little changes may seem silly but think about it. The reason for no drinking before, during and after meals is because all that liquid washes the food out of your stomach quicker and you can eat more and you feel hungry sooner. My brother has been trying to do just that one thing and he is amazed that he is eating less and not getting hungry so soon. I tend to be a little OCD and when I am given a list of things to do I do them faithfully. We must change or we will eventually find ourselves right back where we were. I quoted this before but here it is again, "Just because you got the monkey off your back does not mean the circus has left town forever." That monkey is just waiting to jump right back on!
Okay, enough preaching! I finally reached that milestone of 50 pounds lost! Yesterday morning I weighed in at 194.4! I have been blessed to stay in the 100's since I reached them, so many people blog that they got under 200 and then bounced back up over, sometimes more than once.
Now to my original thought about real food. I wanted to let you know some of the things I've been eating since last Thursday. I made an awesome Turkey Chili that even my family liked. I measured out 1/2 a cup and shredded a low-fat string cheese on top, then a teaspoon or so of plain Greek yogurt on top. It was sooooo good! Today for lunch I grilled a salmon filet from Costco, they are about 7 oz. so I cut it in half and will have the other half tomorrow. I mixed some of that plain Greek yogurt and a teaspoon of spicy brown mustard together and spread it on top of the salmon, yummy! I also have had a few of those little grape tomatoes with a couple of meals. On the way home from the doc's office last Thurs. I stopped and shopped a little and bought some veggie burgers. I have had a couple completely vegetarian meals and enjoyed them completely. This is strange coming from someone who has always been a major carnivore, lol! The biggest thing I am trying to be aware of besides the things mentioned above is portion sizes. With just a little pouch for a stomach I don't need a ton of food to be happy and satisfied.
I guess that title is a bit of a misnomer because I have been eating real food all along but when you are on the soft diet phase there are lots of things you really can't add. So last Thursday I met with the nutritionist, Erica. We went over lots of stuff, like am I still staying away from straws, yes, am I still not drinking caffeine or carbonated drinks, yes, do I still wait 30 minutes before a meal, during a meal and 30 minutes after to drink anything, yes, am I chewing my food very, very well before swallowing, yes, am I making sure I am focused on the eating and not distracted, mostly yes, am I still making sure I take 20-30 minutes to eat my meals, resounding yes! Why would people stop doing these things, they work! ! I lost over 20 pounds before my surgery by following these rules, my hubby has now lost about 17 following some of these rules (and he is not eating diet food!). Apparently a lot of people stop doing these things after surgery. People, that is not a good idea. You are trying to make permanent changes to how you eat! This surgery is a wonderful tool but you can still gain back all your weight. Some of these little changes may seem silly but think about it. The reason for no drinking before, during and after meals is because all that liquid washes the food out of your stomach quicker and you can eat more and you feel hungry sooner. My brother has been trying to do just that one thing and he is amazed that he is eating less and not getting hungry so soon. I tend to be a little OCD and when I am given a list of things to do I do them faithfully. We must change or we will eventually find ourselves right back where we were. I quoted this before but here it is again, "Just because you got the monkey off your back does not mean the circus has left town forever." That monkey is just waiting to jump right back on!
I'm melting!
Okay, enough preaching! I finally reached that milestone of 50 pounds lost! Yesterday morning I weighed in at 194.4! I have been blessed to stay in the 100's since I reached them, so many people blog that they got under 200 and then bounced back up over, sometimes more than once.
