On August 17th I underwent the RXY gastric bypass surgery. I am happy to say that, even with some small complications, I have been doing very well.
According to my scale I weight 321.8 lbs. Meaning that I have lost 80 lbs since August 3rd. I have not weighed this little since I was in high school, somewhere around my junior year. I have essentially undone an entire decade's worth of weight gain. I can also now use the Wii Fit (we have the Wii Fit Plus disc) and I love the accuracy and ability to track everything. I also use cardio trainer to post automatically to my facebook so that my friends and family can see how things are going.
I can also now run a mile in 12 minutes 16 seconds. Again, not a professional or even exceptional rate, but for a 321 lbs man - it is a pretty good feat. I can sprint at 9 mph and I can get a 5k run (3.2 miles) done in under an hour.
My strength training has not been as successful, I have only gone up about 5 lbs per machine, though some of them are becoming easier and I am considering taking them up another 5 lbs. Note - I do 15 reps on a machine that uses rubber bands. The trainer said that these machines would be more difficult than other machines and that if I was doing free weights or a typical machine I'd be able to do much more.
My INR (the level used to determine the level of blood thinning) is right where it should be and I go back in to try and get the filter out on December 3rd. Hopefully it goes better.
Jobs are even looking promising. I have had a second interview with the company that I interviewed with on my son's birthday. It was an assessment and I did "very well", which is even more impressive considering that I learned the programming language in two weeks (ActionScript 2.0). I have an interview with a different company tomorrow as well, and while it is not in programming, it should pay well (I had to give salary requirements with the cover letter).
I feel great, I'm looking better every day, my physical abilities are coming back and all things considered - I don't think I could imagine I would feel this way 3 months ago. I go to the gym daily (well, almost daily), something I never thought I'd really be up to doing, and even though my membership to the one place runs out the beginning of December my dedication to continuing to work out has me checking everywhere to find a good affordable deal so that I can continue to work out (we'd use the one that is in our apt complex or the one that we are members of because of our apt complex, but it doesn't have babysitting).
No matter the case, things are looking great. The doctor is pleased with my progress and again, other than the IVC filter complication and a few minor issues, this has been an immensely rewarding choice. Again, this wasn't "easy" - and I still have put in a LOT of hard work to get here, but it has made a lot of things easier to do - such as motivate myself and actually lose the weight, but the process as whole is not easy at all. The diets, the life style changes, the buying of new clothes - all of this, is not easy. The only thing "easy" is not overeating (biofeedback is a pain in the rear) and thus I am taking in fewer calories than I did before.
As always, any questions can be posted as comments (or asked directly if you know me) I'll be more than happy to answer them. I want people to know what it is like to go through this, both good and bad, as this is a life changing decision and one that should never be taken lightly.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Lots to say
Well, it has been a while since I last said anything, and boy do I have a lot to talk about. So, yeah, this is gonna be a long one. Maybe. Dunno.
Last week I did great, I was working out and I was getting back into my groove. Then disaster sort of struck. I went in to get my IVC filter removed, as a precaution they always check to make sure there are no clots in the filter before they remove it. For me, however, there was. And apparently it was quite the big one too. At that point, they decided that instead of removing my filter, they would check to see if they could place a second one, why? Because apparently it had either grown beyond or started to push through the IVC filter, meaning there was an actual clot attached to the filter and even beyond. The sheer magnitude of how bad this is I don't was ever completely explained - but I am fully aware of what can happen. My grandfather died of a pulmonary embolism while in the hospital. Had the part that was beyond the IVC filter broken off, it could have been very, very bad.
So what did they do? Well, like I said, they were looking to put another filter in, however my IVC (inferior vena cava) was too wide at the place they needed to put it, meaning the filter would likely become dislodged and end up causing what it was supposed to prevent. So that was scrapped. They instead decided that they were going to admit me to the hospital. While in the hospital, they left the catheter that they were using to try and remove the IVC filter (which was in my neck) and used it, instead, to inject high power blood thinners right near the blood clot.
So, all of this went on, I was told I couldn't move, couldn't be sitting up, and basically had to stop whining.
I vomited some of the pills they gave me back up (which, apparently I can vomit and that is good news). Bad news is I didn't want to risk those pills again.
I was put on a clear liquid diet again, which sucked. I also have been prescribed lovenox (again) and this time I have to do it twice a day, it is 150mg (a huge dose) and quite frankly, I hate it even more than before. I thank the judge that prevented the makers of lovenox from blocking the sale of the generic version as it was 10 dollars instead of 100 (with insurance).
