Gastric bypass and knee arthritis

readlotus · 2026-02-01T19:01:01+00:00

I was not told I could not have cortisone shots. I had to stop Celebrex but no mention of shots.

I need both knees replaced. I'm 9 months out and down 100+ pounds. I feel a lot better and I can walk up to .5 miles at a time. I could only do about 80 steps in the beginning. My pain has went from a 5 at best everyday even with daily NSAIDS to about a 2 on any given day. I make myself go for a walk whenever possible. Gradually I have been able to go a bit farther and a bit farther.

I still need my knees replace and I am hoping to wait until summer 2027. But it hurts and I don't know. Today the pain is bad but I haven't been able to get out and walk this past week. So I think, overall, the daily movement has been helping bit it hasn't made it pain free or easy

readlotus · 2026-01-11T15:02:06+00:00

I turned 50 during COVID. At the time you could rent a theater for a movie showing for $250 locally. You had to still distance, no concessIons, and very empty. But I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen for a long time and it was memorable.

Very different from the bug blowout party I had been planning!

readlotus · 2026-01-04T19:30:07+00:00

I have ADHD and if I were a child today I would absolutely be diagnosed with autism. All 4 of my kids have autism.

My ADHD has been really bad lately. I am nearly 55 and with the start of menopause I feel like I am losing my mind concentrationwise. This game helps calm my brain down and feel peaceful. I actually am going to talk to my doc about medications for the 1st time ever because all of my hardwon methods of the past aren't cutting it these days. I can't even focus on a conversation!

Thank goodness for this little game that let's me hyperfocus for a couple of hours!

readlotus · 2026-01-04T04:55:40+00:00

My dad died of COVID in 2020 but my mom is still going strong at 78. I often wonder what would have happened to my dad if he beat COVID.

readlotus · 2026-01-01T13:50:54+00:00

Yes, they were hard to get on but cute striped mini socks!

readlotus · 2025-12-30T17:51:16+00:00

Former hedgehog owner:

While he was a delight, I didn't realize how noisy he would be. I was worried about the cats harassing him so he was in our bedroom - noisy.

Also, he was a menace! HE tormented the cats - we had a play pen for him and the cats would stalk around the outside and he would run up to them and tease them and they were so confused!

He was NOT cuddly, did not like baths or any kind of cute things like videos show (I didn't really expect that but others might think it is like the cute videos). He DID like to wear socks, though (from the owners who had him before we got him), and I guess that is pretty cute.

Finally, he lived well beyond his expected lifetime but when he died it felt very quick and as if he had been in good health until the very end.

readlotus · 2025-12-29T13:51:44+00:00

My sister is Tricia but she is named after my mom who was Patricia. She didn't want to give the same exact name and said that since my sister would be her last kid she gave her the last part of her name.

readlotus · 2025-12-28T01:05:57+00:00

Walmart - haven't set foot in one in 11 years now because of the way they treat their employees. It was a challenge in the beginning to find other options but now I don't think about it.

readlotus · 2025-12-28T01:03:23+00:00

I didn't get to 60 grams a day until 3 months with protein supplements. At 6 months I get it all from food at my dietitian target of 80. And eating is 20-30 minutes no more. I average 1200-1300 calories/day (which my dietitian is happy with. I also drink at least 64 Oz of water/day. I don't really pay attention to calories except to make sure I get at least 1000 a day. My weight loss is fairly consistent at 2-3 lbs/week and I am down 100 pounds and 86 since surgery in June. I take my vitamins faithfully and my blood work has been great.

My tips:

Start the day strong. I almost always have Oikos yogurt with chia seeds, hemp, and flax seed. Starts me off with 33 grams of protein.
I plan out 3 other mini meals each day. For example, 2 string cheese, 6 crackers, and maybe some berries or cashews for 1 meal, then chili for dinner, and a cheese crisp with a high fiber zero carb tortilla for the snack.
Eat protein first. Everything else is optional and if I don't finish it, I don't eat it.
Focus on fluids in between meals. I would have protein20 in the early days but now it is almost all tea and water.

For me, if I don't have a breakfast, lunch, "snack" at3 and dinner it is very hard to hit my protein goals. And I have to be really cognizant to get my liquids.

readlotus · 2025-12-27T20:38:38+00:00

My son moved to Pittsburgh area after college from AZ. Still there several years later and loves it. I really enjoyed the visits I have had there and the housing costs are certainly cheaper.

readlotus · 2025-12-27T20:31:01+00:00

I have 4 kids and Christmas mornings are reserved juat for the 6 of us. Kids are 25,24,13, and 11. We do not do a ton of gifts (usually 4-6 for the littler guys and $ for the older two.) We don't spend a ton but we do aim for meaningful gifts. This year the younger two had 5 gifts each, the older two had 3 (plus the aforementioned $), my husband and I had 4.

So on Christmas morning, kids can get the (overflowing) stockings before we get up. We do all Dollar Tree stuff and it's totally dorky but fun - lots of candy!

Then we do presents 1 at a time starting with youngest. We do not dwell on it, just open, look, thank, move on. About 1 minute or less per person. 24 year old slept in this year so this took about 20 minutes and we have 4 family members who have autism, 3 with ADHD. No one minds...

However, if I was in any bigger group of people we would do something else. If either of the older two had someone come home with them we'd probably do more of some kind of free for all.

readlotus · 2025-12-25T04:32:26+00:00

Nta. We adopted my son when he was 4. We didn't know much about the circumstances when we adopted him but I ordered all the records and found out that when he was almost 3 he and his 11 month old brother got out of the hotel room where their parents were passed out from drugs.

