My Journey Towards Better Health

[DreamerRose]

That was not a significant increase in your blood pressure. It can vary like that from at to day. If it had gone up to 165, that would be different.

 

[maggiedemi]

I was thinking you 'n your dad were doing pretty good

Since we got home yesterday, I haven't really done anything but watch TV and go on the computer. My stitches make me nervous.

 

[maggiedemi]

That was not a significant increase in your blood pressure. It can vary like that from at to day. If it had gone up to 165, that would be different.

It's stage 1 hypertension on the chart my friend showed me.

 

[Furballsmom]

I don't blame you!! But a day off is ok

 

[DreamerRose]

It's stage 1 hypertension on the chart my friend showed me.

It may be, but it's still not a significant change. Most doctors wouldn't treat it. A point or two per day doesn't mean anything. It takes a change of 10 to 20 points to make a difference.

 

[neely]

{My surgeon said I can eat whatever I want now, except for my hot sauce. I can't remember if he said I could have fried foods or not. I haven't yet.}

I certainly don't want to tell you what to eat or not eat but fried foods are really not the best for anyone. If you have a craving I would recommend eating them in moderation. Otherwise there are other healthier options to prepare food than frying.

My friend, you have come a long way by taking charge of your medications and overall health which is a major improvement. Keep up the good work!

ETA: somehow I messed up the quotes and wanted to add that I agree with what @Jem said about walking and exercise being beneficial. I meant to add that if you can do some gentle yoga it might help relax you and alleviate some of the stress. Otherwise if it is too difficult to lie down you can also try chair yoga.

 

[Jcatbird]

I know you love music. Try calming music. No sad songs, nothing to get you excited, maybe not the stuff you would normally gravitate too but just something calming.

 

[rubysmama]

The antibiotic is fine and I had zero reaction to it.

One thing about antibiotics that you may, or may not, know, is that when it kills the bad bacteria that's causing the infection, it also kills the good bacteria in your digestive system/bowel. And that can sometimes cause diarrhea.

So, if you like yogurt, you might want to look into eating some with pro-biotics, to help replenish the good bacteria. https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&query=probiotice+yogurt

There's also pro-biotic pills you can take. If you go that route, maybe check with the pharmacist to get their advice on the best one for you.

 

[artiemom]

~ Some take magnesium citrate to lower blood pressure.

Be careful with the magnesium. I got into trouble taking too much of it: bad diarrhea. You do not need that now.

One thing about antibiotics that you may, or may not, know, is that when it kills the bad bacteria that's causing the infection, it also kills the good bacteria in your digestive system/bowel. And that can sometimes cause diarrhea.

So, if you like yogurt, you might want to look into eating some with pro-biotics, to help replenish the good bacteria. https://www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&query=probiotice+yogurt

There's also pro-biotic pills you can take. If you go that route, maybe check with the pharmacist to get their advice on the best one for you.

Yes, antibiotics do kill off some of the good bacteria. Eat yogurt to replenish them. Probiotics are good also; but I would check with your doctor before trying them.

I would really check with your doctor before trying any meds, except a multi-vitamin. These are always good.

As far as exercise: walking is very good, but do not overdo it.
Do not do any bending or lifting, while you still have stitches. You do not want to pull any of them.

Be careful when washing around the area~~ very gently..

As far as you surgeon, 'trying to get rid of you', or you not feeling 'welcome'. I do not think that is the case. I think you may be reading into things too much. He is your surgeon. He operated on you. OF Course, he wants to be informed, by you, if you have any issues, with the stitches.

And, No, your "guts" will not fall out. Stop thinking that. It is not true. The inner layer is healed, but with fragile thin skin.. The outer layer has to heal.

Please be honest with all your doctors, case manage, adult protective person, all of them. They are there to help you, to provide you with what ever type of help you need. Especially the Adult Person. She is there to help you.

Be honest, telling them all that you have been through, and are going through, your concerns, your hopes for the future: what you want out of life; What you have now; Ask how you Can get help to achieve what you want. Be honest.

If this woman wants to have a home visit, please allow her. Do not stop her. Do not do this for the sake fo 'what your mother would think/do/say.' Explain your fears to Her. She is there to provide you with what you need, including your mother. She can help.

Do not feel as if you have to "cover up" things for the sake of your parents, especially your mom. You need to be honest, and not hide anything.

If she wants to have a home visit, please allow her to visit. And please be honest about everything which has happened and is happening to you, while you are living at home. All of it, everything.