At any rate, the stay in the hospital sucked, and I got out Saturday afternoon - which was followed by a quick run to a sushi bar with my wife's cousin and then home to get ready for my son's birthday party.
The party was great and all, but I was still in pain and irritable. I had to take some of my strong pain killers otherwise I would have had to be on bed rest.
Now comes the good news, I'm going back on the 26th to get the filter removed (hopefully) and my weight is down to 341.6. It had gone up during my stay in the hospital, but I think I was retaining fluids as I was peeing like a madman for a couple of days after.
Oh well. I suppose that wasn't that long. I'm just a little frustrated personally that I haven't been able to keep up with my exercise (don't want to fall into a not-going rut) and all that good stuff. Had an interview last week, haven't heard back, hope for the best on that.
OH! And I had to go get my blood drawn today, at which point I got my A1C back... it is at a 5.9 - which is great (given my previous had been a 7.5, and they want you under 7.0). So, since I haven't been on a medication for my diabetes since August 3rd, that is great, absolutely great :D
Last week I did great, I was working out and I was getting back into my groove. Then disaster sort of struck. I went in to get my IVC filter removed, as a precaution they always check to make sure there are no clots in the filter before they remove it. For me, however, there was. And apparently it was quite the big one too. At that point, they decided that instead of removing my filter, they would check to see if they could place a second one, why? Because apparently it had either grown beyond or started to push through the IVC filter, meaning there was an actual clot attached to the filter and even beyond. The sheer magnitude of how bad this is I don't was ever completely explained - but I am fully aware of what can happen. My grandfather died of a pulmonary embolism while in the hospital. Had the part that was beyond the IVC filter broken off, it could have been very, very bad.
So what did they do? Well, like I said, they were looking to put another filter in, however my IVC (inferior vena cava) was too wide at the place they needed to put it, meaning the filter would likely become dislodged and end up causing what it was supposed to prevent. So that was scrapped. They instead decided that they were going to admit me to the hospital. While in the hospital, they left the catheter that they were using to try and remove the IVC filter (which was in my neck) and used it, instead, to inject high power blood thinners right near the blood clot.
So, all of this went on, I was told I couldn't move, couldn't be sitting up, and basically had to stop whining.
I vomited some of the pills they gave me back up (which, apparently I can vomit and that is good news). Bad news is I didn't want to risk those pills again.
I was put on a clear liquid diet again, which sucked. I also have been prescribed lovenox (again) and this time I have to do it twice a day, it is 150mg (a huge dose) and quite frankly, I hate it even more than before. I thank the judge that prevented the makers of lovenox from blocking the sale of the generic version as it was 10 dollars instead of 100 (with insurance).
At any rate, the stay in the hospital sucked, and I got out Saturday afternoon - which was followed by a quick run to a sushi bar with my wife's cousin and then home to get ready for my son's birthday party.
The party was great and all, but I was still in pain and irritable. I had to take some of my strong pain killers otherwise I would have had to be on bed rest.
Now comes the good news, I'm going back on the 26th to get the filter removed (hopefully) and my weight is down to 341.6. It had gone up during my stay in the hospital, but I think I was retaining fluids as I was peeing like a madman for a couple of days after.
Oh well. I suppose that wasn't that long. I'm just a little frustrated personally that I haven't been able to keep up with my exercise (don't want to fall into a not-going rut) and all that good stuff. Had an interview last week, haven't heard back, hope for the best on that.
OH! And I had to go get my blood drawn today, at which point I got my A1C back... it is at a 5.9 - which is great (given my previous had been a 7.5, and they want you under 7.0). So, since I haven't been on a medication for my diabetes since August 3rd, that is great, absolutely great :D
Monday, October 11, 2010
Busy Busy!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. It isn't for lack of wanting to. I just have been rather busy and had a lot of things to do.
Two weekends ago we went up to stay with my in-laws for a birthday celebration. I got to eat a lot of different foods (since I could start eating "normal" foods on Oct 1st). It was great, but I found out that slow and steady is the only way I can eat anymore.
Last weekend we went to St Louis to visit my family and have a party for my son (he turns 1 this week). While the party also had another member (my gma who has cancer) and the party had far more people there for her than my son, my son still had fun tearing up his first cake. He'll definitely be a pro come this weekend when we have one for friends and family that live close to us.
