My labs last doctor visit indicated that I have a vitamin d deficiency. I didn't tell the doctor, but I haven't been taking my vitamins regularly. I know I have to, but I hate taking these horsepills! I get on a roll taking them religiously and then I just forget one day and that sets the slide into motion where I go a whole week without taking a vitamin. Not good, so NO lectures please. I need to find a solution to this madness.
This doctor visit in November marked my one year anniversary. I lost 80 pounds in the year and that is great for me. The doctor thinks that I need to exercise more now because this is the critical juncture for me. He loses (no pun intended) many patients at this point because they know by now what they can and cannot "get away" with eating. Those who continue seeing him have a better weight loss than those who stop. I need to boost the exercise to keep the weight loss going, so that means hitting the gym more than twice a week. Ugh! I can do it and I will.
I will see him later this month for my 13 month post-op check-up and will let you know how it went at that time.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
I Must Be Insane
I am participating in NaNoWriMo. Do you know hwat this is? A bunch of lunatics get together and decide that they will attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days starting November 1st and ending November 30th. Yes, I decided to do it this year. I'm tired of saying that I will write a noel one day. Forget it. That day is here. AFter one week I have written over 11,000 words so i am definitely on my way to completing the task, but the month is not over yet. Wish me luck!
If you want to follow my progess, here is my nano site complete with novel excerpt and word count: http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/232353
If you want to follow my progess, here is my nano site complete with novel excerpt and word count: http://www.nanowrimo.org/user/232353
Friday, October 12, 2007
Pinky is Home
Pinky came home last night and Chi-Chi was all over her the second she walked through the front door. Chi-Chi really missed her sister and was sniffing Pinky and licking her and trailed her all over the house. Pinky didn't even seem to mind. Pinky walked all through the house. I guess she just wanted to know that everything was the way she had left it. She immediately went to her water bowl and drank some water. She ran around a little with Chi-Chi and then curled up on my lap for the night.
This morning I attempted to give Pinky the new food. It definitely smelled different from the other food. Pinky ran to the bowl, but didn't like what was in there. I tried several times in the morning to get her to eat, but she wouldn't have any of it. One of her meds has to be given with food, so I had to get some food into her stomach. I poured her some Cheerios. She devoured them! At least I was able to get her to eat something. I left food for my dad to give her for dinner.
She refused the dog food for dinner. I called the vet, but had to leave a message. I decided to feed Pinky some egg beaters. I figured they were low in fat so it should be okay for her. I cooked them up and let them cool down a bit. Pinky gobbled up the eggs. She seemed fine and there was no vomiting. The vet called me back and I explained what had happened with the food.
She recommended boiled chicken with some rice for Pinky. In the meantime, she was putting together a bag of various dog foods for me to try on Pinky to see what she likes. Pinky is a fussy eater. I don't know how easy it will be to transition her to another new food. I think I will try here and there, but I will not make a real effort until she is done with her meds. The vet will work with the nutritionist to come up with a diet for Pinky that will meet all of her nutritional needs from her pancreatitis and her bladder stones.
This morning I attempted to give Pinky the new food. It definitely smelled different from the other food. Pinky ran to the bowl, but didn't like what was in there. I tried several times in the morning to get her to eat, but she wouldn't have any of it. One of her meds has to be given with food, so I had to get some food into her stomach. I poured her some Cheerios. She devoured them! At least I was able to get her to eat something. I left food for my dad to give her for dinner.
She refused the dog food for dinner. I called the vet, but had to leave a message. I decided to feed Pinky some egg beaters. I figured they were low in fat so it should be okay for her. I cooked them up and let them cool down a bit. Pinky gobbled up the eggs. She seemed fine and there was no vomiting. The vet called me back and I explained what had happened with the food.
She recommended boiled chicken with some rice for Pinky. In the meantime, she was putting together a bag of various dog foods for me to try on Pinky to see what she likes. Pinky is a fussy eater. I don't know how easy it will be to transition her to another new food. I think I will try here and there, but I will not make a real effort until she is done with her meds. The vet will work with the nutritionist to come up with a diet for Pinky that will meet all of her nutritional needs from her pancreatitis and her bladder stones.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Is Pinky Ever Coming Home?
I really miss my doggy! I spoke to the vet several times today. She called me at 10 am to let me know that Pinky's temperature was back to normal and they were attempting to feed her baby food. If she ate the food and held it down, I would be able to bring her home tonight.
I was on pins and needles all day. I left a message for Dr. Hall, but she didn't call me back. When I went home I spoke with Dr. Hall at 5:30. She said Pinky ate the baby food in the morning and they were trying to get her to eat dog food now. They wanted to see if she could eat it and hold it down without spiking a fever. Would I be willing to pick her up even if it was later at night? ABSOLUTELY! I told her it didn't matter what time it was because I just wanted Pinky home.
The call finally came at 8 pm. I was out the door by 8:02 headed over to the animal hospital. I was in the examination room waiting for Pinky. The vet came in and Pinky jumped out of her arms and into mine. She would not stop licking me! I think she was just as happy to see me as I was to see her. The vet gave me some dog food to feed Pinky. They said she ate the dog food, but not willingly. Dr. Hall would call me tomorrow to see how Pinky was doing.
They sent me home with a liquid antibiotoc that she needs for 10 days and an anti nasuea pill she nees twice a day for 5 days and she needs a 1/4 Pepcid daily.
They didn't have my bill ready, so they said they would mail it to me. I bet it is s doozy!
I was on pins and needles all day. I left a message for Dr. Hall, but she didn't call me back. When I went home I spoke with Dr. Hall at 5:30. She said Pinky ate the baby food in the morning and they were trying to get her to eat dog food now. They wanted to see if she could eat it and hold it down without spiking a fever. Would I be willing to pick her up even if it was later at night? ABSOLUTELY! I told her it didn't matter what time it was because I just wanted Pinky home.
The call finally came at 8 pm. I was out the door by 8:02 headed over to the animal hospital. I was in the examination room waiting for Pinky. The vet came in and Pinky jumped out of her arms and into mine. She would not stop licking me! I think she was just as happy to see me as I was to see her. The vet gave me some dog food to feed Pinky. They said she ate the dog food, but not willingly. Dr. Hall would call me tomorrow to see how Pinky was doing.
They sent me home with a liquid antibiotoc that she needs for 10 days and an anti nasuea pill she nees twice a day for 5 days and she needs a 1/4 Pepcid daily.
They didn't have my bill ready, so they said they would mail it to me. I bet it is s doozy!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Diagnosis~Pinky Day 2 in the Hospital
Pinky is spending another night at the animal hospital. Her fever was nearly 105 last night, which is very high. Her UA came back that she had some crystals forming, but that is because her urine was so concentrated due to her being so dehydrated. The vet did an ultrasound and her pancreas is inflamed, which fits with the diagnosis of pancreatitis.http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1580&articleid=335
Dr. Hall's main concern is getting Pinky's fever down and finding a food that she can eat immediately. They did not feed her today and she vomited once. Long term we will need to find a food that will meet her needs as far as the bladder stone problem she has, but short term the pancreatitis is more life threatening and so we need to deal with this first.
Pinky should be able to go home tomorrow if she eats without vomiting and if her fever is down. Keep your fingers crossed. I miss my Pinky, but I want her to be well.
Dr. Hall's main concern is getting Pinky's fever down and finding a food that she can eat immediately. They did not feed her today and she vomited once. Long term we will need to find a food that will meet her needs as far as the bladder stone problem she has, but short term the pancreatitis is more life threatening and so we need to deal with this first.
Pinky should be able to go home tomorrow if she eats without vomiting and if her fever is down. Keep your fingers crossed. I miss my Pinky, but I want her to be well.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Pinky is Sick Again
Pinky had a bad weekend. She has not been able to eat her food without throwing up. I gave her oatmeal this morning and she immediately threw it up. I don't know if it is related to the colitis from 1.5 weeks ago or not. I know she is dehydrated because she keeps drinking water. I went to work this morning and called the vet at 9 am to make an appointment for the evening.
The vet http://www.oradell.com/home.htm always asks what you are coming in for so I explained what has been going on since Friday night and her bout with colitis not that long ago. She asked if I could come in at 10:30 because they had a gastrointerologist specialist at the hospital at that time who would be able to see Pinky and she thought that might be the best bet for what she has been going through. I agree to the appointment and thankfully my boss is a real dog person and so it wasn't a problem for me to leave and then come back.
I went home to pick up Pinky, and Chi-Chi is always disappointed when I take her sister and she gets left behind. She has no way of knowing that we are going to the House of Pain. All she knows is that she is being excluded and doesn't like it one bit.
We drove to the vet and Pinky was stnding on her hind legs to look out of the window. She didn't seem to care that we were going to the vet. The specialist who saw Pinky was Dr. Hall. She was very nice and read Pinky's complete chart so she could get up to speed on her. I explained what was happening and she examined the Pinkster. She pulled on her neck skin and said she was very dehydrated. She wanted to give her antibiotics as an injection and to inject her with fluids. She thought that I should leave Pinky overnight, but said I could take her home if I really wanted, however she took Pinky's temperature and it was 104, which is very high. She recommended that I keep her at the hospital so that they could monitor her and hook her up to and IV to re-hydrate her and give her anti-naseua meds through the IV.
