Still in the land of the living!

Heeeeeyyyyyy! Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, but I have been doing a lot of resting and recuperating. I'm going on my 4th or 5th day of no nausea or vomiting so hooray for that! I'm feeling more like my old self as well. So much so, I think I may try to go back to work next week. I have been bored stiff and you'd think I'd use that time to blog my happy little arse off, but no...I've been lazy.

I did end up back in the ER on Monday. I noticed that I had a huge knot in the crook of my elbow, where they put my IV. It had felt kind of itchy and every once in a while I would go to look at it, but it looked fine..maybe just a bit of irritation from the adhesive which is what I thought was causing the itchy feeling. Monday night, I was watching TV and noticed it was itchier than usual so I actually felt the area and felt a grape sized lump underneath the skin. I called my doctor who suggested I go to the ER to get it checked out. Turns out, it is likely just an inflamed vein so I've had to keep heat on it and keep it elevated. They also prescribed an anti-biotic, but just between you and me....I didn't fill it. I was too paranoid that it was going to upset my stomach and I just didn't want to start throwing up again. So far, it seems to be resolving without the antibiotic. I know the signs of infection so I'll keep an eye on it and if it seems to be getting infected, I'll go get the RX filled.

Erik managed to fix my treadmill, so I'm going to start my walks up again. I'm waiting until next week to get back to the gym (in the pool). I just want to make sure I can keep myself hydrated under normal conditions before I start working out again, but I think I am finally on the mend guys :)

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but when I came home from the hospital, I was at 402. I'm currently at 400 and have been holding there for a few days. From what I've heard from other patients, it is fairly common to plateau around the 3rd week as your body tries to figure out if we are really starving. I'm trying to increase my protein (I started adding protein shakes back into my intake yesterday) and calories to see if that will help nudge the scale back down, but honestly...I'm not sweating it. The only reason I got down to 396 was obviously because I was in dire need of hydration and I'd much rather be 400 and feel like I feel now than 396 and barely able to walk or talk :) The weight will come off in time.

Since I've started to eat actual food again, I'm really seeing how much restriction I have. I will put an amount on a plate that is a mere fraction of what i used to eat thinking "That is NOT going to be enough" and only be able to eat half, if that much! I'd say I can probably take 2-3 bites before my body says "enough." I will usually sit back for 10 minutes or so and then try another bite. I try to eat at least 2 oz of whatever I have regardless. I figure the more protein I can get in eating regular food, the less protein shakes I have to choke down :P

I'm never really all that hungry though. Not in the way I used to feel hungry at least. I still have bouts of head hunger that I have to deal with, but it is NOTHING like the all consuming thoughts I used to have prior to the surgery. I finally feel somewhat in control. The only thing is that now, when I'm bored...I'm BORED! I knew I would eat out of boredom, but I never thought about what it would be like when I COULDN'T eat out of boredom...I have to find something else to do lol! Hopefully, as i get stronger, I will have MANY things to fill up what are now, the boring moments of my day :)