Gayle, I'm glad to hear your doctor thinks it's a pulled muscle and hope it heals soon. Prayers for good results from ultrasound.

Mary, too bad you didn't have access to some salad, but you did a good job only eating 1 slice of pizza and no cupcake.

I have a small box in my bedroom where I keep all my bottles of meds, then each week I transfer them to a weekly pill box that is kept in the kitchen. I remember one time the EMTs were here for me and when they asked what meds I am on, rolled their eyes when DH walked in with that box! LOL When I worked at the pharmacy I used to feel bad for the patients who were on so many meds. Now I'm one of them! The biggest problem is being on 4 blood pressure meds, one of which I take 2 per day, so 5 pills a day. This started when I gained weight after my last surgery. I'm hoping weight loss takes me off some of them.

It's a sad morning...today is my dil's birthday..think she's 29...and her mother passed away! She was only about 55 I think. She's been sick for a long time now but it will still be very difficult for my dil and her family. We will be taking care of their little dog while they are gone to be with her family.

I was awake by 7 and then my son called at 8 so didn't sleep in so long this morning. I took Melatonin and slept a solid 5 hours and feel more awake this morning. My weight is up two pounds now and for some reason my bs has been high the last few days, no matter how well I think I'm eating. I don't actually count carbs anymore as it was so nice and low, maybe I'll have to start back doing that. Or perhaps its the time I'm always talking about...time to cut back my calories. Yikes! Or maybe it was just that I got up earlier...

Has anyone tried putting diapers on a dog? Was thinking about doing that with their little dog while she's with us. She's a chihuahua so very tiny. Wonder if the preemie size would fit her? They are probably expensive. If we don't do that we'll have to keep her outside (that's what we've done before) during the day, and she sleeps in a crate in the garage at night. I don't want her having accidents in the house and also I don't want her doing it to start Halo doing it!

Carol I think I'm getting the same way with all my meds. I've upped one and and added another one recently. For some reason when I lose weight my bp goes up! Perhaps if I can keep my weight down that will change though, I hope.

Yesterday I cleaned my son's room all I could...he has so much stuff in there, I can't do much. Also cleaned the hall. Worked more in the main bathroom, cleaning the sink and counter top really well and today I will mop the floor with my steam mop. Most days it just gets a quick hand cleaning. That's the way I clean...just do a little every day. I've also been doing a little de-cluttering each day. I also want to clear my desk and wipe it down. If I can get to it, I'd also like to weekly clean the kitchen and esp the fridge as I haven't done that this week. I'm slowly getting back to my full schedule.

Glynne - Glad it's just pulled muscles. How are you feeling today?

Hi to all you newbies. Hope to hear more from you.

I've been taking Melatonin to try to get my sleep time back to a normal schedule as the doctor recommended it. I had taken it in the past once and it didn't seem to help me sleep but decided I'd try again. This time It has really knocked me out but not for long...I feel like I'm sleeping deeper when I sleep but am still awake a lot, the most I've gotten with it is about six hours total (adding all the short sleeps in one night together). Still I'd be happy if I got that every night and able to be awake when I need to be. But I'm still tending to sleep in very late. So not sure it's really helping me with my schedule. Maybe that just is my schedule. It feels the most natural to me.

Also Melatonin is supposed to be a natural product but it feels more drug-like to me than Benedryl. My legs (esp my right one) start aching in the night and finally I get up when I can't stand it anymore. I take aspirin for it, but it doesn't always help much or takes a very long time to help. The pain does usually fade away as the day goes on and I'm up and about. I suspect what I need to do is set my alarm for 8 am and just get up then no matter how little sleep I got and push through the day. I know I'll end up taking a nap now though...I never used to take naps or even lie down but now it seems I have to at least lay down for a few minutes. But again, maybe that's ok, sometimes I feel I should just work with my natural schedule.

