Catching up!!!

Life flies by and you never know what is around the corner...especially with me!  I have a few things to update and it is time that I caught you all up with what has been going on in the past year.

As you know we made some changes to our diet.  Things were going well and we felt good but I knew that our bodies could be better.  So I was looking for ways to improve our bodies even more.

So I started looking into cleansing.  Whooo, now I know what you are thinking, why do you want to do something like that were you are sitting on a toilet!?!?!?!  NOT THAT KIND OF CLEANSE!!!

I am talking about doing a cellular cleanse.  We live in such a toxic environment, that I knew we had to help our bodies out more.  But I found out that finding a cellular cleanse is HARD.  Not much out there and I have high standards....lots of criteria to be met.  And then one day I got a call out of the blue...from someone that I didn't expect would give me the answer that I was looking for.

Glenn's ex-wife told me of a nutritional system that her and her husband had been doing.  She was concerned for me and knew of my health problems and she took a step of faith by going out there and telling me about this.  I listened, it sounded what I was looking for.

So I started my research.  And I liked what I was finding.  It was a cellular cleanse.  It was organic.  It was gluten free.  Not only did we cleanse our cells, we could then replenish them!  Are you kidding me?!?!?!  This was something that was available to me?!?!?!  I had to give it a try.  I had nothing to lose!

So on March 23, 2012, we began our journey.  We really didn't know what to expect, but we knew that something would happen.  And boy did things happen!  In the first month we both released around 10 pounds and 16 inches.  All we did was weekly cleansing and putting proper nutrition back into our bodies. 

We continued.  We gained so much energy.  Our aches and pains were no longer issues for us.  We were sleeping through the night.  I had my immune system back.  That was HUGE for me!  We felt so alive and so much better!  I knew that my body was capable of feeling better and functioning better!  It just needed the right ingredients and it took off and did amazing things for us.  We owe so much to Glenn's ex-wife for taking the leap of faith and telling us about this amazing nutritional company called Isagenix.

Not only did our bodies change, our personal lives changed.  We have mended our relationship with Glenn's ex-wife.  We now have family gatherings all together.  It has impacted our lives so much for the better.  We are truly truly thankful.

Shortbread cookies

It has been awhile since I have posted but things are going good so there really isn't much to update you on.  But I had to share this...

Christmas once again has come and gone and we had a wonderful season of celebrating with friends and family.  But sometimes, as strong as I am, I feel a little left out.  I mean, I am used to not being able to have all the goodies at functions, I get used to bringing my own snacks and treats.  I have found wonderful alternatives to some of my favorite things that I can eat.

But...sometimes I REALLY miss shortbread cookies.  My mother-in-law shared with me a few years ago her wonderful shortbread cookie recipe.  I always make a batch of them at Christmas time.  They are a hit.  But now, I can't eat them.  And I can't find any wheat/gluten free shortbread cookies that I like yet.  So it kills me that I can't have these!

But...I broke down and had one in a sheer moment of weakness.  I couldn't help myself.  And it tasted so GOOD!  I am not going to lie.  So GOOD!

Nothing bad happened to me.  At least, not right away.  I thought I could have gotten away with it.  Ah, it is not so simple.  Although I did feel sluggish (I tried to blame it on other things), my thumbnail started to grow back with the groove in it.  And now that it is in the final stages of growing out (which is the most painful!) I am continually reminded how much I should have left that darn cookie alone.

So lesson learned...even 1 little cookie can wreak so much havoc.  At least I wasn't stuck in the bathroom.  That could have been worse but at least it would have been over with in a couple of days.  This thumbnail has lasted for over a month.  A reminder never to do it again.

So the hunt is back on.  To find me a version of shortbread cookies that I will LIKE and won't harm me...

Thank goodness Christmas only comes once a year!

November 2011

I start this month off by seeing Dr. Game to see if my iron levels are any better.  Although my ferretin is up, I still border on the side of being anemic.  Dr. Game believes from looking at all my blood work that the problems stem from my under active thyroid.  We did extensive testing on my thyroid a few weeks ago and it shows that although the "normal" levels for TSH are good, when you look at my T3 levels, I am not converting the synthroid that I am on to help my thyroid out.  As well, my thyroid antibodies show that my thyroid is clearly not working right.  So Dr. Game says that until my thyroid gets straightened out, I will always be anemic so I need to go back to my doctor.

