39 Years

 

I've been up and down but I'm not giving up. I might have been close to rock bottom but I held on tight and started the climb out. I can't look back and I can't change the past, but I have full control of the future when it comes to my weight.

04-29-24

39 years ago today I started working for AT&T. With any luck I'll still be there a year from now to celebrate 40 years!

From a health perspective, I feel like I'm doing better. I haven't seen any blood in my stool for over a week and things seem "normal". My appetite is returning but it's not consistent. Some days I am hungry and other days I am not. Perhaps part of that is what I'm eating. I've been feeding my carb addiction with Pop Tarts, candy and Gardetto's! Was lack of carbs feeding my hunger? Hard to say.

Breakfast was waffles and I had Pop Tarts late morning. Lunch was a burrito with salsa .. I was happy I could open the jar using my bum hand!

My hand is getting better but it aches at times. I'm afraid to take any Tylenol at the moment and the pain isn't that bad. I did throw away the Ibuprofen, just in case that contributed to my digestive issues.

04-30-24

I haven't been writing much because of my hand, as it's sometimes painful to type with the left hand.

Today was another good day. Still no blood and I feel like things have really returned to normal. I still need to get my health up to date but I feel less urgency. I do need to get myself back on the treadmill and back to following Nutrisystem more closely. Hard to do when I have Pop Tarts, candy bars and 2 boxes of egg rolls in the house!

It seems like my "hunger cues" have returned and that is a good sign. Much of the "symptoms" that made me think of cancer have resolved and I have to believe if I had cancer the signs wouldn't go away. This eases my mind quite a bit!

05-01-24

Today I saw a dot of blood after using the bathroom. We're talking a teeny tiny speck of bright red blood. I feel like this is more likely related to a hemorrhoid or fissure. I've had hemorrhoids in the past so that would be no surprise. I did strain a little to poop and had no other signs of visible blood. Everything I'm reading makes me feel better about it since the blood I'm seeing is when I wipe.

My appetite seems to have returned to normal and that is yet another encouraging sign. Breakfast today was a cinnamon roll and late morning I had Pop Tarts. Around 11:30 I had some Gardetto's. Lunch was a burrito with salsa. Afternoon snack was cottage cheese & Alyssa's cookies.

Work has been busier than usual as I've been covering for a colleague who was on vacation. She is back tomorrow so things will likely slow down for me. I'm working on a couple of complicated projects, so I will be busy enough!

05-02-24

I'm going to stop writing about my bathroom issues unless there is something concerning that I want to document. Blood would be the only concern!

Minnie and I have settled into our new normal. She's turned into this sweet loving lap cat and I couldn't be happier about that. During the work day she will sometimes snuggle up next to me on the couch and I just love that. We always had "mommy and me" time when Abby was alive, but it was limited to when I went to bed. Now, Minnie has me all day long and rarely comes upstairs after I go to bed. It's hard to believe Abby has been gone 2 months already. I still miss her sweet little chirps and trills when she'd come running to eat in the morning. She was suffering a bit towards the end so I am glad she is at peace now.

Looks like Spring has sprung! Buds are on the trees and the grass is growing fast. I'm going to try and mow tonight or tomorrow because there is rain in the forecast for the weekend. I got the batteries out of the pantry at noon and plugged them in to ensure they have a full charge.

Today they came and put fencing around the large building across the street from my house. It was designated as "unfit for occupancy" last year and has been empty ever since. It used to house an auto repair shop, a garage for storage and 2 apartments. I'm wondering if they are going to tear it down. I doubt the owner has the money to fix it up and online tax records indicate taxes were last paid in 2019, so they're pretty delinquent. It's a good size property so it's possible another business would buy the vacant lot. If they do knock it down I'll have a lovely view of the Kwik Fill .. lol!

Monday is (hopefully) my last appointment with the orthopedic doctor. If healing is progressing I won't have to go back. After that I plan to restart my treadmill program. The Total Gym will have to wait a bit longer and the bike is out until I lose a bit of weight.

05-03-24

I got started with the lawn after work last night, but it was not easy! The grass was pretty thick in some spots, and therefore pretty wet! So the mower clogged up frequently. The blade also fell off twice! I even had to get the book out as I couldn't remember how to start it ... lol!  I did the large side yard last night and then called it a night. Today during lunch I did the driveway side of the house and started the front, with plans to finish after work. The first mow of the year is always tough but I'll need to keep up with it so it doesn't get too long again. Some gigantic mosquito like bug bit my arm last night and left quite a wound. It looks fine today, so I'm not worried about it.

When I came in from mowing I was starving and could feel the effects of low blood sugar. I had a quick yogurt while my pizza melt was in the microwave and felt fine once I ate. I had waffles for breakfast and then some Pop Tarts - so mostly all carbs. I know better than that and should have ate before I went out to mow.

05-04-24

Ahhh Saturday .. I wish I could have slept in but I was awake at 7 am. I tried to go back to sleep but gave up around 7:30. Once the mind wakes up it's all over!

Breakfast was waffles and late morning I had Pop Tarts. Lunch was a pepperoni pizza melt.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 268, so I lost the progress I made before I broke my hand. The orthopedic office weighed me at my first visit 3-29 and I was 266 fully clothed, shoes and all. Despite my bowel issues, I've gained weight. Honestly, I'm happy about that as unexplained weight loss is never a good thing. I plan to get back to the treadmill on Tuesday. I was thinking last night that I'd like to get out on the weekends and just go somewhere to walk. I haven't been able to think of anyplace convenient with good parking. I don't really want to go to Green Lakes or Onondaga Lake Park and I don't want to go to the city of Oswego either. 

I was lazy this morning and didn't make it to the post office. I will go Monday since I'll be out for my doctor appointment. I didn't go to the grocery store either as I'm not desperate or anything. I will go tomorrow just to get out of the house and pick up a few things. I've been thinking about going to Point Place, so I might do that tomorrow too. I'll just go for a couple hours.

My latest junk food kick has been egg rolls! Man, they are so good but they're 170 calories each and I eat 4 at a time! I'm going to make an effort to only have 2 going forward. I'm over Walmart's pizza, the cheese is crap and there is so little sauce. If I want pizza I will buy a crust and make my own.