The Thrill of Victory...NOT!

I finally got tired of my knee having the spasms that woke me up a few weeks ago.  On Saturday I went to work all tightened up.  When I flexed the knee there was this horrible grinding accompanied by pain. The crepitis was so bad I could actually hear it.   One of my co-workers was nice enough to switch assignments with me so I could be at the triage desk.  Working triage has a lot less running around.  By the next day I was better but every time I get up from sitting I felt like it might go out again.  One physician assistant who used to work with an orthopedic group felt I should really have an MRI and be seen by my ortho doc.

So today I had an MRI and went to see Dr. Brand.  He told me that I have a small meniscus tear on the opposite side of the knee along with a lot of arthritis. This type of pain I've had before in the other knee.  The MRI doesn't show the problem that hurts the most.  He feels I have ileo-tibial band syndrome.  This is an inflammation of the band of muscle and tendon that stretches from the buttock area to the outer side of the knee.  It often affects runners or cyclists.  This is exactly what my friend, the yoga guru, told me it was.  The doctor gave me a corticosteroid injection which should help.  He says I should be able to get back to exercising in two days.  If I'm not doing better after a couple of weeks he will have me do physical therapy.

Not exercising is no longer an option for me.  I'm rather stressed that I can't do it right now.  Someone suggested swimming rather than cycling but I don't belong to a gym that has a pool.  The only one in the area with a pool is much more expensive than Planet Fitness.  I almost went to a yoga class last week.  My friend has a class on Thursday evening and if my knee feels up to it I'm gonna do it.  Then I can get back to the gym on Friday. 

It's pretty typical of me to find some way to hurt myself doing an athletic activity.  I'll focus more on warming up and cooling down from now on.  I'd never thought riding a bike needed that type of thing.  Usually I tried to start off slowly and gradually increase the RPM's  I incorporated the yoga stretches but I guess they were too little too late to cure my pain.  Hopefully the yoga will help me heal.

One of the US Olympic gymnasts competed with a fractured toe.  I saw a close-up photo of her bruised and battered foot.  When the interviewer asked if the injury meant she was spending a lot of time being iced after training and competing, she replied that they all always do that anyway.  They deal with pain all the time.  It's hard to imagine when you see them flinging themselves all over the place.  The trick is knowing what the pain is telling you.  Some pain means you need to stop.  I saw one short-distance runner slow down and drop out of his race.  He said his ham-strings weren't right.  If he continued to run that race there might have been irreparable damage.  After the years of training for the Olympics it must have been devastating to give up but he listened to his body.

Ouch!

I am not and never have been a competitive athlete.  Oh, I was on a bowling team for a while, but I have never been possessed of the type of drive to win at all costs.  My only opponent is myself. I just want to get in better shape no matter how much my inner self wants to sit on my ass.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Bottoming Out in the Wee Hours

No Pop Tarts

I've really got to give myself a kick in the butt.  Last night I was needing something to munch on and found a stash of Pop Tarts that somebody in my family had hidden.The sad thing is that they really don't taste all that great for the amount of calories they have.  Nevertheless,  I ate two of them around midnight.  I've always felt that the manufacturer forces you to eat two at a time because there are two in each wrapper.  If you only eat one then the poor, lonely other one gets stale. (Yeah, right).  Anyway late night snacking is a constant temptation for me but last night it really backfired.

I went to bed around one a.m..  Why I stayed up so late when I had to work in the morning is another issue.  I'm just not ready for bed before midnight especially when I've been to the gym in the evening.  At around 2:30, I awoke dying of thirst.  I stumbled, literally, to the bathroom.  As I got my drink I felt very sweaty and uncoordinated.  I felt like my blood sugar was really low.  I didn't want to wake anyone to get me something to bring the glucose level up but I had to do something.  I grabbed my husband's bottle of TUMS and poured out about five of them.  I chewed them up and soon felt better and went back to sleep.

I was amazed that I woke up in that condition.  I always thought if your sugar bottomed out when you were sleeping that you might just not wake up at all.  I felt fine in the morning, although more than tired from only getting a few hours of uninterrupted slumber.

