Sunday evening check-in

You know, for someone who hates living with a lot of drama, I have had more than my fair share of it lately…

Steve gave me a scare a couple weeks ago. We spent one full day at the Emergency Room, due to his having some pretty severe stomach pain. Considering all he’s been through, this was really scary. The radiologist at the ER said the CT scan showed Steve had an abscess inside his stomach. They said it might be possible to insert a needle into the abscess and draw out the infection, but if not, that further surgery would be required.

But, when we went to Steve’s surgeon the next day, he said he did not believe it was an abscess at all; rather, that it was a build-up of excess fluid. He said that happens sometimes after major surgery. He stuck a huge needle into Steve’s abdomen, bless his heart. Anyway, the doctor gave him two different kinds of strong antibiotics and said they should take care of the pain and the fluid. Steve’s pain persisted for several days, but it did subside over time. He just finished the last of the antibiotics yesterday, and he goes back to see the surgeon tomorrow for a follow-up visit.

My neck and shoulder pain have continued, but the doctor put me on Lyrica and another anti-inflammatory. The meds seem to be working, because my pain has diminished quite a bit and, as long as I remember to take my medicine as directed (several times a day, God help me), then my neck and shoulder feels better.

My low carb diet has been all but thrown out the window for several months now, and I hope to get back to a sensible eating plan soon, as in next week. I’ve gained 20 pounds, and I don’t want to gain any more. I just finished a book, Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet by Peter Gott, M.D. Someone recommended it who has lost weight doing this plan. It makes a lot of sense to me, and I’m going to give it a whirl.

I stuck to a modified version of the Atkins Diet for almost a year and a half, and was very successful with it – losing over 60 pounds. However, after eating very low carb for so long, I had gotten to the place where I really missed eating things like beans, brown rice, oatmeal, and fruit like pears and apples. I know I cannot stay extremely low carb and be happy. The Dr. Gott plan cuts out a huge amount of carbs from the normal diet, but includes some foods that would be prohibited from the Atkins plan.

I’ll have to actually put this plan in action for awhile to see if it works for me; hopefully it will. If it does not, then I’ll regroup and perhaps go back to Atkins. I know I was successful on that. However, if I can still lose weight and have a little more freedom in my diet, then I’m all over that…

I had my annual evaluation at work the other day. I got a good rating and a nice bonus. I also got the chance to ask my boss about my job security. I felt pretty secure in my job, but wanted some reassurance, I guess, that it wasn’t just wishful thinking on my part. She assured me that we, as a Firm, have excellent future growth potential, and that even in a bad economy, our work will remain steady, and our jobs will remain secure. She said my personal job security level is excellent and I don’t need to worry about that. It did reassure me, because as much as you hope you are safe, the way things have been lately, you never know…

I’m watching a rerun movie on TV right now – “Castaway.” It’s one of my favorite movies and one that I can watch again and again … which is not true of most movies.

Well, I guess I’ve prattled on long enough. It’s been so long since I’ve posted, I guess I had a lot stacked up inside, just waiting to get out!