Monthly Milestones 2015 {9}

Today will be my ninth Monthly Milestones for 2015, though I've decided to stop making this monthly post a link-up due to lack of interest.  I am not opposed to making it a link-up again in future, but you will all have to let me know if you want that by posting in comments.  For now, if you want to share, just leave a comment below with a link to your milestone post, and I'll pop over and visit it and leave a comment, and hopefully some of my other readers will, too. :)  The one thing that isn't changing, though, is that I will still be giving you updates on the first Saturday of every month on how I am doing physically, mentally, etc. 

Here is how I am doing as of today:





Me as of today, September 5, 2015, at 228.5 lbs.



1. My weight went down again!  Hurray! :) I'm down 1 and a half pounds since last month.  I think I would've lost more, but it's been harder to be faithful to my dietary plan due to a series of unexpected events that I will explain shortly.  Either way, weight loss is weight loss, so I'm thrilled! :) Hopefully next month I'll have even more weight loss to report. :)
     
2. August was rough!   For the entire month of August, my oldest was dealing with a lot of lower abdominal pain (mainly middle to right) and nausea.  He went though a lot of blood tests, urinalysises, CT Scan, ultrasound and a Meckel's Scan.  Everything came back "normal" or "inconclusive".  Finally, the decision was made to remove his appendix and do some looking around since I (and my mom and a few others in the family) had identical issues when I was around his age for about 3 months that turned out to be appendicitis even though everything looked fine with my tests and scans (my appendix even looked healthy on the outside, but was full of infection when they biopsied it).  Well, we don't have the pathology back, but his appendix was 3 times the normal length it should be (mine was twice the length it should be), the doctor didn't see anything else amiss (his appendix appeared "normal" other than length, but we'll know for sure when we get the report back next week or so), and he's not had any of the pre-surgery pain since the surgery on Thursday, September 3rd.  All in all, if he has no more pain like he was having, it's all good. :)
   
   We appreciate your prayers as he continues to recover.  He's doing great, but he will have post-surgery pain for a little while.  We're reasonably sure that the issue has been resolved, but we'll know more after he's completely healed from surgery, so prayers appreciated that he won't have any more pain/nausea (not related to surgery), too.  Thanks so much!
   
   On top of my son's health issues, there's been lots going on with back-to-school prep, other illnesses/injuries (though relatively minor), family events, church events, etc.  I feel a bit ragged and will be glad when we settle back into a routine again. :)
        
3. We're continuing on with our new eating/lifestyle habits.  My middle kid and youngest are completely gluten-free, and it is helping their attention, skin and tummies a lot.  I am mostly gluten/grain-free, and it helps me out a lot, too.  My oldest and hubby are eating more gluten-free, and it seems to help them, too.  We've also introduced a probiotic to everyone, and that's making a difference, especially for my hubby.  I'm glad we've been able to do some things to help improve our health.
      
4. All of my medical exams went well and came back normal. My pap and mammogram came back normal.  No cancer to worry about, no masses other than the fibroid type stuff, so I'm very happy.  I can wait 3 years for my next pap unless something changes, and I don't need another mammogram until next year.  The only thing I may need to get checked out sooner is my thyroid levels as they were on the way up from what they were last year, though still enough below 2 (my TSH was like 1.4) to be ok for me.  We'll see how I am symptom-wise, otherwise, no more tests (blood or otherwise) until next year.  Sounds like a good deal to me. :)
      
5. Updates to the blogs are still coming.  I still have to do the majority of my updates on this blog and Natural and Free.  The free time I'd hoped to have in August didn't happen, and school starts next week, so I have no idea when I'll get to do the updates and changes I want to do.  I guess I do what I can do when I can do it.  It's all I can do.
          

That's about it for now.  How are you doing?  Are you reaching your goals?  Have you tried something new?  Come up with a new recipe?  I hope all is going well with you, and I hope you will leave a comment sharing your thoughts and/or milestones (with a link to your post, if you wish).  As always, I wish you the best of luck in all you do, and hope you will return soon! :)

(This post was originally posted on my original site, Fibro, Fit and Fab!)