My exercising has been rather pitiful. I can still run, I was able to get a 16:12 sec mile (I don't remember if I posted about that) and run at 7 mph for about a minute. I couldn't do much else though, as I seemed to ramp up my blood pressure in doing that, and my headache didn't really allow for it.
To top it all off, we got strep somehow. I've been on antibiotics since Thursday morning but we also ended up with a pretty bad cold for a couple days (which made it even more fun). I'm just thankful we got out flu shot otherwise we'd have been screwed as I'm certain we'd have gotten the flu as well, lol.
I hope to get in to exercise a couple times this week, at minimum, and then as long as they have it on Saturday, I've got a swim class to go to that should be fun, or at least educational. I still need to schedule my last few appointments with the trainers so that I can get those taken care of.
On a different note, I have an interview tomorrow. Hopefully I can land this job, and we can get things rolling. We can't afford to stay at the place that I currently go to exercise unless someone pays for it other than us or I have a job, and even then, it is a ways away from the house (about 15 minutes or more) and the gas + time makes it somewhat troublesome to go. But since part of my program fee went to paying for three months, I may as well use it. If I can't afford any membership, the apartment complex we live at does have some exercise equipment that I can use so it isn't a total loss. I just hope that we have the money when my membership runs out to get into a health center as paying for something (or having a membership to something) makes it much harder to just ignore. I also almost have lost enough weight to be able to start using the Wii Fit so that will be nice when I can do that (when i can't get to the gym). It will also more accurately measure my weight, and will give me my BMI (at which point I'll start putting that in too).
Well, anyways, things are going well, and I'm starting to actually see a reduction in my weight rather than simply just knowing I'm losing weight because of the numbers and the fact my clothes are fitting looser.
Two weekends ago we went up to stay with my in-laws for a birthday celebration. I got to eat a lot of different foods (since I could start eating "normal" foods on Oct 1st). It was great, but I found out that slow and steady is the only way I can eat anymore.
Last weekend we went to St Louis to visit my family and have a party for my son (he turns 1 this week). While the party also had another member (my gma who has cancer) and the party had far more people there for her than my son, my son still had fun tearing up his first cake. He'll definitely be a pro come this weekend when we have one for friends and family that live close to us.
My exercising has been rather pitiful. I can still run, I was able to get a 16:12 sec mile (I don't remember if I posted about that) and run at 7 mph for about a minute. I couldn't do much else though, as I seemed to ramp up my blood pressure in doing that, and my headache didn't really allow for it.
To top it all off, we got strep somehow. I've been on antibiotics since Thursday morning but we also ended up with a pretty bad cold for a couple days (which made it even more fun). I'm just thankful we got out flu shot otherwise we'd have been screwed as I'm certain we'd have gotten the flu as well, lol.
I hope to get in to exercise a couple times this week, at minimum, and then as long as they have it on Saturday, I've got a swim class to go to that should be fun, or at least educational. I still need to schedule my last few appointments with the trainers so that I can get those taken care of.
On a different note, I have an interview tomorrow. Hopefully I can land this job, and we can get things rolling. We can't afford to stay at the place that I currently go to exercise unless someone pays for it other than us or I have a job, and even then, it is a ways away from the house (about 15 minutes or more) and the gas + time makes it somewhat troublesome to go. But since part of my program fee went to paying for three months, I may as well use it. If I can't afford any membership, the apartment complex we live at does have some exercise equipment that I can use so it isn't a total loss. I just hope that we have the money when my membership runs out to get into a health center as paying for something (or having a membership to something) makes it much harder to just ignore. I also almost have lost enough weight to be able to start using the Wii Fit so that will be nice when I can do that (when i can't get to the gym). It will also more accurately measure my weight, and will give me my BMI (at which point I'll start putting that in too).
Well, anyways, things are going well, and I'm starting to actually see a reduction in my weight rather than simply just knowing I'm losing weight because of the numbers and the fact my clothes are fitting looser.
Last weight: 344.8
Current weight: 343.8
Weight Lost: 1.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 38.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 58.2 lbs
Current weight: 343.8
Weight Lost: 1.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 38.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 58.2 lbs
Friday, October 1, 2010
Stomach Problems
I've been having issues with my stomach lately. I've been adding in soft foods (the next phase of my diet) one per day (with one exception), varying what it is. I've tried eggs, spaghetti and sauce, tuna (not as blended as I normally would have it) with fat-free mayo and toast.
