Not doing so good…things are looking up

Monday, August 20, 2018

Well, I just looked and it has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote in my journal. I haven’t been doing very good lately. I haven’t been walking outside, which was my goal in Weight Management Group (WMG). And I haven’t even been walking inside either. I just don’t have much energy or drive to walk and it bothers my Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) and that takes hours and Tylenol to get it to go away. Sometimes I even have to take some Tramadol, which is a NARCOTIC, and I don’t want to get hooked on them again. I try not to take them unless I’m really bad and Tylenol didn’t work, or it is at night. I haven’t even been doing my exercises lately either.

Other things that have been going on is my eating and I’m still waiting to hear back on my surgery. I’ve been eating whatever I’ve wanted to and my weight is up to 298 pounds for the last 2 weeks. I’m surprised that it isn’t back up to 300 or more. Last night they had French Toast for dinner and yesterday morning I had pancakes for breakfast. So it was a terrible day. I had Oatmeal (my normal meal) this morning for breakfast but then I had a Bagel with cream cheese also.

I didn’t get up for exercise either this morning. I don’t know if I can do the walk on the Greenbelt tomorrow, but I’m going to try and get up at 9:30am and get dressed and at least try and go. If not, at least try and walk in the building for about 10 minutes.

Today I also went to WMG and they keep talking about all kinds of DIETS that we can go on and it is very frustrating because when I do finally have surgery I won’t be able to eat what all these DIETS say to eat until I’ve met my weight loss goal. That will be a year or 2 down the road. So, I just listen and put it in the back of my head for future reference.

I talked to Shyra (the lady at Deo’s office) see if she had gotten a hold of the Bariatric Clinic to see about my surgery. She said she just got their voicemail and left messages. I called them myself today, but just got the voicemail and left a message. Tonight after dinner I got a call back from the Bariatric Clinic and they said that they had gotten approval on my paperwork, YAY!!, and that she would send it in tomorrow to be scheduled for surgery, and I should be hearing back from them in the next 5 days or so. I hope that that is true and I can get my surgery soon, like this month, that would be awesome!!

Also today I had a friend go to Hong Kong Restaurant and get me some Chinese food for dinner. I have been in the mood for some and know it will be a long time before I will be able to have it again. I got some Mandarin Chicken, Chow Mein, and an Egg Roll for dinner. She was upset because it was such a small amount, but I told her it was fine. When I opened it up there were about 10 pieces of chicken and the sauce. The Chow Mein was gross and there were 2 large Egg Rolls. I forgot that it is the rice I like not the Chow Mein. I even put some chicken sauce on it to make it taste better, but it didn’t work. I didn’t eat it. The chicken was great and I dunked the Egg Rolls in the chicken sauce and they were pretty good too.

So, all in all, I guess it has been o.k. and if I could have surgery next week that would work out great. But it will probably be later than that and I don’t know how the timing will work out with the Burgers taking me to and from the hospital before they move. And I need to find somebody to watch over my cat. I’m sure it will all work out fine. 🙂

Goodbye Dear Friends

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Today was not a good day. I found out last night that my very good friends are moving away soon. Annette and Richard are going to be moving sometime in the end of September or first part of October. Of course, it could be sooner if they sell their house sooner. This is not good, I depend on them for my rides to the doctor or store, and she does my laundry (garments) and they are my best friends. Of course, other people can do all those things but I have known them for 5 years and that is the longest I’ve had a friend in over 25-30 years, if not longer, because I’ve had to move so much. I never really had friends, not even from church. I’m very sad they are leaving. 😦

Then my other friend, who works here at the facility (she has been my Med-Tech for the last 4 years), is not doing Meds anymore. As a matter of fact, she almost quit last week. She has been working 16 hour days for 4 days in a row and more if they asked her. She has been in the hospital twice in the last 5 days and can’t eat, sleep, or move she is in so much pain. She told them that she was going to have to quit or not work 16-hour shifts any more and be a Care Giver instead of a Med-Tech. She isn’t even sure she can be a Care Giver and might have to quit anyway. Not only did she do my Meds, but she also did my showers on Sundays and my laundry too. So now I have to depend on the rest of the staff for my shower and to do my laundry. The whole reason I had Michelle doing my laundry is that the other people were wrecking my clothes and I can’t afford to buy new clothes all the time. I’m so sorry she is doing so bad, but I don’t want to lose her too.