Believe me, She will not be shocked. This woman has seen and heard a lot. She is here, trying to help you, to provide you with the all the help you need. If that even means housekeeping services, then you need it. Do not refuse the help.

She is trying to help you, and by helping you, both she and you can end up helping your mother. I bet you never thought of it that way!

For food, easy is omelettes, and good too~~ sauté some mushrooms, some peppers, add some cheese... so good.. And how about a nice, cold cut low salt turkey sandwich? with lettuce and tomato.. and perhaps an avocado.

Or even get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store? Really good with some mashed potatoes, or roasted sweet potatoes, and some corn. Nice and easy, and nutritious.

Get yourself a good food thermometer. This way you can check the internal temps of meats, so you know when they are cooked.

This is a great time for beef stew, soups, even oven pot roast.. not that hard to do.

Avoid potato chips, popcorn. Get pretzels, but take the salt off before eating.

A nice milk shake--use almond milk with some ice cream.. and some chocolate syrup. Yum.. mix in blender.. or use some almond milk and yogurt. and fresh fruit. strawberries.. blueberries. Cottage cheese is good. Baked potato with sour cream .. make a small hamburger for yourself. Make a steak! stove top..

Start looking at some recipes.. Allrecipes is a good site, so is the Food Network.

While you are still healing--it takes a long time to completely heal.. even longer than you think.. You need to eat more nutritiously and take in more calories, in order to get healthy.
Your body is working very hard..

Keep up the good work. Do not slack off on improving things.. You, your living situation... do not stop standing up for yourself--keep on fighting. Do not get complacent that things cannot backslide. You have to keep going..

The comments your mother said about the antibiotics is kind of a tip that if you let your guard down, things will go back to what they were. Stay strong. and keep going.. take control of your life. It is your life; not belonging to anyone else.

On another note:
When are your brothers coming over to clean up the place?
You should really be getting this done ASAP. Mold, the clutter, dust, etc; are all a hinderance to you getting physically healthy. These are things which can keep you from healing..
You really do know if the infection was a result of the stitches popping, or a product of the environment you are living in.

The sooner you can be in a physically healthy environment, the better you will be: physically, medically, emotionally. At that point, you will feel so much stronger.

You need to get out, and live your life.. This way, you can still help your parents, but also help yourself. The better you are, the more you can do to help them.. Just see...

 

[maggiedemi]

except a multi-vitamin. These are always good.

I started taking my multivitamin again today.

As far as you surgeon, 'trying to get rid of you', or you not feeling 'welcome'. I do not think that is the case. I think you may be reading into things too much.

Yes, he did try to get rid of me because of my mom's antics. But he understands now and likes me.

If this woman wants to have a home visit, please allow her. Do not stop her.

I'm just not comfortable with that, my blood pressure is already through the roof. I have to do what is right for me.

When are your brothers coming over to clean up the place?

I have an oozing hole in my stomach, so I can't really concentrate on anything else at the moment.

You really do know if the infection was a result of the stitches popping, or a product of the environment you are living in.

The infection was from showering too soon and not keeping the wound dry. My house isn't dirty, it's cluttered and dusty. I'm a very clean person.

You need to get out, and live your life.

I can't get out right now. I have nothing. I have no furniture, linens, dishes, computer, phone. Zero.

 

[Lari]

If your doctor okays it, prenatal vitamins have even more of the good stuff than regular. I was given permission to start now and get my body full of the good stuff even though I won't be trying to get pregnant until 2020. Since you need to rebuild your body the extra nutrients may help.

 

[tarasgirl06]

IDK why I lost this thread because I am watching it, M maggiedemi ! But I caught up on it and want to extend continuing *PRAYERS* and best wishes of wellbeing, healing, and good health for you. You're doing great! With the vitamins, though, make sure you don't overdo it, because going over the daily allowance of some vitamins such as A and D can be harmful. Same thing with the minerals. If you take a daily multivitamin/multi-mineral, that should be enough along with a good healthy intake of food.
If you like puzzles, I don't recall if I shared this link but you may like jigsawplanet.com where you'll find free puzzles. There are a lot with cats, beautiful scenery, etc. It's a favorite of mine!
Wishing everyone there the best.

 

[kashmir64]

Ohhh. I forgot. My dad's standard truck doesn't have a Park setting. So he put it in neutral and set the emergency break, with the truck still running. Then he came inside to get me. He goes back outside and the truck rolled down our huge hill! The license plate broke off, and we don't know what other damage it caused. So we took my mom's car today. It's a good thing his truck didn't cross the road and hit anybody!