I was kind of stunned, because I wasn't expecting to leave the animal hospital without my precious Pinky! I know it was the best I could do for her and so I agreed to it. They gave me an estimate of $1200 which included a complete blood work, meds, overnight stay and urine analysis. They were concerned thate her bladder stones would come back (an earlier problem she had surgery for last year). Depending upon the results of her UA and blood work, they might do an ultrasound tomorrow, which was not included in the estimate. Dr. Hall said she'd call me later in the day to let me know how Pinky was doing.
The vet http://www.oradell.com/home.htm always asks what you are coming in for so I explained what has been going on since Friday night and her bout with colitis not that long ago. She asked if I could come in at 10:30 because they had a gastrointerologist specialist at the hospital at that time who would be able to see Pinky and she thought that might be the best bet for what she has been going through. I agree to the appointment and thankfully my boss is a real dog person and so it wasn't a problem for me to leave and then come back.
I went home to pick up Pinky, and Chi-Chi is always disappointed when I take her sister and she gets left behind. She has no way of knowing that we are going to the House of Pain. All she knows is that she is being excluded and doesn't like it one bit.
We drove to the vet and Pinky was stnding on her hind legs to look out of the window. She didn't seem to care that we were going to the vet. The specialist who saw Pinky was Dr. Hall. She was very nice and read Pinky's complete chart so she could get up to speed on her. I explained what was happening and she examined the Pinkster. She pulled on her neck skin and said she was very dehydrated. She wanted to give her antibiotics as an injection and to inject her with fluids. She thought that I should leave Pinky overnight, but said I could take her home if I really wanted, however she took Pinky's temperature and it was 104, which is very high. She recommended that I keep her at the hospital so that they could monitor her and hook her up to and IV to re-hydrate her and give her anti-naseua meds through the IV.
I was kind of stunned, because I wasn't expecting to leave the animal hospital without my precious Pinky! I know it was the best I could do for her and so I agreed to it. They gave me an estimate of $1200 which included a complete blood work, meds, overnight stay and urine analysis. They were concerned thate her bladder stones would come back (an earlier problem she had surgery for last year). Depending upon the results of her UA and blood work, they might do an ultrasound tomorrow, which was not included in the estimate. Dr. Hall said she'd call me later in the day to let me know how Pinky was doing.
Pinky Update
Dr. Hall called me to tell me how Pinky was doing. She hasn't thrown up, but they also have not given her any foods. Her temperature was still high, but she didn’t start getting the antbiotics until around 3 pm, so it could still go down in the morning. She spent the day pretty much just sleeping and resting. Pretty normal though considering how dehydrated she was. Dr. Hall will call me tomorrow to let me know how Pinky was doing.
10/9/2007 5:15 pm
10/9/2007 5:15 pm
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Writing Lab
My daughter's preschool lets the kids decide each day which labs in the classroom they will attend. They have a choice of: science, writing, reading, art, dramatic play. They are required to go to at least three of the lab areas each day. We also get a pile of paperwork to take home each day.
Today one of my daughter's pieces of artwork had a few sentences written at the top of the page. The "artwork" consisted of a series of squiggled lines that looked like waves to me. The sentences read as follows:
10 weeks ago this ducky lost its mommy and daddy. The ducky had no one to look after it. The ducky was sad. Then the ducky got a new family and was very happy.
I asked my daughter about the paper. She pointed to the squiggles and said they were the ducks and the duck's family. I read her the words and she said she made up that story and her teacher wrote it down for her since she doesn't know how to write yet. It was so sweet I just wanted to cry.
My daughter is amazing.
Today one of my daughter's pieces of artwork had a few sentences written at the top of the page. The "artwork" consisted of a series of squiggled lines that looked like waves to me. The sentences read as follows:
10 weeks ago this ducky lost its mommy and daddy. The ducky had no one to look after it. The ducky was sad. Then the ducky got a new family and was very happy.
I asked my daughter about the paper. She pointed to the squiggles and said they were the ducks and the duck's family. I read her the words and she said she made up that story and her teacher wrote it down for her since she doesn't know how to write yet. It was so sweet I just wanted to cry.
My daughter is amazing.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Emergency Hospital Visit for Pinky
I woke up this morning and fed the dogs as usual. They ate well and went outside to do their doggy business. When Pinky came in I saw she had pooped on the deck. This happens quite frequently with her because her sphincter muscle has lost a lot of elasticity and she often doesn't even know the poop is coming out of her butt until it is too late, or in this case, she just couldn't get down the stairs quickly enough to make it to the grass, so she just poops on the deck. Anyway, I went out to pick it up and it looked completely normal except that it was covered in mucus. I picked it up and flushed it away. I figured she must have something going on, but I didn't see anything else amiss.
I put the dogs in the bedroom and told my husband that maybe Pinky wasn't feeling well so he should keep her off of the bed and then I took a shower. When I came out of the shower I saw a pile of, for lack of a better word, stuff on the carpet. In fact all over the carpet there were piles of stuff that looked like raspberry jam & mucus. I picked it up with a paper towel and it was blood and mucus. I assumed this was a very bad sign for Pinky. I called out sick and then got dressed to take Pinky to the animal hospital.
First I made sure my dad didn't feed Pinky anything unusual yesterday because you never know with him. He denied giving the dogs anything unusual except a little bit of egg. I knew the egg would not cause blood to come out of her butt. I didn't know what it could be, except that I just knew this was the end for Pinky. I mean, I really thought I was taking Pinky on a one way trip to the vet. I made everyone say goodbye to her, "in case of anything." My husband refused to acknowledge that there was a real problem and that there was no possibility other than Pinky coming home from the vet with some meds.
I cried all the way to the Oradell Animal Hospital http://www.oradell.com/home.htm
Pinky was just laying on a blanket on the front seat. She wasn't even trying to sit in my lap or look out of the window. I couldn't imagine my life without this sweet chihuahua. I love Pinky with all of my heart and couldn't believe that she might not be coming home with me.
At 6 am you wouldn't think that there would be many people at an animal hospital, but there were. We were seen my a triage vet technician who would assign priority to the emergency cases. Pinky seemed pretty normal other than there was dried blood on her butt. They took her temperature and she had a slight fever of 102.7. When the doctor came in I pulled out a sample of the bloody mucus that I put into a zippy bag. I didn't have the poop because I had already flushed that before knowing there was a major problem.
The vet said that Pinky had colitis http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_colitis.html
He prescribed an antibiotic and told me to add some rice into her food for a while until she started having normal poops. Colitis can be bacterial or viral. Because she had a fever, he thought it was bacterial. I was so relieved that she would be cured with some pills and was coming home! See, I am such a worry wart. The vet said that Pinky can still have the bloody mucus poops over the next 12 hours, so I shouldn't be alarmed if it keeps happening, however it should not continue after that so if it does I will have to call the vet.
I put the dogs in the bedroom and told my husband that maybe Pinky wasn't feeling well so he should keep her off of the bed and then I took a shower. When I came out of the shower I saw a pile of, for lack of a better word, stuff on the carpet. In fact all over the carpet there were piles of stuff that looked like raspberry jam & mucus. I picked it up with a paper towel and it was blood and mucus. I assumed this was a very bad sign for Pinky. I called out sick and then got dressed to take Pinky to the animal hospital.
First I made sure my dad didn't feed Pinky anything unusual yesterday because you never know with him. He denied giving the dogs anything unusual except a little bit of egg. I knew the egg would not cause blood to come out of her butt. I didn't know what it could be, except that I just knew this was the end for Pinky. I mean, I really thought I was taking Pinky on a one way trip to the vet. I made everyone say goodbye to her, "in case of anything." My husband refused to acknowledge that there was a real problem and that there was no possibility other than Pinky coming home from the vet with some meds.
I cried all the way to the Oradell Animal Hospital http://www.oradell.com/home.htm
Pinky was just laying on a blanket on the front seat. She wasn't even trying to sit in my lap or look out of the window. I couldn't imagine my life without this sweet chihuahua. I love Pinky with all of my heart and couldn't believe that she might not be coming home with me.
At 6 am you wouldn't think that there would be many people at an animal hospital, but there were. We were seen my a triage vet technician who would assign priority to the emergency cases. Pinky seemed pretty normal other than there was dried blood on her butt. They took her temperature and she had a slight fever of 102.7. When the doctor came in I pulled out a sample of the bloody mucus that I put into a zippy bag. I didn't have the poop because I had already flushed that before knowing there was a major problem.
The vet said that Pinky had colitis http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_colitis.html
He prescribed an antibiotic and told me to add some rice into her food for a while until she started having normal poops. Colitis can be bacterial or viral. Because she had a fever, he thought it was bacterial. I was so relieved that she would be cured with some pills and was coming home! See, I am such a worry wart. The vet said that Pinky can still have the bloody mucus poops over the next 12 hours, so I shouldn't be alarmed if it keeps happening, however it should not continue after that so if it does I will have to call the vet.
