Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Low carb menu

- Half pound cheese burger on an oopsie with onion, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup
- Low carb pizza with pepperoni, sausage, ham and green peppers
- Half pound cheese burger on an oopsie with onion, mustard, mayo and low carb ketchup
- Green beans w/ butter

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Low carb menu

- Two pieces of low carb pizza with ham, sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella, marinara sauce and green peppers
- Two pieces pumpkin bake
- Cheeseburger on an oopsie roll with onion, mayo, mustard and low carb ketchup
- Hot dogs

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Earthquakes, Surgery, Oh my!

- KFC grilled chicken breast
- Double burger on an oopsie with lettuce, onion, mustard mayo and low carb ketchup
- Two hot dogs
- Two hot dogs
- Pumpkin bake

Well, I'm home from surgery! I had an open wedge osteotomy of my femur, which changed the angle of my knee and hopefully all that darn, unnecessary arthritic pain. After a week of the anti-inflammatories (per doctor's orders because they thin your blood), I was in so much pain with my poor knee that I was just looking to any kind of surgery to lessen the knee pain... and it worked! I'm in a wheelchair most of the time, but I also use the walker for some stuff.

The goal of surgery was to remove a suitably-large wedge of bone from my hip to insert into the top of my leg (right above my femur). I still haven't seen the incision on my knee, but the pain is already much less than it was pre-surgery, even during a rain storm, where my then-arthritic knee would have been just aching and complaining the ENTIRE time where I could not even enjoy the rain like I once did.

My surgeon was very happy with how the surgery went and instead of taking four hours, they were done in a mere ninety minutes! The iliac crest that took from my hip is much more painful than the knee surgery itself, at least at this stage of the game.

I chose low-carb fare at the hospital and let's just say that I could not get rid of my constipation for days, due to the huge amount of pain meds that they had me on. IV morphine makes for not going to the bathroom with ease! They do have me on a regular twice-a-day dose of a stool softener, just to keep me regular with the medication I'm taking for pain.

(TMI Alert!)

Desperate and not having gone in five days, the other night, I ate five snack-size reese cups just to get my bowels going in the right direction and did it ever work! It ended up being about 40 grams of sugar, which was just what the doctor ordered. How crazy it is that good ol Reeses provides me more constipation relief than an actual stool softener. It makes me realize how my body basically rejects the sugar and pushes it through all the while, which is really the exact reaction I was going for. Now, I know when I was on the Standard American Diet, over 300 pounds and basically miserable, sugar did not effect me in this way.... at all.

I am thinking about getting more strawberries, just as a natural and low-carb healthy option which would probably help keep me regular.

Also, did you know that a piece of pumpkin bake boasts three grams of fiber???

Anyway, surgery was Tuesday morning and while in recovery, I actually felt the earthquake! At first, I thought it was just some woman knocking into my hospital bed, but no, it was the actual earth quaking. Once others said that they felt it too, I got really scared. Being in recovery post-surgery is no way to feel an earthquake. I was just wondering what floor of the hospital I was even on, but I was in too much pain to really worry about it much.

By the time I got home on Thursday, my gf picked up a free wheelchair for me from a program called Lending Hands. They will lend you medical equipment for three months for no charge and if you want it for longer? Just let them know and you can borrow it for up to nine months.

The staff was amazing, except for one nurse. I'm not joking when I say that she was taking my pain medications. It took me a little while to realize what was up, but she kept bringing me half-pills to take, when I was not even asking for them. My mom told me that was a red flag because all of other nurses were bringing me full pills. I spoke with the director of nursing this morning and she thanked me for the tip. Also, when she showed up for her shift, she seemed like she had a bad cold which subsided as soon as she got her fix?! I almost did not call the director of nursing, but people up there need their pain pills, dammit, so I'm glad that I called her to investigate. It's one thing if she takes my meds, but those older people getting hip and knee replacements, need their meds.

I'm a sharp tack and I'm glad that I saw right through her. I have been kind of wanting to call and report it, but also like, well, whatever, but I had to. I'm the opposite of a tattle-tale or a narc, but she is making damn good money as an RN and she is in charge of patient care. Somebody who has a pain pill addiction certainly should not be passing them out... in halves!

I guess it's not for nothing if she gets help. My brother, who is an RN, told me that they have free programs for these nurses to get off the pain meds, so maybe it will be a good thing if she gets help.

How are YOU all doing??