The results are not very promising. The night I ate the tuna, I was in the bathroom wishing I'd throw up for about 45 minutes. I did not want to even eat the next day. I just wanted to drink my Powerade zero (my new favorite thing to drink) and eat/drink nothing else. Of course, I did, because I need to, but I didn't exactly like the idea. Then last night we had eggs. We had scrambled - and we had even had this earlier in the week. Earlier in the week it upset my stomach, but didn't make me that sick for that long. And I finished what I didn't eat at dinner later for another meal (eggs are great sources of protein, but if you have surgery, gassy foods such as eggs might bother you more than normal, I've been lucky and haven't had this issue). The second time eating them that night didn't bother me at all. However, last night when I ate the eggs I spent the next hour wishing that I'd throw up.
While many may not care to read it, it is important that I go into this topic due to the nature of the blog and the fact that people who read this and consider the surgery need to be aware of. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you want.
When talking about "throwing up" after a RNY, it apparently isn't... quite like it used to be. Because the stomach is primarily used to vomit and you don't have a lot of your stomach anymore (well, you have it all, some of it is just separated from the portion you use), anyway - because you don't have it any more, you don't have quite the ability to vomit as you may have had before. It isn't that you can't - I certainly heaved last night. But what I tend to get is a foamy mucus rather than any of the food. I got some of the eggs up last night, but it was mostly the mucus. What makes matters worse is that if you don't get the mucus up, it only serves to make things worse as your stomach is producing it and if you're not getting it out, it is only filling up your stomach more.
It isn't fun, it isn't great, and trust me, it is giving me great bio-feedback. But it still sucks.
So, while I've tolerated the full liquids and puree (for the most part) perfectly fine - the soft food stage is going to be rough it seems. I'm sure I'm "ready" for it. I can tolerate some things (like toast) very, very well. I just think that because I tolerated the puree and full liquids so well, I didn't really have to worry about how much I was taking in. I also had measured portions that equaled what I could have, and everything worked out very well. In addition, it would quickly move through my pouch because it was already fluid, it just needed a little work in the stomach it seemed. On the other hand, when I'm chewing and swallowing, it is causing my stomach to have to work on the food as well. This, I believe, is pissing it right the heck off, not to mention it stays in the stomach longer, so I have to be MUCH more careful with how much I'm eating, and how quickly I'm eating it.
So, for the time being, I'm going to still try and stick to simpler foods that are easy to digest (pureed stage stuff). But, I'm going to keep trying to eat the "soft foods" diets. Note, I keep using soft foods, but it is really easy to process foods. Steamed veggies, soft canned fruits (not in syrup), crackers and toast, cheese, etc. The toast and crackers are soft, believe it or not, because once you're done eating them they're mush. The reason you don't want bread is that doughy bread can ball up in your stomach (imagine getting it a little wet, and then mashing it into a ball) and that can be as problematic as anything else. One thing I don't know if I can have yet, but I am absolutely dying to try, is sushi. I am going to try and get in touch with the dietitian and see if I can't eat that yet, or if I need to wait to eat that until I'm back to being on a normal diet (minus the fats and sugars, lol).
The results are not very promising. The night I ate the tuna, I was in the bathroom wishing I'd throw up for about 45 minutes. I did not want to even eat the next day. I just wanted to drink my Powerade zero (my new favorite thing to drink) and eat/drink nothing else. Of course, I did, because I need to, but I didn't exactly like the idea. Then last night we had eggs. We had scrambled - and we had even had this earlier in the week. Earlier in the week it upset my stomach, but didn't make me that sick for that long. And I finished what I didn't eat at dinner later for another meal (eggs are great sources of protein, but if you have surgery, gassy foods such as eggs might bother you more than normal, I've been lucky and haven't had this issue). The second time eating them that night didn't bother me at all. However, last night when I ate the eggs I spent the next hour wishing that I'd throw up.
While many may not care to read it, it is important that I go into this topic due to the nature of the blog and the fact that people who read this and consider the surgery need to be aware of. Feel free to skip the next paragraph if you want.
When talking about "throwing up" after a RNY, it apparently isn't... quite like it used to be. Because the stomach is primarily used to vomit and you don't have a lot of your stomach anymore (well, you have it all, some of it is just separated from the portion you use), anyway - because you don't have it any more, you don't have quite the ability to vomit as you may have had before. It isn't that you can't - I certainly heaved last night. But what I tend to get is a foamy mucus rather than any of the food. I got some of the eggs up last night, but it was mostly the mucus. What makes matters worse is that if you don't get the mucus up, it only serves to make things worse as your stomach is producing it and if you're not getting it out, it is only filling up your stomach more.
