Hello Everyone and to the April 2015 Ups & Downs Support Group! We did not have nearly as many posts during the month of March as we usually do. I hope to get the group more active again this month. Unfortunately, for those of you who have been following my breast cancer journey, I have to go back into surgery tomorrow because there is an open spot on my left incision and it appears to be infected. So tomorrow my breast reconstructionist will open the existing incision, clear any dead skin and infection, possibly replace the tissue expander, and properly close my incision again. I am falling asleep as I type these words, so that's about all I have in me for tonight. I am very disappointed about this setback to my healing, but I want it to heal properly and completely, so back to the drawing board I go! I will be having major Deja Vu tomorrow at the hospital since I was just in the operating room on March 9th! If you see this post and can spare a prayer, please pray for me and my family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

good morning, thank you Kathleen for starting the April thread

Kathleen I am not a praying type person but I can certainly think fervent thoughts of wellness and health that I am sending to you and wishes of coping with this, to your family. Really sorry you have to have another surgery to correct a problem but BEST WISHES that it is smooth sailing and puts you back on the road to recovery . You have such a fantastic attitude about what is going on, that is sure to help you!

Lisa_c congrats on your new user name How soon will you find out what grade you get on your project?? staying up til 3 a.m. Sunday is not half-@ssing it my friend And I guess by now, your daughter is with you? and now that I know that your kitty's name is Leo and hope he doesn't have any more medical issues. Did you say it's getting warm and spring-like where you are? i hope so!! Oh and I got teary-eyed when I read that you worried about me I don't have many friends so it is sooo nice when I know someone cares!!

Fi You kept our March thread rolling and we thank you for that!! How are you doing?? specifically your poor leg and anything else that hurts. I hope your area is getting warm and Spring-like.

Hello to Minerva and I don't think I was even here to welcome you a few weeks ago, sorry!! I'm a long time member here but just kinda gave up during March. Anyway, congrats on losing a few pounds even though it was due to strep throat!! i hope you're all better. I hope also you were able to do some meal prep that will help you through the week to stay away from the fast food.

Hello to Tauxania again I'm sorry I didn't say Hi or "welcome" to you before, its so great to have new members and if this forum is helpful to you that is wonderful. I'm not familiar with the meds you spoke of (except Lexapro that made me fall asleep while I was driving!) and I self-medicate with sweets so I 'get' that. South Beach has also worked great for me, if I stick to it.

Hi BettyBooty, how are you doing? I still smile when I read that you wrote "I ran with the dogs and it didn't kill me"

Hi EasySpirit I'm sorry you have had to find your self on medication again, but if it helps take the edge off, then I think that is a good decision. So you are in New England also? I am just so sick of being locked in winter's icy grip and sooo much snow still. It's gotta go away sometime right
I definitely will feel better when it starts to warm up, thank you ! u

Hi doitforme (Sue) I think it's cute that you ended up here by mistake If you do decide to 'hang out' here we look forward to chatting with you!

to Mari26! I'm so sorry you are so lonely!! I like that your boyfriend thought that a puppy would help you, we got a baby Siberian Husky when we were newlyweds and boy, they are ACTIVE so you should find yourself occupied with walking that little sweetie! I can understand how it is hard to make new friends, especially if you aren't really getting out in the world, yeah lots of times we meet people on the job, or in relation to commuting, I wonder if there is a free activity you and the bf could do together to meet people. When you go to the gym, just be brave and just try a quick smile and 'hi' to people.

HI to coffeeshopgirl!! great to hear from you again!!!

OK about me Yes I have been so very MEH about life for weeks now, it is just so concentrated on the endless winter, my winter job and sucky boss (who I'm sure you're all SICK of me complaining about, but he is just such a turd) Still spending alot of time in bed on my days off because I'm so apathetic. However, that winter job ends so soon!! April 12 is my last day there, then I have almost 3 weeks off!!

But we are still so locked in cold weather I will still be trapped inside I know I complain about everything it seems I try to be thankful for health, mobility, the ability to work out even though I don't want to.

BUT as it is the first of a new month, I am gonna kick myself in the butt and work out, and I'm gonna start an April work-out thread, to make myself a little accountable. My eating is so yo-yo, I buy no-fat yogurts and bring healthy homemade food for work, then also eat cookies and other bad stuff Jeans are tight, I can't imagine myself in a tee shirt...bleh.

Oh well I am gonna vacuum so I don't see dog hair when I do pushups and gonna work out , then will come back to start the exercise thread

So glad to be here!

Thank you for welcoming me, everyone!

VermontMom: Thank you for your advice. I might try to say hi, though I see all these fit people (and pretty girls) and I just feel TOO self-conscious to approach them! Oh, and by the way :P we have been married for a year. But, yes! My husband is very sweet, he is always trying to figure out how to meet people but he is shy too, so... well, it doesn't help. I am looking forward to an active puppy! I might also meet some people in puppy training!

Oh gosh just thinking about the attention that Siberian puppy will bring! they are soooo very beautiful. I know all dogs are beautiful furry loves but I have a special affection for Siberians, malamutes, wolf mixes, etc. I bet you will meet so many people who are going to just have to comment on your puppy.

