Blood test

I have my 5th blood test scheduled for Thursday.
I have been going every few months since the surgery.
One time, they took 16 tubes at one sitting out of me. That's a record. They have since kept it to about 11 or 12 depending on the technician and how much she or he thinks they need for all the tests.
I have to fast for 12 hours, and that's not hard anymore. I don't mind it a bit. I drink water, but not anything else so I won't dehydrate. I eat pretty good after the tests too.
They can actually find the veins easier now that the arm is thinner. But, the skin sometimes throws them off a bit because it is loose.
I have been following another blog that I have listed here, and was surprise to find that the medical coverage isn't as complete where he is, than it is here.
I have had a team every step of the way, and these folks have followed up with me on a regular basis, even with the influx of new patients all the time. I don't know how they do it, but they do.
I am really lucky to have found them. Blessed too.
I am looking for a shrink again to work out some non WLS problems. I'll post what I find.

Independence weekend

There is so much information out there on the web about what really happened back in 1776, and I spent time reading it this weekend. Great stuff that we were never taught in school.
Lots of things we never learned in school. Diet, exercise, and nutrition all come to mind in the context of this blog. I won't elaborate. I'm tired of the same old stuff, rehashed time and again.
1000 calorie burgers, fries, and what not.
I am eating so much better now, but could be doing even more.
I am working on so many new things now, and want to do more.
I am overwhelmed by all the stuff happening in my life that I never even considered going to see fireworks this year.

• I am planning a wedding for next weekend. I have been thinking about it for weeks, and now am down to the wire and finally writing it all down.

• And so, I am awake earlier than I have been in awhile, because I am overwhelmed.

I will tackle all of this stuff this week, and I will move on.

• The painting of the back basement will be finished by the end of the week.

• I will have cut the lawn at least twice. The grass is slowing down now due to the reduction in the amount of rain, and the warmer temperatures.

• I have songs to buy and prepare for the wedding. I also have to test my equipment, and practice.

• I borrowed a bass guitar and amp from a good friend, and I need to play this week.
• We borrowed the carpet cleaner from my son, and I want to run that. They really aren't steam cleaners since they don't steam. More like piddling on the rug!
• I have to bundle up some more trash and bring it up before Friday.

Other than that, I have to schedule a blood test for my next appointment with the bariatric team at the end of the month, and call the dentist to cancel the crown work for now. I can't afford it. I still have a few grand in medical bills to pay off as well as $3,000 in taxes that our illustrious State leader (Boss Rendell) promised us we wouldn't have after we let in the casinos.
So, if I don't go broke, I will be lucky.
I am now down to 207, which is very close to where I should be for this segment in weight loss. By the end of summer, my new shorts won't fit me, and I can live with that!

Meeting follow up

Last night at the WLS support group meeting, we had a return visit from a counselor who has a way of putting thoughts into words better than most people, including me.
She was able to help me and others to organize their feelings and dispense with the negative stuff, so that the positive stuff became dominant.
So, as a result, i am going to try something I hadn't thought of before. I am going to try to organize a type of scrapbook using thoughts, pictures and feelings, so that I can come back to them when I need a refresher.
You see, it seems we tend to forget how hard this weight loss program was to do. We (meaning me) get lazy and may slip a bit from time to time.
The scrapbook helps us to see where we were and where we are.
Some of the pictures I have in this blog, and most of the words are reminders to me of those rougher times, but it's too long for me to go back and read. So, I am going to shorten things up a bit.
You'll see it right here when I'm finished.

Dumping!

I think I just found out another way to dump.
I went to visit my Daughter and grandson yesterday in Maryland.
I could have prepared my own food, but I wanted to try my hand at improvising.
So, when we went to eat, I went along with my Daughter's suggestion to go to Chick Fillet (spelling?). Oh yeah, that's Fil-A, I think.
I ordered a wrap with no dressing since they usually put nothing but sugar or corn syrup in it anyway. I also ordered a sugar free lemonade for later since the meal was cheaper than buying everything Ala cart.
They were nice and used a Styrofoam container for the lemonade, and I watered it down just in case it really did have sugar.
I ate half the wrap. I am still Celiac sensitive, but ate the whole wheat tortilla anyway. A little bit once in awhile is OK.
Well, this morning, I spent most of it in the bathroom. I think I lost more weight than in the previous two weeks! Our sewage bill might go up!
I feel much better now, but my morning was a wash out. I did manage to cut the lawn this afternoon, and I did some food shopping too.
I guess it took all night for the body to complain about what I put into it yesterday. Oh yeah, I had those greasy french fries too. I think that's what put me over the edge.
I weighed in tonight at 207, so I did lose some weight, but I don't think it was just from the dumping.
Live and learn.