Pinky is on the Mend!
I am happy to report that Pinky has not had any more mucus or boody poop emanating from her butt since Tuesday morning. She is running around and eating and playing like she normally does. Whew! Crisis averted.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Food Diary September 18, 2007
Breakfast:
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
2 slices cheese - 100 calories
1 slice diet bread - 40 calories
1/2 cup skim milk - 40 calories
Breakfast 240 calories
Lunch:
Broccoli & cheese - 225 calories
lite peaches - 25 calories
Lunch: 250 calories
Snacks:
Mint 3 musketeers bar - 150 calories
grapes: 60 calories
Total calories so far today: 700
Dinner:
Planned evening snack: yogurt: 110 calories
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
2 slices cheese - 100 calories
1 slice diet bread - 40 calories
1/2 cup skim milk - 40 calories
Breakfast 240 calories
Lunch:
Broccoli & cheese - 225 calories
lite peaches - 25 calories
Lunch: 250 calories
Snacks:
Mint 3 musketeers bar - 150 calories
grapes: 60 calories
Total calories so far today: 700
Dinner:
Planned evening snack: yogurt: 110 calories
Monday, September 17, 2007
Food Diary September 17, 2007
Breakfast:
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
3 slices cheese - 150 calories
croutons - 60 calories
270 calorie breakfast
snack 1/2 cup skim milk - 43 calories
Yikes! 3 slices of cheese will go down to 2 slices tomorrow.
Lunch:
3 slices Dietz & Watson Tavern Ham - 100 calories
Lettuce - 0
red onion - 0
croutons - 60 calories
Hormel Bacon bits - 60 calories
Lunch total: 220 calories
So far today: 533 calories
Planned Afternoon Snacks:
grapes - 60 calories
yogurt - 110 calories
Dinner:
Homemade chicken soup - 200 calories
Evening snack - cheese/crackers - 250 calories
Total calories for the day: 1153
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
3 slices cheese - 150 calories
croutons - 60 calories
270 calorie breakfast
snack 1/2 cup skim milk - 43 calories
Yikes! 3 slices of cheese will go down to 2 slices tomorrow.
Lunch:
3 slices Dietz & Watson Tavern Ham - 100 calories
Lettuce - 0
red onion - 0
croutons - 60 calories
Hormel Bacon bits - 60 calories
Lunch total: 220 calories
So far today: 533 calories
Planned Afternoon Snacks:
grapes - 60 calories
yogurt - 110 calories
Dinner:
Homemade chicken soup - 200 calories
Evening snack - cheese/crackers - 250 calories
Total calories for the day: 1153
Food Diary September 17, 2007
Breakfast:
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
3 slices cheese - 150 calories
croutons - 60 calories
270 calorie breakfast
snack 1/2 cup skim milk - 43 calories
Yikes! 3 slices of cheese will go down to 2 slices tomorrow.
Lunch:
3 slices Dietz & Watson Tavern Ham - 100 calories
Lettuce - 0
red onion - 0
croutons - 60 calories
Hormel Bacon bits - 60 calories
Lunch total: 220 calories
So far today: 533 calories
Planned Afternoon Snacks:
grapes - 60 calories
yogurt - 110 calories
Dinner:
Homemade chicken soup - 200 calories
Evening snack - cheese/crackers - 250 calories
Total calories for the day: 1153
2 servings Del Monte canned tomatoes with jalapenos - 60 calories
3 slices cheese - 150 calories
croutons - 60 calories
270 calorie breakfast
snack 1/2 cup skim milk - 43 calories
Yikes! 3 slices of cheese will go down to 2 slices tomorrow.
Lunch:
3 slices Dietz & Watson Tavern Ham - 100 calories
Lettuce - 0
red onion - 0
croutons - 60 calories
Hormel Bacon bits - 60 calories
Lunch total: 220 calories
So far today: 533 calories
Planned Afternoon Snacks:
grapes - 60 calories
yogurt - 110 calories
Dinner:
Homemade chicken soup - 200 calories
Evening snack - cheese/crackers - 250 calories
Total calories for the day: 1153
Friday, September 14, 2007
10 Month Post-op Update
I had my official weigh in today and I lost 2.5 pounds for a total of 77 pounds! I know it is only 2.5 pounds in two months, but I will take it! I was on vacation for over a week eating out three times a day, so I am pleased with this loss.
I am still on track and doing well. I need to increase my aerobic activity. Lifting weights is important to me because it is really helping to keep my body toned, but it isn't helping with actual weight loss. I have to make sure I get to the classes at the gym. I will try the kick boxing classes again and get there for hip, butts & thighs class. I have started jogging on the treadmill and that is going okay. I don't remember EVER jogging before.
Last update I said that I was going to start recording my food intake. Did I do it? NO. See, I told you last time that was not my forte, but I know that iI need to do it. I just bought a memo pad and I will start today. Maybe It will help if I record the info here. What do you think?
I am still on track and doing well. I need to increase my aerobic activity. Lifting weights is important to me because it is really helping to keep my body toned, but it isn't helping with actual weight loss. I have to make sure I get to the classes at the gym. I will try the kick boxing classes again and get there for hip, butts & thighs class. I have started jogging on the treadmill and that is going okay. I don't remember EVER jogging before.
Last update I said that I was going to start recording my food intake. Did I do it? NO. See, I told you last time that was not my forte, but I know that iI need to do it. I just bought a memo pad and I will start today. Maybe It will help if I record the info here. What do you think?
Chickie Gets Adopted
Two weeks ago in Canada we bought "Chickie" for Katrina. Chickie is a cute, fuzzy feathery toy animal that really looks like a baby chick. It has a button under his butt that you press so he will chirp for a few seconds. He chirped his way from Montreal to Niagara Falls to New Jersey. She took Chickie everywhere, including bed and dinners out. They were insepararable until school started.
Katrina wanted to take Chickie to school, but I explained that chickies do not attend schools. She accepted that for her first week of school, but today she decided that Chickie was sad about staying home alone. (Not that she doesn't have 30 other dolls & assorted animals to keep Chickie company)! She told me that she heard Chickie crying. I asked her why Chickie was crying and she said Chicke was crying because he didn't have a mommy to look after him. Okay, I thought, this is going to get interesting!
I asked her why Chickie doesn't have a mommy. She said she didn't know why, but that some kids don't have mommies or daddies to take care of them. She asked if we could adopt Chickie so that he could have a family. I told her that I thought that was a fine idea and so we would adopt Chickie. She was so happy and concluded that Chickie would be okay at home because now he was going to have a family.
Kids are amazing, aren't they? At 3.5 years old, my daughter has a pretty good grasp of what it means to be adopted. I tell her all about her adoption story frequently, but she never really acknowledges that she really understands what adoption is. I guess she was listening after all.
Make sure you write that adoption story/lifebook that you have been meaning to get around to. Need help getting started? Sign up for a free adoption lifebook tips newsletter from Beth O'Malley: http://www.adoptionlifebooks.com/ Her newsletter was very motivational.
Katrina wanted to take Chickie to school, but I explained that chickies do not attend schools. She accepted that for her first week of school, but today she decided that Chickie was sad about staying home alone. (Not that she doesn't have 30 other dolls & assorted animals to keep Chickie company)! She told me that she heard Chickie crying. I asked her why Chickie was crying and she said Chicke was crying because he didn't have a mommy to look after him. Okay, I thought, this is going to get interesting!
I asked her why Chickie doesn't have a mommy. She said she didn't know why, but that some kids don't have mommies or daddies to take care of them. She asked if we could adopt Chickie so that he could have a family. I told her that I thought that was a fine idea and so we would adopt Chickie. She was so happy and concluded that Chickie would be okay at home because now he was going to have a family.
Kids are amazing, aren't they? At 3.5 years old, my daughter has a pretty good grasp of what it means to be adopted. I tell her all about her adoption story frequently, but she never really acknowledges that she really understands what adoption is. I guess she was listening after all.
Make sure you write that adoption story/lifebook that you have been meaning to get around to. Need help getting started? Sign up for a free adoption lifebook tips newsletter from Beth O'Malley: http://www.adoptionlifebooks.com/ Her newsletter was very motivational.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Vacation
I went away and ate out breakfast, lunch and dinner for 9 days. I never thought I would say this, but I was so bored with food! I was happy to finally cook at home.
I didn't gain any weight on this vacation, which is also a first. However, I am pretty sure I did not lose any weight from my last doctor's visit. I will know for sure on Friday because that is my next office visit. A part of me would like to cancel that visit because I don't know why my weight is staying the same, but I know I need to go. It is a slippery slope and this is the critical point. If I stop going, I will just gain weight and I refuse to let that happen. I need to get my head back into this game. I am not at a weight that I am happy with yet.
I didn't gain any weight on this vacation, which is also a first. However, I am pretty sure I did not lose any weight from my last doctor's visit. I will know for sure on Friday because that is my next office visit. A part of me would like to cancel that visit because I don't know why my weight is staying the same, but I know I need to go. It is a slippery slope and this is the critical point. If I stop going, I will just gain weight and I refuse to let that happen. I need to get my head back into this game. I am not at a weight that I am happy with yet.
