It's Been A While

  I realize I haven't posted in a little over a month, but I have been feeling bad about myself. After, joining that weight loss support group, I did well the first 2 weeks. I started going down hill after that, only because the admin of the group required us to post weekly pictures. Not only do I hate taking pictures, but I wasn't seeing any improvement. I didn't think posting a picture every week was helping me, in fact it was hurting me. If I couldn't see the difference when I am working my ass off, and sticking with in my calories, why do it at all, right? Finally, last week, I left that group. I have still been working out and eating well, well up until today. I weighed in and I had gained and not lost. I have been working out every day for 2 hours, and according to my fitness pal, I am burning almost 1,000 calories, and I am staying way below my calories for the day. I guess I am just a little depressed, and wondering if all of this is really worth it.

  While in that group, I went from doing 2 hours of Sweatin to the Oldies, to walking 4 miles a day. I thought I was burning more calories, but I wasn't. With walking 4 miles a day I was burning almost 500 calories a day, and with the aerobics (low impact), I am burning almost 1,000. I have went back to the aerobics. With the aerobics I can do it from the comfort of my house, where no one else can say rude nasty things to me.

  My pain and headaches have really gotten to me this weekend. I haven't had more than 4 hours of sleep in the last 2 days. I have also scrubbed my carpet, not with a shampooer, but with a scrub brush. I had a good workout doing that.

  My insurance is officially switched, but I haven't received the insurance card yet. As soon as I get it I will try to get back into Dr. C as soon as possible. I will go in for surgery as soon as possible also.

Check In

  I know it's been a week or so, but I haven't been slacking off at all. I have been either doing 2 hours of Sweatin to the Oldies or I have started walking again. The last 3 days I have walked any where from 2.5 to 3 miles. I just keep pushing myself. I will not let this disease or pain stop me!

  Since posting last, something has changed. I finally said yes to my bf's proposal. Now I have more motivation in losing all this weight. I figure if I can get down 1 to 2 more sizes, I would look so much better in my wedding dress. I am currently down to a size 16, and would hope to get at least to a size 14, but 12 would be much better.

 Now for some disappointment for me. I thought I was doing great with my weight loss, but then a trip to the doctor proved that wrong. Their scales said I weighed 220 still. That means by their scales I only lost 22 lbs not 32. That was a 10 lb difference. I cam home and cried. I got over it and set my scales for what their scales said. I have been working my but off, and now my scales say I weigh 211. It was a big disappointment, that took me a day or so to get over but I did. I will continue to workout and get through this.Just 3 more pounds until I am back to the 208 I was at a month ago, or so I thought. I did lose 3 lbs this week. I just have to find away to tell the ladies in my weight loss support group. I don't want to seem like I was cheating at all.

 Here is a pic of me now. I will try my hardest to remember to post a pic every week.

 Here is a pic of the scale this morning.

Slacking Off!!!

 A lot has been going on the last few weeks. My son graduated high school, that last 2 weeks was very busy! Then, my sister came for a visit, she was suppose to be here while I had surgery, but since it was cancelled she stayed for a week. Henry was off for vacation, he kept me very busy. We did something I really love, but wore me totally out. We went to watch a SF Giants game. We stayed in a town close to San Fran, then took the BART to San Fran, then had to walk about 30 minutes to AT&T Park, walked down a ton of stairs to get to our seats (they were great seats!!!), then back up the stairs, back to the BART station (the walk seemed much longer), then back to the truck, and a 3 hour ride home. That was Thursday, Friday we spent the day shopping, the Saturday we went to Henry's family reunion, it was a very nice day, but yet again on my feet a lot and long car rides. It took me days to get over this. Then, I got the bright idea that I needed to paint the kitchen cabinets and the bathroom. If I would have known how much a little painting would give me so much pain, I wouldn't have done it. I am still painting the bathroom, but will finish tonight or in the morning.

 I realize some of you may think I am making an excuse for not working out, but with everything I did I feel like I have worked out harder than normal. However, I haven't been eating all that great lately. So, now I have a new plan. It is getting way to hot here to be working out in the early evening and I am so worn out by the end of the night. I am going to start getting up at 7:30 am and will be working out by 8 am. I think this plan will workout for me much better, because I am having problems dealing with the heat.