I go back to my surgeon on Wednesday, which is only two short days away. He is going to take a look at my knee and I just know it's going to be good news. I've had a lot of itchiness in the knee, which is a sure sign of healing!





Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Ebay Sale - 2x and 3x clothes 22/24 W

Sooo... I'm having a cleaning-out-the closet sale.

Lots of women's 2x and 3x clothes for auction starting at 99 cents.

Check it out if you are in the mood for new Fall Fashions! lol

Thanks for looking!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Low carb menu

- Half of a sloppy joe stuffed green pepper
- Pork chop with low carb ketchup
- Sausage patty
- Sloppy joe casserole
- Meatballs with no-sugar-added marinara sauce with spaghetti squash
- Oopsie roll
- Oopsie roll with Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup on it

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Open Wedge Osteotomy of Femur

My femoral osteotomy is only 10 days away and it's totally unbelievable. I just can't believe it's all coming to fruition. I do believe that we beckon things into our life and I'm certainly wanting this surgery to improve my quality of life. I have read some horror stories about people wondering why they had the surgery done, but this was still during the no-weight-bearing phase.

Since I am 29 years old, a surgery like this is sometimes preferred over a total joint replacement, because it has the potential to last longer. Not only that, but a total knee replacement wouldn't even solve my core issues, which are mainly a malunion of my tibia and femur which causes a one inch leg length discrepancy. I'm getting an open wedge osteotomy of the femur, which means they are adding bone, whereas closed wedge means that they are removing bone. My doctor said it would be Dealer's Choice, but since I have one leg one inch shorter than the other, the adding-bone route would actually add length back to my shorter leg. My surgeon (and his assisting surgeon) are top notch in orthopedic care and I'm schedule for a four-hour block on August 23rd. The bone they are adding is from the pelvis, but I have no clue where the actual incision will be.

I will probably end up getting a tibial osteotomy shortly after the first of the year to really maximize my benefits of getting some pain relief.

I'm kind of amazed at modern medicine and I'm just so fortunate to be reaping some of the benefits of our amazing health care system.

Am I terrified? Of course.

Oh, and I'm at my lowest-weight-ever.... 222.2... Down from 306.4... I'm going onward and downward as Harry would say because this continued weight loss is just going to make my recovery all the easier.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Low carb menu

- Pork chop with low carb ketchup
- 1.5 hot dogs with low carb ketchup and mustard
- Two sausage patties
- One low carb pancake with Mrs. Butterworth's sugar free syrup
- Broccoli crunch salad with hard boiled egg added in
- Ham and cheesy spaghetti squash with green peppers added in

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Weigh in, healthy moles and soon to be normal legs

The past few days have been a whirlwind for food.

I have eaten a lot of junk, including a lot of nasty chinese food, a little yummy chinese food (that does not equal a yummy life) and basically feeling like crap.

For me, indulging in foods that I know will make me feel sick and guilty is a little cycle of self loathing that is not even fun... but has obviously served me in some way.

The girlfriend made a big batch of pumpkin bake last night and we have some good, low carb fare coming up....

In good news, my moles that they biopsied are normal! Wahooo!!! For those who know about the ABCD's of melanoma, guess what?! They have added an E! Evolving!

This blog is all over the place, but so has my life lately.

Weighed in this morning at 224.0, which is my lowest weight ever. 82.6 pounds lost! Well, besides I was a kid an all that... but seriously, I think I was right around this weight in middle school if you want to know the truth!!

Reconstructive knee surgery is on the August 23rd. That seems like a common going-back-to-school date if you ask me, which fits because I really am going to be going through a brand new cycle in my life. By Christmas, I will be walking around with my newly-aligned leg! Any kind of annoying pain is just a reminder to me that I will eventually be in less pain after this surgery.

Getting healthy takes some being selfish. Putting yourself first at all costs..... If you aren't there for yourself, you will never be able to be there for anybody else.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Low carb menu

- Pork BBQ with half an oopsie roll
- Low carb pizza with pepperoni, marinara, mozz, peppers and fresh basil
- Half a piece of Atkins cheesecake
- A sugar free creamsicle
- Atkins candy bar
- Two two-carb Scandinavian bran crackers with natural pb and low carb 4 fruit jam
- Meatballs with sugar free marinara with zucchini noodles (zoodles)

Monday, August 1, 2011

Low carb menu

- Pork bbq
- Low carb pizza with ham, pepperoni, peppers, marinara and mozz
- More pork bbq with half an oopsie
- Another piece of low carb pizza