(no subject)
Oct. 30th, 2015 11:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI slept about nine hours last night because I decided to set my alarm a lot later than I would normally given that I expect my SIL some time between 11:15 and 11:45. I’m simply going to skimp on breakfast, probably just having some cheese and crackers, on the assumption that she and I will have time to get lunch before my appointment. At least, I hope it works out like that. As soon as I finish my coffee, I have to dig in my closet for another shirt because I dripped coffee on this nice white one. I hope that’s not a sign of how the day is going to go.
So the really big problem with my current diet , according to the dietician, is that I’m getting far too little protein. I’m supposed to aim for a minimum of 70 grams a day (and that target will go up if my skin starts to crack and/or peel), and the last week or so I’ve probably been getting less than 20 grams most days. I’m looking into protein powders, and I’m probably going to have to start eating our dinner leftovers at breakfast and lunch which will mean we need to cook more often. The only solution I see to needing to cook more often is making Cordelia start dealing with some of it.
The dietician gave me samples of Ensure and Boost, but neither she nor I thought they’d be a really good option for me. She was very much into recommending avoiding all processed meat in light of the recent WHO publications.
Her target for calorie intake is actually higher than what I was routinely eating before the surgery. She was really appalled when I said I hadn’t been losing weight at that level.
I’m currently trying to find some workable protein powder. Someone on my reading list is using split pea protein powder, and I like the sound of that. There’s even a brand without artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, in spite of what the manufacturer’s website claimed, Plum Market didn’t carry that brand. Whole Foods might, and we’ll call and find out rather than just heading over there. I ordered some online, but that will take long enough to arrive that we’d still like to find it locally. We were just afraid that we won’t find it locally and that, if we wait to order it, we’ll just end up waiting longer.
When I saw the radiologist yesterday, she didn’t think my breast had swollen particularly. She also said that the skin looks pretty much exactly the way it did last week and that she’s not recommending stepping down the dosage and extending the treatment now. If I start having real problems, she will reconsider, but she doesn’t think it’s necessary at this point.
I got there by cab about 35 minutes before I needed to be there, so I sat in the outer waiting room until 12:30. Then I went and signed in and changed. My appointment wasn’t until 12:50, so that was still pretty early. As it turned out, the technicians were ready for me less than five minutes after I got to the waiting room. They got me through everything fairly quickly.
I ate my lunch in the examination room where I waited for the doctor. I talked to her resident, and I filled out my weekly survey. I was about 3/4 through my lunch when the doctor came in. She looked at the various lotions I’d brought in and rejected all of them as containing things that would damage my fragile skin (I can still use them anywhere but my left breast and armpit). We had already ordered more aloe online (It’s a lot cheaper there, even sticking with the same brand). The new container of that is large and heavy enough that I’m not sure I want to carry it in my purse. I wonder if I can somehow transfer aloe from the new bottle to the old tube? I’ll probably at least try once.
It was around 2:00 when I called the cab to go home. It only took fifteen minutes, and the driver called me from the parking lot. She was more than a little worried that she was in the wrong place because she couldn’t see any sort of entrance into the building from the lot. I have no idea why they built the place that way. She said it wasn’t like that as recently as five years ago.
We brought home our new car last night. It’s very pretty, and it’s a car. The guy from the dealership spent about half an hour explaining the various bells and whistles to Scott. I didn’t want to interrupt because it was stuff he needs to know, but I was very, very aware of how late it was getting.
The reason they needed us both to pick up the car was that we signed the final papers for the loan from the credit union there. Scott also wanted both our names on the title. I’m not sure that’s strictly necessary; I’m never going to drive the dratted thing after all.
On Wednesday, I called the American Cancer Society to see about whether or not they had any volunteers who could get me back and forth. They said that Tuesday was the earliest they might have someone (and no guarantees). My brother has had clients who worked with them, and his experience was that they can cover 90-95% of appointments. I will miss having people I’m close to transporting me because it makes me feel better, somehow, but right now, one person is doing most of the driving. If the ACS can help, that will ease things a lot. I’ll still need occasional help from friends or an occasional cab, but it won’t be one friend trying to do everything.
We sort of had a game gathering on Wednesday. Nobody has their character done (which makes me feel better), but that was partly because the GM changed the numbers a little bit. The group broke up around 8:30 because one guy’s older son needed to go to urgent care, so he needed to go get his younger son from the neighbor’s house. The other person who was present was pretty exhausted. I think she actually gave me a run for my money. She started a new job a few weeks ago and now has a fairly hefty commute.
So the really big problem with my current diet , according to the dietician, is that I’m getting far too little protein. I’m supposed to aim for a minimum of 70 grams a day (and that target will go up if my skin starts to crack and/or peel), and the last week or so I’ve probably been getting less than 20 grams most days. I’m looking into protein powders, and I’m probably going to have to start eating our dinner leftovers at breakfast and lunch which will mean we need to cook more often. The only solution I see to needing to cook more often is making Cordelia start dealing with some of it.
The dietician gave me samples of Ensure and Boost, but neither she nor I thought they’d be a really good option for me. She was very much into recommending avoiding all processed meat in light of the recent WHO publications.
Her target for calorie intake is actually higher than what I was routinely eating before the surgery. She was really appalled when I said I hadn’t been losing weight at that level.