 Overall, I have only gained 2 lbs. I know, I am shocked too...lol It could have been much worse! Tonight I joined a support group with a lot of lovely ladies with the same goal in mind, to lose weight and get healthier. I am glad there is more people willing to support me, unlike some people around me.

Steak, Potatoes, and Salad

 I know I haven't posted in a while, but we have been very busy and haven't really been cooking much. Last night I cooked some chicken, rice, and veggies. Tonight it was Jake's turn to cook. He decided on steak (we got it for $3.50 in the reduce for quick sale) it was a top sirloin, some red potatoes, and I made myself a salad.

 For the steak he used a dry rub, A-1 sweet mesquite, then he seared it in the cast iron skillet until it medium. In separate skillet he sauteed 1 medium sliced yellow onion, mushrooms, and garlic, in olive oil.

 For the potatoes he took some red potatoes, placed them in a medium sized pot, added oil, butter, sliced garlic, basil, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. He let those brown, then added some turkey stock. He then covered them, and let them steam. However he let them go to far, so they ended up like mashed potatoes with the skin, he added Parmesan cheese to them and stirred. They tasted great!

Rough Week

 Last Friday, my doctor started me on a new medication, diamox, to help my headaches. It was the worse thing I could have done. I had so many side effects from it. It caused me to drink a lot more water, 15+ bottles of water a day. The medication is used as a diuretic, so along with the drinking all that water I was running to the bathroom, that caused me to get dehydrated. It also caused a lack of appetite, I was eating maybe 500 calories a day, it also caused me to throw up every day, and be nauseous all day long. This caused my energy to go away. I was actually taking naps and laying on the couch a lot, probably because I was up half the night going to the bathroom. It also caused my blood sugar to go way up, higher than it had ever been, in fact before I started taking this medication I hadn't taken any blood sugar meds in a month. I couldn't concentrate at all. At work my student was explaining his word problems to me because I was having issues figuring them out. The worst thing is that I couldn't even follow the SF Giants play, or even read a book. One thing that really killed me was when I first tasted a diet pepsi after taking the medication, it tasted like dirt. I found out later that day that it was any carbonated drink. Each day I was feeling worse.

 I started the diamox on Thursday, I gave it a week. The following Thursday I decided to stop taking it. I just couldn't take the side effects any longer. That night I told my son what I had decided to do, he told me if I wouldn't have said that, he was going to tell me that I should stop it. I think that is pretty bad when your son notices what a medication is doing to you. It has been 3 days since I have stopped taking it and I am still not back to my "normal" self, whatever it may be. I am hoping that by tomorrow I will be back at working out and feeling better.

  As far as my weight it is the same as it was the last time I checked in, I hope to get back on track.

May 18th, Weigh In

   Let me start out with how disappointed my week started out. I received a call from the neurosurgeon's office that my surgery was cancelled because my insurance is now out of network. I was so looking forward to having surgery to help with all this pain I endure every single day. I sent a message to my insurance and they sent me this response. Dear Shannon,

 That is correct, Sutter Memorial Hospital and provider, Samuel Circillo are both out-of-network providers and require to obtain prior-authorization approval before rendering any services. Per our records you are currently active with California Health & Wellness. Your eligibility is determined by Department of Health Care Services for the Medi-Cal insurance program. You any changes in your eligibility. I am hoping that the doctor's office will file for a pre-authorization and I will get this done soon.

 I upped my workouts to both the Sweatin to the Oldies 2&3, and this week 3 times I completed both of them. There has been a few days where I hurt so much I just couldn't do it. Like last night, I woke up yesterday morning with a horrible headache. It just wouldn't go away. I tried working out, I did the complete #3, but just made it through 4 songs on #2. I always start with #3 because it's the harder one, then I do #2. Then, on Thursday we were busy until late, so I didn't do any of it. Lets just say some of my food choices were bad this week, but it was my son's b-day.

  After not losing anything last week I was determined to come back with losing more, but do to eating a few things I normally don't I was worried, and scared to step on the scale. I was so surprised when I did. Here is what it showed.

I am totally astonished that I lost 5 pounds this week. I didn't lose any inches around my hips or waist, but I did lose 2 inches from around my upper arms, and my thighs. That was enough to make me happy. Lets just hope next week is just as good to me.