Pre-School
Katrina started her first day of school on September 4th. I know it has only been a week, but she is loving it. She enjoys the other kids and learning and dancing and singing. Heck, who wouldn't love to do that?
One of the other girls at the school is also adopted. She was born in Guatemala. They are best friends, well, at least for the moment. You know how kids are. It is great to see how well she adapts to new situations. I was worried that she loved her current caretaker so much (my neighbor) that she wouldn't be happy at the school. I needn't have worried because she loves it.
They put her in the class with the older kids. I thought she would be in the 3-4 year old class since she is 3.5 years old, but they put her in with the 4-5 year olds. I spoke with the director of the school and she really thought Katrina would be bored with the younger kids because she is so much more "advanced" than they. My concern was that she may be missing out on stuff that they were teaching the youngsters. The director assured me that developmentally she fits better with the older kids. I hope it is the right decision!
One of the other girls at the school is also adopted. She was born in Guatemala. They are best friends, well, at least for the moment. You know how kids are. It is great to see how well she adapts to new situations. I was worried that she loved her current caretaker so much (my neighbor) that she wouldn't be happy at the school. I needn't have worried because she loves it.
They put her in the class with the older kids. I thought she would be in the 3-4 year old class since she is 3.5 years old, but they put her in with the 4-5 year olds. I spoke with the director of the school and she really thought Katrina would be bored with the younger kids because she is so much more "advanced" than they. My concern was that she may be missing out on stuff that they were teaching the youngsters. The director assured me that developmentally she fits better with the older kids. I hope it is the right decision!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Not My Proudest Moment
I wasn't going to share this and then I realized that this is exactly the sort of stuff I should be sharing. We took a loooong road trip to Montreal & Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. A 3.5 year old really doesn't like to be stuck in the car for a 7+ hour car ride. She slept and we had snacks and drinks and stopped quite a lot along the way, but it wasn't an ideal trip for a toddler.
We were somewhere past Lake George and saw a road sign for food. It was well past lunch, somewhere around 2:45, but since we had been snacking it wasn't so bad, but I thought we should take the exit and find lunch and we should fill up our gas tank too.
We followed the signs that pointed to food and fuel to the right and there was no food or fuel to be had. Frankly, there was no sign of life. It looked like a ghost town. Albert and I started bickering a little because I was annoyed that we couldn't stop and that we hadn't stopped at the previous rest stop that was on the highway earlier.
Katrina started to whine, as only 3.5 years olds can do so well and it was getting on my nerves. I told her to stop whining because we would find something to eat. She persisted and as we were heading back towards the interstate, I turned around and said, "If you don't stop whining, we're going to stop the car and leave you on the side of the road."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was the dumbest thing in the world for me to have said. I know that my parents used to tell me and my brother this whenever we were squabbling in the backseat of a car on a family fun vacation, but there was a big difference. I wasn't actually left by my biological mother on the side of the road whereas Katrina actually was when she was one day old. (Okay, it was at the orphanage gate, but you get the idea).
Ouch. I wasn't thinking at all about her life story. It just popped out of my mouth, and that is the point, isn't it? I can't take things for granted. As much as I feel as if she is my little girl who has been with me since, birth, she wasn't. She had a whole history before she came to me at 10 months old. Things happened to her. She experienced things about which I can only imagine.
Did I traumatize her? I don't think so. My husband quickly changed the subject and she started playing with her Caribbean Princess Barbie, so it didn't seem to be a big deal to her. Later on I did talk to her about what I said and reassured her that I would never leave her anywhere. She said, "I know that mommy. You were just being silly."
Yes, and quite insensitive. It is so easy to forget, but I have to remember that she has a history and I need to be more conscious of it.
We were somewhere past Lake George and saw a road sign for food. It was well past lunch, somewhere around 2:45, but since we had been snacking it wasn't so bad, but I thought we should take the exit and find lunch and we should fill up our gas tank too.
We followed the signs that pointed to food and fuel to the right and there was no food or fuel to be had. Frankly, there was no sign of life. It looked like a ghost town. Albert and I started bickering a little because I was annoyed that we couldn't stop and that we hadn't stopped at the previous rest stop that was on the highway earlier.
Katrina started to whine, as only 3.5 years olds can do so well and it was getting on my nerves. I told her to stop whining because we would find something to eat. She persisted and as we were heading back towards the interstate, I turned around and said, "If you don't stop whining, we're going to stop the car and leave you on the side of the road."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was the dumbest thing in the world for me to have said. I know that my parents used to tell me and my brother this whenever we were squabbling in the backseat of a car on a family fun vacation, but there was a big difference. I wasn't actually left by my biological mother on the side of the road whereas Katrina actually was when she was one day old. (Okay, it was at the orphanage gate, but you get the idea).
Ouch. I wasn't thinking at all about her life story. It just popped out of my mouth, and that is the point, isn't it? I can't take things for granted. As much as I feel as if she is my little girl who has been with me since, birth, she wasn't. She had a whole history before she came to me at 10 months old. Things happened to her. She experienced things about which I can only imagine.
Did I traumatize her? I don't think so. My husband quickly changed the subject and she started playing with her Caribbean Princess Barbie, so it didn't seem to be a big deal to her. Later on I did talk to her about what I said and reassured her that I would never leave her anywhere. She said, "I know that mommy. You were just being silly."
Yes, and quite insensitive. It is so easy to forget, but I have to remember that she has a history and I need to be more conscious of it.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Does Your Dog Fart?
Chi-Chi and I were cuddled on the couch last night. She was in my lap curled up into a little ball. I was rubbing her ears and if she could, she would have been purring. She was in Ecstasy. All was well until I heard a soft ppppfft. I wasn't even sure what that noise was at first. Then it hit me. The smell of rotting garbage was emanating from my dog's butt. OMG! It was the most horrific stench ever. The best part? She didn't even move! I guess the smell had not wafted towards her sniffer. This scent needs to be bottled, patented and shipped over to drop as a bomb in Iraq. Might end the war a little sooner.
It made me wonder whether anyone else's dog farts too?
Pinky never farts. In fact, she runs away whenever she hears a fart. That's right. Even when she is curled up next to me fast asleep, if my husband should fart (and he does) Pinky jumps high into the air and jumps off the bed. The fart doesn't even have to smell. As long as it rumbles, she is outta there.
I had a mini-schnauzer would would fart and then stand on his hind legs sniffing the air. It was as if he wondered where the fart came from. Yes, it was a sight to see. He didn't really have a gas problem. I recall that he was on some medication and the side effect was severe farting.
It made me wonder whether anyone else's dog farts too?
Pinky never farts. In fact, she runs away whenever she hears a fart. That's right. Even when she is curled up next to me fast asleep, if my husband should fart (and he does) Pinky jumps high into the air and jumps off the bed. The fart doesn't even have to smell. As long as it rumbles, she is outta there.
I had a mini-schnauzer would would fart and then stand on his hind legs sniffing the air. It was as if he wondered where the fart came from. Yes, it was a sight to see. He didn't really have a gas problem. I recall that he was on some medication and the side effect was severe farting.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
The Diet is Working
Chi-Chi's wacky rash showed up once again. It is definitely worse in the summer, but she gets it in the winter too. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when it hits which is frustrating. The creams we had from the last time just weren't working, and since we were going to be on vacation for a week, I wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving my dad with a sickly dog to look after. Time for the HOUSE OF PAIN, also known as "the vet."
While waiting for the vet I plopped Chi-Chi on the cat scale because I think she looks like she lost weight and wanted to know before the doctor came in. The numbers were down! I waited for the vet to come in and I had her weigh chubsey-ubsey to get the official weight. Drumroll please......11.6 pounds. She lost 2 pounds in two months! The vet was thrilled and so was I. She wanted to know what I was doing and I told her that Chi-Chi was on a no-snack diet and was eating 1/4 cup of Purina Overweight Management dog food twice a day.
Chi-Chi was given a supply of two antibiotics. She was better by the time we left for Montral, but I had to make up a chart for my dad to follow. There are two different meds and each one had differing dosage that changed from twice a day to every other day to 1/2 a pill. It was confusing for me, so imagine a 72 year old trying to administer the meds.
Chi-Chi's pet insurance has a rider that won't cover any of her rash issues! Poor baby came to us with a rash and I guess the pet insurance company made a good decision for them because she has been to the vet many times over this freaking rash that comes and goes at will! I still have the vet send the bill to the pet insurance company. I noticed that they wrote down something else on the bill so I am wondering if they will pay or not.
Chi-Chi has moved from the obese to the overweight category. We have a ways to go, but her progress has been great and is very encouraging! Of course we were gone for a week and my dad was taking care of the dogs. I swear that Chi-Chi looked a little plumper than when we had left. My husband said I was crazy...He may be right.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
All Righty, Chi-Chi is just Fat
Normally when you are waiting for blood test results, you are hoping for them to be negative, right? How come I was disappointed when the vet called me to say that Chi-Chi does not have a thyroid problem? I guess I was hoping that was the problem so we could just put her on meds and she would lose the excess pounds. Does that make me a bad surrogate mommy??
