My stomach is still a mess. Is it better than it was when I last posted? Maybe a little bit. I had a very small protein snack an hour ago and while it initially made me feel worse, maybe it opened the door to some minor improvement. Who knows.
Again, if the occasional day like this is the price I have to pay for the weight loss success that gastric bypass surgery gave me, then I absolutely will pay it. No hesitation.
That doesn’t mean today hasn’t sucked though. Oh, it has.
Whatever was going on with my stomach as lunch time approached, it was definitely not pain caused by emptiness. I had lunch and the pain never went away. It’s been about four hours and it’s just as bad now as it was at its worst.
I knew something was wrong when I first woke up this morning, but it went really wrong about 12:30pm and it’s just hanging on for dear stomach-achy life. It’s made this afternoon very difficult. I can’t concentrate, I can’t focus. All I can think about is how my stomach hurts. What did I do wrong? Am I going to end up laying on the floor in a fetal position? That’s happened twice over the last 18 months and both times it was the middle of the night. I don’t think this is as bad as those times, but it sucks quite a lot.
As always though… if this is related to the gastric bypass that allowed me to lose over 200 pounds then it is totally and completely worth it. I will take this every once in a while over how I felt before the surgery every single day. I am definitely having a bad go of it right now, but it is still better than how it used to be. Amen and Huzzah and all that.
Now that I have made that clear… my effin’ stomach can go ahead and stop hurting now, thank you. Amen and Huzzah and all that.
I have made it to lunch time and nothing disastrous has happened yet. My feeling that today is going to be a bad day has not yet come true, but I still have half the work day to go. Fingers crossed that everything stays quiet.
I have been having a couple of issues. My stomach is not having a good day. The frequency of gastric bypass side effects does seem to be getting smaller with time, but today has been noteworthy. I was feeling a little off this morning while drinking water and doing my exercise. By the time I had my protein bar breakfast in the car on the way to work I was okay. Three hours later though I started having that empty-stomach-ache feeling. I had a small snack and felt better, but it only alleviated things for about an hour. Now the stomach ache is back, but I just started eating lunch so hopefully that will put an end to it.
The other issue I am having today is one that I hinted at in a post last night. I am completely exhausted. I got about 6.5 hours of sleep last night, which is a little less than I was hoping for. I still wear my Apple Watch to sleep to keep track of various sleep related data. One data point that seems really important to how rested I feel is called Sleeping Heart Rate Dip. The SleepWatch app says that a dip between 10% and 20% is average. Over 20% is excellent. Under 10% is not good. The last two nights I have been under 10%. I don’t know why. The app recommends exercise as a way to encourage your heart rate to dip more while you sleep, and I have exercised a lot the last couple of days. I’m not sure what to do about this, but I am so tired today that hopefully my body won’t have a choice but to have a good night’s sleep tonight. I guess we’ll see how things look in the morning.
Until then… fingers crossed that my sense of impending doom is not warranted. Here’s hoping!
I’m exhausted. My last few nights sleeps have been short and bad. I’m going to try going to sleep an hour-plus earlier than normal in the hopes of better results.
Think it will work?
I’d create a poll so readers can choose yes or no but I’m too tired… and way too lazy.
Sweet dreams, oh my gentle readers and only friends.
Happy MRI of your tiny, teeny, minuscule little microscopic brain day.
Good thing I have such a magnetic personality, right?
I went to the drugstore today and got myself a couple of vaccine shots. I got a flu vaccine and a shingles vaccine. I’m still not far enough removed from my Covid-19/Disney World experience to need a Covid booster, so I’ll probably get one of those next month.
I drove through downtown so here is the obligatory clock/downtown pics. You’re welcome.
On an unrelated note, the guitar shop posted some more photos of my guitar today. I think it’s done. New bridge, new frets, new nut. Here’s hoping I get another phone call from them tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Two days ago the daily writing prompt thing asked about our favorite subject in school. I wrote a little snippet about my favorite subject in Kindergarten being The Letter People. I couldn’t remember if The Letter People (anthropomorphized cartoon letters of the English alphabet) were cardboard cutouts or inflatables.
As I wrote about not being able to remember I thought to myself that I would ask my mother if she remembered. She did some volunteer work in my Kindergarten class.
Of course it took a few milliseconds for me to remember that my mother is no longer with us. She passed away about nine months ago. That was the first emotional kick to the groin. The second came another millisecond later when I thought that it had been years since my mother’s dementia would have allowed her to recall something insignificant like this from over 40 years ago.
I don’t know why I am posting this. I told Jen about it yesterday because it made me sad and I try to share my feelings with the woman I love. Now? I guess I just miss my mother.
Today is the 1.5 year anniversary of my gastric bypass surgery. In celebration I stepped on the scale and I surely wish I had given it a miss this month.
My exercise routine has been greatly reduced over the last couple of months, partly thanks to Covid, partly thanks to travel, and partly thanks to hurting my back. There have been a lot of days where I should have exercised but did not. The result? I went up 10.8 pounds since last month’s weigh in. Yikes! I am at 215.8, which is still miraculous. I am not complaining here, not even a little bit. I just want to get back onto the exercise track and get back down to around 210 or maybe a little less.
Better luck next month, right? See you again on December 4th! I’m going to a hockey game in Vermont on Sunday December 3rd and I took Monday the 4th off of work. I can celebrate my 19th monthiversary with a day off! Sweet!
We are going to talk about my brain this morning. I’m really hoping it is still there!
How’s everyone’s back feeling today? Everyone out there in internets land feeling okay?
I woke up feeling okay today, after two days of feeling significantly less than okay. I’m not 100% by any stretch, but I am okay. I tried doing my morning exercise but it triggered the back pain again so I stopped. I am going to have to get it in a little at a time. Also, my desk chair in my office space was a little painful but I put a pillow between my back and the chair back and I’m fine now.
My stomach issues are much better as well, but still not 100%. I have been a little queasy this morning, but it hasn’t stopped me. I had my usual breakfast and I am half way to my liquids goal for the day. I’ve been taking it easy and going slow and while it hasn’t been back to normal, it’s been doable. I am planning to go to the post office at lunch time to drop off the film that I ordered developing for the other day so that is going to put off my next meal for a bit. I think I will be okay though.
Keeping my fingers crossed for no back or stomach back sliding today. Continue to feel better, Robert. You can do it!
Inside the Red Head's Head 