JennType1

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I've been having some discomfort--can't even really call it outright pain--along my midsection for the past hour or two. I'm feeling very shivery and chilled, too. Took me laying under the electric blanket on high for half an hour before I was sort of warmed up. My head is doing the maybe-migraine dance, switching from dull pain on the right to dull pain on the left, then nothing, then a little more lest I think I can forget I have migraines still. Just not as bad as before, thankfully. Actually, thank you DS for that one!

All I can think of is Colene's post about one of the symptoms of a bowel obstruction being pain around the navel. I've had this before, for a couple hours several weeks ago, and nothing came of it, so like as not it's nothing, just some DS weirdness. Or, the first symptom of the stomach flu that is making the rounds hereabouts.

OK, that's sad when you hope you have the stomach flu, because the alternative might involve another surgery.

So for the moment, I am resisting the urge to search for one of those bowel obstruction posts and read a long list of symptoms that will convince me to go the ER for naught except gas.

And if on the off chance it is a bowel obstruction, you can tell me later that you told me so.

Ever since Christmas when we went to visit relatives, and I forgot my lactase pills a couple times, I've been having much more frequent BMs. To the point where I went from my usual 2 or 3 times in the morning only, to another couple times in the afternoon/evenings, AND, the worst, having to get up in the middle of the night to poo. So a total of 6 or 7 poos daily. Ridiculous at nearly 9 months out.

It was starting to drive me nuts. But I didn't connect the increased frequency with anything I was eating, 'cause nothing much had changed diet-wise. There was some increased cramping right before I went, but nothing else.

I had started drinking more shakes to try and move my protein numbers up, and I use egg protein shake mix. I mixed it with heavy cream, on the theory that there isn't any lactose in cream--people say that a lot in the DS Forum, and it made sense to me that since the cream separates from the milk, the offending lactose would be left in the milk.

Well, to make a long story slightly shorter, I found out that there is indeed lactose in cream--about the same amount as there is in cheddar and other aged/hard cheeses. While many people with lactose intolerance can tolerate cheeses and cream, I am not one of them!

I found a great site about lactose intolerance, and it includes a page about the amounts of lactose in many foods. http://www.stevecarper.com/li/list_of_lactose_percentages.ht m. So after taking lactase tabs with my shake for two nights in a row, I have gotten through the night with no poos! And I've started taking lactase even with my coffee, since I tend to put a decent amount of cream in it. And voila! I'm back to the usual 1 to 3 poos when I get up.

So if you're having any funky poos issues, here's another assessment tool to put in your arsenal.

So for about a month--at least since right after Christmas when we drove to Florida--I seem to be on the poo five or six times a day plan. I didn't sign up for, and I'm not liking it. And I don't know what the hell is causing it.

I had been a poo two or three times in the morning kind of DSer. During my mid-cycle week, things might have gotten a bit more frequent, but it was maybe an extra afternoon poo.

Now, it's three times at least in the morning, plus one or two in the afternoon, and I'm also waking up to poo in the middle of the night. This is ridiculous. I know I've read that some DSers poo more when they're losing, but I have been losing at a fairly steady rate, and only a pound or so in the last week--not a huge rate of loss. Kind of normal for almost nine months out.

I started taking the Primal Defense Ultra a couple weeks ago, and it has definitely helped, er, collect, what had been loose and crampy stools.

Now I guess it's time for more detective work and experimenting. I think I need to get a handle on whether the lactose intolerance has gotten worse, possibly. Maybe the lactase pills aren't working like I thought they were. I've doubled up on them since I had problems in Florida when I forgot to take them a couple times--guess I should research whether taking too many can cause issues.

If it's not lactose, then I guess the next culprit to evaluate is fat. I've had some small oil slicks in the last few weeks, ugh. And I've been trying to drink at least one shake daily, which I make with cream to make them palatable.

And if all that fails, I need to try chia seeds more consistently. After that, I guess I might post to the DS Forum. Or just slash my wrists or something. It's not a big issue now, since I'm working at home, but I am embarking on a job search and I worry about interviews--what if I suddenly need to go in the middle of one? It's not like I can hold it for half an hour or even 15 minutes sometimes. Let alone having to go at the office all the freaking time. I don't want to be the new girl who's always shitting, ya know?

