It's just over two months after my surgery. :) Some days it seems like more than that and others it seems so recently.
Also, the other day, I received my bill for my surgery and it looks like my health insurance paid for EVERYTHING! *happy dance* I don't owe a single dime for my surgery or my 4 night/5 day hospital stay.
They snuck me in at the end of the year because we figured I'd met my out of pocket expenses for the year thanks to the ton of pre-op appointments I'd had for the prior 8 months. I only had about a week notice before my surgery because the surgeons rearrainged things to get me in before 2012. The short notice and being a pain in their asses was not a waste. :D
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Thyroid pill and weight loss
I can no longer doubt the effect (affect?) that my thyroid has on my metabolism. Nope.
As previously mentioned, I kept forgetting my pills, including the pill to counter-act my underactive thyroid. My weight loss slowed right around the time I'd started missing pills. It went from abou 6-7 pounds lost a week to 3 pounds.
I've started taking my thyroid pill again regularly. I think it's been about five days now--not long, but what a difference it makes! In the last seven days, I've lost five pounds. Heck, since Monday, I've lost 1.8 lbs.
I haven't felt an increase in energy, unfortunately, but that will come. For now, I just want to sleep. I slept an embarassingly long amount of time yesterday, completely wasting my day off.
I'm still cold a lot of the time too, but that's probably a combination of my thyroid and losing weight. A slow thyroid lowers the body temp slightly. Also, I'm use to more insulating fat on my body. It's taking time to adjust.
I haven't been to gym in probably two weeks. My plan is to go in the morning, but I am just so tired. Hopefully, I get past that enough to drag my ass to the pool.
As previously mentioned, I kept forgetting my pills, including the pill to counter-act my underactive thyroid. My weight loss slowed right around the time I'd started missing pills. It went from abou 6-7 pounds lost a week to 3 pounds.
I've started taking my thyroid pill again regularly. I think it's been about five days now--not long, but what a difference it makes! In the last seven days, I've lost five pounds. Heck, since Monday, I've lost 1.8 lbs.
I haven't felt an increase in energy, unfortunately, but that will come. For now, I just want to sleep. I slept an embarassingly long amount of time yesterday, completely wasting my day off.
I'm still cold a lot of the time too, but that's probably a combination of my thyroid and losing weight. A slow thyroid lowers the body temp slightly. Also, I'm use to more insulating fat on my body. It's taking time to adjust.
I haven't been to gym in probably two weeks. My plan is to go in the morning, but I am just so tired. Hopefully, I get past that enough to drag my ass to the pool.
Monday, February 13, 2012
My Meds
Due to my own laziness/apathy/exhaustion, I've been really bad about taking my thyroid pill, anti-anxiety med, and my vitamins. Not taking the thyroid med slows down my system--metabolism, my heart, my body temp, and my mental functions (to a point)--making me more lazy, apathetic, and exhausted. It's a vicious circle.
I've been amazingly good off my anxiety med. Normally, off the med, I am high strung, waiting for something bad to happen. I never know what, but I'm primed and nervous waiting for it to happen. Since going off it, I've been moody (quickly going from happy to annoyed), but my anxiety hasn't been massive. It's there, but not overwhelming.
However, when I told my surgeon that I went off my Paxil because I'm having trouble remembering and splitting it in half to take it was making it foam in my stomach (made me feel awful), he said that right now is not the time to wean myself off. I probably won't need as much later, when I have the extra weight off and life has returned to somewhat normal, but, for now, he'd like me to keep taking it and just to swallow it whole. Fiiiine. lol
Today, I picked up my thyroid refill. I went to Walmart on a Sunday afternoon. God must have felt sorry for me, because, by some miracle, no one made me feel homicidal, which is my usual reaction to going to Walmart (especially when dealing with the pharmacy staff).
I'm determined to get myself back on track with all of my pills, so I took both my Paxil and my thyroid med as soon as I got home. I just had my first meal after midnight and took both of my multivitamins. Next several meals each get a calcium chewable. Nummy. :/
The plan is to make this all very routine. I need to create a habit of taking the multivitamins and the calcium before each meal and my Paxil and Synthroid before bed. Sounds easy enough, right? We shall see!
I'm writing this with a big, two day headache. Please forgive me if it's boring, random, or written poorly. The little man chipping away at my right temple is distracting me from quality writing.
I've been amazingly good off my anxiety med. Normally, off the med, I am high strung, waiting for something bad to happen. I never know what, but I'm primed and nervous waiting for it to happen. Since going off it, I've been moody (quickly going from happy to annoyed), but my anxiety hasn't been massive. It's there, but not overwhelming.