I’m currently trying to find some workable protein powder. Someone on my reading list is using split pea protein powder, and I like the sound of that. There’s even a brand without artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, in spite of what the manufacturer’s website claimed, Plum Market didn’t carry that brand. Whole Foods might, and we’ll call and find out rather than just heading over there. I ordered some online, but that will take long enough to arrive that we’d still like to find it locally. We were just afraid that we won’t find it locally and that, if we wait to order it, we’ll just end up waiting longer.
When I saw the radiologist yesterday, she didn’t think my breast had swollen particularly. She also said that the skin looks pretty much exactly the way it did last week and that she’s not recommending stepping down the dosage and extending the treatment now. If I start having real problems, she will reconsider, but she doesn’t think it’s necessary at this point.
I got there by cab about 35 minutes before I needed to be there, so I sat in the outer waiting room until 12:30. Then I went and signed in and changed. My appointment wasn’t until 12:50, so that was still pretty early. As it turned out, the technicians were ready for me less than five minutes after I got to the waiting room. They got me through everything fairly quickly.
I ate my lunch in the examination room where I waited for the doctor. I talked to her resident, and I filled out my weekly survey. I was about 3/4 through my lunch when the doctor came in. She looked at the various lotions I’d brought in and rejected all of them as containing things that would damage my fragile skin (I can still use them anywhere but my left breast and armpit). We had already ordered more aloe online (It’s a lot cheaper there, even sticking with the same brand). The new container of that is large and heavy enough that I’m not sure I want to carry it in my purse. I wonder if I can somehow transfer aloe from the new bottle to the old tube? I’ll probably at least try once.
It was around 2:00 when I called the cab to go home. It only took fifteen minutes, and the driver called me from the parking lot. She was more than a little worried that she was in the wrong place because she couldn’t see any sort of entrance into the building from the lot. I have no idea why they built the place that way. She said it wasn’t like that as recently as five years ago.
We brought home our new car last night. It’s very pretty, and it’s a car. The guy from the dealership spent about half an hour explaining the various bells and whistles to Scott. I didn’t want to interrupt because it was stuff he needs to know, but I was very, very aware of how late it was getting.
The reason they needed us both to pick up the car was that we signed the final papers for the loan from the credit union there. Scott also wanted both our names on the title. I’m not sure that’s strictly necessary; I’m never going to drive the dratted thing after all.
On Wednesday, I called the American Cancer Society to see about whether or not they had any volunteers who could get me back and forth. They said that Tuesday was the earliest they might have someone (and no guarantees). My brother has had clients who worked with them, and his experience was that they can cover 90-95% of appointments. I will miss having people I’m close to transporting me because it makes me feel better, somehow, but right now, one person is doing most of the driving. If the ACS can help, that will ease things a lot. I’ll still need occasional help from friends or an occasional cab, but it won’t be one friend trying to do everything.
We sort of had a game gathering on Wednesday. Nobody has their character done (which makes me feel better), but that was partly because the GM changed the numbers a little bit. The group broke up around 8:30 because one guy’s older son needed to go to urgent care, so he needed to go get his younger son from the neighbor’s house. The other person who was present was pretty exhausted. I think she actually gave me a run for my money. She started a new job a few weeks ago and now has a fairly hefty commute.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-10-30 05:13 pm (UTC)And this, alas, is why I believe that 75%-90% of everything nutritionists say is BS, because they cannot grasp that a) everyone has different a metabolism and b) there is such a thing as a metabolic set point, and it's individual for everyone. When I stop eating (because of illness, for ex), my metabolism kicks into overdrive, and I often gain weight because my body is convinced it's FAMINE TIME.
Protein is good, though, especially given the tissue damage you're experiencing.
I'm sorry you're having all these issues. :P
no subject
Date: 2015-10-30 05:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-10-30 04:41 pm (UTC)Just a thought, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2015-10-30 05:55 pm (UTC)And, in terms of what I'm actually up to, I need things that can be prepared with less than ten minutes of time on my feet. I can put stuff in a pan and stick it in the oven or I can fill up the rice cooker and get that going or I can chop vegetables. Anything that cooks stove top, well... We do have a crock pot, and that's a better bet because I can dump things in and ignore it. But the crock pot's not very appealing because I can't find any recipes that I can eat and that Cordelia will eat and that don't take more work than I can manage.
I wore myself out yesterday by moving two baskets of laundry from the kitchen to our bedroom and one basket of laundry from the living room to our bedroom. I was shaking by the time I finished that.
no subject
Date: 2015-10-30 11:51 pm (UTC)Or nuts?
I've found beans and nuts to be far cheaper and easier to deal with than meat.
There is a reason beans and rice are a staple in South America and Africa.
I have a recipe that originally included ground beef, but for reasons I can't quite remember now, I adjusted it to chopped up cashews. Then again I also substituted the white rice for wild rice (I like the taste of wild rice quite a bit).
Anyway, I make a massive batch and put portions in the freezer, then heat it up throughout the week.
But I can also very happily eat the exact same thing everyday for weeks at a time.
You obviously needed to know all of that...>_
no subject
Date: 2015-11-03 07:00 pm (UTC)I can handle canned beans. I'm the only one in the house who will eat them, though, and they tend to be heavily salted.
Right now, I can stand up for long enough to cut up three apples. After that, I will need to sit for a while before I can try anything else. This means that I'm looking at suggestions of smoothies and flinching a bit because I can't use the blender and then clean it so that I can use it again later (or clean it and then use it). I just haven't got the stamina. There isn't any way that I can sit and prepare food, either, not with how our kitchen is configured.