May 10th

 I knew this would come, but I hope it wouldn't. This week I haven't lost any weight, so I guess it's time to adjust what I am doing. I have with my workouts, well sort of. On Monday I did the full sweatin to the oldies 3 and added 2 songs from #2, then Tuesday I did #3 and 4 songs from #2, then on Wednesday I did both workouts excluding 1 of the warm ups from 2. Thursday I didn't work out because I went to watch Jake perform in the talent show. Friday I had a very rough day, I am not sure why but I felt horrible all day. I only made it through 45 minutes of my workout. Then yesterday, after getting Jake off to prom, I did the full #3, but that's it. I will try to add to it tonight. The next few weeks are a little crazy for us, so I am not sure how much I will get done.

May 4th Weigh In

  This week has been so trying for me. I haven't felt my best, but I have pushed through it. I haven't taken a day off from exercising at all. I have worked hard, but my diet hasn't been the best. It was the last week in the month, so it was eat whatever we had in the house. I have also been very stressed all week due finances.

  I was surprised to step on the scales and I had lost 3 pounds! However, I measured my waist this morning and it said I gained an inch, but I think it's because it's that time of the month. One thing that I did yesterday that really showed my weight loss is I got back into a pair of shorts I have been hanging on to for a about 5 years, and the fit, granted they were tight but they fit! I also tried on 2 pair of pants I bought a few months ago that were size 16, they were very snug but they buttoned and zipped. I had bought them because I had started losing weight and they were cheap.

 

Here is the scale this morning. I know weigh 213. I am so proud of myself!!!

Tired and Fed Up!!!!

 This has been a very hard week for me. Each day it has been harder and harder for me to get out of bed in the mornings. I haven't really slept much in weeks. I have been in so much pain, but I have been pushing through it. It seems like no one around me seems to care. Maybe I just don't complain enough, because I know how much I get sick of hearing them complain. Today my head is hurting so bad, as I am typing it's like every key I push is causing my head to pound along with my ears feeling very congested. My Ibuprofen or tamadol isn't doing anything for me.I wish I could be like others in my life who lays in bed and sleep all day. But, I am a single mom, who has to work and take care of myself and my son. I need this pain to go away and I really need some sleep.

 Another thing that is really bugging me is that no one around me is supporting my decision to lose weight. No only don't they support it, they are trying to sabotage it. My sister keeps offering me cake, and she's buying candy and giving to me. Yesterday I gave the candy to Jake but some I couldn't because it had peanut butter in it. I didn't eat it, I threw it away. I just wish they could see how hard I trying and support me.

 Even though I am feeling horrible, I have been working out regularly. Tonight I couldn't make it through the whole video but I did do 45 minutes of it.  

Weigh In April 27th

  I am having a very hard morning. I woke up with a very painful neck and back. It was hard walking first off too. I think it has something to do with this horrible windy, cloudy, rainy weather, along with my workouts. That probably explains why I am still in my pjs at 1:00 pm....oh well.  I also thought by the time this week was over I would feel more rested, but I feel more exhausted. I know I am not ready to return to work tomorrow. Only 29 more school days til summer vacation and 34 more days til surgery.

 I have to be honest about my food intake the last 3 days. I have been over eating, and eating things I shouldn't be. Last night my blood sugar was at 160 so I took a pill, which I haven't done in over 2 weeks. I was woken by a text and it had dropped to 60. I was feeling very ill and a little disoriented, so I had to eat to get it back up. I am going to try to stick to my diet so it doesn't do that again.

  Last night I finished the 30 day crunch challenge for the 2nd time. I haven't been doing great in the last week with workouts, because of having company til Monday, then Henry being here til Thursday. I do workout when he is here because that's just part of life. I didn't think that I would lose anything this last week but I did! I lost another 2 pounds. I am now at 218 pounds, and I also lost 2 more inches around my waist, it's now at 39 inches. Here is a picture of the scale this morning.

I know you guys can't tell but I can tell how I don't have all the rolls I use to have. I guess that is something that is upsetting to me is that Henry can be away for a month and come back and not notice that I have lost 24 pounds. I guess it should just be important for me to notice, which I do, because all of my clothes are bigger. I have to wear a belt with most of my pants now, and some of the shirts from last year are really big on me. I guess if I keep it up then one day they will notice.

