I’ve been enjoying my pool. 

I put on my jogger-belt and hold onto the side of the pool and do leg exercises.  Then I sit on the lower steps and move my arms around.  I don’t swim, so I stay in the shallow end.  I’m going to try to be more brave and get to the deep end, but can’t promise when that’ll be!! 

As of Saturday, I’ve lots 40 pounds.  I had a problem Friday night.  I don’t want to be very descriptive, BUT I needed to do a BM, the urge was strong, but nothing was happening.  I felt myself getting dizzy and sweating, then I had a couple of dry heaves and then I had the BM.  HOWEVER, now I have this very sharp pain in my lower left stomach, like I tore something.  I called the doctor this morning and will see him tomorrow afternoon.  Please pray that everything is allright.  I’ve had a slight pain in this area since I came home from the hospital, but it’s never been this sharp.  Maybe I just need a day of rest, and that's what I'll do today.

Hope you all have a great Monday!

                             Happy 4th of July

Time flies when you’re having fun.  Just kidding.  Not that I’m not having fun, but really, I think I’m getting bored.  I still have a couple more weeks off from work. 

I have my days when I get tired.  I really need to be doing more exercise.  I thought I’d be able to ride my recumbent bike to get exercise, but my knees are still too fat.  It hurts my knees too much to use it.  I live on too busy a street to be doing walking on the road.  The only place that’s level on my property is my pool area.  So my lymphedema therapist said I should just walk around my house and pool area as much as possible.  When I get back to work, there is a fitness center that I’ll consider using after losing another 20 pounds or so. 

As of Monday, June 30, I’ve lost 30 pounds.  I haven’t had any more problems with sugars or fats, but I’ve had a couple of incidences with pill-taking.  I take one at a time.  Last night I tried taking an Ibuprophen, but it got stuck going down.  It was an awful feeling, very painful.  I tried taking a sip of water to help it, but that only made it worse.  Eventually I upchucked saliva.  Sorry, it that’s too much info, but that’s what happened.  I sat and waited for the pill to pass and it still felt stuck.  I upchucked saliva again, then it was all better.  I’m hoping that I get off some of these pills.  I’ll tell the doctor again about the pill problem, but last time, he didn’t seem very sympathetic.  Honestly, this is the ONLY problem I’m having.  I have either a protein shake for breakfast or I let grape nuts soak in milk for awhile.  If I have bananas, I’ll mush it up with the cereal, or put one in my shake.  Lunch is usually a cup of soup, like chicken noodle (low-fat), and maybe a couple pieces of melba toast rounds soaked in the soup.  I’ll take a bit of low-fat spreadable cheese on a spoon and have that, too.  Or cottage cheese, something with protein.  In the afternoon, I might have some mushy fruit or yogurt.  Last night, I cooked a Lean Cuisine Lasagna and cut it in 4ths.  I heated a few slices of canned carrots and had ¼ of the lasagna, mushing up the noodles real good – the rest I put in individual containers and put in the freezer.  If I want a night-time snack, I have an Edy’s no-sugar frozen fruit bar.  They’re great! 

Well, I’ll sign off for now.  Hope you all have a great 4^th of July!!      

I want to thank everyone for all their good wishes.  I went back to the doctor yesterday.  They did a test to make sure all my new pipes are not leaking, and are working as they should be.  The test was good.  The doctor said I can now shower and drive (not at the same time, and as long as I’m not taking percoset).  I’ve been moved up to a pureed diet (mashed potato-like or baby food consistency). 

One thing I’ve found is that it terribly hard to swallow large pills, like vitamins.  So, I’ve bought some sugar-free Flintstone vitamins, and large chewable calcium tablets.  I’m supposed to have 1500 mg of calcium per day, so I’m going to stock up on this stuff and will have to have a big jar at work, too.    

I ventured out today for the first time.  It felt good to be driving again!  I got my nails done, went to the bank, then stopped at a drug store for a few things.  Got home, and I was exhausted!!!  I think I’ll take a nap.  I’m going to try to go visit everyone this evening to catch up on everyone else. 

Hope you’re having a great weekend! 

Tomorrow is the big day.  Surgery is at 10:00 a.m.  My sister is coming up tonight to stay overnight, so we can be at the hospital at 8:00.  As soon as I'm able, I'll post after I get back home.  I've heard that this hospital has laptops that patients can use, so if I get a chance I'll post earlier.  Say prayers for me.  I  know I'm in God's hands.  Thanks for all your love and concern.

Patrice (soon to be svelte and healthier!!)

It’s been several hectic days since I posted. 

Friday, I had my pre-op meeting with a nurse and doctor at the hospital.  I was VERY impressed with these two women.  They were very thorough – they took blood and did a general check-up.  They said I was healthy.  Good news.

Saturday morning, I had my car in at the dealers, and they informed me of more problems.  I think I posted awhile back about my car problems and possibly buying a new car after my surgery.  But, some of the problems they found really needed to be fixed because of safety reasons.  I decided enough is enough.  Soooo, I traded it in on a new car!  I got a Solara Convertible – red with a tan top.  It is so cool!  If you’ve ever bought a car, it’s an exhausting experience – the test drive, the decision to buy, them evaluating your trade in, then wheeling and dealing a price, then signing all the papers.  By the time I got home Saturday, I was totally wiped out, and spent the rest of the day resting.

Sunday, my best friend Patty, came over after church, and we drove out to my sisters.  She brought me a pair of red sun-glasses.  I wrapped a red feather boa around my neck, we put the top down and had a really fun day!  It was a long day, too. 

All in all the weekend was busy and tiring, but also exciting.

Tuesday a bunch of us gals from work had lunch at a cool restaurant in downtown St. Louis.  Three of the gals are retired, so we hadn’t seen them in a few months.  It was great seeing them.  This restaurant, Soulard’s Restaurant, has the greatest bread pudding.  They put peaches in it.  It’s made fresh every day, lots of butter and cinnamon.  Hmmm, could almost just make a meal of it. 

Today I met with the nutritionist regarding what I’m supposed to eat after surgery.  So, I’m going to stock up on some soups, broths, etc, for right after surgery.  I also have to take extra Calcium and Vitamin B-12, so I’ve been on the internet searching for chewable Calcium that has no sugar, glucose or dextrose.  It’s hard to find, as is Chewable B-12.  Swallowing pills will not be as easy as before – depending on the number of pills I need to take, I will have to space out the timing – like every 5 minutes with sips of water or other low-cal beverage.  There are several “bariatic” sites on the internet which specialize in products people need after Gastric Bypass surgery, and I ordered some stuff from some of them.     

My sister will take me to the hospital, and stay with me a couple of days after I get home.  I’m trying to make all these lists of things I need to do before going into the hospital, people to call after surgery, straightening up the house, getting caught up on bill paying, laundry (UGH) – my least favorite thing to do.

Well, I gotta go, so I hope everyone has a great Thursday!  

I will define and celebrate my own success.

Growing up, I never learned how to set and then achieve reasonable goals.  I felt that I could never do enough, and that I wasn’t good enough.  Regardless of how well I did, I could not celebrate my successes.

Approaching my gastric bypass surgery, then in my goal of losing weight, I want to set goals in small manageable steps.  I will acknowledge each mini-step I take to achieve my goals, and I pat myself on the back.  I will only take this one step at a time and not fret about the large weight loss I need to accomplish.  In the past, that was overwhelming.  I’m not going to let that happen again. 

In all aspects of my life, I will praise each positive action I take in achieving my goals.  I will celebrate each success.