Not only that, but she and her boyfriend are thinking of getting a travel trailer and getting out of their apartment. Their rent is going up and they don’t need a 3 bedroom apartment anymore. So she might be leaving anyway.

I’m really bummed with all this happening and being in tons of pain myself. I hope I have my surgery soon before they both leave. I’m trying to keep a ‘stiff upper lip’. 😦

300 pounds…again

Monday, July 23, 2018

This is my 5 year anniversary! I have been at Streamside for 5 years. Sometimes it feels like a long time and other times it feels like just yesterday that I moved her. This is the longest I’ve ever lived in one place since I left home at 19 years of age. I have moved to 4 different rooms while I’ve lived here, but I have been in this room for over 3 years.

I went to the Weight Management Group today and I weighed in at 300 lbs. That is a 4 pound gain from last week. That is what happens when I don’t watch what I’m eating and just eat what they serve. Well, I’ll see how I do over the next week and a half when I’m weighed in again. I also asked Deo if she sent in the paperwork to the bariatric clinic and she said yes, last week but she wasn’t sure what day it was faxed to them. I will call them next week and make sure everything is there and they can send it to Medicare for approval. I’m figuring sometime late August will be my surgery. If it is earlier it will be a nice surprise.

I asked Deo to change my Tylenol from a PRN (I have to ask for it) to a scheduled time and she wrote the order, but they haven’t changed it here yet. I’ll let it go a few more days and if they don’t change it I’ll tell them again. My back is really starting to hurt!!!

Fishing

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Today I went fishing. Well, we went to the Fish Hatchery and went fishing. There were 5 of us in total. John, myself, Jesse and his wife, Mary, and Desi (activity director) was the fifth one. The last time I remember fishing was when I was a little kid and my dad took us fishing off the Goleta pier. If we did catch anything it was too little to keep and we through them back in. I think we must have caught something because I remember having fish for dinner, but maybe it was from the store. I don’t like fish so I’m glad I didn’t keep the ones I caught today. So, yes, I did catch a fish. It was about 12-14 inches long and it was a rainbow trout. That fish was heavy and as Desi helped reel him in I grabbed the line she was holding and the fish flipped off the hook and fell back into the pond. I wasn’t able to get a picture of it, but I really did catch a fish. Next, John caught a fish and I think Desi got a picture of it. Last Jesse got a fish but it ended up on the deck and flapped around until it ended up back in the pond. There was well over a hundred fish there and I snagged a few more but they got away before I could get them reeled in. Then about a half-hour after we got there the Hatchery feed the fish and we never got another nibble. It was fun and not too hot. I hope we get to go again.

Back and side pain…

Monday, July 30, 2018

One more day and it will be August. July went by slow, but at the same time I can’t believe it is almost August. It just doesn’t seen like it has been that long.

It has been in the 90’s and 100’s (degrees) all month and making it hard to walk outside, and I just find no motivation to walk inside.

7-26-18 – I went to see Deo about my bariatric paperwork and my back and side pain. She said that the paperwork was sent in on the 20th. That is one whole month after I told her I needed more info for the surgeon and Medicare. I don’t expect to hear back from Medicare much before August 20th or later. It would be nice if it was sooner, but I’m not counting on it.

Then we talked about my back and side pain. I can hardly move now because of my side pain and Tylenol is barely touching it. Then I also have “break through” paid from my RLS most days and sometimes several times a day. The patch helps it be less sever, but it still drives me crazy. I asked her about Tylenol 3 and she said she didn’t use it much and gave me a PRN for Tramadol which is a narcotic like OXYCONTIN so I’ll see how it works. I don’t want to get hooked on narcs again.

