Carol Sue When DH and I married, we always had turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas. I almost bought a small ham today but I didn't buy it. We do have ham chunks in freezer for cooking in beans, but I just don't add salt to the beans. DH can add salt to his bowl of beans. As much as I like the ham, like you, I don't want to go to the hospital either. Thus the reason I got the pork roast.

I want to cook liver and onion tomorrow or Thursday because I have Lab Friday morning. I'm hoping to get my blood count back above 10.

I'm sure your DH will want to quit going to the casino.:lol:

I didn't go to rehab today. I probably won't ever go back because they will tack this day on the end and I will have to go after Christmas. I will go to my doctor appointment this afternoon. I intend to exercise at home.

I somehow forgot to pay the water bill and today we got a shut off notice. I don't remember receiving the bill. I am going to pay online today. Yikes!

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I'm trying to activate a new cell phone and nothing is happening. DH is trying to vacuum and the sweeper isn't picking anything up. Its not Friday but its the 13,th.

Carol Sue I hope you get the answers you need from the doctor.

I canceled the virtual dietitian appointment for Thursday. DH says I read and research everything all the time so he didn't think I needed to talk to them. Besides I've been reading so much lately from the The Healthy newsletter I get from Reader's Digest and learning a lot. I am OP eating healthy with IE rules. I notice when I eat only when I'm hungry and not having to eat anything special all the time by the clock, I do better. So that is what I'm doing.

I found smaller torillas called Carb Watch which I'm sure comes from Mexico. It has 60 calories, no sugar and the carbs are 14 g fiber. I made a 1 egg, 1 sl bacon taquita for about 245 calories. It was perfect to satisfy my hunger. I'm cooking liver and onions today. DH made Harvard beets and will make us a salad to go with them. If I get hungry later this evening, I have a choice of a turkey patty and zucchini or pb sandwich or air popped popcorn depending on how hungry I might be. Not going to eat more than I need.

Trish, I located and signed up for the newsletter from Readers Digest. Sounds interesting. I was curious to know what the dietician was going to tell you. Dieticians have some quirky ideas. For diabetes they say to eat 45 grams of carbs at every meal and 15 grams at 2 snacks. At the hospital I complained that they were giving me regular pudding instead of diet the dietician told me they give me pudding with sugar instead of diet pudding because it only has 15 grams of carbs. So the dietician might not have given you the best advice. You are self educated about health and nutrition and can figure it out on your own.

This is how I feel about drinking water. They keep telling me to limit my fluids because of the CHF but I've always read the importance of drinking water to flush impurities out of your body and to help your kidneys function. They tell me to drink 2L of fluid per day and that's a lot of water. So I am back to chugging my cold water like I used to. The fluid pills are doing a good job of removing the excess. Online it says that dehydration can cause kidney failure and I think that's what happened to my MIL. I see no build up of fluid and the doctor didn't either. My feet never swell and I never have trouble breathing.

When I was at the doctor yesterday he told me to quit reading on the internet, to stay away from Dr Google. I told him I was reading about my various conditions and he said getting the new valve has greatly improved my conditions and many things on the internet don't apply to me. But I feel I have learned a lot from what I read online. Most doctors don't know a lot about nutrition. I would like to be a fly on the wall and see what they eat for dinner. One time I saw my PCP getting a hamburger at McDonalds.

I have a script for bloodwork to see my PCP on the 22nd. My A1c is going to be very high because my blood sugar has been high since I came home from the hospital. I have not been watching my carbs and have been eating a lot of ice cream. At least I'm prepared for it and have a plan to change things over the next 6 months. My PCP might be able to answer some of my questions if he allows enough time for my appointment.

We went to Texas Roadhouse after the doctors appointment. I had a pork chop,baked sweet potato and broccoli. I brought half of the pork chop home and gave it to Rusty. He likes pork, and always eats the leftover roast. I'm not supposed to eat sweet potato but I don't think one once in a while is too bad. It has potassium and I'm supposed to limit it. I eat a banana once in a while, too. I believe in moderation. I will not give up everything.

Carol Sue I know as you do that not everything on Dr, Google applies to me and my situation. For example, the thing I'm dealing with is that what I eat is not causing me any health problems, it is the infusion medication I get every 21 days. However, I have to get it in order to live. As oncologist told me, if I stop treatment, the tumors will grow. I've got to ask him next week when I see him if there is any antioxidant that I'm taking is protecting the cancer cells. I read the other day that some oncologists don't want their patients to take them for that reason. So I need him to look over what I'm taking to see if any are working against my treatment.

I hope you will enjoy the newsletter. They have a lot of good information in there.