Now to my original thought about real food. I wanted to let you know some of the things I've been eating since last Thursday. I made an awesome Turkey Chili that even my family liked. I measured out 1/2 a cup and shredded a low-fat string cheese on top, then a teaspoon or so of plain Greek yogurt on top. It was sooooo good! Today for lunch I grilled a salmon filet from Costco, they are about 7 oz. so I cut it in half and will have the other half tomorrow. I mixed some of that plain Greek yogurt and a teaspoon of spicy brown mustard together and spread it on top of the salmon, yummy! I also have had a few of those little grape tomatoes with a couple of meals. On the way home from the doc's office last Thurs. I stopped and shopped a little and bought some veggie burgers. I have had a couple completely vegetarian meals and enjoyed them completely. This is strange coming from someone who has always been a major carnivore, lol! The biggest thing I am trying to be aware of besides the things mentioned above is portion sizes. With just a little pouch for a stomach I don't need a ton of food to be happy and satisfied.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Plugging along
So yesterday I was supposed to have my 6 week post-op appointment with the nutritionist at my surgeon's office but at 8am I got a call that they were going to have to reschedule because she is sick. I am going to go tomorrow (thought I'd give her another day to recuperate) and I am really looking forward to it. I am still on the soft food diet and with the doc's office blessing I will be moving to stage 1 of the regular diet after I see her tomorrow. Having some extra time must be in God's plan because I suddenly found a bunch of healthy recipes I would like to try and printed them off to take with me and have Erica (the nut, short for nutritionist) take a look and give me some feedback about them.
My weight loss this last 2 weeks has been pretty slow. I know part of it is a bathroom issue. I have always been so regular you could set a clock by it but now it is every 4-5 days and it is very difficult for me to go. I know my iron supplement may be contributing but hey, what gives? Am I gonna be like this the rest of my life??!! I sure hope not because it is not pleasant. Maybe once I get onto a more regular diet and get more vegetables into my life things will change.
Had a birthday party Sunday for my daughter, Shannon, at Red Robin. Shannon is 46 years old and she is developmentally disabled. She lives with us and is a joy in every way. When it comes to birthdays and Christmas, she is still very much like a child. We had balloons and took her cake to the restaurant. Red Robin has been really good to us over the years with our crowd of crazies. They always give us an extra table to put the cake and gifts on and let us take all the time we need. I cut the cake and had to be very conscious not to lick my fingers as I got tons of frosting on them. I ordered the Chicken Ensenada plate and immediately put 1 and one half of the 2 chicken breasts in my to-go box. It also came with salad and I got a balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the side. I didn't eat much salad because it was my first time having some and I am so wary of upsetting my little pouch. I've already done that twice (2 times because I didn't figure it out right away). People on the blogs have talked about adding a little peanut butter to their diet and since I dearly love peanut butter I thought it sounded like a great idea. On Sat. we were at Target shopping for Shannon's birthday and I bought a jar of natural peanut butter. Sunday morning I put a heaping teaspoon in my chocolate shake in the blender. A little later I wasn't feeling too great but it went away pretty quickly so I didn't think too much about it. On Monday morning I made another chocolate shake in my blender and again added some peanut butter. About 45 minutes later I started feeling so nauseous and my head began to ache. I finally had to lay down for a while. I finally figured out that my new stomach did not like peanut butter (too much fat I imagine). :( Oh well, perhaps I can try it again in a month or two!
The weight today was 196.6. I need to get to 195 for a 50 pound loss. Then I will be half way (weigh) to my goal. Wow! When I put it that way it sounds a bit exciting.
Several of you have posted comments here on the blog and I finally figured out how to respond and have done so. So if you want to go back and look at your comment you will see I didn't ignore you!!
So yesterday I was supposed to have my 6 week post-op appointment with the nutritionist at my surgeon's office but at 8am I got a call that they were going to have to reschedule because she is sick. I am going to go tomorrow (thought I'd give her another day to recuperate) and I am really looking forward to it. I am still on the soft food diet and with the doc's office blessing I will be moving to stage 1 of the regular diet after I see her tomorrow. Having some extra time must be in God's plan because I suddenly found a bunch of healthy recipes I would like to try and printed them off to take with me and have Erica (the nut, short for nutritionist) take a look and give me some feedback about them.