I was really surprised when I got the Tramadol that same night. It usually takes a few days to get a new medication. I took one at 8:30 pm Thursday night (7-26).

7-27-18 – At 7:45am Friday morning when I went to get up I was pretty drowsy and it was kinda hard to walk. I had breakfast and went back to bed. I had lunch and dinner in my room.

7-28-18 – On Saturday I spend all day in bed usually so I just stayed in bed all day anyway. I took another Tramadol and my legs (RLS) have not gotten bad at all, so that was really nice since I was in bed all day and they usually get restless by the afternoon.

7-29-18 – I also stayed in bed on Sunday morning and stayed in bed for lunch. I didn’t get a shower because Michelle, the lady that usually gives me my shower, was a Care Giver today instead of a Med-Tech so I didn’t get my shower. I washed my hair in the sink and went back to bed until 2pm when I got ready for church. I didn’t curl my hair with electric curlers because my hair was still wet. I blew my hair dry and used the curling iron a little bit and pinned it up and went to church. I was still a little ‘foggy’ from the medication but I went to church anyway.

The Tramadol works on the side pain a little more than the Tylenol, but doesn’t take all the pain away. I took another Tramadol Sunday night and went to bed.

This morning I got up for breakfast, but went back to bed afterwards and didn’t get back up for exercises at 10am. I finally got up for lunch and my back was really hurting, but not my side. I went back to bed after lunch and got up to take my shower and go to BINGO. My back was hurting so much during BINGO so I went back to bed and got up for dinner and got some Tylenol. My back is killing me and I’m ready for bed.

Kitty, where are you?

Thursday July 5, 2018

Today I got up and went to Walmart (on the facility bus). I wanted to get 2 large money items and was hoping it wouldn’t cost to much. I got myself a set of electric rollers for my hair. It is a pain to do my hair one curl at a time with the curling iron. It was $23.97 for the set of 20 rollers, more then I really wanted to pay, but they weren’t the most expensive and not the cheapest either. Then I wanted to get a food scale so I can weigh out my food after I have my surgery. Again I got the middle priced one and hope I can figure out how to use it. Then I got a few little things and had to get $60.00 cash back so I can give Liz $50.00 for my protein shakes. I’m stocking up on them so I have enough for after my surgery. She now owes me 3 boxes (54 11oz. shakes). So my total was just over $100.00 at Walmart.

By the time we got back I was late for lunch. I went straight to lunch and when I got finished I went to my room to unload my stuff. I walked in and called for my cat, but I couldn’t find her. I looked everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. I called to have the staff help me find her. They looked everywhere in my room and couldn’t find her either. They also looked for her in the halls and nothing. Finally we heard a faint meow and we looked behind the desk and there she was, stuck behind the desk. I was really getting worried.

Hand and Foot…..

Wednesday July 4, 2018

Happy Independence Day! I got 1 reply to my card I sent out and one reply about my email. They were both from Kellie.

I walked to my appointment with Rachel yesterday and it was a good walk. It was about 76 degrees and a light breeze. I was a little tired and my calves were hurting by the time I got home, so I stopped outside the facility to talk to Michelle and a new Med Tech. It was just long enough that my calves were rested and they didn’t hurt anymore.

I didn’t do anything today except watch movies and play a new card game with a couple of ladies from here. It is called “Hand and Foot”. It has nothing to do with your hands and feet.

Disappointed, still no surgery…

Monday July 2, 2018

Well, we are into a new month and I had my ‘Pain Review’ today with Brandi (at Acacia). They weighed me in at 297 lbs. which is a 2 pound gain since last week. It doesn’t surprise me because I haven’t been watching what I’m eating and having a lot of desserts and fatty foods that they serve here. I know that I won’t be able to eat it after my surgery, so I’m eating them now. I’m discouraged about not getting my surgery in July and having to wait until August or whenever. Deo was gone all last week so my paperwork wasn’t turned in and now it is July and I don’t know when it will get done. I hate to keep asking, but I don’t want to let it ‘slip under the rug’ either. I want it done as soon as possible.

