Monthly Archives: September 2011

What should I ask my cardiologist when I see him on the 14th?

 

     Everyone says you should ask your doctor questions.  I have no idea what I should ask my cardiologist. 

     Do I ask him how much damage the heart attack caused?  Do I really want to know that?

     Do I ask him if it means I’m crazy because I’m not depressed? 

     Nevermind, I’ll think of something.

Frustrated, yes.

     The most frustrating thing is dealing with the low energy.  I do half of what I’d normally do and am looking for a nap.   Somehow the idea of doing a sink full of dishes and collapsing from exhaustion afterwards makes me crazier than the idea that I won’t be painting my house any time soon.

     The idea of not being to weed the gardens in a few hours frustrates the hell out of me. 

     Amidst all the frustration, I find that I do not suffer from one thing that worried my doctor.  I’m not depressed.  I’ve managed to find the humor in the situation.

     The fact that I’ve been relegated to sitting on my butt has DH moving around more is rather amusing.

I am more than a little ready to get moving

 

     With my health below par for the time being, DH has begun to do more than he has for ages.  I think he’s surprising himself with what he can do if necessary.  In the meantime, I am going a bit bonkers with my body restricting my activity.

     My next big project is to go grocery shopping.  I have a growing list of items we need.  I am sure that DH won’t let me go alone.  I’m not sure if I’ll do it as a joint project with DH or have G go along with me.  Having G go along with me will probably be less stressful and a lot easier in the long run.  We’ll see.  It won’t happen until midweek next week anyway.

He may cheat on the diet but I won’t

 

     I am ever so slowly making headway in my dietary changes.  The trip to IHOP yesterday was proof of that.  I behaved and ordered a completely heart smart meal from the turkey bacon to the egg substitute scramble.  Never mind that DH ordered two rashers of bacon, a huge stack of pancakes swimming in butter, syrup, and blueberry compote, and he ate most of it.

     He’s not making it difficult but he’s not making it easy either.  It’s a good thing I’d already made many dietary changes for us over the years.  For example, we haven’t used white bread in over thirty years.

     My grocery list has grown and I must soon get out and go shopping.  As I slowly get back into the daily routine of cooking, I am converting most of my recipes on the fly.  It’s not taking all that much to drop the cholesterol and salt levels.  Yes, there are changes.  However, since many of the changes were already a regular part of our diet it’s not as much as you would think.

     We already use whole grain breads, we’ve added more fruits and vegetables to our daily meals, and DH was getting used to a more Mediterranean based diet.  The changes I’d already made to our diet may have been what saved my life.

The comedy that is our home

 

     Doing laundry was an interesting experience yesterday.  I’m not supposed to lift anything so the plan was DH would carry the laundry basket to the cellar and back up while I loaded the washer and dryer.  Hmmm, we need to rethink that strategy.  A man who can’t walk well should not attempt to carry a laundry basket.

     Eventually some of the laundry was done.  DH has clean dark clothes.  None of mine made it yet but that’s my fault I should’ve sorted mine first.  Two more loads to go and we’ll both have clean clothes—although it may take a couple of days to do it.

     We’ve worked out how to cook and do dishes between us.  We haven’t any qualms about stopping what we’re doing to sit down and rest when we need to.

     I hate this.  I want my energy back. 

Any help is welcome

 

     I have a freezer full of meats, a lifetime of recipes stashed in my brain, and suddenly I have to change everything.  ACK!  Low cholesterol, low-fat, low or no sodium, buzz words swirl though my brain. 

     I haven’t gone shopping yet so all those healthy side dishes, vegetables, fruits, and other fresh items are in low supply.  Any recipes, ideas, or handy dandy tips on changing my regular recipes are welcome.

     What I haven’t found in the several heart healthy cookbooks that I now own are decent snacks that are easy to make and both tasty and satisfying.  I like crunch—not celery crunch, but crunchy crunch.  I absolutely abhor cold cereals of all flavors so don’t even go there.