My weight loss this last 2 weeks has been pretty slow. I know part of it is a bathroom issue. I have always been so regular you could set a clock by it but now it is every 4-5 days and it is very difficult for me to go. I know my iron supplement may be contributing but hey, what gives? Am I gonna be like this the rest of my life??!! I sure hope not because it is not pleasant. Maybe once I get onto a more regular diet and get more vegetables into my life things will change.
Had a birthday party Sunday for my daughter, Shannon, at Red Robin. Shannon is 46 years old and she is developmentally disabled. She lives with us and is a joy in every way. When it comes to birthdays and Christmas, she is still very much like a child. We had balloons and took her cake to the restaurant. Red Robin has been really good to us over the years with our crowd of crazies. They always give us an extra table to put the cake and gifts on and let us take all the time we need. I cut the cake and had to be very conscious not to lick my fingers as I got tons of frosting on them. I ordered the Chicken Ensenada plate and immediately put 1 and one half of the 2 chicken breasts in my to-go box. It also came with salad and I got a balsamic vinaigrette dressing on the side. I didn't eat much salad because it was my first time having some and I am so wary of upsetting my little pouch. I've already done that twice (2 times because I didn't figure it out right away). People on the blogs have talked about adding a little peanut butter to their diet and since I dearly love peanut butter I thought it sounded like a great idea. On Sat. we were at Target shopping for Shannon's birthday and I bought a jar of natural peanut butter. Sunday morning I put a heaping teaspoon in my chocolate shake in the blender. A little later I wasn't feeling too great but it went away pretty quickly so I didn't think too much about it. On Monday morning I made another chocolate shake in my blender and again added some peanut butter. About 45 minutes later I started feeling so nauseous and my head began to ache. I finally had to lay down for a while. I finally figured out that my new stomach did not like peanut butter (too much fat I imagine). :( Oh well, perhaps I can try it again in a month or two!
The weight today was 196.6. I need to get to 195 for a 50 pound loss. Then I will be half way (weigh) to my goal. Wow! When I put it that way it sounds a bit exciting.
Several of you have posted comments here on the blog and I finally figured out how to respond and have done so. So if you want to go back and look at your comment you will see I didn't ignore you!!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Happay Happay Happay!
Okay, you would have to have seen Duck Dynasty to get that title completely but I'm sure you get the point!
Went to see my PCP yesterday to see if there was any chance that my health has improved enough that I could possibly get off of oxygen. They put me through my paces wearing the pulse oximeter and the good news is that my stats did not drop below 91% so I am now oxygen-free during the daytime except while walking on my treadmill or a long shopping trip. I still have to use it at night for a month or so and then we will do an overnight test to see if I can get rid of it then too! For those of you who have never had to deal with oxygen you can't imagine what a burden it can be. At home you feel like you are on a leash, everyone steps on it and that makes them feel bad even though it doesn't really hurt anything. When you go somewhere you have to always think several hours ahead so you can fill your portable tank. The tank itself, even though not huge, is fairly heavy. The strap cuts into your shoulder and it is very uncomfortable. And then there is the cannula in your nose, making it sore, making ugly lines on your cheeks. So hallelujah, I am halfway to being rid of it completely.
The second good thing was my blood pressure. It was in a really good range 118/74 so we are halving my medication. I believe with more weight loss and more exercise I may be able to get off that medication completely. I was on 11 medications that included a total of 19 pills a day! As of now I am on 5 medications that include 7 pills a day. That is a major change. I am glad I had this surgery even though there are some things that are tough.
The weight is not coming off very fast right now. I was at 197 this morning and I am happy to be staying in the 100's but that is only 1 pound this week so am a little bummed about that. I am eating a little bit more but am still generally under 700 calories each day. I still struggle getting all of my liquids in so that could be part of the problem. I am remaining optimistic and expecting to have a loss of 2 or 3 pounds one of these mornings. Maybe it will happen tomorrow.