Crap. Well, now we just have some work ahead of us. We've been testing out the new food. She loved the wet stuff, but it did not love her. She got the runs from it. We won't be using that food. Just as well though because it was difficult setting up the dog food because they were both eating wet and they were both different formulas. Now if I were the one who fed them, this wouldn't be a problem. My 71 year old dad feeds them in the afternoon and I had to label which one was which. I already prep the food for him and put the correct amount in the bowls, but he could still give the dog the wrong food because once the label was off, they looked the same.
She likes the Purina OM (overwight management). I didn't try the wet OM because of the first attempt with another wet food. I went right for the dry. She ate it. Now we'll see how she does with diet food. I am hoping that it makes a differnce. I am also trying to exercise her more. The two have to have an effect, right? Stay tuned.
Crap. Well, now we just have some work ahead of us. We've been testing out the new food. She loved the wet stuff, but it did not love her. She got the runs from it. We won't be using that food. Just as well though because it was difficult setting up the dog food because they were both eating wet and they were both different formulas. Now if I were the one who fed them, this wouldn't be a problem. My 71 year old dad feeds them in the afternoon and I had to label which one was which. I already prep the food for him and put the correct amount in the bowls, but he could still give the dog the wrong food because once the label was off, they looked the same.
She likes the Purina OM (overwight management). I didn't try the wet OM because of the first attempt with another wet food. I went right for the dry. She ate it. Now we'll see how she does with diet food. I am hoping that it makes a differnce. I am also trying to exercise her more. The two have to have an effect, right? Stay tuned.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Insurance Companies Suck
My husband wants to have this surgery too. We went to the information meeting (see post http://fat-chronicles.blogspot.com/2006/11/informational-meeting.html ) together and he got scared. I knew when he saw how well I was doing that he would want to do it too, and that is exactly what happened. Because he is a school teacher, he wanted to wait until the summer to have the surgery.
He knew the drill as far as all of the tests that you have to do before you see the surgeon and so he started doing all of that in April. He made his appointment with the surgeoun for July 5th. After the meeting, the surgeon will give you a surgery date and then they will secure the authorization for the surgery with the insurance company.
After his meeting, my husband was told that he would not be approved by the insurance company because the insurance company added a new stipulation for approvals last week! In order to be approved for surgery you now had to have 6 months of supervised weight loss with a nutritionist & physician. Our insurance company is Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They had been the easiest of the insurance companies to get the approval for bariatric surgery.
The insurance companies are trying to dissuade people from having the surgery because it costs them too much money. I think the surgery costs around $35,000 and since it has been so successful in weight loss, people are lining up to get it. The more obstacles the insurance companies put in your way, the less likely people will follow through to have the surgery.
He was so disappointed. He was really counting on having the surgery this summer. He is following up with his new PCP, Dr. Fink, who was going to do all of his post-op routine visits. Dr. Fink is going to set him up with a nutritionist. He is also starting a work-out regime at a gym that is affilaited with the hospital. It has lot better hours than the re-hab hospital gym that he was going to. It is like a regular gym and opens at 5:30 and closes at 9:00 pm. Gym memberships for men are pretty limited. At least women have women only gyms, but men pretty much have things like Gold's Gym or Bally's and they are clubs that you dodn't feel comfortable being at when you are overweight.
Anyway, I say screw the insurance companies. Follow their requisites to the letter so that they will have to pay for your surgery. Make them pay!
He knew the drill as far as all of the tests that you have to do before you see the surgeon and so he started doing all of that in April. He made his appointment with the surgeoun for July 5th. After the meeting, the surgeon will give you a surgery date and then they will secure the authorization for the surgery with the insurance company.
After his meeting, my husband was told that he would not be approved by the insurance company because the insurance company added a new stipulation for approvals last week! In order to be approved for surgery you now had to have 6 months of supervised weight loss with a nutritionist & physician. Our insurance company is Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They had been the easiest of the insurance companies to get the approval for bariatric surgery.
The insurance companies are trying to dissuade people from having the surgery because it costs them too much money. I think the surgery costs around $35,000 and since it has been so successful in weight loss, people are lining up to get it. The more obstacles the insurance companies put in your way, the less likely people will follow through to have the surgery.
He was so disappointed. He was really counting on having the surgery this summer. He is following up with his new PCP, Dr. Fink, who was going to do all of his post-op routine visits. Dr. Fink is going to set him up with a nutritionist. He is also starting a work-out regime at a gym that is affilaited with the hospital. It has lot better hours than the re-hab hospital gym that he was going to. It is like a regular gym and opens at 5:30 and closes at 9:00 pm. Gym memberships for men are pretty limited. At least women have women only gyms, but men pretty much have things like Gold's Gym or Bally's and they are clubs that you dodn't feel comfortable being at when you are overweight.
Anyway, I say screw the insurance companies. Follow their requisites to the letter so that they will have to pay for your surgery. Make them pay!
8 Month Post-Op Update
I saw Dr. Bypass this morning. I am down 75 pounds, which is great. Only 5 pounds lost in the past two months though. The doctor said that this is what I can now expect as far as weight loss goes now because it is slowing down. I need to really make sure that I am eating the right portions and I am increasing my exercise. It is now going to be more work for me.
This is the point that they start to lose their patients. The doctor said that people start getting too comfortable with their eating and have figured out what they can get away with at this point. I do not want to be one of those who wind up packing the pound back on, so I am going to start writing all of my food consumption into a journal.
I always hated keeping a food diary, but I am committed to doing this. Perhaps I can see patterns on paper that I don't notice in real life. I know Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem wanted you to track yuor food intake and I never was able to do it consistently. Okay, I could do it, but I suppose I chose not to do it consistently.
My hair is not falling out as badly as it was two months ago. I guess that is because the weight loss has slowed down too.
I haven't thrown up lately, which is another good thing, so I guess I am doing something right. I did get a little sick last night because I ate some rice. I really wanted the rice and it just seemed to sit in my chest. I stretched out on the bed for a while and it made me feel better.
This is the point that they start to lose their patients. The doctor said that people start getting too comfortable with their eating and have figured out what they can get away with at this point. I do not want to be one of those who wind up packing the pound back on, so I am going to start writing all of my food consumption into a journal.
I always hated keeping a food diary, but I am committed to doing this. Perhaps I can see patterns on paper that I don't notice in real life. I know Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem wanted you to track yuor food intake and I never was able to do it consistently. Okay, I could do it, but I suppose I chose not to do it consistently.
My hair is not falling out as badly as it was two months ago. I guess that is because the weight loss has slowed down too.
I haven't thrown up lately, which is another good thing, so I guess I am doing something right. I did get a little sick last night because I ate some rice. I really wanted the rice and it just seemed to sit in my chest. I stretched out on the bed for a while and it made me feel better.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Chi-Chi update, a.k.a. the Fat Chihuahua
Chi-Chi also went for her check up in June. It was supposed to be May, but I just couldn't get there then. After being on No-Snacks and dividing up her food to two 1/4 cup portions twice a day, I was expecting her to weigh less. I have to say though, that she did not look smaller to me.
When we were in the waiting room, others who were waiting struck up a conversation with me. "What kind of dog is that?" they asked. I knew what they were really asking though. They thought that she couldn't possibly be a chihuahua because she was so big. When people think chihuahua, they think Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell. You know, that anorexic bitch. And her dog is so skinny too....
Okay, first off. My dogs are both real chihuahuas. The "teacup" or "pocket" type dogs are not real. They were bred down to get them that size. It is dangerous to have them that size because they have lots of breathing issues and get hurt very easily. They are often severely injured by falling off of a couch because they are so fragile. They are not recognized by the American Kennel Club as being chihuahuas. My dogs are the real deal. They are both spayed and so that puts extra weight on them.
Okay, enough of my fat rant. So I tell them that she is a fat chihuahua. They laugh and say that they thought she was a chihuahua, but that she was so big they weren't sure. blah, blah, blah. We finally get to see the vet. She weighs Chi-Chi on the cat scale and her weight was 13.6 pounds. My dog has to be the only dog that can go on a diet and gain weight. I was upset. The vet said that they could run the blood work-up on her to see if she has a thyroid issue. She said it was up to me because the blood tests are very costly. I wanted to go ahead and do it because if it is her thyroid, it would just be a matter of putting her on a medication. If her blood tests come back negative, then we will switch her food to a diet food to see if that helps.
The vet sent me home with a giant bag of various brands of diet dog food. Some wet and some dry so that I can see which ones she likes best before buying any. That was nice of her.
Okay, Chi-Chi also has skin irritations. These come and go. I can't pin it down to a particular time of year. It was pretty bad this winter. Then she will scratch and scratch and make it worse. She has very little hair as it is, so I have to keep her nails short and filed down or she will easily tear her skin due to the scratching. I asked if she had seasonal allergies. Since she wasn't sneezing at all, she thought it was more likely that Chi-Chi had an allergic reaction to food. Great. More food issues. She was going to give me a cream to put on her to soothe the itching.