It isn't fun, it isn't great, and trust me, it is giving me great bio-feedback. But it still sucks.
So, while I've tolerated the full liquids and puree (for the most part) perfectly fine - the soft food stage is going to be rough it seems. I'm sure I'm "ready" for it. I can tolerate some things (like toast) very, very well. I just think that because I tolerated the puree and full liquids so well, I didn't really have to worry about how much I was taking in. I also had measured portions that equaled what I could have, and everything worked out very well. In addition, it would quickly move through my pouch because it was already fluid, it just needed a little work in the stomach it seemed. On the other hand, when I'm chewing and swallowing, it is causing my stomach to have to work on the food as well. This, I believe, is pissing it right the heck off, not to mention it stays in the stomach longer, so I have to be MUCH more careful with how much I'm eating, and how quickly I'm eating it.
So, for the time being, I'm going to still try and stick to simpler foods that are easy to digest (pureed stage stuff). But, I'm going to keep trying to eat the "soft foods" diets. Note, I keep using soft foods, but it is really easy to process foods. Steamed veggies, soft canned fruits (not in syrup), crackers and toast, cheese, etc. The toast and crackers are soft, believe it or not, because once you're done eating them they're mush. The reason you don't want bread is that doughy bread can ball up in your stomach (imagine getting it a little wet, and then mashing it into a ball) and that can be as problematic as anything else. One thing I don't know if I can have yet, but I am absolutely dying to try, is sushi. I am going to try and get in touch with the dietitian and see if I can't eat that yet, or if I need to wait to eat that until I'm back to being on a normal diet (minus the fats and sugars, lol).
Just weighing in
I had a Drs appointment yesterday. I seem to be doing fine, except for the weight loss, which I seem to be doing great with. They said the average for my particular point in time is 20ish pounds. I'm at 51 (according to their scale and their last weight). I, of course, weigh in with slightly less on, so I tend to use mine as it doesn't account for weight differences in clothes even if that won't be much. My resting pulse (not true resting, but not active pulse, I guess you should say) and my blood pressure have both seemed to come down which is great as well. My blood sugars are almost always under 120 now when I test in the morning and overall, I think my medical progress is great.
I'm certainly happy to have lost the weight, but I'd like to see a little more coming of my midsection. I'm seeing plenty drop from my limbs (such as my legs getting thinner and my arms/hands getting thinner), i just wish that the abdomen would shed some more too, though I'm sure that'll take time. Things are definitely fitting looser, but I was trying on jeans and pants that were from pre-op (it is getting to be that time of the year again when it gets cold, yay!). I can still wear all of my pants, though some will definitely need a belt.
Oh well, here's my weight from this morning. Take into account that I haven't been eating and drinking as much due to some issues, so I've been dropping weight more than I probably would normally.
I'm certainly happy to have lost the weight, but I'd like to see a little more coming of my midsection. I'm seeing plenty drop from my limbs (such as my legs getting thinner and my arms/hands getting thinner), i just wish that the abdomen would shed some more too, though I'm sure that'll take time. Things are definitely fitting looser, but I was trying on jeans and pants that were from pre-op (it is getting to be that time of the year again when it gets cold, yay!). I can still wear all of my pants, though some will definitely need a belt.
Oh well, here's my weight from this morning. Take into account that I haven't been eating and drinking as much due to some issues, so I've been dropping weight more than I probably would normally.
Last weight: 348.2
Current weight: 344.8
Weight Lost: 3.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 37.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 57.2 lbs
Current weight: 344.8
Weight Lost: 3.4 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 37.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 57.2 lbs
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Loser!
Haha, I'm a loser. Down to 348.2 now. I'm under 350 lbs for the first time in probably a decade. Maybe not quite a decade, but close.
I've been working out every other day, alternating between cardio and weights as I have probably mentioned in previous posts and it seems to be working out rather well. I plan to start adding a day or two a week to this rotation. Probably just a day at first. I'm not feeling exhausted the next day and I would like to see what it would be like if I did cardio-weight-cardio or weight-cardio-weight 3 days in a row. If I do that, and I'm not tired, then I don't know what to do.