Apparently there are no existing depictions of women who snore. 

Today after work I went to Trader Joe's and got some munchies with less sugar.  I bought low fat cheese sticks, fresh cherries and protein muffins.  I can get carried away with cheese but at least it doesn't affect my blood glucose level!  I'm up late again tonight but at least I'm off tomorrow.

On a good note, today was a really busy day at work. Normally I'm grabbing those little packs of graham crackers when it looks like I'm not going to get lunch. I resisted all day long. I got a Greek yogurt from a vending machine instead. So see, I can have will power once in a while. I'm not consistent but there is hope.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

A Day at the Beach

Aah, the beach.  As in ocean.  It's been years since I braved the beach.  After my weight loss surgery and dropping 170 lbs. I have still been reluctant to be seen in a swimsuit.  But last Friday I was off work and the waves beckoned to me.  I went with my daughter and grandson to Jones Beach on Long Island.  As the crow flies it isn't that far but a trip to Long Island from my home in Westchester County, NY requires driving through the Bronx and Queens and over a toll bridge.  It's worth the traffic though because it is an amazingly beautiful beach.  No commercial signs or businesses are in sight of the place.  No high rise hotels or restaurants.  Just beach. 

The waves were not super rough but enough that I got knocked over a couple of times.  The undertow was pretty strong too.  I found that my knee problems make keeping my balance in the surf more difficult than it used to be.  I don't know how to explain it except that my knees felt loose.  I guess that qualifies as unstable knees. 

 My feet at Jones Beach

Still the sheer exhilaration of ocean swimming makes lake or pool swimming boring by comparison.  I don't go to the ocean often but I like to know that it is nearby when I want it.  I feel sorry for all the people who live too far inland to get there easily. 

Enzo and his Mommy in the surf.

This was my grandson's first time in salt water (tasted yucky) and in real waves.  He absolutely loved the water and didn't mind getting knocked over once in a while.  He was thrilled that there was more sand than in his wildest dreams.  Of course even though his mom rinsed him off he still brought a lot of sand back home. 


Before my weight loss surgery I could not have managed a day like this.  I was in such poor health I could not have walked to the water from my car.  It is wonderful to be able to share something I love with my grandson for the first time.  Such simple pleasures are often the best memories. 

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Knee Trouble

A week ago my right knee seized up in pain and woke me up out of a sound sleep.  Keep in mind that my right knee is my GOOD knee. (I once had a meniscus tear and arthroscopic surgery on the left knee.) My mother said it was because my husband kicked me in bed (good ol' Mom) but he sleeps on the left side of the bed and couldn't really reach my right side if he wanted to. It was almost like a spasm in one of the lateral ligaments. I had similar spasms on the left knee but not as bad.  I couldn't seem to work it out with the usual ice, anti inflammatory tablets and elevation.  It was a little better the next day but I still had to walk gingerly.  I did miss one day of work but I didn't want to take any more time off.  I limped back to work on Tuesday and lasted the rest of the week.

My friend, the yoga guru, suggested that my problem is tightness in my hips.  Because of my exercise routine on the stationary bike I may have too much tension in my hips causing the stress to the knee.  She showed me some hip stretches and I've been doing them every day.  I also stretched before and after my cycling at the gym today. I think it helps.

I had a visit with the dietitian last week.  She gave me some new ideas for keeping control of my snacking.  It mainly goes back to the basics of keeping track of intake and adequate fluid intake. She also suggested a behavior modification group for weight loss surgery patients.

I've been a little down because of my dental situation.  I was in a lot of pain and couldn't really chew for a couple of weeks.  I really wasn't able to eat salads or anything crunchy.  I still can't manage protein bars at all but I was getting a little carried away with those anyway.  I'm adjusting slowly and today I did eat a small amount of salad.

The good news is that TCBY just opened a store a mere mile from my home.  They have one sugar free flavor at a time.  Today strawberry.  Fresh fruit toppings and sugar free hot fudge!  Yum!!  We're also getting a Pizza Hut and IHOP but those are both off limits!