Here's hoping for a relatively easy process of elimination, ha ha ha.

Took my first Primal Defense Ultra last night. Things were definitely better this morning--only two poos, and not as crampy and loose. I really hope this is the solution! And I really hope I can get away with taking only one daily, because three a day will run into some serious cash.

I'm a DSer, so that means eventually I had to post something about poo.

Mine is driving me crazy lately, and had been for the last two months or so. I think it's related mostly to my hormones around ovulation, but holy crap--around then I'm going like 5 times a day, and they aren't all easy poos. I feel kinda miserable for a while after a morning session, and my poor bum complains, too.

I did get a not-so-awesome re-education in how lactose intolerant I still am. While on my annual torture trip to see the in-laws over the holidays, I ate a fair amount of cheddar chees in the car, and totally spaced on taking any lactase. Oh, that was not a good day. Lots of cramps, and then I was stuck at CompUSA with my BIL and his girlfriend, no bathroom in sight, and really worried I was going to have an accident. File that one under stupid DSer tricks, my friends.

I do not think I'm going to ditch lactose intolerance. It's gonna be a permanent fixture in my post-op life, methinks.

Ever since the trip, even though I've been manic about taking at least two lactase with even a scrap of cheddar, things still don't feel very normal. Time for something new, I suppose.

I have been downing a couple teaspoons of chia seeds, and they seem to firm things up slightly. Not that I've been having diarrhea, but things have been on the loose side, hence the cramps I think. I'm not convinced chia seeds alone are my cure.

So today, I'm going to get some Primal Defense Ultra. We'll see if it's the miracle that so many people on the board say that it is. I kind of hope that the rap is reality, because I'm ready for an improvement. Right now, the poo cycle is bearable because I work at home, but I'm going to be looking for a job and the thought of dealing with all this while trying to get ready for work and then being in an office with other people makes me blanch in terror.

I was looking for a way to fix a pot roast that didn't involve lots of instant soups with their less-than-healthy transfats and other chemicals. Plus, I was bored. This turned out much better than I had hoped. I've made it twice, and I think it's gonna be a winter staple. Especially since we're having this gawd-awful cold snap, a week of teens and twenties!! This is not what I moved to Tennessee for, people. Just sayin'.

This is a good recipe for fairly new post-ops, because the meat is fork-tender. Also, good for anyone with lactose intolerance, since the butter doesn't have lactose.

Anyhoo, here's the recipe. Hope you like it.


Tastes Like Steak Pot Roast
for the crock pot

Ingredients:
pot roast
butter
splash of wine, any kind (I use Marsala sherry cause that's what they had at Costco)
garlic
McCormick's Montreal grilling spice (got at Publix, so not hard to find)
1/4 cup water

In skillet, melt 1/3 stick of butter on med high, add 2-4 cloves chopped garlic (or more!), and sprinkle the skillet with the Montreal spices. Add pot roast, then sprinkle more Montreal spices on top of it. Let pot roast brown, about 2 mins, then turn and brown other side. Place pot roast in crock pot.

Add splash of wine and 1/4 cup water to skillet, scraping bottom of skillet to loosen meat and spice drippings. Pour all drippings, spices, and garlic into crock pot on top of pot roast. Cook pot roast on high for 4 hours.

The juices are great for cooking mushrooms in, or adding to potatoes if you eat them.

I'll start with a disclaimer: I don't actually, really, truly believe my scale unless it shows the same thing three days running. For example, when I finally dropped below 249, which was my century club mark, I didn't believe it. Day one said 247.5, then 247.5, then 248.5. So I said, well, I guess I am an official century club member. Woot!

I (allegedly) lost three pounds between yesterday and today. What did I do? Ate chocolate--a lotta chocolate, cause I was making truffles for school Christmas presents. Man, don't I wish there really was a connection between excessive chocolate indulgence and losing weight! But, I really don't believe three pounds are really, truly gone just yet, I think I'll try to keep the chocolate consumption to a dull roar like usual.

There are a lot of mentions in the DS Forum about what white flour or white rice do to people--but rarely about the evils of corn!!

A couple weeks ago we had a choir brunch, and there were grits. I'm Southern, and y'all know we love our grits. (I posted about that before.) So I had maybe half a cup, and OMG I finally understood what everyone meant when they said they had horrible gas and bloating from white carbs. I had been lucky, you see, and white flour and rice didn't bother me. K, so now I had one white processed carb I couldn't handle, namely grits.