I walked to my appt today and it wasn’t that hard at all. It was in the 80s and there was a slight breeze. I have my usual appt with Rachel tomorrow and I will walk there again. (All these appt are at Acacia.) Tomorrow will only be in the upper 70s with a light breeze.

I sent out my July 4th card (digital over the internet) and sent out an email to everyone about my walking experiences in June. It was a pretty long email so I’ll see who responds to it. All in all it was a pretty good day.

Paperwork

Friday June 22, 2018

I called Deo’s office first thing on Wednesday (20th) and she had a cancellation that afternoon so I went to see her. I told her what the Bariatric Clinic said about the paperwork. She said that she did forget to put the recommendation for surgery in the letter she sent, but didn’t know what they were talking about with the other paperwork. She said she would call them and see what she was supposed to do. Now it looks like it will be August before I will get my surgery since July is only 8 days away and it takes Medicare 3-4 weeks to approve or disapprove the surgery.

When I went into ‘pain group’ today, Deo hadn’t even talked to the clinic yet and so nothing has been done yet. I’m a little disappointed that nothing has been done, but when you leave a message with the Bariatric Clinic it does say they will get back to you within 2 days. So it isn’t all Deo’s fault. However I have resolved myself into knowing it will be August before I get my surgery,

Then, while I was there I got weighed and I was up 2 pounds from Wednesday (20th). Now I weigh 296 lbs, but that is still under 300 pounds. I drank a lot of water yesterday (and of course went potty a lot too). Deo said that I should be drinking about 100 ounces a day for my size. Some days I’m lucky if I drink 4 or 5 cups (8 oz cups) of water more less 100 oz. 4-5 cups is 32-40 oz. which is a far cry from 100 oz. Yesterday I drank 10 cups of water which is 80 oz and a lot better. Today I drank 11 cups (88 oz.), but won’t drink that much tomorrow since I’ll be in bed all day. Also while I was at the appointment, I had my once-a-month Invega shot and it really hurt this time. The last few time I’ve had it, it hasn’t hurt. I get this shot because I hear voices and they tell me to hurt myself. When I’m on this medication I can control them pretty good.

I didn’t get any exercising done today, I was at ‘pain group’ in the morning and forgot after lunch and had my Avonex Injection after dinner. This injection is for Multiple Sclerosis which I was diagnosed with back in 2013. I get the injection every Friday night and spend Saturday in bed resting. Sometimes it makes me feel like I have the flu. Anyways, I will have to make sure I do my exercises on Monday for sure. It has been an OK day.

UGH

Tuesday June 19, 2018

OMGosh, I forgot to do my exercise video AGAIN today before my doctor’s appt.

I saw Rachel and I told her everything that was going on and she was surprised at how calm I am about this whole mess up on my surgery paperwork. Yes, I’m upset, but I’m not letting it get my ANGRY or DEPRESSED, I’m just kinda going with the flow. I talked to the lady at the front desk and she said that Deo sent in the letter on the 12th and that I didn’t start going to the ‘weight loss groups’ until March, so I need to go to one in June. I did go on June 11th but those notes weren’t included in the paperwork Deo sent on the 12th.

When I got home from my appt with Rachel (she is my counselor that I talk to about my Bariatric stuff that is required my Medicare) I got a call from the Bariatric Clinic and they said they needed a more detailed report about my weight loss and weight gain for the month of June, plus some other things my mind isn’t remembering right now. Also that the letter that Deo sent on the 12th was a PHYC Evaluation and didn’t include a recommendation or clearance for surgery. I had them send me another copy of the letters that Deo got back in February as to what she needed to send. I have to call Deo’s office and try and get an appt with Deo as soon as possible. I will call first thing in the morning.