I also understand about the water. When I was in the hospital, they wouldn't let me have milk with dinner because it was too much fluid that day. I recently remembered my Mama's and Daddy's doctor friend telling Mama the best way to get fluid off if she was swollen was to sip a little water every hour for a day and the swelling would go away. I've never tried it and don't remember if it worked for her or not. I've often thought I might should try it.

When I go to the doctor, I push to ask the questions I really need answers to. DH fusses about us getting into a room and having to wait so long, but I tell him not to fuss because he is good about taking the time to answer my questions I need to ask. I don't know if I push him or not. However, I am allowed 15 minutes and I take it to be sure I get answers I need.

The one thing I loved about my SC doc was that he helped me some with eating healthy, but he also was honest about how he ate. He is the one who turned me on MFP. He told us one day that when he wanted a hamburger, he wanted everything that goes with it. He also told me that all the doctors in their clinic did low carb and he thought it was so they could have their liquor The only doctor that has said anything to me about how to eat has been the hospital doctors. I did see a dietician in the hospital as well. They push the heart diet which is a little like DASH. That is why I canceled the appointment with the dietician today.

DH and I got a big box a piece of food from our Advantage insurance company for the holiday and flu season. They had sample diet information in the boxes too. We pretty much eat that way except we don't eat a lot of grains. They divide a plate in 4ths to eat fruit, veggies, protein and grains and drink water. We mostly do fruit, veggies and protein.

Hope everybody has a good day.

Trish, my BIL carries a bottle of water with him everywhere and sips it all day but I don't know if it does anything for him. He said his mouth is always dry. I know I drink a lot of water. I'm not thirsty but I think its a habit.I read that if you don't drink water your body fights to hold onto what it has. I used to never drink water. When we went to Las Vegas it was so hot and dry we got used to drinking water all the time.As soon as our plane landed back in Pittsburgh we could feel the humidity.

When I went to my PCP after I was in the hospital he hardly spent any time with me. I could tell he wanted out of the room but I don't know why. I think he over books his patients. They are the ones that always insist that I follow up with him. DH says he just wanted his money.

Our hospital pushes the heart diet, too. They had someone come in ever time I was there and give me paperwork about what to eat and drink. I think they are wrong about limiting fluids. I have always been one who drinks a lot but several times when I went to the ER they said I was dehydrated. Today I was reading how bad Diet Coke is for your kidneys and I used to drink only Diet Coke. Never water. I eventually got tired of it. Maybe my kidneys got tired of it!

I posted a long post but it didn't take. Now I have to leave for rehab.

BBL

Carol Sue Sorry you lost your post. I guess you decided to go to rehab after all. I'm headed out for lab work this morning. It is going to be a very cold rainy day so we are going straight to lab and right back home.

BBL

Cardiac rehab went well. I'm glad I didn't quit, but my legs hurt. There are 3 new patients in myclass, 2 women and a man. I talked to the one woman. 88 years old but she doesn't look it. I thought maybe she had a stroke but she fell and broke her neck. She moves very slowly. She was nice to talk to.

I don't even remember what I posted this morning. The scale was up to 172. I ate scrambled eggs and toast as I am supposed to eat before rehab. DH stopped at McDonalds for a burger and fries for his lunch. They gave him a free drink because they made too many for the customer before us and they didn't want it, so I drank it. I don't think it was diet, oh well, not the worst thing I've done. I think DH wants to go to the casino but I HAVE to do some laundry first. I want to bake over the weekend. The Steelers play on Saturday so he will want to stay home. Warmer weather today and the weekend. In the 50s. That's warm for December here.

Guess ill go gather up my laundry!

Carol Sue Are you going to go for rehab after Christmas to finish the full treatment? I'm glad you went and feel good about going today.

I've lost posts before too and not always sure why.

The plan for me was to skip exercises today and exercise tomorrow so I don't have 2 days off in a row. But I might end up doing them today any way. Exercise day this week for me was walking in the store instead of my regular exercises. I would have exercised today but I didn't want to walk in the rain. So I've had 4 days exercise this week and can get the 5th day tomorrow as planned. I think I may sleep most of the day today.

I read online today that oatmeal raises blood sugar which is interesting. My SC doctor was surprised when I told him it raised my bs. I remember him telling me that was interesting because it was supposed to lower it. This article they had on bing said that oatmeal is good for heart diet, but not for diabetes. I still find that interesting since most low carb/keto plans allow oat meal especially steel cut.

I'm having stomach trouble the past few days and I'm wondering if it is all the fiber I've been eating. I've been trying to eat foods that help with BM so I don't have to take laxatives but I might not be able to do it. This may cause me to move more towards low carb again.

I hope y'all have a good day at the casino.