I'm glad the Benedryl helped you, Carol, I know that feeling to finally get a whole nights sleep. Rarely happens to me but I love it when it does. Congrats on the eight pound loss! You did it very quickly, seems to me. I gained a pound this week. I know it's not much and everyone goes a bit up and down but it is frustrating. I want so much to keep going down but I remind myself that even when I'm at goal, I will go up and down. Yes too much water can increase the BP, because it's more work for the heart. Sodium can also do it because sodium draws water. It all makes sense. When I hear people pushing people to drink more and more water, I sometimes think about this. As long as a person has healthy kidneys it probably doesn't cause harm, but older people's vessels are not always as strong as younger people's and may not work so well. And of course it is possible to get too much water and it can kill but that doesn't happen often.
Several years ago, I remember hearing of a young woman who died that way. I try to drink about eight glasses a day before and after meals and at bedtime. My doctors have always told me drink when you are thirsty, but sometimes we get busy and ignore the thirst signal or eat instead. Our food contains fluid too of course, but we still need to drink water.

I hate to have to suddenly do a big cleaning, which is why I prefer to do a little each day. I'm not yet back completely on my work schedule though. Last week I didn't get to my kitchen, living room or family room beyond a little bit of quick vaccuming. Hopefully this week I'll do better. If we go out, I used to still get my housework done...now I usually don't cause I come home too tired. Or maybe it's just laziness, I don't know.

Glad you are finding compromise with your dh. My dh has been very good about having to cook about 1/2 the week. I actually think he enjoys it esp when our son is here and eats with him. His problem is since I have always planned the meals and did the shopping and cooking, he doesn't know what he has on hand and what he needs to buy for cooking. I can understand that as I'd be the same way, so I'm trying to remind him when we are at the store (if he goes with me), and let him know ahead of time when he will be cooking if I can. Sometimes it doesn't work out perfectly since how much I cook depends on my weight, but we are managing. He buys a lot of Costco frozen foods..veggies and noodles and just adds meat, so doesn't take long. They are kinda high in sodium often so last night I told him how to tell. He has never been concerned with the nutrition labels as I was always the one that checked that. Currently I plan about three meals at a time and buy for those. Then if my weight is doing ok, I cook, if It goes up, I let him cook and I eat strictly NS plus veggies and fruits. I encourage him to use what veggies are there but he doesn't always use them as I'd like. Oh well, we'll get through this time and I'll be doing most of the cooking again before long I hope. I guess I do like the control of knowing what we're having and what's going into it.

The dog is solving the problem for us. She won't come near us, and we can't catch her...she's fast!! So we put her crate outside, put a big towel inside and covered it on the outside with a fluffy rug to keep her warm and leave the door open. So she can sleep in it at night. Today is a nice sunny day and both dogs are enjoying it. Little dog sometimes comes to the door and pounds on it and barks but if we go to the door, she runs away. Nine more days to go.

I know I already posted plenty but something funny (well sorta, sorta not) happened and I wanted to share. NS put me on a 1500 calorie diet, which surprised me but at least I could eat more (you know I like my food!) and I knew I could lose for a while on that. Now that I'm getting close to 150 though it's getting harder and I figured they'd drop it soon, but they hadn't. See above post about this week. Someone on the NS FB page mentioned 1500 is for those who have 100# or more to lose, so I really wondered then. So I checked my settings in NUMI (tracking app) and they had me in there as male! No wonder! Men usually get more. Not sure if I neglected to change it or what but it's ok...I've been losing and I'm not in a hurry, but I changed it and now it has set it to 1200 cal/day. That is the minimum though...the range is 1200-1500, so I plan to try to stay between 1400-1500 for a little while, then drop down to 1400. I think for me it's best to not feel too deprived and also best to lose slowly. Some prefer to stay at minimal calories from the beginning but I never have. The one time I did that I did lose quickly but I felt like I was starving and when I reached my goal I gained it back quickly too because I suddenly could eat again and I went back to my old habits. Hopefully going a little slower will make maintenance easier.

Just thought it was kind of funny...but I'm not sorry I have been on 1500 all this time either as I have lost and had more food too. Typing this as I sit here eating my veggies....celery and bean sprouts. But I had a very good NS hamburger too tiny as it was.