Fastforward to yesterday, when I was trying to break my chocolate habit. Instead of chocolate, I virtuously decided to have about a half cup of Puffins cereal, which is gluten free (feel the virtue vibes?) and whole grain and all that jazz. So about four hours later, I'm sitting in a meeting and the same painful bloating I had a couple weeks ago starts again.

This is not just a slightly uncomfortable, fullish kind of feeling. It's like having about three helium balloons inflated inside you in rapid succession. Cramps, backache, the works.

After racking my brains for anything new I'd eaten, I finally remembered the Puffins. Sure enough, when I consult the box, the first ingredient is corn flour.  So dang it! Corn is on my list of permanently banned food. It just ain't worth the pain (literally). The pain/bloating lasted about 4 or 5 hours, bleah.

I'm going back to chocolate, I swear.

Oh man, I just realized that this means Fritos are off-limits. Oh, that is the suck! I love Fritos as much as I love potato chips, though I haven't eaten either lately. Not that I couldn't eat a potato chip or two theoretically, but I wouldn't stop there, sleeve or no sleeve restriction. I'd snarf down my whole carb daily allotment at once if I let myself eat "just one." Seductive devils.

The one small mercy is that popcorn does not induce the same reaction. Thank heavens!

So I stopped by BBB this morning and got a scale in honor of my six-month surgiversary, which was yesterday. It read 259.5 when I got home. Yeah!!!! I really still am down 90 lbs., even after my carb quasi-binges the last couple days.

I'm gonna rant for a second about the carbs: I can so tell when the hormones are acting up, because I want to eat every freaking carb not nailed down. Thank Goddess the hormones have shifted a bit and now I only want to eat every third carby thing that I see. I really feel for people who have constant carb cravings, because it's a beast to constantly have to battle it. If I had to fight that demon every day I don't know how I would. I guess with lots of protein and shakes, but that only takes you so far.

So, back to the scale. Already this thought has crossed my mind: Maybe I should go see if the scale has gone up in the last 2 hrs. since I got home. I kid you not!! That is just psycho on my part. I may have to put the damned thing somewhere inconvenient for a while, so I can acclimate myself to having one around. This is the first time I've ever wanted to get on a scale in the last 20 yrs., and it's safe to say that it's going to be a mental battle. I am really glad I didn't get one before now. Not sure if I should get on the thing first thing in the morning tomorrow or not. One the one hand, I'm pretty sure it will be lower, since it will be first thing in the morning and I'll be NPO at that point. Then again, will that set me up for being upset next week at Dr. Spaw's? After all, that appointment is around midday. Grrrr, I hate all these mental gyrations. Either my new brain needs to arrive or I need to take the silly scale back.

So I went scale shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond on Friday. Well, it was part that and part to see what I weighed. I am thinking I need a scale, now that I'm almost at 6 mos. and the numbers will be less dramatic than they would have been at first. So I won't get all disappointed if I "only" lose a pound a week. Still not sure if I will be able to maintain that attitude in the presence of an actual scale.

But, the first scale I got on said 260.0. Serious to God. My jaw literally dropped. I knew I had lost some, but I really didn't think it was quite that much. That's 12 lbs. since the last time, which was, er, end of September? I think. Not shabby, not shabby at all for month 5. I proceeded to test about 8 other scales, 2 of which read like 262 or 263, the others all said 260 or less. So I'm claiming 260, baby, and heck since I did this in the middle of the day, maybe my actual weight is less. Though let's get real, all my dr. weigh-ins are after coffee and breakfast at a minimum, so I doubt I would see much difference on their scales v. the ones at BBB.

I do think that cutting down on the chocolatey carb goodness has probably jump-started the weight loss again. Damn, I hate it when I discover I had a problem I didn't think I had. I really thought I was doing OK on carbs, and that those Hershey Dark nuggets had only small carb content. Which they didn't, at 5 carbs per, and eating easily 10 (or more) daily. Now I'm feeling the carb cravings much more sharply than before. Totally sucks. I keep hoping it's just a bad hormonal month and that it will improve next month, but that's probably grasping at straws. Still, a girl can dream.