Re: [MGB-PostOp] Thanks, Ginny

[Guest guest]

> Howdy, all:

So much has gone on here that it's hard to keep up with just the post-op list,

let alone the big list, now. I take this as a good

sign as to show that as I am losing weight, I am gaining a life. Mainly, my

adventures have occurred out here on the " farm " - HA!

some farm .3 acres and a fixer upper of a house. No A/C yet - I hope to get the

window unit in this weekend. It's too heavy of a

sucker to hoist up in the window on my own. My pump died last weekend causing

me to learn all about wiring and fuses. Now the

reason why I drive out towards Doc R's office is to go to Lowe's. I really

think they should give me a PT job.

Mowing the lawn (and first trimming down 3' worth of growth) is HARD work. I

don't think that I could have done it without the

51+ weight loss. I am able to garden in this heat whereas before there was no

way I could have gotten out there. I also am not

minding the heat as I usually do. I am drinking lots of water, crystal lite and

Gatorade (lordy, I could do a commercial for

those folks) so I am not dehydrated. It takes a little doing but I can get 2-3

liters in a day now )

What am I eating these days: still primarily vegetarian - although I did have a

pasta dish (Healthy Choice) that had small bits of

chicken in it. It didn't hurt, too much, to eat it as chicken, beef and pork

have hurt my tummy since the surgery. I make chili

with harvest burger, soups, veggie & bean casseroles, fruit and fruit smothies,

and other lite bites. I eat salads and I have

found the whole entire conversation of bowel troubles with salad interesting. I

have had none of this. I think it is because I

use either lite homemade dressings or vinaigrette dressings. Too much fat

bothers me much more than too much sugar. I had one

small slice of pizza and that, I knew, was enough - but it was tasty. I even

made a cake for two of my scientists' birthdays (May

6 & 9). I made a chocolate mocha cake and icing. I tried a tiny piece of my

work. The icing was toooooooo sweet bleech! and it

made me a bit nauseous. The cake itself was sweet enough for me. Fortunately,

Dave (my very good looking boss and one of the

birthday boys) is a chocolate fanatic and he LOVES my cakes (I wish he paid me

that much attention - but I digress) so he has had

a sizable portion of it (yes, he is thin - he plays squash every day - boy is

that a workout!).

My emotions are going crazy. Doc R. explained that I am releasing a ton of

estrogen and testosterone (from the PCOS) and his

metaphor was the effects are akin to going cold turkey after being a 30 cup a

day coffee drinker. Man, am I cranky

sometimes...kinda hard to keep centered in Christ, ya know what I mean? I have

an appointment w/a psychiatrist to up my dose of

Celexa, if necessary. I find that I am so busy at the house, that I don't miss

food. Work is another matter...I can tell that I

would nibble there like crazy to handle the stress. I am having a hard time

finding a substitute. Fortunately, I eat 6 times a

day and 3-4 of those times are at work. I tell myself if I can hold out till 3

hours have gone by, I'll eat again. I am not

positive that is a 100% healthy behavior, but it works.

My exercise routine has switched to the morning hours. I find I have more

energy during the day if I exercise then. You see

folks, I don't have to be at work till 8:30, the gym is a 5 min. drive to the

office, and I can get there in 20 min. I can get up

at 6 and get the exercise in. I am not crazy about exercise yet - I need to

find something besides water aerobics, that I love.

I want a mountain bike but that'll have to wait till I get a little $$$

windfall.

For clothes, I shop at goodwill, get some things from the support group meeting

clothing swap, and try to pay as little as

possible for clothes. Today, I treated myself to a haircut - thank heavens I

needed it - I looked like a shaggy dog! I could not

get my stylist to talk about hair loss and styling options. He apologizes to us

all but he works till 7:00 on Saturdays. I am

still busy hunting a speaker for the 20th of May and I better find one soon. I

have my feelers out - keep you fingers crossed

folks.

For my friends who volunteered to help me organize the picnic, please email me

privately (moonvi@...) so we can get things

rolling further.

Oh, one of the nice things about no a/c right now, the fan in the window is

pulling the most glorious fragrence of honeysuckle -

such a blessing. Life goes on with or without having the MGB but it easier for

me that I am doing it with the MGB!

Love to all,

-Ginny Ivanoff

mgb: 3/1/00

348/297 (as of 5/2/00)