My weight is still up a couple pounds. Yesterday I tried to stick to around 1400 calories but went over quite a bit. 1400 is not that much less than 1500...it's just in my head. Of course sometimes I had trouble sticking to 1500. I did do a few exercises yesterday at least. Every morning we plan to go to the gym, something else comes up. Today the tree men are coming back to shred up some of the stump they missed so we want to be here. Of course we could go later but if we don't go in the am we don't get there. I told the doctor I'd try to increase my veggies and I am doing that...getting 4 now not counting what is in my prepared food. There have been times I've eaten more than that but usually I ate three a day and if we ate out it might be less so four is an improvement. Also I'm measuring to make sure I get a full serving.

Yesterday I trimmed one of my plants...I had done it earlier in the fall but it got to looking much worse after that and I didn't to it. Now the new life is bursting out all over it but it still had these dead blooms and some dead branches so I clipped them off. This is a plant I've read not to over trim but seemed sensible to cut them off so hope I did the right thing. I don't know much about gardening. Thought maybe getting out in the air would be good for me. I stay home so much and I am so tired and lazy feeling. Can't seem to get any desire to do anything. Need to snap out of this. Been this way ever since we got home from the trip. Think I slept better last night on the Melatonin but I still feel sleepy/tired.

Need to get busy....hope you all have a good day.

Good afternoon GG's,

It is a nice sunny day here today. I am feeling better and wanting to accomplish things again. I'm so thankful for that.

Sara told Maddie she needs to maybe walk or ride her bike and be more active. She and grandpa used to bike all over the place when she was younger ~ before she started school. I had the car at work ~ so biking was their only way to get around. Then after Steve had his heart blockage and stent placement ~ that kind of slowed him down and they didn't do the bike riding as much anymore. So, Maddie hasn't been as active as she used to be. Anyway, we got the tires pumped up and went on a ride to the park on Friday afternoon. I went out on my own again today. I really like riding my bike.

I think for me, maybe riding the bike is going to be my exercise of choice. For some reason, I have had it in my head that walking is the better exercise and what I should be doing. I think I had heard one time that walking, because it is a weight bearing exercise ~ helps with osteoporosis. I know that I need to do something, but I drag my feet at walking. I just don't enjoy it as much. I am thinking ~ while walking might be better, it is better to ride the bike than to do nothing at all. And I can do that, I think, even when it gets hot. You get a little breeze on the bike. It is miserable sometimes walking ~ unless you get out there right first thing in the morning. I am kind of slow to get up and around ~ that is another reason why I struggle to do the walking ~ because by the time I get to where I am ready, it might be blistering hot. Not fun.

I was looking for a more detailed map than I had found previously of the walking paths in our community. There is a map, but it doesn't show every little off shoot to the main paths. While looking for such a map, I came across a web site ~ Map My Walk, and Map My Ride (bike). I got on those and it sounded neat. It told about an app you can put on your phone that goes along with the web site. It uses GPS and maps the route you go on while riding your bike or walking. I did that today ~ it was kind of fun and might actually encourage me to do the exercise. I rode 2.5 miles, 31 minutes and burned 319 calories. It keeps track of this each day. Kind of cool.

Mary ~ I hope you get your pep back. It is frustrating to feel tired all the time when there are things you want to be doing. So sad about your daughter-in-laws mother.

Carol Sue ~ glad you are doing well with your eating plan.

Sorry you both are having sleeping difficulties. I do too sometimes ~ there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. With the C-pap it is much better than it used to be. I am thankful for that.

Gotta go ~ try to get a couple things done before the school bus comes.

Hope you guys are having a good day.

Carol Sue ~ for Steve the bike ride is just extra exercise. He is frustratingly, disgustingly self disciplined (good thing for his health that he is). He does daily exercise ~ walks to warm up on the treadmill ~ I think 5 minutes. Then gets on the elliptical thing for 1/2 an hour, then back on the treadmill for another 5 minutes to cool down. The only days he doesn't do it is on the days he does yard work. He gets enough exertion from that. That is probably more strenuous than his daily routine. He started that during cardiac rehab, and has continued it daily since then.

I am hoping that my thoughts today about that riding the bike is ok, will make me more consistent like he is.

My weight is beginning to drop again but still not down to sig weight. My bs however is really coming down. It was 82 before breakfast! So I didn't take Amaryl. I did well with my eating yesterday and exercised with one of my videos and also did a few additional stretches.