However, when I told my surgeon that I went off my Paxil because I'm having trouble remembering and splitting it in half to take it was making it foam in my stomach (made me feel awful), he said that right now is not the time to wean myself off. I probably won't need as much later, when I have the extra weight off and life has returned to somewhat normal, but, for now, he'd like me to keep taking it and just to swallow it whole. Fiiiine. lol
Today, I picked up my thyroid refill. I went to Walmart on a Sunday afternoon. God must have felt sorry for me, because, by some miracle, no one made me feel homicidal, which is my usual reaction to going to Walmart (especially when dealing with the pharmacy staff).
I'm determined to get myself back on track with all of my pills, so I took both my Paxil and my thyroid med as soon as I got home. I just had my first meal after midnight and took both of my multivitamins. Next several meals each get a calcium chewable. Nummy. :/
The plan is to make this all very routine. I need to create a habit of taking the multivitamins and the calcium before each meal and my Paxil and Synthroid before bed. Sounds easy enough, right? We shall see!
I'm writing this with a big, two day headache. Please forgive me if it's boring, random, or written poorly. The little man chipping away at my right temple is distracting me from quality writing.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tonight, I had to call the local Sheriff Department because a member of my pre-op therapy group stated online that he was going to kill himself.
He wants the surgery done, but because of insurance issues, he has to start the whole program over. He thinks that going through the therapy stuff "let out his demons" and his head is now all messed up and he's not doing that again.
His post on our private Facebook group stated directly that he had decided to end his life.
Even prior to tonight's post, it's been obvious that he's in the middle of some serious psychological pain and he needs help. Tonight's post was just the scale tipper that said, "okay, no more telling him he needs to seek help. Now, we send it to him."
Now, the ball is directly in his court. He can use the assistance to get better or he can choose not to help himself. No matter how much help is offered, no one can make that decision for him. *sigh*
I admit, I'm afraid that the other group members will be pissed at me and remove me because I broke confidentiality. However, a FB group does not have the same confidentiality rules as group therapy AND he outright stated he was going to kill himself. I'm sorry, but the threat of self harm takes away the right to privacy. If they toss me from the group, so be it.
He wants the surgery done, but because of insurance issues, he has to start the whole program over. He thinks that going through the therapy stuff "let out his demons" and his head is now all messed up and he's not doing that again.
His post on our private Facebook group stated directly that he had decided to end his life.
Even prior to tonight's post, it's been obvious that he's in the middle of some serious psychological pain and he needs help. Tonight's post was just the scale tipper that said, "okay, no more telling him he needs to seek help. Now, we send it to him."
Now, the ball is directly in his court. He can use the assistance to get better or he can choose not to help himself. No matter how much help is offered, no one can make that decision for him. *sigh*
I admit, I'm afraid that the other group members will be pissed at me and remove me because I broke confidentiality. However, a FB group does not have the same confidentiality rules as group therapy AND he outright stated he was going to kill himself. I'm sorry, but the threat of self harm takes away the right to privacy. If they toss me from the group, so be it.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Weight and goal updates
I weighed myself today. Down to 259.6 lbs. That means multple things.
1) My BMI is down 11 (points?) since I started losing weight in April. That is excellent. Still very high, but an excellent improvement.
2) I now weigh less than I did when I met Travis, five and a half years ago. Not much less and I do wear it differently, thanks to age and sagging skin from losing so quickly, but I am very happy with this victory none the less.
My next goal is to get my weight down to less than his. Yes, at 5' 2", I weigh more than my 6'1" boyfriend. It's embarassing to admit, but it is the truth. However, I plan to make it untrue very soon. Only 30 pounds (give or take some) until I pass his weight. A couple months, maybe.
1) My BMI is down 11 (points?) since I started losing weight in April. That is excellent. Still very high, but an excellent improvement.
2) I now weigh less than I did when I met Travis, five and a half years ago. Not much less and I do wear it differently, thanks to age and sagging skin from losing so quickly, but I am very happy with this victory none the less.
My next goal is to get my weight down to less than his. Yes, at 5' 2", I weigh more than my 6'1" boyfriend. It's embarassing to admit, but it is the truth. However, I plan to make it untrue very soon. Only 30 pounds (give or take some) until I pass his weight. A couple months, maybe.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
My weight since surgery
Post op weights, so far:
12/19/2011 - 301.2 lbs (that included water weight gained from surgery/IVs)
12/26/2011 - 276.3 lbs
01/03/2012 - 273.7 lbs
01/09/2012 - 270.8 lbs
01/14/2012 - 268.6 lbs
01/18/2012 - 267.5 lbs
01/22/2012 - 265.5 lbs
01/30/2012 - 263.1 lbs
02/04/2012 - 261.1 lbs <--- as of today, I've lost 36 lbs post op; 56 lbs total
12/19/2011 - 301.2 lbs (that included water weight gained from surgery/IVs)
12/26/2011 - 276.3 lbs
01/03/2012 - 273.7 lbs
01/09/2012 - 270.8 lbs
01/14/2012 - 268.6 lbs
01/18/2012 - 267.5 lbs
01/22/2012 - 265.5 lbs
01/30/2012 - 263.1 lbs
02/04/2012 - 261.1 lbs <--- as of today, I've lost 36 lbs post op; 56 lbs total
Friday, February 3, 2012
Shirataki Noodles and other news
On Facebook, I'm in a group for people interested in weight loss foods. Several someones mentioned House Foods Shiritaki Tofu Noodles as a pasta substitute. Hungry Girl uses them in multiple pasta and Asian based recipes. So, I decided to give them a shot.