My blood sugar numbers are also excellent. Around 110 in the mornings before I eat. Given that when I started I was around or above 150 in the mornings before I ate, this is a huge improvement. I get my A1C checked around mid-october and hopefully the number will be as excellent.
Not much else to report. Still no job, still taking care of my son. He's almost one now (less than a month away). He can still be a handful, and given that I am still having problems sleeping at night, when the wife leaves for work before 11am (which is pretty much a given anymore) I have to fight him to keep him resting with me (or at least stay passive while I do it). I've tried getting up earlier, but it doesn't help me fall asleep. I currently take the sleeping agent in Tylenol PM (without the tylenol of course). It helps, but it still takes a while to work, which is kinda sad given that I was under the impression that medications, in addition to alcohol and sugars and similar, would have a very quick effect on my body as they would enter my small intestine quickly. Hopefully I can resume my old sleeping medication (trazadone) when I go in for my checkup when I get my A1C checked. That stuff would work much more quickly, and it was much more effective as well (of course, it is prescription). We shall see though, maybe there is another drug out there that isn't trazadone as I stopped it last time because of nightmares.
At any rate - weight report below!
I've been working out every other day, alternating between cardio and weights as I have probably mentioned in previous posts and it seems to be working out rather well. I plan to start adding a day or two a week to this rotation. Probably just a day at first. I'm not feeling exhausted the next day and I would like to see what it would be like if I did cardio-weight-cardio or weight-cardio-weight 3 days in a row. If I do that, and I'm not tired, then I don't know what to do.
My blood sugar numbers are also excellent. Around 110 in the mornings before I eat. Given that when I started I was around or above 150 in the mornings before I ate, this is a huge improvement. I get my A1C checked around mid-october and hopefully the number will be as excellent.
Not much else to report. Still no job, still taking care of my son. He's almost one now (less than a month away). He can still be a handful, and given that I am still having problems sleeping at night, when the wife leaves for work before 11am (which is pretty much a given anymore) I have to fight him to keep him resting with me (or at least stay passive while I do it). I've tried getting up earlier, but it doesn't help me fall asleep. I currently take the sleeping agent in Tylenol PM (without the tylenol of course). It helps, but it still takes a while to work, which is kinda sad given that I was under the impression that medications, in addition to alcohol and sugars and similar, would have a very quick effect on my body as they would enter my small intestine quickly. Hopefully I can resume my old sleeping medication (trazadone) when I go in for my checkup when I get my A1C checked. That stuff would work much more quickly, and it was much more effective as well (of course, it is prescription). We shall see though, maybe there is another drug out there that isn't trazadone as I stopped it last time because of nightmares.
At any rate - weight report below!
Last weight: 350.2
Current weight: 348.2
Weight Lost: 2.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 33.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 53.8 lbs
Current weight: 348.2
Weight Lost: 2.0 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 33.8 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since August 3rd: 53.8 lbs
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Back Pain
I suffer from a degenerative and herniated disk in L4 and L5 of my lower back. I also tend to (somehow) strengthen one leg over the other to a point that it pulls my lower back slightly out of alignment (at least this was the case years ago when they diagnosed me). All of this means that at some points in time, I suffer from pretty extreme back pain. Sometimes it is mild though. Right now I have back pain, and my chest pain is flaring up a little bit. So, I'm at a loss. I think the chest pain is due to inflammation of some sort (or perhaps from heartburn?). And my lower back pain is definitely due to that. So it should be easy to correct for me. I used to be on naproxen 500mg twice a day. Only problem is that it is a NSAID (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) and NSAIDs can wreak havoc on your stomach. As I already have a pretty sensitive stomach due to the recent remodeling down there I have been told that NSAIDs are not allowed.
So what to do? The tylenol doesn't do anything but dull the pain a little, so I've taken one of my stronger pain killers to help, but I decided not to work out today. I've been good about it, but I'll go tomorrow evening, and we'll see if my wife and son can't come with me (as family night is always fun). I never get quite the exercise in the pool that I get in the gym because I'm self conscious about my swimming and I'm not 100% comfortable with the exercises they've given me yet. Perhaps I should go to the clinic they're having for swimming and kick turning. That way I can do really well in either place and give my back a break from time to time.
