Go Mommy Go!

We got back last week, but if I have not been stuck at work, running errands or on my bike, I have been sleeping... seriously. I just don't know how to party anymore. One night in NJ I went to see my friend's band play and didn't get home until 3:15 am. I had 2 hours to sleep until we took the kids into NYC for the Ringling Brothers' Circus. I haven't caught up on sleep since! Don't mistake me though... it was all well worth it. But man, I can't "hang" any more. I'll never make it as a "cougar" in my 40's. LOL I could get into the whole "how-comfortable-my-plane-ride-was" or the "I-was-not-invisible-to-others", but I don't want to bore you. Nevertheless, each time I experience one of these moments it remids me to work on being "aware" as the real me surfaces and the illusion of the old me vanishes. Overall the trip was great. I had a good time and it was drama free. My Sister and I got along fi

Cassie and I made it to NJ last Thursday and so far the visit has been great. My niece had a birthday party on Sunday and my Daughter has been having a blast getting reacquainted with her cousins. Last night was a "moment" for me in that I actually took my Mother's tap class. There are 2 long-time students of hers, from 17+ years ago that just come in and kick around a bit. Now, I've tapped since I moved to Texas, but it was more for fun and movement... not to really get better. I have to say that I surprised myself (and my Mom a little) that my feet could actually still do it! It felt really good. I wasn't perfect, by far, but I had tons of fun. This is something I would have never done before the progress made post- RNY . I wish I would have gotten some pictures! LOL Or maybe I should be glad I didn't! Today I'm taking my Daughter and my Nieces to see the Easter Bunny for the obligatory holiday photo. We'll go get some dinner afterward

In short, everything was acceptably abnormal. In some cases, my numbers don't even look like they belong to a post-op bypass patient -- so good for me! The letter I got is "standard" procedure. The only thing Doc is giving me is a once a month D3 vitamin, and wants me to take sub lingual B12. I go back in 3 months for a follow-up. I'm less than 10 lbs. away from my -100 mark. So close... I can taste it. He says that he'd like to see me under 200 before I come back in June. That's my goal... and it's obtainable. We're also going to do a Dexascan -- I'm excited. I want to see the difference in body composition. Oh... I got my implants and bonding done! I have a whole new smile. I literally started crying when I first looked at them! Crappy picture ... but here's my new smile!

Ugh. No exercising, other than walking until March 14th. Being on vacation from the 13th to the 24th without a bike is really cutting into my MS150 training time. :( I need to listen -- even though it is not what I want to hear. Doc says that there are sutures underneath my main incision and that if I overdo it, I could cause a hernia. I said, "No biking?" He said, "No." I said, "No running?" He said, "No." I said, "No lifting or kick boxing or punching bag?" He said, "No, and before you as, no sky-diving either." He said, "The body takes 21 days to heal, it's a biological process." Then 21 days of waiting it is. Although he did say I could walk. Whoooopie! ;-) I asked him about my labs; he says I shouldn't worry that even with my HDL being low, that my overall cholesterol at 128 is awesome, and you don't see that everyday. He said, "My cholesterol isn't even that low!" He aslo se

Though my surgeon is retired, I got a full copy of my medical records. It appears that on ALL my post-op labs my HDL has been low (though the overall Cholesterol were within ranges, i.e. tri's and LDL). My B6 levels were even high. My follow-up visits were always with the surgeon's office. I was never told anything negative -- I was always told that "everything is normal." Silly me for not asking to see the labs in writing and asking questions. My guess is that it all is not really a big deal. My PCP called back to tell me that my Gall Bladder had no impact on the labs, despite the blood being drawn before it was taken. I see him on Monday and I'll find out just how abnormal, "abnormal" really is. I trust him. I always have... he'll be straight up.

"If you can recognize illusion as illusion it dissolves. The recognition of illusion is also ending. Its survival depends on your mistaking it for reality. In the seeing of who you are not, the reality of who you are emerges by itself." Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth One day my thought perception will change, and I will not fear (so much) becoming who it is I am.

My labs came back. Admittedly, I fully expected everything to be normal -- they always are! This time, not so normal, so I'm a little concerned. I'm frustrated. Lymphs (Relative) were high at 49. The range is (14 - 46) Total Cholesterol is 128 (awesome, right?) The range is 100 - 199 Triglycerides , 74 (awesome again) The range is 0 - 149 Vitamin D, 25 Hydoxy was low at 27. The range is 32 - 100 Vitamin B6 was high (not good!) at 43.7. The range is 2.0 - 32.8 Vitamin B1 was high (also not good!) at 85.9. The range is 25 - 75 Methylmalonic Acid was also high at 618. The range is 73 - 376 Doc wants me to come in with all my Vitamins. :( Chewable Muli Chewable Calcium Citrate Biotin (a B) Fish Oil Flax Oil He's concerned about my low HDL, elevated Methylmalonic Acid, B6 and low Vitamin D I don't get it -- why is it that some people who don't give a rat's ass when it comes to taking care of themselves post-op, seem to fly through without issue?. 16 month

Okay, I love this stuff, "Soy Slender" by West Soy . I found it a few years ago, kinda got off it, but became reaqainted with it. :) Soy Slender comes Plain, Vanilla, Chocolate and Cappucino flavors. I have never tried the plain, but the Vanilla, Chocolate and Cappucino flavors are tasty. It's best served chilled and it has lighter taste not heavy. And I don't experience that "soy film" in my mouth as much with this, as I do with other brands of soy milk. I just wish it didn't have any artificial sweetner in it. One day I wil get off of Splenda totally, but for now a little here and there isn't harmful to my overall goals. Here's the nutritional content for the Chocolate: I also like that it has 4 grams of fiber per serving, which is always helpful these days to reach my fiber goals of 25 g/day. Typically I used it with my protein shakes when I'd use an unflavored protein powder like MLo Soy Protein (which is pretty good stuff too!) Well, I