Trish, im taking each day as it comes. If I have to go I will. DH keeps telling me to quit. Maybe he's tired of taking me. Today he told me its my own fault I have these issues. I kept my mouth shut but when I married him he pushed me to stop exercising. He said. " You are thin you don't have to." He also said "You are thin you can eat whatever you want.". Neither of those statements is true. I had my health under control and allowed him to upset the apple cart so to speak. Whatever.

We didn't go to the casino. We need our money for Christmas. SS doesn't come until after Christmas.

The Keto people I read online do not eat oatmeal. No grains. The kidney diet says no oatmeal. No grains at all. I like it and eat what I like but if my kidneys get worse I might be sorry. I don't know what to do. I don't make it at home anymore and having it once in a while at Bob Evans might be ok.

Sometimes eating fiber can backfire and you get constipated. I don't go out of my way for fiber anymore. I get what I get from vegetables and the fiber in SL bread.

We did not go out to eat. We wanted fish but DH would not get take out and I didn't want to go out. Its cold and I'm tired.I ate some nuts and he made home fries. So it was not a good day for us. He will probably want the casino on a Sunday but we still won't have money. Thats because we don't win like we used to. Money doesn't grow on trees. He doesn't care about it when he's losing until the money is gone. I told him to get a job. Ha ha!!

Thanks Carol Sue. I appreciate your sharing with me about the keto people not eating oatmeal or grains. I'm not sure I want to eat them either. think they are really messing with my stomach and digestive system. While I do have some food I want to enjoy for the holidays, I also realize that I want to eat low carb again. Not sure I want to do strict keto but low carb would be great for me. I think the fiber in veggies and what little low carb friendly fruit probably will give me enough fiber too.

You are doing good so don't let your DH upset you. Your not the problem it is something else. DH has been sa2 ying things lately to me that I know has nothing to do with me. It is some things that are going on in his daughter's family with her 2 oldest kids and their spouses. We never thought they would be so ugly with their parents and it is getting too DH. Didn't your DH have 2 brothers pass away this year? He has a birthday in a few days and I bet all that is on his mind a lot right now.

I've slept off and on today but I am sure I will sleep good tonight. I will do my last day of exercising for this week tomorrow. I've got white Great Northern beans soaking overnight. We will cook them in the morning with diced ham in them for our dinner tomorrow.

Good night.

Scale was down to 171 but its on the way back up again. 172 yesterday and 173 today. I am so tired. We went out and got fish from my favorite place where we used to go. We quit going because the traffic over there is horrible on Friday at dinner time. It wasn't bad today. Their fish is very good. We used to go every Friday.

When I go to my PCP I want to know if I'm anemic. Thats one of the signs of Kidney Disease and might be why I'm so tired.

Carol Sue I'm glad you were able to go get fish from the place you like. Sorry you feel anemic. I hope you aren't and also hope that if you are that it doesn't mean you have a kidney problem. I haven't been able to get my blood count back up above 8 since I've had to have these treatments. They've never mentioned kidney problems. Hope I don't have to have blood transfusions any more.

I actually am feeling pretty good these days. I still take a nap everyday after dinner but I usually wake in the morning rested and ready to get up. I have been able to get all my planned exercises done for the planned 5 days a week. I think that is helping me to feel better. But then I've been past my surgery a lot longer than you have yours. So maybe you just need to give yourself more time to get your strength. T. his last lab I had shows my blood count in the 8s which is good. I hope when I get back to low carb, high protein that will improve as well. I read an article that said it was okay to eat a lot of protein long enough to get my blood count built up again then cut back on it.

DH has dental appt to get his teeth cleaned Tuesday and then I have an infusion on Thursday 21st then we are free from any other appts until sometime in January.

Hope you have a good evening.

Today the scale read 170. It didn't register to the app because I changed some settings on my new phone. After I changed the settings back it was 171. Thats ok. Down 2 lbs, probably got some fluid off. I slept a bit better but still tired. I am having trouble figuring out my new phone. LG doesn't make phones anymore so I got a Motorola, and I'm used to LG.

DIL invited us for Christmas dinner so I guess we will go. DH doesn't like to go when her parents are there but he will agree eventually. They are nice but different from us. Last summer she told me I look like Liz Taylor so that was nice!! They are a bit uppity. This is one way they can spend a holiday with her family and ours. DIL is a very good entertainer. I don't know what to take except cookies.

I want to bake some cookies today. I hope to get them all done by Christmas. I hope I have enough energy.

I hope your medical appointments go well. Tomorrow after rehab I will get bloodwork done for my PCP appointment on Friday. Tuesday morning we take Rusty for his Christmas haircut. Thats always a chore. He hates it. I'm afraid he will bite the groomer but I think he is getting used to her. She doesn't do anything to hurt him.