I'm Suffering from Coccydynia (Literal Translation: A Pain in the A$$)

Today, I'm personally confirming what most of you (past and present friends, relatives and co-workers) and certainly my husband,  know about me: I can be a pain in the A$$. And this time, I mean I literally have a pain in my bum. And by bum, I mean tail bone. (Can honestly say, I've never had that problem before.)

Apparently for folks that lose a good bit of weight quickly, it is very common to suffer from coccydynia, or tailbone pain. As funny as it seems, you actually are losing the padding in your rear that protects your tailbone (coccyx) and that can cause it to get irritated from sitting too long or other strenuous things. There are a few remedies I've been able to find online:  I'm sitting on a donut pillow at work (yep, like the geriatric that I am) and I'm taking some Tylenol for the pain. My doctor has prescribed me an anti-inflammatory for that and my bursitis (again, I'm a geriatric) and I'm hoping that helps. I'm also doing some yoga stretches to focus on that area.

I'm not really complaining about it, but it does hurt. I try to get up and move around a lot, but my job requires me to sit at the computer a lot. Also, in case you haven't noticed, I tend to do a lot of sitting at my kids' sporting events- though I do try to get up and move around to keep from sitting still too long.

Anyone else out there had this problem before? Any remedies I may be missing? It hurts more some days than others (and I can't quite figure out the pattern to it just yet.) I'm open to anything; you literally would be saving my butt! (haha corny, I know, but what did you expect?)

A Super Bowl Sunday Update

This is it, folks. The day we Americans all wait for.  The day friends gather together to celebrate. It's the next big eating holiday since Christmas.. Yep, the Super Bowl. Sure there is a football game being played, and companies spend millions of dollars for a 30 second spot to be showcased to the world, but it's also about the food--the Super Bowl of Snacking! Boy will it be different for me this year! I'm planning on snacking a bit, but in moderation. (Partly because I've changed my lifestyle and also because my stomach won't hold the vats of Rotel dip, french onion dip and pizza rolls I typically consumer on this American holiday. 

Let me be clear, I do plan on eating some yummy Super Bowl food- just in much smaller portions. We are having chicken wings (my favorite) but they will be grilled and not breaded and fried. I didn't make any Rotel dip or buy french onion dip (because if I eat a little of that, I won't be able to enjoy anything else.) 

And I don't really care who wins this game, but I do care about commercials and the chicken wings! 

Feb. 5, 2017 

73 pounds down

So now it's time for my monthly update and picture. It's been about 5 1/2 months since my gastric sleeve surgery, and I'm down 73 pounds. I'm not even sure what size I really am, but I know some of the sizes I have are a bit big but I refuse to buy new things with spring right around the corner. (Like the jeans in the pic above. I bought them Black Friday and they fit very nicely, now they are a bit saggy- which poses a challenge when you are trying to rock the skinny jean/ankle boot look.) Anyway, my weight loss has slowed a bit, but it is still astonishing to me. And truthfully, it's hard to see how much I have transformed. I look at myself in the mirror every day getting ready for work, and I see the same ol' Dawn. But other folks see it in me and it's strange to hear. It's very weird, and I don't know what to say, so I just say "thanks." (Guess that's all I can say, huh?)  

I haven't really had a goal weight in mind (or an amount in mind to lose) but as I've started to get further along, I'm starting to think about it. I haven't settled on it yet, but I promise when I do I will blog about it. 

For now, I'm just trying to get back into my workout routine (it's been hard the last few weeks with lots of things going on, mainly my mom having knee surgery) but I'm back at it. Honestly it makes me feel better to be active -- mark that day with "things I never thought I would say." I'm ready for the weather to get a little warmer so I can walk outside some. But for now, I will work out at the gym. (Gonna get back to Pure Barre eventually when my back feels better.) Apparently I have bursitis (which makes me sound like an 85 year old woman) and I'm on an anti-inflammatory to help it. So once I get that under control, I will be back at the barre. 

Enjoy your Super Bowl everyone. No matter who are you rooting for, I hope you enjoy your snacks!