lynnt1215

JENCYS - I have that same uncomfortable feeling on my left side. I called my DR today and was told it is still internal healing. excessive bending, twisting, turnig agravates the muscles & tissue. Once I got home this evening I put on some loose clothes and much of the discomfort subsided. So I know tomorrow I am looking for a pair of my lose fitting pants. Most of my clothes i am wearing now are what i had pre op, but I wore a new pair today. they fit great, but think i may need the loose ones for a bit longer!!! I am only 4 weeks post op..and everything else is great, eating mushies, doing more walking and feel GREAT>

Not sure if there is more than 1 parking lot, but will keep an eye out.. Today at work I was miserable, a constant pain on my left side, not near the port, but to the left of it just around the bottom of my ribcage. Sitting was horrible. I called CHRIAS and they said it was just tightness from the surgery and all the moving around they had to do internally, especially since i had a rather large hernia that was repaired. for whatever reason i hope tomorrow is better. looking forward to wednesday evening..

sharona, there are several sites to journal. I am now using Calorie Counter, Diet Tracking, Food Journal, Nutrition Facts at The Daily Plate and it also alloows you to journal how you are feeling if you want. I just think this is great because it allows you to search by brand name if you want. ypu can also log in your exercise time and type and it will calculate calories used

want to plan on Wednesday evening at 6pm at the 896/40 path in Glasgow? Let me know, I am going to add it to my calendar as a date!!! I m usually free every night but Thursday, bowling night, but this week is my last week. and this Monday I have a repairment coming to give me an estimate. I went to the grocery store and bought frozen strawberries and mangos. Gonna add them to my protein mixes and get an new flavor "blast". Acme has the Dannon liight & fit yougurt 10 for 10 this week, so that is a good bargain! and the bags of frozen fruit were 2/$5. I did my walking while shopping today. I went and bought a generic brand of the magic bullett.. On one of the other site someone recommened thedailyplate.com as a source for an on line food journal. I took a look at it and it seems to be fairly self explanatory. I am currentl using a hand written journal to keep track of my food/liquid intake, but think this may be much easier. Let me know about the walking on Wednesday. Lynn

I have been logging a food journal by hand. A bit tedious, but without it i can never be sure of my actual protein intake, and carbs and fat are always hard to calculate. I am still amazed at the carb amount in certain things and find it tough to keep the count there low. I just looked at the dailyplate site, and gave it a try. seems fairly easy and straight forward. Looks like it may become my new best friend.. Looking forward to getting in more walking, with a new group of buddies, right HopeInApril!!!!!! Sometimes it is tough to get the walk in, but with it being lighter later at night I think it will get easier to do.

Fenton - glad you enjoyed your dinner. I am not sure steak and onion rings would be my choice for breakfast!!!! I agree though the dinner rolls are always fantstic and a big downfall for me. I'll be heading to OLive Garden in a week for a diner and will do my best to avoid the breadsticks!!!!! Getting ready to enjoy a great Sunday. It is a bit cool outside but sunny. A great day for nice walk. This week will be my first full week back to work.. Alot to do, but hope it goes smoothly. I was lucky enough to ease back in last week. My grandson, age 2 1/2, wore me out last night, but i had a great time doing everything he wanted o do... alot of running around in the yard!!!!!

We have an Old Navy here in Delaware, but I haven't been in there in so many years, except to shop with my girls. I am hoping to be able to buy some cute summer clothes in there soon. Grocery shopping is a lengthy process these days. I spent 1 1/2 hours last week just for a few items. I stopped and read all the labels. Mainly looking at protein and carbs. I feel better about what I have in my house as food choices now. I have received so many recipes ideas and am starting to try them. As long as I am able to make things taste good I am happy. I am doctoring up many protein mixes with a little off the shelf altenatives. Not tating too bad. My grandson is 2 1/2 years old. He wore himself out yesterday. He went to bed and was out in just a few minutes. I was still energetic enough to play with him the whole time. It is so great to have this feeling of energy. Only issue is I am still not supposed to pick anything up over 10#, so of course picking him up was out of the question. Heading out for a nice walk, before more yardwork..