Day 25 of the Crunch Challenge

 This has been a crazy week. Not only was work very stressful, but I ended up having company from Thursday to yesterday. Lets just say my workouts haven't been consistent due to company. However, I have managed to keep up with this challenge.

 Instead of weighing yesterday, I did it this morning. I can proudly say I am at 220 pounds. That is a loss of 22 pounds. I never thought that would happen. My waist is down to 41 inches, I do believe that started out at 52 inches, and my hips are down to 47 inches, that started out at 56/58 inches. I am shocked at how well I am doing and I hope this will continue. I have almost 2 months before surgery and hope I can take off another 20 pounds, before I have to stop working out for a while.

 I did something way out of my comfort zone this past week. On April 15th I shared a picture of my scale. I showed I weighed 222 pounds. That was my 20 pound weight loss milestone.

 Weight loss has always been a big struggle for me. No matter how I tried nothing seemed to help, then I would deal with some of my chiari symptoms and then give up. I know work through that pain, and push myself. I just have to do all my workouts in my home and quit when my body tells me I had to much. Another thing that has really helped is I don't do the diet thing. I eat less, but I don't deny myself anything. I don't just eat a bunch of crap. I do 3 days of healthy eating, then 1 day of whatever I want, but I don't overeat, then repeat, 3 days on 1 day off. This has been working great for me. Now if I can conquer the whole chiari thing.

Weigh In 4-13-14

 Well it's been a pretty good week. Work has been better so not to much stress there. I haven't slept much at all in this last week, I bet I got a whole ten hours in the whole week. My eyes are really showing it.

 The scale this morning showed I lost another pound. I guess I am ok with that, but wish all the work I am putting it really showed on the sale. I guess I will take every pound I can get.

 I am looking forward to surgery because maybe I won't have this horrible headache any more. I am also looking forward to the end of this next week, so I get a week off work.

 Sorry not to much to write because my mind is blank tonight.

Day 10 of the 30 Day Crunch Challenge

 I was so very shocked when I stepped on the scales this morning. According to the scale I lost 4 lbs. this week! That brings my weight loss so far to 18 lbs. I have also lost 2 inches around my waist, I am now have a 42 inch waist. I totally don't understand it because I have not eaten very well this week due to a lot of stress. Jake made chocolate chip cookies and to be honest I ate 4 of them after they came out of the oven. Other food choices haven't been the best either. I am however continuing to do my workouts.

 I have given Sweatin to the Oldies 2 another chance. I have even been doing all the floor work too. It includes a lot of crunches/sit ups adding up to approximately 64 or more, my mind has forgotten even though I counted them during the workout. I have again started the crunch challenge, I am up to day 10, which is 65 crunches. I find that pretty easy because I can do 50 without stopping.

 Something I would like to share is a picture. I put on a blouse I bought about a year ago, it fit just fine then. I put it on and I was almost swimming in it. It makes me so happy to put on my clothes and notice the difference, it also makes me sad to think how am I going to afford new clothes. But, I will figure it out somehow.

Weigh In

 This morning I stepped on the scale thinking it was going to show I had gained weight, so I was very pleased it showed I had lost 2 pounds. I am very happy I am still managing to lose a pound or two every week. I am trying so hard to lose as much as possible before I have surgery in June. After surgery I won't be able to do much of anything for at least 4 weeks. Oh and surgery is scheduled for June 11th. It's getting very real. I have so many feelings, scared, anxious, and relieved. I am hoping it going to give me some relief. I know it won't be a miracle and everything will be normal again, whatever normal is.

 Not only have I been doing my 56 minutes of Sweatin to the Oldies, but I have started the 30 day crunch challenge again. I am hoping it will help me get rid of this muffin top. I have been seeing a difference in my waist, hips, legs, and my butt is even firming up.

 This has been a horrible week for pain. I know it's caused by the weather, the clouds and the rain. It builds up pressure in my head, to the point I hope my head will explode and get it over with. Maybe then I would feel so much better.