I think it is the running, it is really hard on my back. But, I don't care. It is important to me to be able to see the progress in both my stamina and my speed, as while it is not a measurement of my physical condition on its own, it is a point that I can use to determine if I am improving or staying the same. I was also always so slow when I was younger. After being in sports until around 4th grade (and then not having any sports to play as my parents couldn't afford it) I lost my ability quite a bit. In junior high I remember struggling to run a mile. In high school it would kill me to do the "10 minute runs" and all that for wrestling. I remember in junior high we had to run a ways to the field and I just couldn't do it and had to quit, which really killed my desire to be in football for years to come. But no matter the case, being able to run a decent distance - and at a decent speed - is very important. It is something that I want to regain no matter what. So even if I have some pain from it, and need to take pain killers to deal with that pain - I would rather that than no progress in speed and stamina. Right now I can run at 6.5 mph and get a mile in (as I said in previous posts) in about 16:45. I want to improve that. I want to be able to do a mile in 10 minutes or less.
On a side note, I ate Steak N Shake last night. The wife had a huge craving (has had one for a while I guess) and I've really been dying for their chili. Well, let me tell you - the chili is a bad idea >.< The fat content that I could find was rather high, actually VERY high. But it was pretty high in protein. I'm glad that I had baked beans to fall back on as well. I ate those first, and while pretty high in calories - only 1 gram of fat and a lot of protein (and not much in the way of sugars). So that was good. In addition, I was looking up nutritional information, and the chili from Wendy's is actually pretty decent. It isn't a "eat all the time" thing - but it is definitely better than a lot of other options. And I found out that you can actually "build your meal" on www.wendys.com - so you know (about) what you are eating when you go and order something, rather than having to add it all up yourself. It even lets you personalize some of it. While Wendy's isn't a "healthy place to eat" it seems that they are taking strides to help people make better choices - which I fully support.
Finally, I lost a little more weight. Which is great! I only have .2 more pounds till I drop below 350!
So what to do? The tylenol doesn't do anything but dull the pain a little, so I've taken one of my stronger pain killers to help, but I decided not to work out today. I've been good about it, but I'll go tomorrow evening, and we'll see if my wife and son can't come with me (as family night is always fun). I never get quite the exercise in the pool that I get in the gym because I'm self conscious about my swimming and I'm not 100% comfortable with the exercises they've given me yet. Perhaps I should go to the clinic they're having for swimming and kick turning. That way I can do really well in either place and give my back a break from time to time.
I think it is the running, it is really hard on my back. But, I don't care. It is important to me to be able to see the progress in both my stamina and my speed, as while it is not a measurement of my physical condition on its own, it is a point that I can use to determine if I am improving or staying the same. I was also always so slow when I was younger. After being in sports until around 4th grade (and then not having any sports to play as my parents couldn't afford it) I lost my ability quite a bit. In junior high I remember struggling to run a mile. In high school it would kill me to do the "10 minute runs" and all that for wrestling. I remember in junior high we had to run a ways to the field and I just couldn't do it and had to quit, which really killed my desire to be in football for years to come. But no matter the case, being able to run a decent distance - and at a decent speed - is very important. It is something that I want to regain no matter what. So even if I have some pain from it, and need to take pain killers to deal with that pain - I would rather that than no progress in speed and stamina. Right now I can run at 6.5 mph and get a mile in (as I said in previous posts) in about 16:45. I want to improve that. I want to be able to do a mile in 10 minutes or less.
On a side note, I ate Steak N Shake last night. The wife had a huge craving (has had one for a while I guess) and I've really been dying for their chili. Well, let me tell you - the chili is a bad idea >.< The fat content that I could find was rather high, actually VERY high. But it was pretty high in protein. I'm glad that I had baked beans to fall back on as well. I ate those first, and while pretty high in calories - only 1 gram of fat and a lot of protein (and not much in the way of sugars). So that was good. In addition, I was looking up nutritional information, and the chili from Wendy's is actually pretty decent. It isn't a "eat all the time" thing - but it is definitely better than a lot of other options. And I found out that you can actually "build your meal" on www.wendys.com - so you know (about) what you are eating when you go and order something, rather than having to add it all up yourself. It even lets you personalize some of it. While Wendy's isn't a "healthy place to eat" it seems that they are taking strides to help people make better choices - which I fully support.
Finally, I lost a little more weight. Which is great! I only have .2 more pounds till I drop below 350!
Last weight: 351.4
Current weight: 350.2
Weight Lost: 1.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 31.8 lbs
Current weight: 350.2
Weight Lost: 1.2 lbs
Total Weight Lost Since Coming Home: 31.8 lbs
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