Showing posts with label cardiac rehab. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cardiac rehab. Show all posts
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Monday, May 7, 2018
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Talks About Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
This is the heart problem I developed back in 2009. Like many others on the Facebook Takotsubo Support community, I still have on-going problems associated with this and still have to take medications because of it.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the doctor who did that famous video with former President Bill Clinton about going plant-based after his heart problems, The Last Heart Attack, which included interviews with Dr. Ornish and Dr. Esselstyn, recently did this little talk (and joined the FB community, too!).
He said he'll talk more about Takotsubo in his next video, how some people continue to have on-going problems and don't recover 100% even if their echocardiograms show complete recovery, and is already talking with the owner of the community on other things he'll discuss, like exercise. Hopefully he'll also talk about the benefits of a plant based diet, too. There are dreadfully few of us in that community that are plant based, and less than a handful that have even heard of Dr. Esselstyn or Dr. Ornish!
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Qigong with Lee Holden
I've mentioned this man's qigong videos before, and just found another YouTube channel he has. There you'll find a number of these short workouts, many for pain and stress relief as well as general well-being. A great introduction to the art!
Friday, October 28, 2016
Friday, September 30, 2016
Webinar - Atherosclerosis
First, the reading material for the webinar:
And don't forget to sign up for the next few:
Dr. McDougall's homework for you to get the most out of this webinar. READ THE FOLLOWING:More webinar info after the video, so keep scrolling!
1) Chapter on Osteoporosis from McDougall’s Medicine book. Download this chapter for free here.2) May 2013 Newsletter: Who Should Take Cholesterol-lowering Statins? Everyone or No One?https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2013nl/may/who.htm
3)May 2011 Newsletter: The Egyptian Mummy Diet Paradoxhttps://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2011nl/may/egyptian.htm
And don't forget to sign up for the next few:
Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 11 a.m. PST
Title: Dr. John McDougall Discusses Heart Disease
Description: In this live webinar, Dr. John McDougall discusses the topic of Heart Disease.
Presenter: John McDougall, MD
Host: Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Important Reading Material for this Webinar:
- Chapter on Heart Disease from McDougall’s Medicine: Heart: Disease a Challenging Second Opinion
- Newsletter, August 2012: Heart Surgeons Kill First Man on the Moon: Neil Armstrong
- Newsletter, May 2016: Beware of Interventional Cardiologists (Heart Surgeons)
Thursday, October 13, 2016 at 11 a.m. PST
Title: Dr. Doug Lisle: Anxiety and Panic Attacks, Q&A
Description: In this live webinar, Dr. Lisle answers questions about anxiety and panic attacks.
Presenter: Douglas J. Lisle, Ph.D.
Host: Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Please watch the webinar on Anxiety and Panic Attacks before you submit any questions. Your question may be answered in the recorded webinar
Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 11 a.m. PST
Title: Dr. John McDougall Discusses Hypertension
Description: In this live webinar, Dr. John McDougall discusses the topic of Elevated Blood Pressure
Presenter: John McDougall, MD
Host: Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Important Reading Material for this Webinar:
- Chapter on Hypertension from McDougall’s Medicine: Hypertension: a Challenging Second Opinion
- Newsletter, November 2009: How I Treat Patients with Elevated Blood Pressure
Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 11 a.m. PST
Title: Dr. John McDougall Discusses Diabetes
Description: In this live webinar, Dr. John McDougall discusses the cause and treatment of Diabetes
Presenter: John McDougall, MD
Host: Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Important Reading Material for this Webinar:
- Chapter on Diabetes from McDougall’s Medicine: Diabetes: a Challenging Second Opinion
- Newsletter, December 2009: Simple Care for Diabetes
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Dr. Gupta Interviews Dr. Esselstyn
Hmm, the "embed" code doesn't appear to work.
Well, if it never appears, here's the link to the clip.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Gout and a New Cookbook Purchase
On top of all his other dietary restrictions, my husband now has an official diagnosis of gout, and for the past few weeks I had another whole long list of foods he's not allowed to eat. Unfortunately, we had eaten something from that list every single day prior to him being put on the gout diet. Beans, spinach, cruciferous veggies, nightshades, whole grains, yeast products - either in baked goods or of the "nooch" variety - the list goes on.