Such a Long Week

 I have been meaning to get on here and update but I have been sick. I started getting sick last Friday and each from there it kept getting worse. I had thought it was my allergies again, so I let it go, by Monday my throat was on fire and I couldn't make it through a full day of work, even though it was a mini one. I made an appointment and got in that same day, but with a different doc. He ran a rapid strep test and it was positive, he also said I probably had a viral infection that was going around. He looked back in my chart and noticed I had had my depo medrol shot for my allergies a few weeks ago. He told me that, that medication knocks out your immune system and no wonder I was so sick. I was surprised because I have been getting that shot for 2 years now and no doctor has ever told me that. But, it did explain why all of sudden for the last few years I had been sick so much, I get the shot every 4 months, well not any more. I do not chose to punish myself any longer. So, anyway, I spent Monday thru Thursday in bed, 3 of those days vomiting and unable to really eat anything. The good out of it was that from Monday to Thursday night I lost 3 pounds, not a great way to lose weight, but hey, I'll take it.

  Before getting sick, I continued working out to Sweatin to the Oldies 3. I plan on hopefully getting back into it by tomorrow if I am feeling stronger than I am today.

  In all since starting to get serious about all of this again I have lost 12 pounds. Due to gaining weight around Christmas and Thanksgiving, I was back at 242 pounds, and now I am at 230. I have faith this time that I will lose more. I am determined to do it before I have surgery and unable to exercise for a while. I am trying my best at this.

Update and Check In

 So, according to the scales I have lost only a pound this week. I guess I should be happy about that but I am disappointed because I have worked my butt off this week. I will see how this next week goes and if it doesn't get me any where I will have to step it up some.

 This has been a bad weeks for pain, especially for muscle cramps. My legs have been so bad that you could see my legs shaking and the spasms moving. Someone told me about something called leg cramps, I have been taking them and it helped some. A good friend told me about an Epson salt baths, which I haven't yet tried because I keep forgetting to buy some. Maybe I will remember to get some tomorrow. The last 2 mornings I have woke with sever pain. My head has been feeling like it's going to explode, and I have had a lot pain over the rest of my body. I know it's because of the weather, it's been cooler and rainy. I know where I live in CA we really need the rain but I totally hate it.

 Another thing that really pisses me off is that some of my family members can't seem to accept that I am serious about losing weight. They seem to get irritated when I refuse to come over and eat cake. I am serious and trying my best. I have been doing 56 minutes of Richard Simmons Sweatin to the Oldies 3 3 nights in a row, taking one night off then back to 3 nights, then so on. I have been eating healthier and much less. I have even stopped drinking as much soda too.

Check In

 All together since getting serious about this again, I have lost 9 lbs. That's in about 5 weeks now. I am very proud of myself. Mind you I have not exercised every single day, but about 4 days this last week, doing the whole Sweatin to the Oldies 3 dvd (56 minutes). I love that workout better than any of his other workout videos. Along with working out I have been watching everything I eat, and keeping the calories down along with the carbs. It hasn't been easy at all because I love food!

 The couple of days I didn't workout it was due to pain and exhaustion. I have had to cut back on my pain med (tramadol) because my wonderful doctor all of a sudden cut the amount I get by half. She did that without telling me, I am still waiting for her to call back. I will be calling her again tomorrow to see if I get a response.

 Someone asked why I never posted a pic of myself. Well, I hate taking pictures, but I will be nice and post the latest.
 

I am sure the person meant a full pic but this is the only one I have right now.

This Weeks Check In

 Lets just start with what the scale said. I lost another 2 lbs this week. That's 6 lbs. in almost a month. Now lets see what I can do without the slimfast. Today was my first day without it and I think I did pretty good, so far.

 I haven't done very well with the working out this week. I got in 2 days of Sweatin to the Oldies 4. It was a very long week between my lovely student, no pain meds, and all the sneezing.

  Because of the unseasonable weather, all the trees and plants think it's spring and are all in full bloom. It's driving me crazy. For a person without chiari this can be very bothersome, but for us chiarians it 10 times worse. Any amount of sneezing or coughing makes our headaches a lot worse. This weeks it's been even harder for me due to the doctor's office not getting back to the pharmacy about my tramadol refill. My whole body aches. Tomorrow I am going to make an appointment to get into the doctor for a depo medrol shot to hopefully help my allergies. I will also talk to her about my pain med. I think it might be easier to get it refilled rather than keep calling, it's not getting me anywhere.