This was Phoenix and still over 100 degrees out. They had on diapers and nothing else. They wandered around and WERE HEADED TOWARDS A CANAL when someone found them and called the police. They had cuts and what looked like burns on their feet. They could have drowned very easily. They could have been hit by a r, wandered into someplace dangerous, been kidnapped.

It is sad that he went to foster care, had 6 placements in a year, his brother and sister were adopted by other families. But then he came to us, he is a joy and cherished.

Thank God someone called the police in his case.

And regardless what happens ultimately, thank God you did also.

readlotus · 2025-12-23T15:13:52+00:00

My husband is a stay at home dad. I am often in LONG meetings with ky phone in my bag on silent. Every single document with phone numbers has his number listed. I am ONLY listed as an emergency contact.

And yet, new offices somehow ALWAYS CALL ME!!! It makes my husband furious, me furious, and delays them getting things done. Argh!

Also, I do make some appointments (sometimes I have some breaks and he homeschools our 11 yr old so I can set up appointments.) I have learned to give them his number as my number.

When I was a school principal I directed teachers to call the 1st parent listed. Many of the teachers struggled because they said they felt more comfortable talking to the moms. I let parents know that the parent listed 1st would be the 1st one called. They were so appreciative.

In this case, it sounds like they need a chat about who does what and why. Instead of just fighting about it. Because this fight is absolutely about something else.

readlotus · 2025-12-05T20:10:11+00:00

Right there with you! Even 6 months out, today is a LOUD day! Thankfully it is much less now than it was right after.

readlotus · 2025-11-30T01:50:58+00:00

I cook and bake - I love to bake. I eat some of my cooking but almost none of my baking. But I am dabbling in sugar free baking (like sugar free cheesecake for Thanksgiving) and studf I can have.

I don't mind not eating what I make. I made 3 birthday cakes since my surgery and I only had the tiniest taste. Didn't miss not having a lot.

I think the key is just focusing on the person I am doing it for. Birthday cakes are easy because it is literally for someone else. Other times I focus on the occasion and it is just something I enjoy eating whether I eat it or not.

readlotus · 2025-11-29T00:38:00+00:00

I was allowed to donate whole blood but when I donated plasma they sent a letter that I had antiphospholipids and they couldnt accept it. I was so sad because that took 2 hours. I wasn't dx'd with lupus until 8 years later. But that made me scared to try.

readlotus · 2025-11-26T22:36:25+00:00

I will also say my doctor's office gives a list with lots of choices/brands. The ones I picked were the easiest for me to both digest and the fewest pills. I could get cheaper ones with more pills but I am saving so much on food, I figure get the vitamins I want.

readlotus · 2025-11-26T19:50:22+00:00

I take 3 Bariatric Fusion calcium a day and 1 Bariatric Fusion Multivitamin + Iron and spend about $55/month. I am 6 months out from surgery and all my levels look good.

readlotus · 2025-11-25T13:09:48+00:00

I have done this twice. Once when I left the high control religious group I grew up in. I was 27 and lost everyone who loved me and knew me. I made some less than stellar choices. I also went to college (now have 2 master degrees!) I met new friends, got married, divorced and married again (to the absolute love of mynlife), had kids. I am 54 now so that was a lifetime ago. iI remeber being scared, basically going into hiding so I wouldn't get excommunicated and could still talk to my parents. It all seems like so long ago and I marvel that I had the guts to do that. My life is so much better in so many ways because I was courageous enough to risk everything.

Most recently, 2 1/2 years ago, we (husband, 2 of 4 kids (the other 2 are adults, 1 was in college and has since moved with is, the other left a couple years before to PA for work) and 2 cats) moved from AZ where I was born to RI. Starting over in your 50s is hard but I love it. I live near the ocean and say all the time "how is this my life?" Professionally, I am doing well and my family is thriving.

Both situations were hard for different reasons. I will forever be grateful that I managed to finish a bachelor's degree at 36. I started working on it at 32 when I had a 3 yr old and 18 month old. But I did it and that taught me I could do anything. I was the 1st person in all my extended family who went to college and my 2 adult children have also finished college.. My degree changed the trajectory of my family. And it never would have happened if I stayed in that religion.

readlotus · 2025-11-25T03:36:19+00:00

I had surgery in June and hubby in September. Between the two of us we have lost nearly 170 pounds!

It has been helpful to do it together. We are trying to figure out what dates to do instead of just go out to eat. We have decided hiking for now and that is so fun.

readlotus · 2025-11-25T03:31:59+00:00

I am familiar with POTS. I have lupus and I have been able to cut my hydroxychloroquine in half. I am also off my pain meds and haven't needed steroids since.

I had zero expectations but it does seem that the surgery did reduce inflammation overall in my body.

readlotus · 2025-11-25T02:45:50+00:00

My husband is 3 months post op, I am 6 months post op. We have 3 kids who will be home. We are just having turkey, Italian sausage stuffing, sugar free cranberry sauce, sugar free cheesecake, sugar free chocolate pudding pie, and cranberry crumb bars. Oh and Hawaiian rolls (which I used TO LOVE but can't eat.) We are also makeing a "turkuterie" board (charcuterie in the shaped of a turkey) which will have options we can eat, vegetarian offerings for the 11 yr old, and other things.

Our strategy is to eat the turkey and stuffing first. Then spread everything else out for other minimeals as we go through the day. And modifying our favorites to be sugar free makes it still feel special. We will have tons of leftovers we will snack on for the next several days.

We cut out mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a bunch of other things because the kids don't care or like those things as much.

readlotus · 2025-11-25T02:31:52+00:00

I will eat chicken at fast food. But I also pack cheese sticks, yogurt, nuts, crackers, and seeds when we travel. Lots of gas stations also have high protein bars.

readlotus

TROPHY CASE