I had my follow up with the doctor today (after my hospital stay). After a lot of discussion and thought, my medication has been changed yet again. I will no longer be taking Humira, I will be changing to Cimzia. It is another self injection, but it is just once a month instead of every other week. It has the same side effects and potentials as the Humira, so It is mostly like a “lateral” move in medications. I also started a few other medications and removed a few others. I will also be staying on my new “diet” for a while longer. At least 3 months, until the Cimzia has time to take effect. |
After years of eating in resturaunts, I came to the realization today of how large their serving sizes are! I am on a limited amount of meat a day – 6oz. that means basically 2 servings of meat/eggs in 24hrs. Now normally that isn’t a problem, I tend to eat a meat free meal a day. But the serving size seems soooo small after eating out all the time. Even eating at home! I’m very glad I bought the kitchen scale – I would have eaten WAY too much before I realized it. There are several good things about this though. 1) I get to learn portion control much quicker than I would trying to portion out in a resturaunt. 2) I will be eating better, even if its not the “healthy” food, simply by reducing my portion sizes. 3) I am supposed to eat every 2-3hrs or so, which means not being as hungry at each meal. 4) I kind of get a “diet” out of my new diet due to portion control & my lack of being able to eat greasy, fried or fatty foods. |
So after a 3+day hospital stay, I am now home again. I have gotten a repreive on surgery for now. However, since I won’t be having surgery, I will be having to change my eating habits. Instead of the normal diet that everyone else gets to eat, like a low fat, low fiber diet, I have to eat a NO-fiber, low-residue diet. Basically, this means that from now on, I don’t get to eat wheat bread, or fresh fruit & veggies. I am very limited in my choices currently, but I did find a cook book that I was able to order. There is very little information recipe-wise out there, as this is usually a temporary diet. Though it appears I will be on it for a bit longer than temorary… |
I have started working on finally loosing weight. So far I have lost 5 lbs total. My overall goal is 40lbs. It seems like a lot, but after 2 surgeries, not eating well, and not being able to exercise, plus lots of medications that cause weight gain and some depression issues, I managed to gain a LOT of weight. I know some of it couldn’t be helped (thanks to medication and being ordered to basically not move unless necessary), but some of it could. I have been attending Pilates classes 3 times a week, and eating healthier. I have been watching my portions and eating more fruits and vegetables. I also started keeping a food/exercise journal, that I also put notes about my day and anything that may have happened to cause a poor food choice or lack of exercise. My current first goal is to loose (and keep off) at least 15lbs by my birthday (June 26th – shameless plug). Then my overall goal is to be 40lbs lighter by September for the wedding & honeymoon. If you have any tips or tricks, or just want to throw your support in, please leave a comment! I’d love to read it! |
so i have been known to focus on everything and everyone outside of myself…relegating myself to least important, least needy being i know. i am continuously attempting to make other people happy through my actions: my father by busting my ass at school for a degree i currently don’t need; my boss and coworkers by busting my ass to be the best; my mom by taking care of everyone and everything; my friends by being funnier and crazier at times and more responsible than they are at other times; my doctors by trying to be the perfect patient. this wears me out. i haven’t been me for me in a while. actually, since i got sick. so several years, i haven’t been content with myself really. so this all kind of clicked today for me. i was looking through a catalog at clothes and such, and i realized i haven’t really bought myself new things in a while, just because. yes, i have purchased work clothes, but only because i have to wear nicer things to work. i hadn’t bought new anything for me in a while. i looked through the closet and my dresser…and was shocked! i had never realized how little i had been caring about myself! now please, don’t think that i had a revelation and became shallow! i simply realized that i had turned into something i didn’t want to be, and it had manifested itself in my appearance and my attitude. i dress like i hate my body (which is another revelation: i’m not currently fond of my “post-surgeries figure”). so i sat down tonight and started to figure some things out. now i have never been super-trendy when it comes to hair or makeup or clothes. i have never dressed to impress others (with the exception of certain occasions such as interviews and formal affairs). i have always kind of gone to my own beat when it came to how i did my hair, or what makeup i used… or even where and how i shopped. when i looked in my drawers, i realized i hadn’t put any effort into dressing like the old me, just dressing to put clothes on my body. this made me very sad actually. (and i’ve been pretty restless since…) i don’t currently have a lot of extra income to go out and set the clothing stores on fire with my purchases…so i am just going to have to make due currently with what i can salvage. now i will admit that i went a little nuts at victoria’s secret today, getting a few new things to start the transformation back to “me”…i got some new undergarments (gotta love a sale!), as well as a new fragrance and a “spring” make up kit (which is actually a makeup bag that had blush, eyeshadows, lip gloss and mascara in it). i also got some new pajamas (but that was at a different store). but i digress… i metaphorically bitch-slapped myself today, and decided i need to do a few things:
now i realize none of this is going to be an easy task. some will be easier than others, especially after brandon graduates (i.e. – i should have some extra money once there are two incomes!)…others are going to take some serious willpower and effort (both of which have been severely lacking since i got sick, but seem to be getting stronger as i’m getting better). anyway…wish me luck! |
if you look at the pages of the site, you will now find one titled “movies” . this is where the soon to be ever growing list of movies will be residing :D |
ok… so i watch a TON of movies…too many probably compared to anything else i do. :P i realized this last night (well, really early this morning) after watching 3 movies yesterday, and parts of several others i had already seen on television…so i thought i would start making a list of what i have seen this year. if all goes well, i will probably end up with a HUGE post at the end of the year which will include all the movies i have watched (rental and theatre). now, to narrow this down, i have decided to only list movies i have not seen before, whether old or new. so as of march 1, 2009:
i realize this list is small for 2 months into the year already, but i am only listing movies i had never seen before…i have watched dozens already this year that i have seen at least once… |
MY MEDS ARE WORKING!!!! I feel human again! It has only been 17 days since I started taking Humira (the injections) and I already feel like a new person. I have not woken up in excruciating misery, I have been able to sleep, I have had energy, and I have been feeling so well I have started taking care of things that were put aside due to my illness. I haven’t felt this well since I lived in San Diego (we’re talking 5 1/2-6 years ago!). I actually went shopping this weekend, and didn’t feel like it was a chore. I bought some new clothes and make up, got my hair done, and even got a facial! I have been paying close attention to how I’m feeling and what my body is doing, and I like the results. Humira may just be my miracle drug! |
drove with brandon to little rock today. amy bought me a massage at a spa in LR for christmas this year, and i finally cashed it in! i feel like a new person, though it was a deep tissue massage, so there are a few tender spots on my back where the masseus worked out some knots. i had such a great day – we met up with jeff and had lunch, and more laughs than i’ve had in a while. i got to play with my nephew justin (pics up on flickr soon) and got to hang out with amy. i didn’t get to see everyone, but it was still an awesome day none the less! |