Time flies

Yikes, it's been 6 weeks since I posted. Holy cow. Some ups, some downs, all in all pretty good.

Christmas was nice. No family drama so that's a plus. Did ok with holiday parties and festivities. Saw Star Wars twice opening weekend which was really fun. Bought a fitbit after Thanksgiving and did pretty well increasing my daily steps from 1,000 to about 7,500 on average. Getting to 10,000 takes serious work! A few times I ended the day by walking around the neighborhood or up and down the halls in my condo to get to the 10,000 mark! I was doing well until early January.

I had a couple of gallbladder attacks over the past two months. The first one I thought was food poisoning. The second one was on the plane home from Ireland, and I thought it was just back pain. That night, I had another one and as I was googling my symptoms I figured it out (also Nancy had the same issue and she had surgery right before Thanksgiving, so that helped me figure it out.) The pain is really, really bad -- end up on the floor, not able to sit still so uncomfortable, contemplate calling an ambulance, etc. I went to the doctor, had an ultrasound, and found that I had gallstones. Apparently they are not uncommon when someone has rapid weight loss. So, I had surgery January 5.

I wasn't nervous about the surgery, but was very nervous about the post-op (we all know how that went down.) Fortunately, with a lot of support from Nancy and Sue, and a lot of advocating with nurses and doctors, and a lot of self-talk, I did fine. The anesthesiologist gave me one less drug than I received during the last surgery, and I think that really helped. Also coming home after surgery rather than staying over. And just knowing what to expect. I didn't want to take any oxy (probably never will), so got Vicodin instead, and only took 1, used Tylenol instead. I was out of work the day of the surgery and the next, then back to work. Had the typical back pain from the gas that everyone experiences, but nothing too bad. Till Saturday, that is! That morning I had the worst attack I've ever had -- seriously, a 10 on the pain scale -- thankfully I had the Vicodin and ice packs. Talked to the surgeon and apparently it's common to have this type of pain as the gas leaves your body but your organs are still inflamed. Lovely. Had a second attack that night, but a 5 on the scale. I ate very little over the weekend, just oatmeal and berries on Sunday and Monday. Finally on Tuesday I'm hungry and feel good. Phew, not fun, but not as bad as the weight loss surgery!!

What else...oh, 65lbs down. Yay. I am hoping to be at 70 by end of February, maybe 75. When I saw the surgeon a few days before gallbladder surgery (it was the same surgeon who did the weight loss surgery), she was pleased with my progress, said that the first 6 months are the rapid loss, but then the loss should continue for another 6 months. So, at this point, I feel confident that I'll get to 80lbs, hopefully even 90. I feel good and feel good in my clothes. I bought several sweaters on Ebay in November to get me through the winter, and bought a few things on sale after the holidays. I will need all new spring clothes though, that's for sure.

I had dinner with Jen and Bill and Brett and Fletch in the North End last night. I ordered a glass of wine, mostly to be social, and had a few sips. It just doesn't appeal to me. Not that it tastes bad, but it doesn't taste good either. It's hard to explain. I had a delicious chicken, broccoli ziti meal and ate all the broccoli and some of the chicken and a little ziti. Oh, and a nice piece of bread. And a biscotti. Ok, clearly I am eating more than I was 4 months ago, but nothing like I would have a year ago! I was just about to type, "I probably shouldn't have eaten the bread" but then I caught myself -- it's fine I ate the bread. It was crusty and yummy. I wanted it, I ate it, I enjoyed it. But my brain is different -- I didn't even think about eating a second piece. And I stopped eating the main course when I was full. And I only ordered the biscotti because we went out for dessert and everyone ordered canollis and I was being social (not that anyone had to force me to eat it!) It feels good to have a more balanced approach to eating, so that's good. But it's not quite as enjoyable as it used to be -- I guess I just don't get as much pleasure out of eating as I used to. It feels more like a chore, something I have to do, than anything else. Weird I know.

Someone at work today asked me if I was losing too much weight -- ha! Imagine that! I honestly would have to lose 100+ to feel like that was even in the realm of possibilities, but I sure didn't mind the question.