Very Long Week

 Between the weather and my student I didn't think this week would ever end. The  clouds and stress have had me in a lot of pain. My head feel like it will soon explode and I kind of wish it would. Why do short weeks fell like they are a lot longer? I got in one night of aerobics. I the sweatin to the oldies 2 dvd but I do not like it. They do mostly floor exercises and I cannot do them. I have ordered my favorite one, number 3 (When I had it on vhs I used it so much I broke it) and I also ordered number 4. I can't wait til they come in. Jake and I have been very busy shopping this week, so I got a lot of exercise by walking around the mall, stores, and grocery stores.

 Next, I have some thing that has made me very happy today, I lost 3 lbs. I know it's not much, but it is to me. I have been doing the slimfast diet and it's working! I plan on doing this for another couple of weeks, then starting back on a normal diet again.

Painful Week

 I know we really need the rain here in California, but the rain and cold makes for a horrible time for me. The increased pressure in the air increases my horrible headaches. It also makes pain throughout my body unbearable. There is a lot of people out there that just doesn't understand this. So when I post on facebook I really hate the clouds and rain, it tends to get rude comments from some of the people who live here in CA. I end up deleting the post so it makes it easier to deal with. Believe me I am not saying I hate the rain because it's wet, it's because I can hardly function during this time. Any way, enough of that complaint.

 Even though I have been in a lot of pain, I have managed to lose 1 whole pound. I am hoping the slimfast diet is helping me get my metabolism back on track. I found out that I can't drink the shakes though. I am not sure what in them makes me sick, but I drank one for breakfast, then one for lunch, then threw up for the rest of the afternoon. I was fine by dinner time. I didn't chance drinking another one, I will stick with their meal time bars.

Frustrated

 Today my body wanted to play lets drop everything you touch. I just didn't have any grip what so ever. Sometimes this really pisses me off because it makes me look like an idiot. I have also had around 5 dizzy spells while at work. This really scares me. I don't want to pass out and scare a bunch of little kids. I have never passed out before and hope it never happens.

Any how, my plan to do the slimfast diet is annoying but I am hopeful. In the few days since I started this I have lost 1 lb. I haven't been able to do much of any exercise. My left hip is still really killing me. Between work and running around by the end of the night I am in a lot of pain. I have been doing my sit ups though. I am hoping this pain will go away and I can get back to doing some cardio.

Trying Something New

 Today I am trying the slimfast thing. I thought if I do this for a week or so it might jump start this weight loss thing again. I have been at a total stand point. I am at the point I am getting very frustrated. No amount of exercise is helping. So, I am thinking that if I do something different with might diet it may help. This brilliant idea came to me while walking through Grocery Outlet. I saw that they had the meal bars and snack bars cheap. I am really hoping it will help because I so just feel like giving up, and I really don't want to do that. I am afraid if I give up I will end up weighing 600 lbs. I will also continuing to do some sort of exercise, whether it be walking, riding my bike, sit ups, or maybe use the Richard Simmons CD I have. I wish I could find Sweating to the Oldies 3 on disc, I loved that video.

 Today I feel like I have over done it. All I did was do grocery shopping and finished picking up the leaves. I tried doing my bike tonight but the pain I am having is just too much. I am having a lot of pain in my left hip and have had for a week now.

 Early this morning, I had something very weird happen. I got up to use the restroom, sat back on the side of the bed to get a drink of water. For some reason I could not swallow the water. The water ended up all over my bedroom floor and down the front of my pjs. No matter how I tried I couldn't swallow, nothing was going past the back of my throat. I am hoping it is just a chiari thing and not something else.

Emotionally Drained!

I have to say the last 3 weeks have been so difficult for me. For one, I haven't had my ambien because the insurance company decided they didn't want to cover it any more. Then, my doctor was out for the last 3 weeks. So, this has led to me not sleeping for 3 weeks now. I have no energy at all to get me going. I can't blame it all on lack of sleep though, I will admit that I have been lazy too. Thankfully my doctor is back and just called in a generic form of ambien and I am so hoping that tonight I finally get some much need sleep.