I see my doctor a few days later and tell him about my appointment with Dr. Game.  We change my thyroid med's.  This may help a little bit but it won't take care of the problem completely.  It is frustrating trying to work with doctor's sometimes when they just want to keep throwing a pill at you.  What we really need to work on is getting my body to transfer the med's to my body properly.  So I am a little frustrated but I will give this new dosage of med's a try for awhile and see if we get anywhere.  I guess my thyroid story is....to be continued...

I also have my follow-up appointment with Dr. Moysa.  He is very pleased (as am I!!) with the way my breasts are developing after the surgery.  Unless I have any problems, I no longer have to see him.  COMPLETE SUCCESS!!  Best thing I ever did for myself was have this surgery!  And good thing because I can now be a bikini girl.  Which leads me to our trip!

It is our 10 year anniversary this month and we are celebrating with a bang!  We decided 2 years ago that we wanted to do a big trip and started saving up all that we could.  We knew that we wanted to do a 2 week vacation, in the Caribbean somewhere where we could relax and enjoy just being the 2 of us!  We ended up choosing Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and on November 17 we left for 2 weeks of paradise.  We stayed at the 5 star, adult only resort called Royal Bavaro Catalonia.  We were able to get a suite with our own swimming pool!  It was pure paradise and we enjoyed every minute of our vacation.  Here are some pictures!  We even renewed our vows in a ceremony on the beach.  Pure bliss!

In our pool at our suite

In the main pool

10 year anniversary!

Vow renewal ceremony

October 2011

October 3rd I went back to see Dr. Game about the results from my CT Scan.  Of course nothing showed up and I don't have lymphoma.  I am still anemic and I have to up my iron meds once again.  I will follow up with him in 4 weeks time to see how things are going.

Things are going really well with my health.  I feel good.  Nothing crazy has happened.  I am healing up nicely from my 2 surgeries.  Life is on the up swing.   I am doing some reflexology which I absolutely LOVE.  Not only does it feel good to have your feet and calves massaged, it just works really well with my body.

Other than that, we are just gearing up to get ready for our big trip next month to Punta Cana to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  We have so much to celebrate!!

September 2011

So it has been about a month since my CT Scan and I haven't heard anything.  I follow up with Dr. Game's office and they say that the CT Scan revealed nothing and that I can see him for a follow-up appointment on October 3rd.  Phew, just as I thought, everything is okay.

September 6 I have my womanly physical with my gynecologist Dr. Mayo.  I am back to regular yearly checkups for my pap smears since I have been cleared by the colposcopy doctor that my cervix no longer has abnormal cells.  My appointment goes well and I ask Dr. Mayo about my surgery that I have been waiting for for over a year.  I have very heavy periods that last 7-10 days and they figure this is a factor in my anemia problem.  We discussed over a year ago of doing an endometrial ablation, yet I have heard nothing of this surgery to date.  When I tell Dr. Mayo that I am still waiting, he immediately tells me that he will check with his nurse.  He comes back in and says that I will be booked for surgery before the end of the month.  He is very apologetic and says somehow my paper work got put aside.  The office will get back to me in the next couple of days with a surgery date.

True to their word, I get a call a couple of days later and I am scheduled to go in for surgery in St. Albert on September 28th.  I am happy about this as I am still not working so we can get this procedure out of the way before I head back to work.  

Everything else with my health is doing really well.  I feel good, no, I feel GREAT!  Things seem to be really going along well.  I am looking for work, working out again, living life like one should be.  I am LOVING my new body.  So with this surgery, it will just fine tune one more thing and I will be a completely new person.

Surgery on September 28th goes off real well.  It is just day surgery so I am home that night resting.  The next day I am a little tired, probably from the anaesthesia but other than that, I feel good.  You would never know that I had surgery.  2 days later I am washing all the windows in our place for fall cleaning.  So happy that they were able to get me in and get this surgery over with! 

Now we just have to see what Dr. Game, my blood specialist has to say.  What is up with those high white blood cell counts in my stomach?  We will find out!

August 2011

August 3rd I go for yet another CT Scan of my abdomen.  I am so used to these that it isn't a problem for me.  But this time is different because I have not been using my arms.  A nurse had to help me get dressed in my gown (I can't lift my arms up).  All is good and then I get in the room for the scan and then I remember, you have to put your arms above your head for this.