When I went to pay, the cashier was calculating the bill. Chi-Chi also was getting Advantage for flea prevention. Then the vet came by and gave the cashier the bag of food (free samples) along with the lotion. The cashier looked at the lotion and said, "I am not charging you for this. You are already paying so much" and she just tossed it in the bag without adding it in. I thought that was very nice of her. The bill was $650! Thank goodness I have pet insurance.
Seriously. If you do not have pet insurance, you should really consider it. I wasn't sure it was worth it because my regular office visits are $75, and everything they do is extra. Shots etc. The pet insurance gives you like $15 back for an office visit. So I was thinking that I would be paying more in premiums than what I would be getting back. Until I realized that I wasn't paying the premiums for the routine stuff anyway. In the event of something serious, I did not want to make a decision based on what it was going to cost me. My dog has cancer? Okay, start chemotherapy. That isn't something I would be able to afford unless I had the insurance. Thankfully, none of my dogs have had anything catastrophic like that, but Pinky's surgery was expensive. I was able to recoup 2/3 of what I paid for that. Yep, pet insurance is worth the premium.
When we were in the waiting room, others who were waiting struck up a conversation with me. "What kind of dog is that?" they asked. I knew what they were really asking though. They thought that she couldn't possibly be a chihuahua because she was so big. When people think chihuahua, they think Paris Hilton's Tinkerbell. You know, that anorexic bitch. And her dog is so skinny too....
Okay, first off. My dogs are both real chihuahuas. The "teacup" or "pocket" type dogs are not real. They were bred down to get them that size. It is dangerous to have them that size because they have lots of breathing issues and get hurt very easily. They are often severely injured by falling off of a couch because they are so fragile. They are not recognized by the American Kennel Club as being chihuahuas. My dogs are the real deal. They are both spayed and so that puts extra weight on them.
Okay, enough of my fat rant. So I tell them that she is a fat chihuahua. They laugh and say that they thought she was a chihuahua, but that she was so big they weren't sure. blah, blah, blah. We finally get to see the vet. She weighs Chi-Chi on the cat scale and her weight was 13.6 pounds. My dog has to be the only dog that can go on a diet and gain weight. I was upset. The vet said that they could run the blood work-up on her to see if she has a thyroid issue. She said it was up to me because the blood tests are very costly. I wanted to go ahead and do it because if it is her thyroid, it would just be a matter of putting her on a medication. If her blood tests come back negative, then we will switch her food to a diet food to see if that helps.
The vet sent me home with a giant bag of various brands of diet dog food. Some wet and some dry so that I can see which ones she likes best before buying any. That was nice of her.
Okay, Chi-Chi also has skin irritations. These come and go. I can't pin it down to a particular time of year. It was pretty bad this winter. Then she will scratch and scratch and make it worse. She has very little hair as it is, so I have to keep her nails short and filed down or she will easily tear her skin due to the scratching. I asked if she had seasonal allergies. Since she wasn't sneezing at all, she thought it was more likely that Chi-Chi had an allergic reaction to food. Great. More food issues. She was going to give me a cream to put on her to soothe the itching.
When I went to pay, the cashier was calculating the bill. Chi-Chi also was getting Advantage for flea prevention. Then the vet came by and gave the cashier the bag of food (free samples) along with the lotion. The cashier looked at the lotion and said, "I am not charging you for this. You are already paying so much" and she just tossed it in the bag without adding it in. I thought that was very nice of her. The bill was $650! Thank goodness I have pet insurance.
Seriously. If you do not have pet insurance, you should really consider it. I wasn't sure it was worth it because my regular office visits are $75, and everything they do is extra. Shots etc. The pet insurance gives you like $15 back for an office visit. So I was thinking that I would be paying more in premiums than what I would be getting back. Until I realized that I wasn't paying the premiums for the routine stuff anyway. In the event of something serious, I did not want to make a decision based on what it was going to cost me. My dog has cancer? Okay, start chemotherapy. That isn't something I would be able to afford unless I had the insurance. Thankfully, none of my dogs have had anything catastrophic like that, but Pinky's surgery was expensive. I was able to recoup 2/3 of what I paid for that. Yep, pet insurance is worth the premium.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Pinky Update~All Good
Oops, sorry it has taken me so long to post this. Thanks for all the emails. Pinky's urine analysis came back great! In fact, it was better this time than last time. The vet asked me if she was drinking a lot of water, but I said that I really didn't see her drinking a lot. As instructed by the vet, I add a lot of water to her food. Then I put in in the microwave for about 13 seconds to get the chill off. She drinks all the water in the food and then eats the food up. I think this is her main source of water these days, so I was worried about it, but the vet says it is fine.
Since she is 10 years old, and Chihuahuas are notorious for having bad teeth, I asked when she would start losing hers. The vet always remarked that he was surprised that she still had all of her teeth every time I had brought her in. He looked in her mouth and said that she already started losing them! Geez, I hadn't even noticed that, but sure enough he was correct. He opened her mouth and two of her bottom teeth are gone! I said that I never saw them on the floor or anything. Guess what? She probably ate them! Yuck.
We started using those tooth wipes instead of brushing her teeth and I can see that they aren't as good as the old toothbrush. As much as she hates it, we will start brushing her teeth again. It definitely gets the tarter off better.
Since she is 10 years old, and Chihuahuas are notorious for having bad teeth, I asked when she would start losing hers. The vet always remarked that he was surprised that she still had all of her teeth every time I had brought her in. He looked in her mouth and said that she already started losing them! Geez, I hadn't even noticed that, but sure enough he was correct. He opened her mouth and two of her bottom teeth are gone! I said that I never saw them on the floor or anything. Guess what? She probably ate them! Yuck.
We started using those tooth wipes instead of brushing her teeth and I can see that they aren't as good as the old toothbrush. As much as she hates it, we will start brushing her teeth again. It definitely gets the tarter off better.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Pinky Update
Pinky recovered fine from her pinched nerve. Obviously had nothing to do with the food! Guess my dad was wrong, imagine that!
Anyway, I sent her urine sample to the vet last week and she goes in tonight for her annual exam. I am hoping the analysis is clear and all looks good for her. She has been so spry since her surgery and the new food. It is almost as if she is a puppy again.
Will post details on Pinky's update tomorrow.
Anyway, I sent her urine sample to the vet last week and she goes in tonight for her annual exam. I am hoping the analysis is clear and all looks good for her. She has been so spry since her surgery and the new food. It is almost as if she is a puppy again.
Will post details on Pinky's update tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
I am Fat
My BMI is down to 35. This still puts me in the obese catageory. I need to drop 5 more points and then I will only fall into the overweight category. Somehow that just doesn't seem fair. I mean, I lost 70 pounds and I am still obese? Yeah, okay, so when I started this journey I must have been super obese, if that is a category, but you know what I am saying.
I am going to buy new pants this weekend. The old ones are really just too big. It was so windy yesterday and my pant legs were flapping like flags in the wind. Everyone has been telling me how great I look and all. I know I am losing weight, but when I look in the mirror, I still see a fat person. And according to my BMI, I am still fat, but I wonder when I will stop feeling like a fat person. When does that happen? Does it ever happen? Will I always think of myself as fat?
I am going to buy new pants this weekend. The old ones are really just too big. It was so windy yesterday and my pant legs were flapping like flags in the wind. Everyone has been telling me how great I look and all. I know I am losing weight, but when I look in the mirror, I still see a fat person. And according to my BMI, I am still fat, but I wonder when I will stop feeling like a fat person. When does that happen? Does it ever happen? Will I always think of myself as fat?
6 Month Post-Op Follow-up
Went to see Dr. Bypass this morning. I wasn't feeling all that optimistic. since my doctor appointments are stretched out to every two months now, it is harder and harder to keep off the scale until the next appointment. As a result, I have started weighing myself once a week. As I have been hopping on the scale for the past three weeks I have become concerned that the scale doesn't seem to be moving, which has unfortunately led to my jumping on the scale every single day. It has become my mania.
In addition, when I replenished my vitamin stock two weeks ago, I could not find the iron pills that I had been taking, so I purchased another brand. The new brand has constipated me to the point of extreme discomfort. I resorted to taking 6 Fibercon pills and two ex-lax pills with minimal results. I have now thrown out these new iron pills and will be on the hunt for the Slo Fe brand.
In addition, when I replenished my vitamin stock two weeks ago, I could not find the iron pills that I had been taking, so I purchased another brand. The new brand has constipated me to the point of extreme discomfort. I resorted to taking 6 Fibercon pills and two ex-lax pills with minimal results. I have now thrown out these new iron pills and will be on the hunt for the Slo Fe brand.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Dumping Syndrome
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dumping-syndrome/DS00715/
Dumping syndrome A condition that occurs when food moves too fast from the stomach into the small intestine. Symptoms are nausea, pain, weakness, and sweating. This syndrome most often affects people who have had stomach operations.
Yeah, I read a lot about it prior to my surgery. I waited and waited, but it didn't happen and so I forgot most of what I had read about it. Then it happened to me and I thought I was going to DIE.