No problem with the font. let me know if this one is ok. Sorry you all have been trouble reading it.. My grandson has totally worn me out, but at least i kept up with his pace more today than i did before surgery. He will get a bath soon and then to bed, so I can rest

Also a dog lover. Mini poodle, Presley, 10#, loveable and at times a pain, SPCA special Cocker Spaniel, Cobi, 20#, loveable, sweet and friendly. At one time I had dogs!!!!! both think potty time is about 5:30am, ugh. The cocker is/was my youngest daughters. Indigo, like your GS, I will I will take care of it...lol They keep me company and were my caretakers during recovery.... I went back to work after 3 weeks. my doctor said minimum of 2 weeks and since my surgery was mid week I decided to make my first week back only 3 days, next week is my first full week back. Still on mushies for another week to 10 days.... been rough keeping up on getting the protein in, but getting it sone, most of the time. possible fill on 5/9, but won't know until I get to my appt. etting in exervise.. this weekend, gardening, house cleaning and laundry. Never thought i would be happy to do it all, but i feel so good I just want tokeep going at it. LYNN :biggrin:

I got a little exercise in today.. went shopping and walked the mall. then came home and did a littlew gardening. Tonight my grandson comes and he will run me ragged!!!!! What walking trail did you go to Lisa? I have been to Delcastle up on McKennan's Church Road, but not the one at 896/40. Want to try that one with others, not knowing where the path goes and all. I know that the paths are safe, but feel better going with others. anytime anyone wants a partner I am ready.. Gotta do laundry and some house cleening...more exercise. Catch you all later Lynn

HopeInApril - I also have had a pulling on my left side around the lower part of my rib cage. It has lessened as the days go by. not sure what it is from, maybe a little adhesion/scarring from the surgery...... My one inscision location that has been irritated is clearing up a bit. the redness is gone and it is not as tender. Weight loss at first post op appt is so different for everyone. I had lost about 15# pre op and then about 11 post op. So not complaining. I have no scale here at home, but weigh at work on Tuesday morning, and checking BP regularly. I go back to Dr. Wynn on 5/9 and may get a fill, it will be 6-7 weeks post op. mushy stage has been tough to get all Proteins in. but beginning to manage throughout the day. Have to have at least one Protein Drink to boost the # of Protein grams. All I can say is eat slowly...first pb this AM and felt terrible. very uncomfortable and did I feel nauseous for a bit. For all of us,, keeping up the good work and looking for support. :thumbup: Lynn

TGIF...... I am also interested in walking. I know I would walk more often if I had a walking buddy or group. Anytime evenings and weekends. And I plan on getting into a few exercise classes at the gym at work a few nights a week I did something stupid this AM. Ate my small quantity of scrambled eggs too fast. PB... I hated it. Ran to the bathroom thinkiing i was going to toss it all back up!!!! But after a few rather loud and long burp/belches I felt a bit better. Definitely gonna be more aware of how fast I am eating. Always been a big problem for me... I am stretching the guidelines of the mushy stage a bit. I had salmon and cauliflower for lunch, chewed it to death... and it was great.... I was able to get all my protein in today. planning the night before was the biggest help. As for walking. e-mail me on AOL at lynnt1215. I have my grandson Saturday afternoon and evening, but Sunday I am free. :thumbup:

I did something foolish today, I ate my mushy breakfast too fast. Was I ever in pain. Went to the bathroom thinking i was going to throw up. but ended up just doing what seemed like dry heaving, but not from way don in the stomach. A feeling I will remember and hopefully not feel again...

Janet, how great. I am sure you will have plenty of info to share with us when you get back. My DR office has 2 different sites for surgery and each hospital has their own "support" system, even though you can attend any classes, support group for meeting for wither site. But i went to a support group the other ight and even the basic water/protein reuirements were different..so even when the DR are the same the hopsital group had different requirements.!!!!!

I have seen many changes in just the 3 weeks post op. First the fitting of clothes. It is so nice not to tug and pull at my shirts all day long. The pulling at my incisions has improved and so has my one irritated incision. I can't believe I even went walking last night and did 1 mile and was not even tired. Getting used to making sure I have enough protein while on th mushy stage has been a challenge. It has been difficult to get all of the requirements in. I'll have to make some preparations for next week to make sure I have enough small meals with me at work. I have plenty of protein drinks, but think I need to take more mushy stuff.... Does anyone else have issues with alot of burping? Even at 3 weeks out evey time i eat i start to burp . I am very conscious of quantity and stopping my eating before i feel restrictions.

It looks like everyone is doing pretty good. Moving about in less discomfort, making it through the work day... I find it had toI get all my protein in since on mushies. seems I am not taking enough to work to satisfy me during the day. Hopefully I can get things together this weekend so next week will be easier as far as my intake. Getting the water in i not a problem at all. Not sure exactly where everyone lives, but I would gladly be up to walking partners. I feel it is a good all around exercixe and you can do it with others. 366 you gotta take care of yourself. and no classes this summer will give you a chance to heal after surgery and relax and enjoy the time out of classes. I took an 18 months bachlor degree program at Wilmington College/University, and graduated January 2007. It was a hectic pace working full time and taking 3 classes every 7 weeks. I could never imagine Law School and work! I work at duPont hospital and have been there for just over 7 years. I have had a variety of jobs over the years, but never one I would call a career. I think we are great suppot for each other and will continue to be. GO all of us!! :redface:

Dinner was actually fun. My girlfriend has just started weight watchers, so she had a salad, and it looked so good. I had the eggplant royale, it was lightly fried eggplant with a little sauce with crabmeat in it over the top. I was able to eat about 1/3 cup before feeling restriction, but once I did I stopped eating. So I have leftovers for another 3 meals. In the past to finish the whole plateful would be nothing. I am so glad I did this and can follow the "signals" the band is giving me when i eat. It is amazing how going from liquid to mushies I am able to feel the restriction, since with liquids I was drinking almost all day long! And after we had dinner we went for a mile walk..... I wasn't even short of breath or breathing heavy when we were done. :thumbup: I do need to take more protein snacks to work tomorrow. I am about 20 gms short for today's total. Getting the water in was no problem at all, I got 60 oz. in just at work, as well as a small cup of regular coffee. 366, finals and then surgery, you have to be getting excited, or you are so concentrating on finals the surgery is a second thought.... your time is near.

I was invited out to dinner tonight and was thinking I can do it. Even though on mushies I was sure I could find something on the menu to work. We went to a Mexican restaurant. I ended up with some eggplant and crabmeat. It was delicious. I only ate about 1/3 cup of it. Since beginning this stage I have felt some restriction and have been trying not to eat too much. So far so good. But it is really tough. WE are so used to eating the entire amount put on out plate. Now I have 3 meals of leftovers to savor...... The only problem with what I ate is that it was not high in protein and now finding myself playing catch up to reach my 60 gms of protein for the day and do not think I'll make it. Tomorroe I will do better with my amounts, but was glad to be able to go out and enjoy the evening.:thumbup:

Fenton - learn what you can and then concetrate on those "core" muscles, by next winter we'll be looking for you on the slopes. I found today my work has exercise classes as well as the free gym. I am gonna start the core exercise class next week and maybe the one for leg/lower body and the one for arms/upperbody. Have to wait and see how I do, gonna work up slowly since next week is 4 weeks post op. But just staying after work for an extra hour will be worth it to get thig body into shape. I also agree, one slip of choices does not make a failure. WE are all bound to have slip ups, but have the tool to get ourself back on the path.

UGH. It seemed like a very long day. Besides the alarm clock at 6am :thumbup: Day went well, but defnitely tired this evening. Was nice to get back and was greeted kindly be everyone...especially since I was not originally scheduled to go back until 4/14 Congrats on the 8#. Keep up the good work Now my thought on triscuits. I love them, but since they are so "stringy, if you want to call it that, i can see how they may cause a tickle as you swallow, but qould not think of them as getting stuck. Lunch today was cottage cheese, and some chicken vegetable soup with some saltines all mushed up in it. Took me 30 minutes to get it all in, but tasted great. Tomorrow I have to remember to take more protein drinks to work and plan on other mushy fods to eat through the day. I got all my water in at work so that will not be an issue. My girlfreind wants to go out to dinner tonight at Borders Cafe, so am planning on some refried beans maybe a little something else. Not sure on the type of soup they may have, but it will be interesting looking at the menu and thinking "mushy" Maybe we can arrange to have a regular get together every once and awhile outside of the support group meetings. a girl's night out!!!!!

It was great to meet everyone last night. Keep up the good work !! I am off to work today, furst time in 3 weeks, wish me luck!! I'll let you know how mt day went

the recipe for pumpkin soup looks great. For Delaware and HopeInApril - at the support group tonight I'll be wearing a red top and gray sweat pants. It is still so hard to wear anything tight around my waist, the one incision spot get to much friction. even though I can already see a change in how my clothes fit. See you tonight. Lynn

WOW, a trip to Bermuda, what a sweetie of a husband Those bikes look fabulous, Harley. I have only riden as a passenger, never been in control of one myself. Thanks for the quidelines. I always can use a quick reference to keep me on track. Back to work tomorrow, UGH!!!!! and just in time for the weather to make an upswing to warmer weather and I'll be couped up indoors all day. And thanks for the ideas for lunch ideas. I am hitting the grocery store today to find things easy to prepare or tke with me to work. I do find moving to mushies/purees, that I have trouble getting in protein, so I am still taking in a few protein drinks.

You'll see me there Tuesday night. I even changed my 5pm appt so I would be able to get there. HopeInApril - last time i saw you was our life skills class, look forward to seeing you again, Delaware - hope you can make it, we will just have to ask who we all are since we have no pics. look forward to seeing both of you. Lynn

I have made the plunge. I just signed up for yoga classes. They start next month. I hope it will be a great way to try and tone up. Dr would not clear me to start classes in April, bummer. but moving forward for a beter me...