The second reason it hasn't been well for me lately is I am having a lot of emotional stress. Both in my finances and in my relationship. I am trying to figure out how to deal with the next few month and my income being cut in 1/2 by May. It is so stressing thinking about how you can manage to have the surgery you need but don't want to end up living in your car. I won't go into my relationship issues but I am not sure still how that will turn out.

Because of all these problems I haven't been working out and I have been overeating. I hoping I can get passed all of this and get back on the right tract. I am sure getting some sleep will help with it, but I need to get everything worked out and get out of this funk!

I hope I haven't disappointed anyone or let anyone down. I am so sorry.

Food and a Budget

 The doctor told me the other day (and most diets say) to give up breads and cereals. I don't mind giving up bread, that really wouldn't bother me, but giving up cereal would kill me. I love cereal probably more than chocolate. I don't keep chocolate in the house, but I do keep cereal, in fact I have probably 7 boxes of cereal in the kitchen right now. I can't just get rid of all of it, besides I have a teenage boy who likes it once in awhile. I think of it this way, 1 container of most yogurts have 100 calories and 19 carbs, 1 serving of cereal has 110 to 120 calories, dry, which is how I eat it most of the time. To me it taste better than the yogurt too. Granted once in awhile I have 2% milk with it and that puts my Honey Nut Cheerios at 150 calories a serving. Besides, I can buy yogurt for 2 to 3 for $1.00 but I can go to Grocery Outlet and get a box of cereal for $1.49 or less. The yogurt would be 3 servings but the cereal has 10 to 12 servings a box.

  I think one of my problems is that I have to manage a whole months of food on a very tight budget, most of the time $150 or less is what I have to spend. Then there is the fact that I have a kid who has to be on a high calorie diet to keep weigh on him. Naturally I buy all of his food first, then if there is money left I buy a few things for me. To all the people who say they can buy healthy food on a tight budget is lying! Of course doctors and dietitians do not understand this. Ok, rant over....for now

 Tonight I got in 25 minutes on the bike. Last night before bed, or rather while laying in bed, I did 50 crunches. I am surprised I have done this much lately since I feel like the walking dead. No sleep for 4 days straight now.

Dizzy and Off Balance

Tonight I had to stop riding my bike just after 18 minutes...why? I got so dizzy and off balance that I almost fell off the bike. This is the first time this has happened on the bike. My dizziness and balance issues have been getting much worse lately. I almost fell over at my sister's house last night, thank goodness the walls in the hallway were there to catch me. I am unsure if it's my high blood pressure, or my chiari, or a combination of both.

But anyway I did 18 minutes on the bike. I also got in 50 crunches last night before bed ( around 2 am), I will do the same tonight before bed.

I don't think I will be getting any sleep for a while since I have no sleep aide. I tried 10 mg of melatonin along with benadryl last night and neither put me to sleep.

Gained 2 Pounds....Yuck!

The doctors scale confirmed that I gained 2 lbs. So, tomorrow I am going on a strict diet once again. He even told me that I shouldn't worry too much about losing weight until I take care of the chiari. But, I can see myself weighing 300 to 400 lbs, if I don't try to keep it off. I will just have to stay away from anything Jake cooks!

The doctor I saw today is new at the clinic that I go to. I saw him because my doctor is out until the 23rd and I needed some of my meds refilled before then. I really liked him,   my blood pressure was very high today. He asked if I was under any stress.  I mentioned I had just left work and had a bad day with my student , I also threw the chiari malformation out there and he knew all about it. He said he was going to go into neurology but decided that wasn't best for his family. He was shocked when he asked me how I was diagnosed and how long it took for me to see a neurosurgeon much less get a MRI. The only thing I didn't like was he told me I had to wait for my doctor to return before I can talk about getting a new sleep aid. That means a few weeks without sleep for me.

I Hate The Scales

For the last week I have rode my bike for 6 of the 7 days and have avoided foods that are bad for me, so why the heck do the scales say I have gained 2 lbs? I am so frustrated! Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and I am hoping their scales show something different. I know my neurosurgeon said that chiari can cause you to not lose weight but I was hoping he was wrong. This is enough to totally depress me.

Oh well, I did my bike and will do my crunches before bed.

