Recovering

Hi all! Sorry took so long to post again after surgery. I could've sworn I did already, abut apparently not! HAHA!

I was in the hospital for 3 days with a drainage tube because my gallbladder was severely infected. I just finished all my antibiotics and am looking forward to a full recovery. At least my wounds are healing a lot better this time than when I had my laproscopy in January!

Still lots of digestive issues, not able to eat much and what I do eat goes right through me, so needless to say I've lost another 10 lbs since the surgery, very much not on purpose. I've been drinking Glucerna when I cant keep anything else down.

Going on a trip home tomorrow to CT to see my grandparents then popping in on my dad on the way back so very much looking forward to that. Hoping it'll be a relaxing vacation!

Thank you all for your continued prayers...

Time for Surgury

Well, the test yesterday did not go well and I have to have emergency gallbladder surgury. Not only is the duct obstructed by a large stone, but the gallbladder has stopped functioning all together and it is so inflamed that the dr. can feel it from the outside. He said it needs to come out this week or it will get infected and then it can become fatal.

I go in on Thursday morning and I thank you all for your continued prayers. I will try to post an update as soon as I can.

If it tastes good....spit it out!

...That's the joking response I got from my new Doctor when I asked what diet I'm supposed to follow with all my health issues. HAHAHA He was really great and was funny which kept me at ease throughout my appointment. Dr. Reneker said that he's almost positive theres more going on than just my gall bladder...so, he called the general surgeon directly and he said he wants me to get a Hida Scan before deciding on surgury to see if the gall bladder is draining correctly. Bad news is, if it doesnt they have to inject you with something to make your gall bladder contract, like it does when I have these horribly painful spasms. :-( I'm just glad he doesnt want to rush into surgury if it's not absolutely nessessary yet! Then I'm to keep my appt. with Dr. Combs, the gastro, to see about getting the upper and lower scopes done to see what is going on with my stomach and intestines. Dr. Reneker, my family dr, decided to keep me on the stomach acid meds until I can see the gastro and he said just to keep my carbs and fat as low as I can in my diet without driving myself nuts and not eating period.

He also said, if I hurt any more before I see him again in a month, to call him immdiately and he'll make sure I'm comfortable and able to go on my trip to see my grandpa at the end of April.

Thank you all again for your support and hopefully I plan on leaving you guys some comments this week as well! *big online hugs!*

Another Quick Check In

I'm finally back at work as of yesterday, although my digestive system was hardly ready to come back. Every day I'm nauseous and am either *TMI ALERT* throwing up or having diarrea, and now yet another concern...my medication isn't digesting. I have my first appointment with someone other than an ER doctor today. I go to see my new family doctor at 3pm and *HOPEFULLY* he can get the ball rolling on what needs to be done, as I cannot get in to see the Gastro until 4/14.

Thanks SO much to all of you for your continued support! Although, my "strict" diet has come to a halt for the time being, I still feel like this is all part of my journey and God is putting me in this situation to teach me something in the long run.

Just to quickly touch on the "diet" thing. Lately, I've just been eating VERY little about 5-6 times a day. Such as: one whole wheat english muffin, 1 fruit, 1 sugar free jello, etc... and I try to drink as much as I can. Usually about 15 minutes after I eat my stomach starts rumbling and 30 minutes after I'm in the bathroom, sick and in pain. The reason for such a limited diet is as follows: no to Low sugar for my pre-diabetes, no to low fat and no greens for my gall bladder, no to low salt for previous personal and family history of high blood pressure, and low cholesterol for family history of high cholesterol.

So...I'll do some more checking in tomorrow and fill you all in on what the dr. has to say, if anything.

Checking In Quickly...

I have been very ill since Sunday and it turns out my gallbladder has gotten loads worse so the SB diet isn't for me either. Now I'm facing surgury and having to go to a nutritionist since I now need to be on a low carb, low fat, low salt, low cholesterol, no greens diet. What's left but water? I was down another pound as of Monday but I'm sure after this fantastic liquid diet to calm my stomach the pounds will be droppin like flies. I'm sick, I'm down, I'm tired and I'm looking forward to getting better!