Once it happens you will never forget the sensation. I was at work when it occurred. Every morning I make myself a cup of tea when I get to the office. This one particular morning I saw a box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate. I decided that hot chocolate might be nice for a change of pace. Because I only buy diet drinks at home, it never occured to me to check to see if the hot cocoa was diet or not. I boiled the water and took a sip. Then I took another sip. Then I thought I was going to DIE.
Seriously. I didn't know what was happening. I ran to the bathroom and promptly threw up. Not a pretty chocolaty sight. Normally, when I have puked when not feeling well I immediately felt better. Not this time. I was nauseous. I was sweating. My stomach was in turmoil. I looked at the packet of hot cocoa. It was not diet. Too much sugar all at once, I guess. Not a good feeling. I will not be drinking that again.
Dumping syndrome A condition that occurs when food moves too fast from the stomach into the small intestine. Symptoms are nausea, pain, weakness, and sweating. This syndrome most often affects people who have had stomach operations.
Yeah, I read a lot about it prior to my surgery. I waited and waited, but it didn't happen and so I forgot most of what I had read about it. Then it happened to me and I thought I was going to DIE.
Once it happens you will never forget the sensation. I was at work when it occurred. Every morning I make myself a cup of tea when I get to the office. This one particular morning I saw a box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate. I decided that hot chocolate might be nice for a change of pace. Because I only buy diet drinks at home, it never occured to me to check to see if the hot cocoa was diet or not. I boiled the water and took a sip. Then I took another sip. Then I thought I was going to DIE.
Seriously. I didn't know what was happening. I ran to the bathroom and promptly threw up. Not a pretty chocolaty sight. Normally, when I have puked when not feeling well I immediately felt better. Not this time. I was nauseous. I was sweating. My stomach was in turmoil. I looked at the packet of hot cocoa. It was not diet. Too much sugar all at once, I guess. Not a good feeling. I will not be drinking that again.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Pinky Sees the Vet
I guess they are taking turns. This month it is Pinky who is sick; last month it was Chi-Chi. Wednesday she was perfectly fine. Thursday morning I set out their breakfasts and only Chi-Chi came to eat. Pinky wasn't coming. I called and called, but nothing. This is highly unusual behavior for Pinky. When I found her she was cowering in the bedroom. I bent down to pick her up and she cried out in pain. I put her in front of her food and she ate. I had to carry her down the stairs of the deck so that she could do her business out there.
It seemed to me that she could not look up. Pinched nerve. She has had this in the past, so I made an appointment and she went to the vet last night. Of course, she didn't cry out in pain when she was there, but when the vet was feeling her neck, Pinky tensed up. They gave her an anti-inflammatory shot and took home meds for her to take. It should clear up in a few days.
My dad is insisting that the dog food I am feeding Pinky is the tainted dog food that has been recalled. Even though I know it isn't, he is insisting it is. Pinky eats Hill's Prescription canned dog food that I buy at the vets. Hills Country is one of the brands recalled. It isn't the same brand or company. I had to ask the vet, and she confirmed that none of the food that they dispense is part of the recall. I knew it was a silly thing to ask because I checked the can and manufacturer etc, but when your dad is nagging you....well, you just gotta ask sometimes.
Compliments
Because my hair is getting much thinner on the top, I decided it was time for a new hairstyle. I figured it would look better shorter and layered. This is a pic I took of myself. I didn't use a flash and the photo is reflected off of the mirror. Kind of like the way it came out.
I also colored my hair so it is now a strawberry blond color which compliments my skin tone. I went to work and had to talk to the guy in the office next to mine. I walked in and just started talking and he was staring at me. He finally told me that when I first walked in he was wondering who this person was. He was confused because of the new hairstyle and said it took him a few moments to recognize it was me.
I had to go speak to someone in another department yesterday. When I walked in, the receptionist asked me if I changed my hair. I confirmed that I did and then she said that I looked great and she noticed that I had lost a lot of weight. I told her that I had the surgery blah, blah, blah. She told me that she didn't know it was me! It had been at least two months since she had seen me and she said I looked like a completely different person. That just made my day. I feel like a completely different person too.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Still Fat
Okay, so Chi-Chi is still fat. Everyone in the house is instructed to not give either dog any snacks. Pinky can't get a snack because Chi-Chi can't have any. I can't give to one and not the other, so they are both dieting. I weighed Chi-Chi one week after the no snack rule and she lost 6 ounces, which is a lot. However, since then she seems to have added on weight. I don't have the numbers in front of me at the moment, but I think she is back to 13.2 pounds.
Pinky has reacted oddly to the no snack rule. It has turned her into a chow hound. The second she hears any kind of bag crumbling, she is right there! She is begging like mad. I swear you would think that this dog never eats, but she is getting fed twice a day now. Chi-Chi doesn't come running when Pinky does. You would think la gorda would run for food, but she doesn't and she isn't begging either. A strange role reversal for sure.
Chi-Chi goes for her check up in May. They will weigh her and see if she has lost weight. If not, they will do blood work to see if she has a thyroid problem. Isn't that the oldest fat excuse in the book? I have an underactive thyroid...well, we shall see. The snow is melting so it will soon be time to take piglet on daily walks. That should help.
3/23/2007
Pinky has reacted oddly to the no snack rule. It has turned her into a chow hound. The second she hears any kind of bag crumbling, she is right there! She is begging like mad. I swear you would think that this dog never eats, but she is getting fed twice a day now. Chi-Chi doesn't come running when Pinky does. You would think la gorda would run for food, but she doesn't and she isn't begging either. A strange role reversal for sure.
Chi-Chi goes for her check up in May. They will weigh her and see if she has lost weight. If not, they will do blood work to see if she has a thyroid problem. Isn't that the oldest fat excuse in the book? I have an underactive thyroid...well, we shall see. The snow is melting so it will soon be time to take piglet on daily walks. That should help.
3/23/2007
4 Month Post-Op Update
Had my fourth month post-op visit with my surgeon, Doctor Bypass. I lost 57 official pounds and 63 unoffical pounds. Woo-Hoo! I am doing very well in terms of weight loss. In fact, I am ahead of the curve. What does that mean?
Well, first they tell you what you are supposed to weigh (yeah, I laughed my ass off at that number too). Then they subtract that from what you weigh now. They take that number and tell you that you will lose 70% of that from the surgery over 18 months. This is the prediction of your weight loss. In 4 months I have already lost 50% of the weight they are expecting me to lose. I will most likely lose more than the expectd 70%.
A lot of this has to do with the exercising that I am doing and I am doing a moderate amount. I joined a gym and I try to go three times a week, but I must admit that I usually only go twice a week. I am taking aerobic classes like kickboxing and body sculpting. Not easy classes and sometimes I can't last the whole hour, but I do what I can. I also lift weighs there and use the cross training machine.
On days that I don't go to the gym, I make the most out of my standing time. I make sure that I am always moving. When I am standing at the photo copier at work, I am moving my feet doing the "grapevine" move that we do at the gym. When I am home waiting for the dogs to come in from outside, I am doing kick backs with my legs. A few minutes here and there adds up over the course of a day. Try it!
Well, first they tell you what you are supposed to weigh (yeah, I laughed my ass off at that number too). Then they subtract that from what you weigh now. They take that number and tell you that you will lose 70% of that from the surgery over 18 months. This is the prediction of your weight loss. In 4 months I have already lost 50% of the weight they are expecting me to lose. I will most likely lose more than the expectd 70%.
A lot of this has to do with the exercising that I am doing and I am doing a moderate amount. I joined a gym and I try to go three times a week, but I must admit that I usually only go twice a week. I am taking aerobic classes like kickboxing and body sculpting. Not easy classes and sometimes I can't last the whole hour, but I do what I can. I also lift weighs there and use the cross training machine.
On days that I don't go to the gym, I make the most out of my standing time. I make sure that I am always moving. When I am standing at the photo copier at work, I am moving my feet doing the "grapevine" move that we do at the gym. When I am home waiting for the dogs to come in from outside, I am doing kick backs with my legs. A few minutes here and there adds up over the course of a day. Try it!
Friday, February 9, 2007
Fat Chihuahua
So how much should a chihuahua weigh??? I'm not talking about those teacup varieties, either because they aren't the real deal and are not acknowledged by the American Kennel Club (AKC). The accepted breed standard disqualifies any dog over 6 pounds or under 3 pounds. Unless your chihuahua is supposed to be a show dog, it doesn't matter as long as she's healthy. My vet says that there are weight variations for pets just like their are weight variations for people. Some Chihuahuas had bigger parents and so they are likely to be bigger.
That being said, Chi-Chi is fat. She is starting to look like a football with legs. Here she is looking very football-like.
She is 3.5 years old. She was a very thin chi for the first year that we had her. We went on a trip for 3 weeks and when we came home, I swear she looked enormous. My dad definitely overfed her. Well, here it is 1 year later and she is chunkier than ever.
We were just at the vet on January 30, 2007. She was having some pain when she moved backwards so I took her in. Of course, by the time I was able to get an appointment, she seemed to be in no pain. I was worried that her weight was causing the problem. The vet said she weighed 13.8 pounds. The vet's biggest concern was that I was feeding her and Pinky just once a day. She told me to break up their food into two meals, giving them less. I brought the ingredients of Chi-Chi's dog food and she said it wasn't the food that was making her fat. It doesn't matter if I bought diet food or not because if she is getting snacks during the day, that is going to be the culprit.
