Musings from a Busy Mom

If I were given a pop quiz on car maintenance, I think I would get most of the answers right.  Especially on true or false questions like the following. True/False:  It is important to check the oil before driving.   Yes, I think i would pass the quiz.  However, my problem comes in the practical application.  Did you know if you run out of oil that your car will overheat and after getting your car to the parking lot behind McDonald's you will be stranded with three children with nothing to do but to walk to McD's let them play in playhouse? Yes… It's true.  And of course you will have to call a friend to get the food out of your car because it is your turn to provide the main dish for a ministry in which you are involved.  Well, what could I do?  I could gripe and complain and be all down about it.  Or I could take the time in McD's to rest and read a good book that just happened to be in my purse (I had to take a child to a doctor's appointment earlie

low-fat loaded potato soup with grilled chicken salad I have heard different view on what people eat after gallbladder surgery.  According to my surgeon, I should avoid milk and fried foods for a couple of weeks, but other than to resume a normal diet.  However, I've heard of people who had to go on a liquid diet for a few days, others who needed a bland diet, and still others who were almost immediately able to eat spicy foods.  I also heard from people who have had no problems since surgery, and others who years later still cannot eat certain foods and have some GI problems.  What does this mean to me?  All this tells me is that everyone is different. For me, as long as I take an antacid in the morning and evening, I can eat most foods.  However, I am choosing to take this time to really adjust my diet (again), and hopefully this time for the long term.  I will say, though, that tea is the only drink I can keep down in the mornings now, and through the remainder of the

Well, after the first day of surgery, I felt great for a couple of days!  I didn't move much, but I was able to take care of myself and even put a simple meal on the table.  My husband took the girls to a horse show the day after surgery, and thankfully a friend came to take my son for a couple of hours.  I thought I could take care of him, but that was a little tougher than I'd expected. Six days post-op I went for my follow-up and was still feeling pretty okay, other than some cramping.  I told the doctor that I just wanted to sleep a lot, and she said that was normal.  She also reiterated that we can only hope that removing the gallbladder will resolve all the issues that I had been having… only time will tell.  The next day, though, was a tough one.  That night I had what felt and seemed like another one of my attacks.  I was shaky, vomiting, had chills, and was sweaty/clammy.  I just did not feel right at all.  I asked my husband to take me to the hospital, but h

Wednesday the doctor told me I needed to have my gallbladder removed. Thursday morning I had an appointment to consult with the surgeon.  Friday I had my gallbladder removed.  Wow!  This happened so fast - from diagnosis to surgery.   Today (Saturday) I am sore and tired (with those pain meds one moment I'll be talking to you and the next I'm asleep), but overall I feel really good. I would normally say that I wish someone had figured out it was my gallbladder six years ago when I first started having symptoms.  But I cannot say that.  God has truly blessed me with this experience in many ways. Now some people may say that six years ago when I had my first symptoms it probably was due to my endometriosis for which I had a hysterectomy four years ago.  I am not quite ready to jump on that bandwagon.  The symptoms I had prior to my hysterectomy were exactly the same as my symptoms after my hysterectomy.    At first when my symptoms resurfaced a year after my hysterectomy, I

Okay, so now I know what is the main culprit of all my problems... my gall bladder.  Evidently the symptoms do not always revolve around the area that needs attention.  Which is why so many doctors never really checked my gall bladder.  So... I will be visiting  surgeon tomorrow to go over the best course of action.  My doctor believes removing the gall bladder will relieve many if not all of my symptoms.  Who'd have thought that a bad gall bladder that stays too long could be responsible for joint pain? I did also have a shot of B-12 today, since apparently that was low.  Other than the B-12, all my blood work looked great, my heart is doing well at its job, and my arteries look like they should for my age.  Absolutely no signs in the blood work of lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Woo Hoo!!  Hopefully I will soon feel better than I have in years. I also learned a new word: cholecystitis.  This is a word that the monographer used.  I don't know why they couldn't just lea

Grilled chicken over whole wheat coucous with a lemon-basil cream sauce, grilled parmesan zucchini, and salad with homemade Catalina dressing...  So simple, and so good!!

Wow!  It has been over seven months since I have posted here.  I knew I had this account, and remembered that I had been tracking my diet here... but since I got discouraged and quit calculating my calories and documenting exercise (what's that?), I stayed away from my blog. Just the other day when I was updating another blog I manage (for my MOPS Area), I was once again thinking I should occasionally blog about my life.  So, since this is Musings from a Busy Mom, I guess I don't have to just blog about food and non-weight loss here! =)  So I am moving on with blogging with what I feel like, and when I feel like it (I am not a historian and I don't keep a diary, so don't expect something every day here!). So... moving on...  yucky medical diary below; read with caution... I am currently waiting on test results from my doctor.  My life has changed since moving to East Tennessee six years ago.  Some ways good, but when it comes to my health, things have not been goo