For a few days, all we had were some of the veggies on the "safe" list. As his foot pain subsided when the cortisone injection and colchicine he was prescribed started working its magic, he added back some foods, like the seitan and whole wheat roll that he insisted on taking to work as lunch every day. (Yes, during the worst of his latest flare he finished his disability leave and returned to his job) No reaction to those, so each day now I'm adding one more food from the list. Sunday was beans, yesterday was broccoli. So far, so good.
All of these restrictions may even be unnecessary, because Dr. McDougall wrote in the June 2006 newsletter that it's only the animal sources of purines one has to worry about, and I read the same info on-line in an article from Johns Hopkins. But the podiatrist said it's better to be safe than sorry, and for the duration of the flare-up - current and future ones - it's best to hold off on things, especially the high purine foods like beans and spinach.
He had 2 flares in a 6-week period, which is why he had the blood test and got the official diagnosis. It's unknown what caused them - was it the rapid post-op weight loss, the food (Extra spinach and beans after the CABG operation for his post-op anemia), or all the exercise associated with cardiac rehab. The pain first started on day 1 of the exercise program, and the second flare happened after the last day of rehab, when he went 3 days in a row instead of alternate days, then went on an hour-long walk along the Hudson River waterfront the afternoon of his last session. Because it's unknown, the podiatrist warned him this will probably happen again in the future, but if he gets the primary care doc to order long-term allourinol, it may lessen the frequency, duration and amount of pain each time they do come.
Needless to say, I've tried no new recipes in this time. But I did get a new cookbook, Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live Cookbook. Many of the recipes had already been posted to his web site in the members' only section, or all his other books. Some have said they hadn't come across any new recipes at all while taking a quick glance through the book. It's still nice to have them all in one place, even if there isn't anything new. The Healthy Girl's Kitchen blog is currently doing a series of posts using recipes in this book, and her photos are of professional quality, so go, take a look at her comments on the recipes. Don't forget to read the replies, too. It's there where you'll usually find out where else the recipe was before and other people's experiences with them.
For a few days, all we had were some of the veggies on the "safe" list. As his foot pain subsided when the cortisone injection and colchicine he was prescribed started working its magic, he added back some foods, like the seitan and whole wheat roll that he insisted on taking to work as lunch every day. (Yes, during the worst of his latest flare he finished his disability leave and returned to his job) No reaction to those, so each day now I'm adding one more food from the list. Sunday was beans, yesterday was broccoli. So far, so good.
All of these restrictions may even be unnecessary, because Dr. McDougall wrote in the June 2006 newsletter that it's only the animal sources of purines one has to worry about, and I read the same info on-line in an article from Johns Hopkins. But the podiatrist said it's better to be safe than sorry, and for the duration of the flare-up - current and future ones - it's best to hold off on things, especially the high purine foods like beans and spinach.
He had 2 flares in a 6-week period, which is why he had the blood test and got the official diagnosis. It's unknown what caused them - was it the rapid post-op weight loss, the food (Extra spinach and beans after the CABG operation for his post-op anemia), or all the exercise associated with cardiac rehab. The pain first started on day 1 of the exercise program, and the second flare happened after the last day of rehab, when he went 3 days in a row instead of alternate days, then went on an hour-long walk along the Hudson River waterfront the afternoon of his last session. Because it's unknown, the podiatrist warned him this will probably happen again in the future, but if he gets the primary care doc to order long-term allourinol, it may lessen the frequency, duration and amount of pain each time they do come.
Needless to say, I've tried no new recipes in this time. But I did get a new cookbook, Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live Cookbook. Many of the recipes had already been posted to his web site in the members' only section, or all his other books. Some have said they hadn't come across any new recipes at all while taking a quick glance through the book. It's still nice to have them all in one place, even if there isn't anything new. The Healthy Girl's Kitchen blog is currently doing a series of posts using recipes in this book, and her photos are of professional quality, so go, take a look at her comments on the recipes. Don't forget to read the replies, too. It's there where you'll usually find out where else the recipe was before and other people's experiences with them.
Friday, September 27, 2013
VeganMoFo Day 27 - Speedy Vegetable and Bean Soup
A Fuhrman recipe soup today.