One more item and I am not happy about this one. I had the doc take a look at a spot on my right forearm. I always thought it was just a big freckle or one of those "age spots" we old people get but the last couple of weeks it has begun to change. It has grown and become more red and has also become kind of rough textured. My doc thinks it looks like melanoma (a type of cancer) so I am getting a biopsy on Thursday afternoon. To those of you who believe in prayer, I would appreciate you lifting me up this week. It is probably not much of anything to worry about but just to be safe...
Okay, you would have to have seen Duck Dynasty to get that title completely but I'm sure you get the point!
Went to see my PCP yesterday to see if there was any chance that my health has improved enough that I could possibly get off of oxygen. They put me through my paces wearing the pulse oximeter and the good news is that my stats did not drop below 91% so I am now oxygen-free during the daytime except while walking on my treadmill or a long shopping trip. I still have to use it at night for a month or so and then we will do an overnight test to see if I can get rid of it then too! For those of you who have never had to deal with oxygen you can't imagine what a burden it can be. At home you feel like you are on a leash, everyone steps on it and that makes them feel bad even though it doesn't really hurt anything. When you go somewhere you have to always think several hours ahead so you can fill your portable tank. The tank itself, even though not huge, is fairly heavy. The strap cuts into your shoulder and it is very uncomfortable. And then there is the cannula in your nose, making it sore, making ugly lines on your cheeks. So hallelujah, I am halfway to being rid of it completely.
The second good thing was my blood pressure. It was in a really good range 118/74 so we are halving my medication. I believe with more weight loss and more exercise I may be able to get off that medication completely. I was on 11 medications that included a total of 19 pills a day! As of now I am on 5 medications that include 7 pills a day. That is a major change. I am glad I had this surgery even though there are some things that are tough.
The weight is not coming off very fast right now. I was at 197 this morning and I am happy to be staying in the 100's but that is only 1 pound this week so am a little bummed about that. I am eating a little bit more but am still generally under 700 calories each day. I still struggle getting all of my liquids in so that could be part of the problem. I am remaining optimistic and expecting to have a loss of 2 or 3 pounds one of these mornings. Maybe it will happen tomorrow.
One more item and I am not happy about this one. I had the doc take a look at a spot on my right forearm. I always thought it was just a big freckle or one of those "age spots" we old people get but the last couple of weeks it has begun to change. It has grown and become more red and has also become kind of rough textured. My doc thinks it looks like melanoma (a type of cancer) so I am getting a biopsy on Thursday afternoon. To those of you who believe in prayer, I would appreciate you lifting me up this week. It is probably not much of anything to worry about but just to be safe...
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Help! I am not me!
So for the last couple of days I have felt so down, so depressed and there is no particular reason why. Oh, sure, I have all the usual troubles and situations that most people, finances, friends that need help that I can't fix things for them, kids driving me nuts (adult kids), etc. but nothing that should make me feel like this!! The only thing I can figure is that I'm experiencing something that they call "Weight Loss Surgery Puberty". Apparently most of the hormones in your body reside in the fat cells and when you lose weight fairly rapidly you experience a sudden influx of these hormones in your bloodstream. I sure hope this is what is going on with me because I don't like feeling this way. Even as I sit here writing this I just feel like crying and I have been doing just that for the last hour or so. Yuck! I want to be me! I am usually a fairly positive, upbeat person but not today!
I am stalled again! I wonder if this is going to be a pattern? If I could just stop myself from getting on the scale every day then I probably wouldn't even notice but like last week I have stayed at 198 -198 -198! Before it was 202 then a 4 pound drop. I hope the 4 pound drop part happens again. I think we kind of get spoiled after wls. The pounds come off pretty fast in the beginning and then when it slows it is hard to deal with. It makes me want to kick myself a little because from the beginning I have asked God not to let me lose too rapidly because at my age the skin is not going to tighten up like it did in my 20's and 30's. I tell myself that if I lose it slower it won't be so bad, lol! Then when God gives me the desire of my heart, here I go complaining!