Carol - I hope you don't lose your cardiologist. Perhaps he will keep a few patients despite his new position. It's nice to be able to stay with someone we are comfortable with. I like my new doctor and respect his knowledge/experience but I am not yet sure he is going to like my independent spirit.

GFY on the de-cluttering. I need to get back to that. On the sleep aids...I don't know which I like best, Melatonin or Benedryl. Even though it is a "natural product" Melatonin felt more like a drug the first time I took it, however I don't notice that so much now. It still doesn't seem like I drift off to sleep with it though...it's like one minute I'm wide awake, then I'm out. I think MAYBE I feel more like I'm drifting with Benedryl but can't remember for sure as I haven't taken it for a while. Sometimes Benedryl doesn't work for me at all, but often it works quite well. I think I feel about the same on waking with both. My concern with Benedryl is that I've read it's been associated with dementia. I guess that's the reason I decided not to take it often but I probably will sometimes. Last night I took Melatonin again and I slept but felt like I was awake a lot...hot a lot, turning, in pain and I did get up twice. I don't know what the answer is for a good night's sleep every night...maybe there is no such thing. I start hurting early am and sometimes I think I probably should just get up then, but I'm sleepy and always think I can get back to sleep and sometimes I do. I'm going to take Melatonin one more night at least, then see how I do without it. I really can't tell it's made any difference in getting me on a better sleep schedule as I was told it can.

Need to make some phone calls and also clean house. Didn't get much of anything done that way yesterday. Bye for now.

I know that any electronics in the bedroom or shortly before bedtime are not good for sleep. The rays that are transmitted prevent good deep sleep. I don't typically have electronics on in my bedroom. We have no TV in in our bedroom so it's just our phones and while they are not off, they are darkened and are on our bedside tables not in our beds. Whether that matters I don't know. Most nights I do watch TV right up til almost bedtime ...I clean the kitchen after it's turned off, then go get ready for bed, so there's almost an hour after TV most nights before I actually go to bed. Maybe a couple nights a week I am on the computer (in my office, not bedroom), right up til I get ready for bed. How long before going to bed these things should be turned off I don't know. Actually my computer is rarely completely turned off but it is put to sleep every night and like I said it's not in my bedroom. I knew this (about electronics) before but my son has been taking a class on sleep and reminded me of it. The rays may not only prevent sleeping but also might affect how long we can stay asleep, wakefulness..

Naps after 2 pm can cause one not to be able to sleep well at night. Up until recently I almost never took naps, but recently I have some days, but not every day, however it usually is after 2 pm when I do. I only nap if I get so tired I just can't keep my eyes open or feel so very tired.

Also exercise (beyond stretching), is not to be done before bed. I typically ride my bike in the evening while watching TV. I don't do it every evening though.

I realize not all or perhaps any of these things may be the cause of our lack of sleep, getting to sleep or staying asleep but they are things to consider. I think I'm going to try and get my exercise done earlier and will not be on the internet close to bedtime and see if it helps. I'm also going to try not to nap. Dh cat naps a lot...he does it anytime he sits ...while watching TV esp, but also when just sitting sometimes. I suspect that maybe causing him not to sleep well at night sometimes. He's always done it but of course, now that he's retired it's more common.

Both Tylenol and Aspirin are known to help people relax as you have experienced with Tylenol, but there are risks involved as you say. I like Tylenol PM but I know my previous doctor (the one I quit) did not like me taking it and would say, "I hope you don't take that every night!." Tylenol PM is Tylenol and Benedryl together. Sometimes I have just taken both meds together.

Caffeine can also be the culprit. I try not to get any after 4 pm ..I don't drink coffee but sometimes I get chocolate chocolate in a NS snack and my mocha (which I still have once a day), has a little in it. I sure don't get much though.

I thought when I retired I'd sleep when I wanted to, and most days get up when I wanted to, but I am finding now it interferes with how much I want to get done since I can't work much at night as well as being too sleepy most night, and also not sleeping enough at night makes me makes me want to sleep way too much during the day as I feel so tired. It's a problem and I hope to find a solution. Thankfully I am able to get up early when I have to. I just set my alarm and get up right away. Can't allow myself to stay in bed after the alarm goes off I'm at the point where I'm thinking about setting my alarm every day for a while and making myself get up to see if that gets me on a better sleep schedule. Here's hoping we can both find the solution to our sleep problems.