I'll write more when I'm feeling better.

Day 15 - Phase 2 - Weigh In

Weight: 219

Well, I lost 3 pounds this week!! I'm super excited although a bit disappointed in myself as I went off diet 3 times. However, that being said I'm still impressed with my self control. My first cheat was a flour tortilla which is a big no no in phase 1, but I only allowed myself 1. My second cheat came when my party included brownies....SB diet says if you feel like you HAVE to have one, have 3 bites and pass it on, which is exactly what I did...yeay! Does anyone have the first idea how hard it is to have 3 bites of a dessert and walk away?? So my third cheat came i was in a rush and took my kids to taco bell and I left the majority of my $ at home so I had another tortilla. And that was it... not too bad at all considering the track record i have with food.

I've also recently become a consultant for The Pampered Chef, which you would think is the worst idea ever being on a diet, but its honestly helping me a lot! A lot of their products are SUPER for anyone on any kind of diet! (If you'd like me to get you a list of perfect diet items and a catalog, I'd be more than happy to give ya a "Heathy You" discount! :-) )

At any rate, I get to start phase 2 today, which means adding back some GOOD carbs to my diet! BOY am I excited! LOL I picked up some SB meal bars because thats one of the biggest things I've been struggling with is time for breakfast. It was so EASY for me this morning to just grab and go and KNOW that it's approved on my diet plan!

I'll be posting more about phase 2 another day and will continue to post my recipes for those of you who have expressed interest!

Day 11 - Phase 1

I'm feeling a lot better today, although I can't seem to get my appetite back in the mornings. I suppose its better to not be hungry than to overeat.

I decided I'm not going to attempt to write my meal plans here every day until I start my phase 2 on Monday. I've been very indecisive lately and change my meals so I'm tired of having to update it on here. Don't worry though...I still haven't cheated! *yeay*

I've been struggling to find time to exercise, with 3 kids under 7, a full time job and a husband on a very different work schedule than me. I run around after my kids so much I know I get some exercise there, but I often wonder how I add in structured exercise. I know I can't tonight. I have company coming for dinner tomorrow and so I'm going to be spending the evening getting my house ready. But I suppose I can put on some music while I'm cleaning and dance the night away! LOL

I'm very excited about getting to add some of my favorite foods back in my diet next week but I'm also very nervous. Right now I'm averaging a weight loss of 1+ lbs per day! I'm scared that I won't lose hardly any after I move foods back into my diet. I'm glad I at least am a member of South Beach online so that I can get some advice there.

My thoughts for the day:
I think it's so important no matter what diet you're doing to have a support team around you. My support team is as follows:
Mental Therapist: My husband, because no matter what my weight, he still tells me I look good! LOL
Personal Trainers: My kids...I'm convinced they're always testing me. How fast can mommy run? How much can she lift? How many muscles will she strengthen to scrub sharpie off the walls?
God: I often pray to ask for strength on my diet so that I can properly honor this body He gave me!
Honest Friends & Family: They keep me grounded. They will tell me when I'm dropping the ball.
Medical Advice: My doctor is AWESOME! It's so nice to have not only a supportive doctor, but one who will tell me the truth about my heath to kick my behind in gear! My boss is also a retired doctor and I often consult him for advice regarding my health and weight loss issues.
Online tools: Being a member of the site for my weight loss program is a HUGE helper and time saver. I have access to everything I need to know about my diet as well as message boards with others on the diet and access to a registered nutritionist to make sure I'm "dieting correctly".
Online support: I can not tell you what it means to me to have support of total strangers (hopefully not for long *wink*). My Healthy You Challenge family is amazing. They are all inspirational in one way or another and they really lift my spirits when they leave me comments.
Internal: My internal support team is my multi-vitamin. I've only been taking it 4 days but I'm already realizing how important it is to take a multi-vitamin while you are dieting. I'm feeling energized already!

*It 'takes a village' for so much more than just raising a family.*