Rough Day

I actually slept for a few hours last night! I woke at 4 this morning with a horrible nauseous headache. I took an extra tramadol and tried to go back to sleep. Finally at 6:00 am I was able to go back to sleep but woke at 8:00 with that same headache. More meds but when I tried laying back down but that seem to make my head hurt worse. When I looked outside I noticed what was causing my head to hurt so much, the clouds. I know that here in CA we really need the rain but I can't handle the effect this causes. The pain and pressure are extreme. I did much of nothing most of the day and didn't even get out of my pjs until after 1 pm. I tried drinking coffee and diet pepsi thinking that the caffeine would help with the headache. I took Jake to a basketball game and ran to the store. Finally my headache was letting up somewhat. The clouds are starting to go away.

I managed to get through 20 minutes on my bike tonight. I will also get my crunches done before bed.

Back To Work

I had been off work for winter break, so Monday was the first day back. Lets just say I am totally exhausted. I haven't had much time to put my feet up, so they have been swollen.

I have been on the lazy side the last 2 nights. Well I don't know if you can call it lazy because I have been working and running around. Since starting back on the bile my hips are killing me. I thought I would give them a rest to see if that was causing the pain, well it wasn't, I was back on the bile tonight.

I have to say my diet the last few nights has been horrible. Last night my son made this wonderful cinnamon roll cake and I had to try it to be polite...right? Then tonight I made a very unhealthy fried chicken and waffles. I have been so bad and will get back on track eventually.

For some reason my balance has been off today, I know it's a chiari thing but it's really off.  Have you ever had to think before you stepped up or down on a sidewalk or stairs? Because of my chiari I do every time I go to step up on a curb or stairs. I can't just quickly get down from stairs or a curb, I have to actually stop and think about lifting my leg and which one. Just something I thought about today or rather really noticed today.

I know that where I live in CA that we really need the rain, but right now I am wishing I never had to be in a place where there are clouds and change of pressure in the atmosphere. my head is at the point where I wish it would just explode so the pain in my head and neck would go away!

I Need Sleep!!!

I think the thing I really hate about chiari is the insomnia. Most of the time I will only get one good night sleep every 2 to 3 months, other than that I am lucky to get 3 hours a night. Well, the last few nights have been horrible! I have only gotten about 3 hours in the last 2 days. I am not sure if the pharmacy switching my ambien to the generic version has caused my extreme insomnia or my symptoms are just increasing.

I also have experienced something new. The other day while driving, all of sudden my head and behind my eyes felt like it was filling up with air. My face wasn't swollen but it felt like it was. Then having the vertigo the other day.

I started back to work today after being off for the last 2 weeks for winter break. All I can say is I am totally exhausted. I did however manage to get in 20 minutes on the bike. Before bed I will get in my crunches too. Last night I did 40 crunches and 20 reverse crunches. I think I am back on this exercise mode. Now hopefully I will see some weight or inches come off.

Vertigo?

I woke up this morning to not feeling well at all. I went to stand up and almost fell down. It was so hard for me to get from my bedroom to my bathroom(they are pretty close together). The whole room was spinning and I could not stand straight up, I held on to the walls the whole way. I was also very nauseated, and ended up vomiting. I was in bed until 3 pm today. I finally managed to get up, then sit up, then finally walk without feeling I was going to fall over.

But I didn't let this weird feeling stop me tonight. I managed to get in 20 minutes on the bike. I will also be doing my crunches before bed.

Oh a thing about chiari that really bugs me when I am not feeling well and just want quiet, the constant noise in my head. I guess you would call it white noise, you know for the older people, it's like when the TV went off air before there was the blue screen. When you have chiari there is never a such thing as quiet. You have noises bugging you all the time if it's not the fuzzy noise it's ringing in your ears.

Back On The Bike

I have been meaning to get back on my bike to see if I could jump start the weight loss again. I wasn't losing any so I thought I would try a few different things to see I my body needed a change. Even a month of aerobics did nothing for me. So, tonight I thought I would climb back on my stationary bike and give it ago.

I was surprised that I could actually make it a whole 30 minutes. What helps me forget about the time is being on fb or games while riding. Besides the batteries are dead on the part of the bike that keeps track of everything and I didn't have any of that size in the draw.

After my bike I did 20 sit-ups/crunches. Now hopefully this will get me somewhere.

The bad part is I am broken out in hives because of sweating and bringing up my body temp.