I know for a fact that both dogs are getting snacks and tidbits during the day. She advised that we cut out all snacks immediately. Feed her 1/4 cup of food twice per day and then they would re-weigh in May when she comes in for her annual check-up. She should show a loss by then. If not, they will do blood work on her to see if she has a thyroid problem.
I weighed her last night on my scale and she weighed 13.2 pounds. Because it is a different scale, I don't know if she really lost any weight at all, but at least I have a starting point for our home scale. I shall weigh her once a week to see how she is doing.
That being said, Chi-Chi is fat. She is starting to look like a football with legs. Here she is looking very football-like.
She is 3.5 years old. She was a very thin chi for the first year that we had her. We went on a trip for 3 weeks and when we came home, I swear she looked enormous. My dad definitely overfed her. Well, here it is 1 year later and she is chunkier than ever.
We were just at the vet on January 30, 2007. She was having some pain when she moved backwards so I took her in. Of course, by the time I was able to get an appointment, she seemed to be in no pain. I was worried that her weight was causing the problem. The vet said she weighed 13.8 pounds. The vet's biggest concern was that I was feeding her and Pinky just once a day. She told me to break up their food into two meals, giving them less. I brought the ingredients of Chi-Chi's dog food and she said it wasn't the food that was making her fat. It doesn't matter if I bought diet food or not because if she is getting snacks during the day, that is going to be the culprit.
I know for a fact that both dogs are getting snacks and tidbits during the day. She advised that we cut out all snacks immediately. Feed her 1/4 cup of food twice per day and then they would re-weigh in May when she comes in for her annual check-up. She should show a loss by then. If not, they will do blood work on her to see if she has a thyroid problem.
I weighed her last night on my scale and she weighed 13.2 pounds. Because it is a different scale, I don't know if she really lost any weight at all, but at least I have a starting point for our home scale. I shall weigh her once a week to see how she is doing.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Eat Slowly
I cannot emphasize this nearly enough. You must eat slowly. This will be my new mantra. EAT SLOWLY. Why? Because I have experienced first hand what happens when I do not eat slowly and it is not a pretty sight. I have been very busy this past week. Every night I had to rush home, get dinner ready, eat and run out the door for various appointments.
I ate three tablespoons of chicken and mashed potato, so it was not a question of eating too much food. I was beeing good and wasn't drinking any liquids with the food either, so that was definitely not a factor. I went to the bathroom and immediately threw up my dinner. As soon as I puke, I feel instantly better. I can see that this can be a problem and how people who have had the surgery become obsessive purgers. This is not a problem for me, but when you puke and you feel so much better I can see why people would choose this as an option.
I ate three tablespoons of chicken and mashed potato, so it was not a question of eating too much food. I was beeing good and wasn't drinking any liquids with the food either, so that was definitely not a factor. I went to the bathroom and immediately threw up my dinner. As soon as I puke, I feel instantly better. I can see that this can be a problem and how people who have had the surgery become obsessive purgers. This is not a problem for me, but when you puke and you feel so much better I can see why people would choose this as an option.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Good News for Pinky
Dr. Boren called from the animal hospital to let us know that Pinky's urine test came back and it was good. No signs of a urinary tract infection, which we must avoid so that she does not get those stones again. It was such a relief and at least we know that the diet change is working.
I need to collect another sample in 4 months. Yikes!!! It took me so long to get this one, that I think I ought to start collecting now! Well, at least I know how do do it. I just have to give Pinky a lot of tea and then follow her out in the yard. Of course, in 4 months it will not be cold and so the urge to pee immediately may not be there. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
1/20/2007
I need to collect another sample in 4 months. Yikes!!! It took me so long to get this one, that I think I ought to start collecting now! Well, at least I know how do do it. I just have to give Pinky a lot of tea and then follow her out in the yard. Of course, in 4 months it will not be cold and so the urge to pee immediately may not be there. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
1/20/2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
Psycho Chihuahua
Pinky is a total pyscho when it comes to wrapping paper. She loves to rip it and tear it the shreds. This is a photo of her just after she tore up paper from my daughter's birthday. Once she is done with the ripping, Pinky gets into a frenzied state. This frenzy makes her run around the house like a lunatic. I captured this one as she was tearing around the dining room table. As you can see, she is airborne here and is chasing my other dog, Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi was less than thrilled to be the object of Pinky's attention at this moment.
Official Weigh In
Met with Dr. Bypass on January 12, 2007. Lost a total of 38 official pounds and 44 unofficial pounds.
My BMI dropped by 6 points. I found out what BMR is. You use energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Mine has dropped by 701, which I guess sounds impressive, but I really don't know.
Unfortunately, my blood work had not been faxed to the dr. prior to my visit. The office called to get it. They told me everything was fine, but I don't actually have the report myself, which I want. I think I will call and have them fax it to me
Now I start going every other month for my check-ups.
My BMI dropped by 6 points. I found out what BMR is. You use energy no matter what you're doing, even when sleeping. BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); the number of calories you'd burn if you stayed in bed all day. Mine has dropped by 701, which I guess sounds impressive, but I really don't know.
Unfortunately, my blood work had not been faxed to the dr. prior to my visit. The office called to get it. They told me everything was fine, but I don't actually have the report myself, which I want. I think I will call and have them fax it to me
Now I start going every other month for my check-ups.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Me 1, Pinky 52
I DID IT!!!
I resolved to extract urine from Pinky by 12/31/2006 and I am happy to say that I did get that accomplished. As you can see from the title of this post, there was much work on my end in order to get the task completed.
The animal hospital gave me a bend-able Dixie plate-ish rectangular kind of container to catch the pee. It looks sort of like a french fry holder that you would get on the boardwalk at the shore. I attempted to use this many times with no luck. I started to fold it upwards so it would easily fit through her legs without touching her. I was able to get it under her, but as soon as I did, she would stop peeing.
It got to the point that when I was following her around the yard, she would just sit down on the cold ground. I suppose she was thinking that she could outwait me, but she thought wrong. On 12/29 I went out at 4:00 am when they went out for the first pee of the day. I figured that with their full bladders coupled with cold air, I would have a much better chance of getting the pee. Pinky kept squatting and running to get away from me.
On 12/30 I was able to get 2 drops. Literally, two drops of pee. I really didn't think that was going to be enough, but I poured it into the bottle that the animal hospital provided and refrigerated it.
Time was running out, so I resorted to drastic measures. Both of my chihuahuas love tea. Yes, hot tea (a post for another day). Yes, I know that I spoil them, but lets move on, shall we? I brewed a giant cup of blueberry tea and added milk to it. Pinky was climbing up my leg to sit on my lap just to watch me drink the tea. She was starting to drool. I let her slurp from the cup. She drank deeply from the giant vessel. I let her drink and drink. I even let Chi-Chi have some, but Pinky got to finish it up. Then I waited 15 minutes and opened the sliding glass doors to let them into the yard.
I was right behind Pinky with my crazy french fry holder. No sooner had she cleared the last step of the deck than she went into squat mode. She didn't even sniff out a good place to go. I was right there and positioned the container perfectly. She peed and peed. I had my sample! Woo-Hoo!
I resolved to extract urine from Pinky by 12/31/2006 and I am happy to say that I did get that accomplished. As you can see from the title of this post, there was much work on my end in order to get the task completed.
The animal hospital gave me a bend-able Dixie plate-ish rectangular kind of container to catch the pee. It looks sort of like a french fry holder that you would get on the boardwalk at the shore. I attempted to use this many times with no luck. I started to fold it upwards so it would easily fit through her legs without touching her. I was able to get it under her, but as soon as I did, she would stop peeing.
It got to the point that when I was following her around the yard, she would just sit down on the cold ground. I suppose she was thinking that she could outwait me, but she thought wrong. On 12/29 I went out at 4:00 am when they went out for the first pee of the day. I figured that with their full bladders coupled with cold air, I would have a much better chance of getting the pee. Pinky kept squatting and running to get away from me.
On 12/30 I was able to get 2 drops. Literally, two drops of pee. I really didn't think that was going to be enough, but I poured it into the bottle that the animal hospital provided and refrigerated it.
Time was running out, so I resorted to drastic measures. Both of my chihuahuas love tea. Yes, hot tea (a post for another day). Yes, I know that I spoil them, but lets move on, shall we? I brewed a giant cup of blueberry tea and added milk to it. Pinky was climbing up my leg to sit on my lap just to watch me drink the tea. She was starting to drool. I let her slurp from the cup. She drank deeply from the giant vessel. I let her drink and drink. I even let Chi-Chi have some, but Pinky got to finish it up. Then I waited 15 minutes and opened the sliding glass doors to let them into the yard.
I was right behind Pinky with my crazy french fry holder. No sooner had she cleared the last step of the deck than she went into squat mode. She didn't even sniff out a good place to go. I was right there and positioned the container perfectly. She peed and peed. I had my sample! Woo-Hoo!
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