I decided to make a red Alfredo --left over spaghetti sauce and lite Alfredo mixed--with chicken breast over the noodles. Emphasis was on the chicken breast, since I needed the protein.
Hungry Girl's preparation instructions and tips stated that the noodles odor-ific at first. This really was the case. They smelled like fish. Nothing worse than cat breath after a tuna treat, but still not pleasant. Going along with HG tips, I rinsed the noodles and patted them dry with paper towel (I guess the goal is to remove as much of the smelly water as possible) before microwaving them.
My 4 oz meal ended up being 0.35 oz sauce, 1.25 oz noodles, and 2.4 oz chicken.
My thoughts on the noodles:
~ Their texture is much softer than real pasta, but I'd been warned about that.
~ They got cold quickly. I could have just microwaved my plate to heat it up but I was lazy.
~ It's not the same as pasta, but it sure does the job of fixing a pasta craving, at least in small amounts like I had today.
In other news...
I hit the pool today and spent an hour(!) jogging in the water. I've never spent an hour doing ANY exercise before. Yes, most exercises are easier in the water, because there's less friction, but still...I jogged...for an HOUR. :D
Edited to add (2/4/12 5:04 AM): Okay, I should expect to be exhausted and in need of tylenold about 12 hours after I water jog for an hour. I don't see that as a bad thing, that the exercise really put my body through the ringer. Just unexpected how tired it made me.
I work this weekend and the pool won't open until after the time I should be home and in bed, sleeping before the next shift. Instead, I'll hit the gym on Sunday morning and spend some much needed time on the elliptical. If I am going to do AIDS Walk Wisconsin this year, I need to do more exercises on dry land. This is a good opportunity.
Spent time with Dr. PeopleSkills, my surgeon, today. Considering this is the first appointment where I didn't have someone with me who could act as a buffer between me and his tactlessness, I think it went well. He did call me "big" again, but only once (that's improvement) and I didn't bludgeon him with the nearest object.
The appointment was a bit pointless though. It was essentially a weigh in and him saying "so, how do you feel?".
"Well, Doctor, I feel like you could have just called and asked me that, saving me time, if not money"
I decided to make a red Alfredo --left over spaghetti sauce and lite Alfredo mixed--with chicken breast over the noodles. Emphasis was on the chicken breast, since I needed the protein.
Hungry Girl's preparation instructions and tips stated that the noodles odor-ific at first. This really was the case. They smelled like fish. Nothing worse than cat breath after a tuna treat, but still not pleasant. Going along with HG tips, I rinsed the noodles and patted them dry with paper towel (I guess the goal is to remove as much of the smelly water as possible) before microwaving them.
My 4 oz meal ended up being 0.35 oz sauce, 1.25 oz noodles, and 2.4 oz chicken.
My thoughts on the noodles:
~ Their texture is much softer than real pasta, but I'd been warned about that.
~ They got cold quickly. I could have just microwaved my plate to heat it up but I was lazy.
~ It's not the same as pasta, but it sure does the job of fixing a pasta craving, at least in small amounts like I had today.
In other news...
I hit the pool today and spent an hour(!) jogging in the water. I've never spent an hour doing ANY exercise before. Yes, most exercises are easier in the water, because there's less friction, but still...I jogged...for an HOUR. :D
Edited to add (2/4/12 5:04 AM): Okay, I should expect to be exhausted and in need of tylenold about 12 hours after I water jog for an hour. I don't see that as a bad thing, that the exercise really put my body through the ringer. Just unexpected how tired it made me.
I work this weekend and the pool won't open until after the time I should be home and in bed, sleeping before the next shift. Instead, I'll hit the gym on Sunday morning and spend some much needed time on the elliptical. If I am going to do AIDS Walk Wisconsin this year, I need to do more exercises on dry land. This is a good opportunity.
Spent time with Dr. PeopleSkills, my surgeon, today. Considering this is the first appointment where I didn't have someone with me who could act as a buffer between me and his tactlessness, I think it went well. He did call me "big" again, but only once (that's improvement) and I didn't bludgeon him with the nearest object.
The appointment was a bit pointless though. It was essentially a weigh in and him saying "so, how do you feel?".
"Well, Doctor, I feel like you could have just called and asked me that, saving me time, if not money"
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