So for the last couple of days I have felt so down, so depressed and there is no particular reason why. Oh, sure, I have all the usual troubles and situations that most people, finances, friends that need help that I can't fix things for them, kids driving me nuts (adult kids), etc. but nothing that should make me feel like this!! The only thing I can figure is that I'm experiencing something that they call "Weight Loss Surgery Puberty". Apparently most of the hormones in your body reside in the fat cells and when you lose weight fairly rapidly you experience a sudden influx of these hormones in your bloodstream. I sure hope this is what is going on with me because I don't like feeling this way. Even as I sit here writing this I just feel like crying and I have been doing just that for the last hour or so. Yuck! I want to be me! I am usually a fairly positive, upbeat person but not today!
I am stalled again! I wonder if this is going to be a pattern? If I could just stop myself from getting on the scale every day then I probably wouldn't even notice but like last week I have stayed at 198 -198 -198! Before it was 202 then a 4 pound drop. I hope the 4 pound drop part happens again. I think we kind of get spoiled after wls. The pounds come off pretty fast in the beginning and then when it slows it is hard to deal with. It makes me want to kick myself a little because from the beginning I have asked God not to let me lose too rapidly because at my age the skin is not going to tighten up like it did in my 20's and 30's. I tell myself that if I lose it slower it won't be so bad, lol! Then when God gives me the desire of my heart, here I go complaining!
Monday, October 7, 2013
Still looking at the big "Why"
A few days ago I was talking about why I overeat, why I let myself get so big, why food has this hold on me. I have been thinking a lot about it. I can't really blame it on genetics. My parents weren't fat, my brothers are all normal weight. We don't really know much of anything about my father's side of the family. He was an abused child and he ran away from his home in Pennsylvania when he was just 12 years old and never went back and as far as I know never had any kind of contact with his father again. His mom had died giving birth to him. My father was an alcoholic since the day I was born. His drinking made for instability, fear, and sorrow. As changeable as he could be and as much as he was hurting us all by drinking himself into oblivion, I loved him so very much. When I was thirteen years old, he died of alcohol related problems, cirrhosis of the liver and other complications. He was only 47 years old! I tell you all of this because I think it is why I used food as love for most of my life. I loved food and food loved me. Amid all the chaos and insecurity, I could control the food I ate. When I felt nervous, food was reassuring. When I was anxious food was soothing. When I was sad, food lifted me up. When no one was home, food was my babysitter. For every emotion I could turn to food. I am just realizing this and remembering some things surrounding food when I was a kid. I didn't have a weight problem til maybe 10 or so years after my dad died but the food issues started then. I will continue to explore this.
Short one today, folks :)
A few days ago I was talking about why I overeat, why I let myself get so big, why food has this hold on me. I have been thinking a lot about it. I can't really blame it on genetics. My parents weren't fat, my brothers are all normal weight. We don't really know much of anything about my father's side of the family. He was an abused child and he ran away from his home in Pennsylvania when he was just 12 years old and never went back and as far as I know never had any kind of contact with his father again. His mom had died giving birth to him. My father was an alcoholic since the day I was born. His drinking made for instability, fear, and sorrow. As changeable as he could be and as much as he was hurting us all by drinking himself into oblivion, I loved him so very much. When I was thirteen years old, he died of alcohol related problems, cirrhosis of the liver and other complications. He was only 47 years old! I tell you all of this because I think it is why I used food as love for most of my life. I loved food and food loved me. Amid all the chaos and insecurity, I could control the food I ate. When I felt nervous, food was reassuring. When I was anxious food was soothing. When I was sad, food lifted me up. When no one was home, food was my babysitter. For every emotion I could turn to food. I am just realizing this and remembering some things surrounding food when I was a kid. I didn't have a weight problem til maybe 10 or so years after my dad died but the food issues started then. I will continue to explore this.