Yes it is hard to meet people when both you and your partner are shy. It's sure nice to have each other's company though isn't it.

Hello friends -

Plugging along, my eating is not good but I have been working out each day, and started a Beat Down Depression with Exercise thread

Spring is SOOOOOO slow in coming here. We have had only a few days over 40 so far. Our path is MUD and lined with ice, our driveway is mud, it is so yuck. And it will get worse before better We still have tons of snow, we need multiple days over 45 and some sun and even rain to get rid of it. Ugh!!

Well I have ONLY 10 DAYS UNTIL THE END OF THE SUCKY WINTER JOB

Kathleen I hope the follow-up surgery went well!!

HI to everyone else

Thanks, Holly, for your comments. I liked all the fun things you said about spring coming, so I changed my fellow Ups & Downs threaders' color to "Magenta." It's really hot pink, don't you think? So exciting that you have only 10 more days of your sucky winter job to go!

Congrats, Lisa, on your class being almost over! Yay!!!

Praying for you to have a good result with your surgery, Kathleen!

As for myself, my muscle spasms in both legs and even a few in my arms have got me confined to a wheelchair. =sigh= But I'm getting pauses in the spasms now, so I get to practice walking a bit around the house.

Still don't know what causes the cramps, so I'm getting some MRIs to try to sort that out. But my husband Bob has had that really bad bug that's been going around, so we can't schedule the appointment for the scans until he feels well enough to take me. After that, a neurologist....

Personally, Bob and I think the spasms are side effects from all the psych drugs I've been taking. My psychiatrist kind of agrees with us, so we are slowly backing down on some of the medications.

I'm having a crappy day so far. I made a mistake in setting out all my morning medications and accidentally took two capsules, instead of one, of the main culprit in this serotonin toxicity business—still not a diagnosis, just a strong working hypothesis. We (my shrink and I) have recently reduced the daily amount of that drug (venlafaxine/Effexor) by 25%—which is a lot, believe me, because it's a very difficult drug to withdraw from. This morning, I erred and took the old amount.

Because of this little mistake, half an hour later I entered the hellish domain of Cramp City. Cramps in my shins, my calves, the bottoms of my feet, individual toes (!), the ligaments of my knees, my thighs (front & back), my upper arms, the tops of my forearms, and the ligaments of my elbows. We're talkin' severe pain here—thumbscrew pain, Spanish Inquisition pain, screaming-so-loud-your-throat-gets-hoarse pain. (I wish... actually, I have to suppress my screams because Bob is trying to sleep off a respiratory bug.) And it's not like the cramps come just one at a time: we're talking a whole symphony (or is it a dysphony?) here.

This went on for two and a half hours. Now, as I write, it's mostly abated. It will probably come back, off and on, all day long.

Now I have had no comfort food in the house for several days, because I can't walk and I can't drive. (Leg cramps tend to limit those two activities quite a lot. When I try to walk, I usually fall down. Mostly I don't try because it hurts so frakkin' much just to stand up. As for driving, I've had two car accidents—mild damage, no one hurt—due to the influence of psych meds, and I very much wish to never have another one.)

Here's the part where you know the next steps in this story:
• What happens when you put a lifelong sweets junkie into a situation such as what I describe above, and you take away all means of access to their chosen comfort foods? Yes, you are right. That's exactly what is happening.
• To twist the knife in the wound a bit, what happens if the sweets junkie's spouse is very resistant to anything that resembles a demand, or a command, because he had to deal, when he was growing up, with a bossy imperious domineering oppressive tyrannical mother? (He tunes out all pleasantly and politely worded explanations of why, in this circumstance, I am allowing myself a cookie or three. He literally doesn't listen if he thinks whatever I'm saying is connected somehow to an order. Everyone who knows Bob even briefly knows that you cannot order him to do squat.) So once again, you know the answer to what happens in that situation.

That is my day so far, in a nutshell: severe pain for hours on end, no comfort foods, access to comfort foods blocked by a MAJOR control freak (or perhaps I mean no-control freak). I hope your day is infinitely better.

I had a pretty quiet day today, worked from 10 until 1 pm. Then I went to a family dinner for a while.

Fi, so sorry you are cramping today.


I turned in my last paper in Design 101. My grade all depends on if the Professor liked my project??? I have a C right now, if he doesn't like it...well, I hate think about that.


I am kinda down today, Jennifer went back to school. It makes me want to cry. She will be back soon, graduates on May 9th. The house is so quiet now, it just makes it hard knowing she is gone.



That's about it for now. Much love.

Hi all
I am new to this forum and was so happy to see a section for people with eating issues as well as depression. I am bipolar and in a pretty bad place right now due to my binge eating. I know this is hard to believe but I have gained 80 pounds in a year. I disgust myself and don't really know how to stop this cycle.
Anyways look forward to getting to know you all and getting and giving support to each other

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LISA!!!

I'm doin' better today: fewer cramps, a little tentative walking around the house, good session with my psychiatrist. Not much more to say...