Hoping for a Healthier Year...

And although I'd like to say that I'm talking about getting in shape and losing weight, at this point, that is the least of my worries.

So about this time last year, I went in for an outpatient procedure (a uterine ablation) and it was beyond painful but I was sort of promised that it would end a lifetime of issues I was having.  I was pretty damn psyched about it and was counting down the days until I wouldn't have to deal with cramps and PMS.   Okay, so I get it done and wait.

It has not been the dream I was promised.

But that got me thinking - I'd been avoiding dealing with several health issues and being that we were paying a fortune for health insurance, I figured I'd might as well use it.  So I made an appointment to find out how to get my acid reflux under control.  I thought I'd get a prescription and be on my way.

Nope.

After an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, an upper-GI, I found out that I had a rather large hiatal hernia.  AND - because that wasn't exciting enough - the doctors decided it was time to do something to get my anemia under control.  THANK YOU.  I'd only been asking about that for 15 years!  So that got taken care of through iron transfusions - fairly uneventful since it turns out that you don't get super-human strength or even turn into Wonder Woman after the transfusions are done.  

Bummer.

The hernia.  Yeah, it was large - like a third of my stomach was up in my esophagus.   It was amazing how much of years of discomfort all started to make sense.  The only option was surgery.  At the end of October, I had that done and I was told that the recovery was going to be about six weeks.  Six weeks of eating next to nothing - liquids, very soft foods in very small amounts.  As a foodie, this was a little traumatic for me.  Plus, with Thanksgiving coming up, I was pretty disappointed that I might not get to enjoy our traditional meal.  

Recovery went well and I was eating somewhat normally Thanksgiving week.  Except...something else went wrong.  

I tried to blame it on the recovery - maybe I was doing too much, eating too much, etc.  I went for a follow up with my surgeon and he agreed that I needed to go back to the early days of my recovery and see how I felt.  Long story short, there was definitely something wrong.  I was in pain a lot and at times it felt like I was having a heart attack.  Another call to the doctor and they sent me for more tests.  Two days before Christmas, I found out that I had gallstones and needed to get my gallbladder taken out.

I cannot even tell you how upset I was.

The last time I had had surgery, I was four and it was open heart surgery.  I thought I was done.  And now, in less than three months I was having TWO surgeries???  Not a happy camper at all.

So mid-January, I had my gallbladder out.  I feel like I've been in a mental fog for months and I am finally coming out of it.  So yes, that is why I am hoping for a healthier year.  I know that I am blessed because I was able to have all these things done and none of them were life-threatening.  I'm just a really bad patient and I hate not being able to live my life due to illness.  I am thankful every day that I am recovering and for all my friends who were there to help me out and keep me from getting too depressed during it all.
 
So I guess I'll have to start that diet soon.
And exercising. 
Dammit.    

All that being said, I'm behind on a lot of things - writing, blogging, housework...all of it.  I'm trying desperately to get back into the swing of things.  

Again.