Last night I did well with my eating stayed on plan all day but got off in the evening as I had another serving of cherries (I like to have 2 fruits a day and hadn't gotten the second one), and I shared a cinnamon roll with dh. Ended up just a little under where I wanted to be with my calories. If I stay around there every night or lower I should drop more weight maybe to goal or almost. If it doesn't get me to goal, I'll drop the calories a little more. I also rode my stationary bike for 27 min.

The soup last night was tasty but seemed a little too fat tasting to me even though I drained off the ground beef before putting it in. I think I'm just not used to eating anything with more fat now. The guys seemed to like it although neither ate much. I served it with rice for dh but he's the only one who ate the rice. Our son only ate a little bit of soup but asked me to keep it and he came back and finished it later. He is still not back to normal. Hopefully after the weekend he'll be much better.

I should go shopping for groceries today but I'm so sleepy and lazy I'm not sure if I'll make it. Sitting here drinking my tea and wishing I could go back to bed. Wish I had more energy because I love this time of year. Some of our plants are budding and the flowering tree is getting colorful. It's a nice day.

ETA: GFY on the stair climbing, Carol! You've got a good goal there to work toward to also.

Didn't lose weight this week, messed up too many evenings. Hope to do better this week. It seems like by now it would be easier. I do not trust myself to maintain if I can't stick to my diet in the evenings so will continue with the program until I have more control over that even if I get to maintenance. I am determined to defeat this thing! I know when I'm overeating I'm doing the wrong thing so that shows me I have the power to stop. It's like I am just eating for the different tastes...last night it was some cashews dh bought and cornflakes. At least I rode my bike 28 min last night..almost to 30 min again.

We were thinking about traveling some place this spring but neither of us is too interested yet, think we are still too happy to be home. Watched the movie, Sully, last night ...boy that will turn you off flying if you aren't already! We liked the movie though.

Good monring GG's,

It is a nice sunny day today. Yea ~ no head ache today. I have had one to some degree or another for the last 6 days. I think it might be seasonal allergy related. But, every time I think I have figured out what might have caused it and try to adjust things to not have another one ~ my theory didn't work. I guess the good thing is that they are usually not very bad like I used to have years ago. They are more just annoying. A dose of Excedrin will usually take it away, but I worry about my liver and getting too much acetaminophen.

One more little project I am trying to get finished, then I have a big one to work on. Going through boxes of stuff ~ to hopefully get rid of a bunch of stuff we don't need/aren't using anymore. So, throw away, give away or organize what we decide to keep.

Carol Sue ~ I'm sorry you are having bowel problems ~ not fun. Hope you can get things back to normal pretty quickly. I can totally understand the frustration with this weight thing. I feel bad for my son ~ he is starting to understand the frustration of it too. He never had a problem before, but between reaching “that age” where it becomes harder and having quit smoking and not having beers ~ it is starting to catch up with him. A friend gave him a treadmill and he wanted to start walking on that and he has been doing a really good job of eating healthier, but his long work hours make it so he struggles to have any time except to eat, sleep, go to work and do it all over again.

Mary ~ I am sorry you are struggling with your diet and the evening snacking. That seems to be when I struggle most as well. Way to go with the bike riding. I have kind of put that on hold for a few days ~ I've had some other things I have needed to get done. Yes, it was me who has the 3 wheeled (adult trike) ~ also Bobbi up in Minnesota got one. I love mine. Hope your son gets to feeling better soon.

Well, guess I'd better get off here and get some stuff done. Almost time to make my call to my mom.

Hope you all have a nice day.

Good morning GG's,

I haven't read this article yet, but thought maybe there would be something in there that might help with your sleeping problems.

http://uverse.com/watch/h___60861909?ref=yfp

Wish we could more easily post pics. I have so much trouble sometimes I just don't want to go to the trouble, so I'll just type it here.

From my FB page today:
Starve your distractions, and feed your focus.


something to remember when I'm distracted by temptations to over snack in the evenings.

Hi Everyone, enjoying the stories. I had a little success this week and lost a lb. So glad to be on this journey. Love losing the weight but really need to get my lab values in order. Stay strong everyone!