Not a very accurate reading, however, since I've been sick and barely eating or moving!!
I posted previously about having a UTI, except it turned out it wasn't a UTI after all, but the start of a diverticulitis flare. Uggg....I hate them!! I know I have to have surgery to get this taken care of, but I'm just not there yet. The doctors I see are great, both my medical guy and the surgeon. My medical doc (GI specialist) is very concerned and wants me to have surgery. The surgeon says to let him know when. I, on the other hand, would like to get my weight down a bit lower before undergoing this surgery....at least another 10 pounds. I'd also like to wait until closer to the end of the year.
So anyway, I was on 2 antibiotics this time, one for a week and the second for 2 weeks. They knocked the crap out of me!! But, I'm better now, and finally starting to feel back to normal. I've started my walking again and a little bit of weights. Low weights, very low.
During the diverticulitis flare I had to stop eating low carb for a bit....but still did pretty good. You see, since the bowel is inflammed, you have to keep from causing any further irritation, so you have to eat a low residue diet. Initially it's clear liquids, then full liquids, and then low residue.
Low residue means no whole grains, processed only. It also means only a few fruits and veggies, and all of them cooked. No seeds or nuts too. I could have all the meat and eggs I wanted, but who wants to eat meat when they're constantly nauseated? So....I had white bread and saltines and a little bit of fruits and veggies. I'm not considering this a cheat as I didn't have any candy or sweets, and was under doctor's orders to eat what I did. I stopped and went back to "normal" eating as soon as I could. I kept track of what I ate, and didn't go over 100g carbs each day, so I guess it wasn't that bad. No cravings either.....probably since I had some protein along with the crackers and bread.
So, I'm fine now, and I'm going to put the surgery out of my mind for now. Hopefully the next flare either will not happen, or not happen for several months. This flare was only about 5 months after the last....definitly getting closer together. And each time I worry about obstructing, but so far so good.
On another subject, I got flowers for Mother's Day!!! Twice!!!
My son brought me a bouquet of yellow flowers, which he very nicely trimmed and put in a vase for me. They're so pretty!! Mums, daisies and one of my favorites, carnations!
Flowers from my sonMy daughter had an arrangement delivered to me at work!! First time I've ever received flowers at work! Her arrangement was all kinds of flowers, including my absoulte favorite, peony!
Flowers from my daughter
One week later....holding up nicely!
Close up of the yellow mums
Close up of the peonyAren't they pretty?? I'm a very lucky mom!!
6 comments:
Beautiful flowers!
And sorry to hear about the diverticulitus. Sounds like you did a great job taking care of your health--adjusting your diet the way you needed to without using it as an excuse to go nuts as Crabby might have done in your situation. (What? No whole wheat? Okay, bring on the Krispy Kremes!)
Hope there are no further flare ups, or at least not for a really long time.
Going off the deep end has been one of my problems with the flares. I usually eat campbell's chicken noodle soup...yep, the old stuff. And I'd usually have it with buttered white bread!!
This time I stuck to eggs, tuna and peanut butter for my protein, and didn't have a cracker or piece of bread without protein. I measured out the white stuff I was eating and had small amounts of cooked fruits and veggies (no seeds, of course).
I think because I was careful with the carbs and made sure I got my protein and fat, was what saved me. I've always been told to stick to low fat, low protein and high refined carb for coming off flares, but this time I looked it up on the internet and found the details of a low residue diet....and followed it. I hope this means future flares at least won't throw me into a binge!!
Hey Cindy just wanted to say good job on being overweight!!!!
I wanted to say this on the right post but for some reason it is not letting me.
Thanks Sherry!!
I fixed the post so comments are now allowed.
Re: your diverticulitis, you might find a few nuggets of help in a book called The Fiber Menace. It is written by a fellow who cured his own bowel disease, after reading a lot of medical literature and learning as much as he could because the conventional advise failed to help him. I think the book might be self-published (but is avail at Amazon, as well as the author's website) and as such it has a few problems: repetitiveness, lack of organization, a few typos, and a couple of wording errors. And I think he overstates some things and takes a few cheap, unsubstantiated shots at Dr. Atkins (despite the author being a supporter of low carb diets for bowel health). But even after accounting for these weaknesses, I think he may have a strong case against the high fiber push that we currently hear everywhere (but studies are now not supporting). Much of what he gets right rings very true for me and I have found several of his recommendations to be helpful.
Hi anna....thanks for the recommendation, I'll see if I can find it at the library.
I am NOT a big proponent of fiber and have found for myself too high a fiber intake, especially if it's with supplements, causes everything to shut down! And yea, I drink a ton of water (minimum 1/2gal/day PLUS coffee and tea). Fiber from veggies is the best, particularly lettuces. I also think the grain push is just as bad. I do have some grains as I know they aren't a problem (as far as gluten intolerance), but I do limit them.
For me the most effective thing is to eat mostly fresh and home cooked, fairly high in fat and protein, and low in carbs. If my fat intake is high enough, I don't need any fiber. I also take Magnesium as a supplement and that also keeps things moving.
Per both my surgeon and medical GI doc, fiber isn't as important as preventing constipation is. If fiber helps, great, if not, do what ever works.
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