Its a never-ending battle to stay healthy.  This hasn't been the first time in my life when my attempts to exercise caused pain.  I wrote about those in a post some time ago.  I think I may seek out a Physiatrist.

Physiatrists, or rehabilitation physicians, are nerve, muscle, and bone experts who treat injuries or illnesses that affect how you move

Rehabilitation physicians are medical doctors who have completed training in the medical specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation The job of a rehabilitation physician is to treat any disability resulting from disease or injury, from sore shoulders to spinal cord injuries. The focus is on the development of a comprehensive program for putting the pieces of a person's life back together after injury or disease – without surgery.

This sounds exactly like what I need.  Now I need to find one and see if my health insurance will cover this.

Love to all, 

Marlena of Mohegan.  

Anniversary Waltz

Well, I'm not actually waltzing but a couple of days ago I reached my second anniversary of my gastric bypass. I had my yearly follow-up visit with my surgeon's office.  They feel I'm doing fine in spite of the fact that I've gained a few pounds.  According to the official office scale I'm up 14 lbs from my lowest.  For me its a warning beacon to start working harder because  I want to lose about sixty more pounds.

There are habits I need to break but I haven't gone completely wacko here.  I still abstain from carbonated beverages which could inflate my pouch.  I've had a little sugar here and there but I don't go crazy.  I don't drink fluids during or right after meals.  I still exercise!  I faithfully get to the gym a minimum of three days per week.  This past week I've doubled my reps on my weight training.  I sometimes walk laps at the school track.  One day I actually jogged a little in the last quarter of the lap.  I try to skip the high impact stuff but I felt good enough to jog a little that day.

I've been scheduled for a visit with the dietitian in a couple of weeks.  I think a little tune up will do me good.  Besides I want to learn more about carbs.  Some packages talk about net carbs.  So some don't count?  Does this make any difference?  Hopefully I'll get some insight here.

I'm scheduled for some extensive dental work next week.  I have several problem teeth that were negatively affected by my diabetes.  I know I don't really chew properly.   I think if I get my teeth in better shape I'll be able to chew my food better instead of swallowing too soon.

It's discouraging to backslide but if I look at old pictures of myself I'm reminded that I've come a long, long way.  I got my life back.  Thanks Dr. Choi.  Thanks to all my doctors who encouraged me to have my weight loss surgery.  Thanks to all my family and friends who supported my efforts.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Still Hanging in There

The other day a belligerent, drug-seeking patient told me he hated the woman "over there" with the curly hair and eyeglasses.  I looked over at the desk where the only occupant was a security guard who did not fit that description.  I told him there was nobody there who had curly hair and glasses.  He looked me straight in the eye and said "you do".  Realizing it was me he hated I was delighted that he did not use any reference to my weight when he was insulting me.   It's nice to know that it wasn't my most obvious characteristic.

Some days I really  don't feel like going to the gym.  But I do it.  I'm trying to keep my daily steps over 7000 on non-gym days.  I moved my pedometer to my hip which seems to register more steps than where I had it before.    Some days I get careless with my eating but I try to avoid empty calories.  Wendy's had brought back my favorite salad for the summer.  The berry almond chicken salad has big strawberries and blueberries with grilled chicken, sliced almonds and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  It does not taste like salad from a bag but fresh and delicious.  So far I've had it twice in the past three days.

Usually I bring a Lean Cuisine for lunch but today I brought some leftover salad from home.  (Not the Wendy's salad.  I never have any of that left over).  It had  lots of cut up cucumbers and radishes and I topped it with some shrimp.  With only 30 minutes for lunch I didn't have enough time to finish all the crispy veggies.  There was just too much to chew in that amount of time.  I ended up bringing them home and eating them with dinner.  It is sad to say though that our workday rush is not suited to a nice healthy salad with lots of fiber.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

My New Blog

I've started a new blog to chronicle my adventures as a nurse over the past 34 years.  I plan to add experiences of other nurses to my own.  You are all invited to read NURSICLE.

   http://nursicle.blogspot.com/

Love,
Marlena of Mohegan