I have driven a stick up until the last few years. I was always taught that if you are facing a down hill slope, to put it in reverse and set the parking brake. Otherwise it goes in first and parking brake set. NEVER put it in neutral unless you are right there to stop it.
Glad no damage was done to it or another. It could've been much worse than it was.

 

[Jcatbird]

Treat yourself as well as you treat your kitties and everything will be fine. Kitten steps will get you trough. You’ll work things out one day at a time. If you feel you need to focus first on the stitches then get through that. Then focus on what should be next. Just stay focused. I think you worry too far ahead. Things have a way of coming together. You have lots of healing, love and support vibes coming your way. Heal

 

[catsknowme]

I agree with with focusing on healing your stitches, which, ironically, means not actively worrying about them but trusting your body's "silent" healing & defense processes that are constantly, even now, using your antibiotics and vitamins to assist in that. If you feel tired, just rest - listen to what your body really wants.
It sounds like you have a good relationship with your dad, as I did. My mom sounds very similar to yours except that mine is OCD about clean which can also be nerve wracking, especially because she was a traditional homemaker so doesn't appreciate the value (or need) of things like tools but gets upset at paying for handyman services. My dad taught me to shoot, use tools like a chainsaw, picks, axes, shovels, lawnmowers, etc. so when my big brothers went to college, I could do the "guy chores" for my mom such as managing the wood pile and do flood control in our horse pasture.
If and when you take probiotics, be sure to space them 2-4 hours apart from your antibiotic. The antibiotic can kill off the beneficial bacteria in your probiotic. You can consider taking L-lysine to help boost your immune system. When I had extensive shoulder/upper arm/chest wall surgery, my surgeon had me take extra vitamins E, C, D and prenatal vitamins before and after surgery; my regular doctor was unusually proactive and routinely did a blood panel looking for vitamin deficiencies (a practice that I wish that more doctors did). Maybe your regular doctor can do a vitamin and mineral panel for you, too - it took me almost a year to get my disabled daughter's doctor to do one and more than a year to get the food intolerance test (she had gastric issues and lost over 80 pounds in a year and had to be hospitalized for 3 days); she is now on Rx B12 and Vitamin D plus takes strong probiotics (the pharmacist showed us several OTC ones that were comparable to the Rx version but 40% cheaper). Since starting the vitamin regimen and new food plan, she has gained 16 lbs and has not gone below 110 lbs all summer! - we still have a ways to go to reach the goal of 135# but, as Jcatbird says, "kitten steps"!
Are you able to keep a diary or picture diary of your journey to health? I first began doing that with my cats, for the vet (something that I learned here at TCS) but do it for my daughter as well - it really helps get the doctor's attention. All the wisdom that you are learning on this latest path will be very useful for yourself and others.
Joining my prayers and vibes with all the others sent on your behalf -

 

[foxxycat]

M maggiedemi continued prayers for you and want you to know-we care and we understand what your wishes are. Rest. And be calm-maybe you and Rockhead can make a small trip to town once a week as a break from the stress...

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

M maggiedemi - one of the worst things is not being able to take the usual shower! My husband likes showers too, and after his surgery, he was so depressed not being able to have his normal showers. We got one of these fun spinning stools to put in the tub, though, for his sponge baths plus we also got penguin safety stickers! Anything to have a more cheerful time in there until he could have his old showers back!

Hang in there!

 

[tarasgirl06]

M maggiedemi I overthink everything, too -- probably why I have insomnia. Always trying to plan everything to the nth degree. I spent several years on anti-anxiety Rx and it was tough going cold turkey -- bad withdrawals! but I am so glad I did that. Yes, anxiety is there. It doesn't go away. But I do try to work on myself using Prayer, meditation, breathing and just telling myself NO ONE KNOWS what the future will bring, so just use common sense and try to do the best (I) can and deal with life as it comes.
*PRAYERS* for your stitches to close up and the infection to be GONE. Everyone here has really good and caring input. One day, hour, moment at a time, okay? You'll get there. One thing that really helps me when I get stressed is to tell myself, Well, you've come through X amount of stress, crises, disasters, etc., and YOU'RE STILL HERE! That really works for me.

 

[rubysmama]

M maggiedemi : It's been a couple days since you've posted. Everything ok?

Remember, we worry, and with good reason, as the last time you were MIA, you came back and told us you'd been in the hospital.

So, totally understand if you need a break from the internet, but when you can, just post so we know you're alive and well.

 

[di and bob]

Oh M maggiedemi , I'm so sorry! I'll pray for you to heal quickly, you are so loved and needed!