Listen to your mother ...

Okay, so my mom has been known to over worry about certain things. But, as I get older, I am starting to find that it's often better to listen to my mom than to fight her. For example, after my twitch was diagnosed and Sydenham's Chorea, my mom immediately looked up everything she could find on it. This usually drive me nuts because my mom is not a doctor and she sometimes researches different problems too much.

Anyways, after I was diagnosed, my mom kept insisting that I be on penicillin or some other kind of prophelaxis. It wasn't until I was recovering from heart surgery in Sooke and had another case of chorea that my mom printed out an article for me and again explained why I needed it.

There is no specific treatment for SD. For people with the mildest form, bed
rest during the period of active movements is sufficient. When the severity of
movements interferes with rest, sedative drugs, such as barbiturates or
benzodiazepines, may be needed. Antiepileptic medications, such as valproic
acid, are often prescribed. Doctors also recommend that children who have had
SD take penicillin over the course of the next 10 years to prevent additional
manifestations of rheumatic fever.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/sydenham/sydenham.htm

Finally I understood. I was never treated for the antibodies that caused the SD, only the SD symptoms (the twitching and stuff). Anyways, I've mentioned this to all of my Dr.'s, but I had to see my neurologist to finalize everything. I saw my neurologist today and, after saying multiple times that I don't need to be on prophelaxis, he came to the conclusion that I do, in fact, need to be on prophelaxis for at least five years. The confusion: SD is considered Acute Rheumatic Fever and requires the same treatment as Acute Rheumatic Fever.

I can't believe I have been diagnosed since June and haven't had anything to stop the problem. My poor vulnerable new valve is probably being attacked by these dangerous antibodies as I type. Even more frustrating, I have to wait until Wednesday before I can get a prescription for the medication.

November 22nd Weigh In

Today's Loss: -3

Total DR Loss: -4.6

Goal: 15

I saw Feist on Friday night. She's very talented!! That's all.

New plan.

Okay, I'm trying to get a whole free line between each new paragraph. I'm going to try pressing enter and shift at the same time!

Did that work?

Enter. Enter. Enter. ENTER!

Testing

Trying to get paragraph line.

Now?

Yes?

No?

Maybe?

THIS BETTER WORK!

SUCCESS!

Spinach and Artichoke Hummus Recipe

Yesterday I made spinach and artichoke heart hummus. I love hummus and I love making hummus but this was by far the best hummus that I have ever made! Delicious. I followed a recipe I found on Rachael Ray's website after googling "spinach and artichoke hummus". Rachael Ray is such a cutie, I can see why she has such a large following.

This is how I used the recipe with a WW pointsplus breakdown.

Makes 7 servings.

3 points per serving

First make standard hummus in food processor or blender.

*I use a blender because I don't have a food processor. I just have to add a bit of water so that my blender doesn't jam up, but if anything it just makes the hummus smoother!

**1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (10 pts)

**3 cloves of minced garlic (free)

**1/4 cup olive oil (5 pts)

**2 tbsp. tahini (5 pts)

**lemon juice (free)

**water

**salt and pepper

Blend together in blender. Total, 20 pts for the hummus.

Then add spinach and artichoke hearts. I added them in the blender, but it might be easier to mix in a bowl.

**Frozen spinach - defrosted and drained (I put spinach in a paper town and squeezed all of the extra liquid out over the sink (0 points)

**1 can of artichoke hearts packed in water - drained and rinsed. I'd chop them up first. (o points)

Mix everything together and VOILA! A delicious low point hummus recipe. So good. I separated the hummus into seven separate dishes making them 3 points for 126 grams.

8 Week Post Aortic Valve Replacement

I made it!!! Phew, fina-fucking-ly! I am so glad that I can relax a little and enjoy the rest of my recovery. Before they release you from the hospital, the physio gals scare the poop out of you, teaching you that any wrong movement of your arms before eight weeks can cause your chest wires to pop open and both halves of your sternum to shift. As a result, I've been protecting my chest like a momma bear protects her cubs.

But now, bring on the push ups and bench press.

Joking. Still, it feels nice to feel like a good portion of the major healing is complete. I am now free to do any activity that doesn't cause me pain unless told otherwise by my cardiologist. So, no lifting bags of cement.

The past two months have been pretty tough. I did a lot of my recovery at home on Vancouver Island, which was wonderful. I think there's something about the fresh air in my small home town that aids in healing. The only problem with Sooke is that you're always afraid of running into someone you know because, anytime you go out, you will surely run into someone you knew from highschool. Awkward. That's not quite as likely in New Westminster, but I did run into someone from elementary school once. Small world.

In other news, what'dya think of my new background? I finally figured out how to change the fonts and colours without following the template. It takes a genius to figure it out and, since I"m a genius, I obviously figured it out ... after a couple of years.

November 15th Weigh In

Weigh In: -1.6 lbs

Total DR Weight loss: -1.6 lbs

Goal: 15 lbs

Now, I'm sure nobody cares about weight loss blogs and dieting, but I do, so suck it up! I weigh in at my local weight watchers meeting every Tuesday. Since my wedding in the Dominican Republic is right around the corner, and I'm quite limited in what I can do for exercise, the only way I can lose weight for this trip is by monitoring what I put in my mouth.

Last week I rocked the socks off of my tracking book. I recorded everything, weighed each piece of meal, and stuck to the plan. Completely. Today I lost 1.6 lbs. A MEASLY 1.6 POUNDS!? With the old system, I would have lost, like, five pounds at least! Something isn't working quite right, so I have to re-assess how I"m using the PointsPlus system. I think I'm going too crazy on the fruits. On the new system, fruits are zero points. But, since they have sugar, people are supposed to be careful that they don't pig out on fruits everyday because they will gain weight. So, this week, I will only allowe myself three servings of fruit per day. All other servings of fruit will have one point! Hopefully the results will be better next week.

7 Weeks Post Op and Weight Gain

I don't know what it is, but I'm always really really bad at updating blogs. It always happens. When I get out if it, it's very difficult for me to get back into it. While I was convalescing at my parents' place, I had a difficult time with their computer screen, so I didn't spend much time on the computer, except for my necessary MLS-ing. Speaking of MLS, house prices in the Victoria and Vancouver area are so ridiculous! I might have to move further east when I have kidlets. Crajee.

As for recovery, it's been seven weeks since my surgery. I'm back in New West and I'm feeling almost back to my old self again. I have been a little extra emotional as of late, but that's apparently to be expected. I cried a lot while watching Seven Pounds the other day. Good movie. I still go easy with the use of my arms and avoid all heavy lifting, but I'm back to my regular walking routine.

I saw my cardiologist today for the first time since before the surgery. He said that I am doing incredibly well for someone seven week post op. When I voiced my concerns about the minor pain that I have, he said it was normal for someone who'd been cracked open. I don't have to see him again for another year or so unless there's a problem. Overall, an uplifting check-up, which is good because I was starting to feel pretty down-in-the-dumps. It's also sunny out, which makes my day that much better!

Bad news- I gained five more pounds while I was recovering. Now I have to lose 15 pounds before I leave for the DR and I've left only around fifty days to do it. Silly Sara, always leaving things to the last minute. So, I have been anally tracking my points for weight watchers and we will see how much I can get off before we leave. I'm more determined than ever!