I explain to the nurses that I just had a breast reduction and have not lifted my arms for a few weeks now.  I know that I will have to do so for the scan, but can we please wait until the last dying second to do so and can we do this as quickly as possible.  We do the best that we can and I raise my arms above my head and try to not think about the pain.  It is finally over and we take it easy getting me back off the bed and back into my normal clothes.  Just glad that it is over.  Home to rest and take more pain killers.

August 4 I have to change the tape on my incisions and since last week I almost fainted doing so, I get a nurse friend to come over and change it for me.  Everything goes well and I am sure that next week I will be able to do it on my own.  I again think that it was just all the med's and such that made me so woozy but I wanted to make sure that this week went smoothly with the tape changes.  And of course the next week when I did it by myself, everything went just fine.

August 18th, I am changing my tape and realize that my stomach is wet.  I look at my incision and I have a hole that is leaking fluid in my right breast.  Luckily my sister in law was over and I had her look at it to see what she thought.  She confirmed that it was a hole and that I was leaking but that it was small.  I clean up, tape up and call my surgeon's office.  They tell me that this can happen sometimes but not to worry, just to keep it clean and all should be okay.  I am scheduled to see Dr. Moysa in just a few days for another follow-up so I will leave it until then.

August 22nd I see Dr. Moysa.  Everything is going well except for this little hole that is leaking.  Dr. Moysa looks at it and confirms that it is normal and then he shocks it with some silver treatment to help it heal.  I am to keep that part of the incision open (no tape) and to keep a loose gauze over the hole to catch the leaking.

A couple of days later, I am really leaking from this hole and I think that the hole is bigger.  My nursing friend comes back over and yes, that hole has gotten a bit bigger and I should probably go back and have them check it out.  I mean I just am unsure!  I don't want anything to go wrong!

So the next day I go back to the surgical suite and they check it out.  Even though it has gotten a little bigger, it still looks normal to them and I am just to be patient as it needs to heal from the inside out.  Nothing to do but wait.  I leave reassured and pray that this thing will seal over very quickly!  They tell me it could be weeks before it heals and I just am not very patient at waiting for things like that.  So I will have to wait.  Keep it clean and all should be good.

I have now passed the 4 week mark since the surgery and I am so curious to know what size I am.  I know that I shouldn't even begin to think of shopping for new bras for at least 3 months after the surgery as there is much swelling and you don't know what you will be until then.  But I can't wait, I have to know a ball park figure as to where I am.  So I go to Victoria Secret.  A store that I have never been able to shop in before.  I tell them my story and say that I am not here to buy a bra (yet!) but would like a measurement.  They do this for me.  And I am so HAPPY!!  Can you guess what I am after the surgery???  Remember I was a 36G before the surgery.  Maybe this picture can help you out.  It is bra before surgery and bra post surgery:

Can you see the difference??????

I am now measured at a 36B!  A B!!!!!  That is what I wanted and that is what I got!  So super excited.  I will never get rid of that one 36G bra...it is a reminder of where I have come from.  The scars and pain are well worth it.  I would do this all over again in a heart beat.  Best thing I have ever done!!!

White Blood Cells and Changing Tape

July 26th, I go off to see the blood specialist Dr. Game.  We are to discuss the findings of the excessive blood cells that they found in my stomach when they did the biopsies when I was in the hospital.

Dr. Game doesn't miss a beat.  He goes right into explaining what could be going on.  He says we will need to to a CT Scan of my abdomen to check this out.  I might have Lymphoma.  He says he will be discussing my case with his colleagues at the Cross Cancer Institute.  

What?  Excuse me?  I am not expecting to hear this news.  Yet, it doesn't upset me because I know that this is not it.  I don't have Lymphoma.  If I did, I would be sick and I am not sick.  I get booked into a CT Scan for August 3rd.  I have had so many of these things, if I AM sick, it is because of all the stinking radiation from all these tests!  So off I go.  Another test and we will see what happens.

A couple of days later I have to change the tape on my breasts.  This does not bother me as I like things like that and blood and guts doesn't do me in like it does for other people.  But something happened on this day.  I changed my tape and I was so nauseated afterwards.  It really affected me for some reason!  Maybe it is all the pain killers that I am on, I don't know.  I spent the rest of the day trying to keep the nausea at bay.  I think next week I might need some help with this.  Good grief!