Short one today, folks :)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Day 39 Post-Op
Some days it seems like I had this surgery long ago and I have to remind myself that I am just a little more than a month post-op. The reason I say that is because I tend to be so hard on myself and think I should be farther along than I am, mentally, physically, pounds down, etc. I struggle a lot with worrying about the future and I think that is why I think I should be farther along. I need to live more in the here and now!
In my last post I was telling you about my plateau, my stall at 202. Drum roll...It finally broke, moved, quit stalling, whatever, lol! On Friday morning when I got on the scale I thought it said 202 again but then I squinted my tired old eyes and realized the scale said 200.2! Then Saturday morning it was 199.6 so I made DH come upstairs, got on the scale again so he could see it and I could have a witness! Yes, ladies, he does know how much I weigh and loves me anyway, lol! This morning I weighed in at 198.8! I have been a little afraid it would bounce up over that 200 again and still am so I am going to wait a few more days before I officially declare myself in "Onederland"!
I have been sick for the last few days with a cold and/or sinus infection so I am a little surprised that I lost any weight at all. I have been in bed, not eating much, no exercise. Just trying to get in enough protein and all of my supplements. Several people have commented that it is probably because I had this surgery, that my immune system is compromised because of it. I am taking it in stride but it makes me a little angry. I mean, for crying out loud, it's not like I never had a cold before this. My daughter was sick with this all of last week (really, really sick) and the odds were good that I would get it from taking care of her so I don't believe the surgery has anything to do with it. In fact I am feeling much better today and she was sick for a whole week.
I told you a few days ago about a friend of mine who had this surgery and it took 10 hours and he has 8 incisions. Well, I found an update on him on Facebook. Apparently he ended up back in the hospital and is now on a ventilator and they have been worried about his kidneys and bp. He is 31 and I am 63. I came through with flying colors in less than 3 hours. Just goes to show you that you never know how anything will go in this life. I am praying every day for him and his family. I will keep you updated too.
Some days it seems like I had this surgery long ago and I have to remind myself that I am just a little more than a month post-op. The reason I say that is because I tend to be so hard on myself and think I should be farther along than I am, mentally, physically, pounds down, etc. I struggle a lot with worrying about the future and I think that is why I think I should be farther along. I need to live more in the here and now!
In my last post I was telling you about my plateau, my stall at 202. Drum roll...It finally broke, moved, quit stalling, whatever, lol! On Friday morning when I got on the scale I thought it said 202 again but then I squinted my tired old eyes and realized the scale said 200.2! Then Saturday morning it was 199.6 so I made DH come upstairs, got on the scale again so he could see it and I could have a witness! Yes, ladies, he does know how much I weigh and loves me anyway, lol! This morning I weighed in at 198.8! I have been a little afraid it would bounce up over that 200 again and still am so I am going to wait a few more days before I officially declare myself in "Onederland"!
I have been sick for the last few days with a cold and/or sinus infection so I am a little surprised that I lost any weight at all. I have been in bed, not eating much, no exercise. Just trying to get in enough protein and all of my supplements. Several people have commented that it is probably because I had this surgery, that my immune system is compromised because of it. I am taking it in stride but it makes me a little angry. I mean, for crying out loud, it's not like I never had a cold before this. My daughter was sick with this all of last week (really, really sick) and the odds were good that I would get it from taking care of her so I don't believe the surgery has anything to do with it. In fact I am feeling much better today and she was sick for a whole week.
I told you a few days ago about a friend of mine who had this surgery and it took 10 hours and he has 8 incisions. Well, I found an update on him on Facebook. Apparently he ended up back in the hospital and is now on a ventilator and they have been worried about his kidneys and bp. He is 31 and I am 63. I came through with flying colors in less than 3 hours. Just goes to show you that you never know how anything will go in this life. I am praying every day for him and his family. I will keep you updated too.
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