You can tell Autumn is in the air, even though the temperatures aren't quite there yet during the day. In the mornings, sure. More than once already I've waken up to temps still in the upper 40's, but they warm up to near 80 by afternoon. But morning comes later, night comes earlier, and my body starts craving those soups and stews. I've read on a few message boards and blogs that others are feeling the same way.
Speedy Vegetable and Bean Soup
Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound frozen Asian vegetables
1 pound frozen broccoli florets
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
1 pound frozen collard greens
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup frozen onions
7 cups carrot juice
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, snipped in half
1 cup cooked adzuki beans, or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
1 cup cooked red beans or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
3 cups cooked lentils or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest or other no salt seasoning
1 tablespoon Spike, no salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
8 ounces organic baby spinach or coarsely chopped organic spinach
Instructions:
In a large soup pot combine all ingredients, except the fresh spinach. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add more water if a thinner soup is desired.
Turn off heat and stir in spinach to wilt.
The recipe above was taken from the Member Center on the Fuhrman web site using his link to recipes from the book. The link only works for forum members. The recipe as printed in the book is a bit different:
First off, the name is Quick Vegetable Bean Soup.
The first few rows of frozen veggies stays the same, but there's no corn in the book version.
Then there's just one cup of water and 4 cups carrot juice.
The lentils are listed as 2 cans instead of freshly made.
Adzuki and red beans are both listed as one can each.
The sun-dried tomatoes aren't clipped in half and is only a cup.
The book calls for a pound of spinach, the web only half.
Garlic is listed as 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
Other spices are 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and an optional 1/2 teaspoon curry powder. There's no mention of Spike.
Another optional ingredient is 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.
Cholesterol Protection for Life
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
page 102
My changes include combining both recipes.
Frozen veggies stay the same and I'm including the corn because I love corn. But wait - Where's my broccoli? I know I bought a bag of broccoli the other day! Crap! No broccoli! Oh, well. Too late now.
Since all I have left in the closet is one jar of carrot juice, that's what I'll be using. The water is a bit more than the one cup in the book but less than the 4 cups in the web recipe. This finally finishes off my stash of carrot juice.
I made fresh lentils and there are no adzuki beans in my entire city, canned or dried, so one full can of red (1 1/2 cups) will have to do. This pot is getting really crowded, and it's the largest one I own, too.
Who cares about what size to cut sun-dried tomatoes? I just grabbed a bag of julienned. No mess, no measure.
Same ease for the spinach. I have a 1-pound bag of triple-washed baby spinach to dump in. That'll bring it up to the rim of the pot when I add it.
Spike and nutritional yeast are being used, for both taste and convenience, but I'll leave the nooch at 1/4 cup, thanks to my having powdered, not flakes.
I love these dump, heat & eat recipes! As soon as VeganMoFo is over I already have some Jeff Novick SNAP and Engine 2 meals planned. This one takes an hour to heat, but once everything is dumped in you can just forget about it until dinner time.
As usual when I make these big batches of soup, I used the large pot from my pressure cooker, the 8 quart one. When the spinach was added, as I predicted, the greens were over the top, but once they warmed and softened and mixed into the soup, the level came down to about an inch below the rim of the pot. Whoa, mama! This makes a heck of a lot of soup!
But because it's mostly green/yellow veggies, it's not that filling. My husband even dunked 4 slices of whole wheat bread in his bowls just to feel fuller. We each had 2 large bowls of it and used up half the pot, even though Dr. Fuhrman says this makes 10 servings. I guess they would have to be smaller servings than we're used to eating. We'll have those smaller ones when we finish this soup over over the next 2 days for lunch.
As for the taste? Well, there are so many things in there you can't really taste any one - it's just a mouthful of, well, stuff. All that stuff made this a fairly expensive meal to make, compared to the usual starchivore meals I make, that is.
All those frozen veggies alone, even choosing store-brand when I could, cost over $20, then add the juice, the ebans - well, it certainly costs more than a bag of veggies and a few taters. To be honest, if it wasn't for the spices - the VeggieZest and Spike, this would probably be pretty much tasteless.
Others may enjoy it, but this isn't a soup I'll be making again. My husband had a dizzy spell and cold sweats in cardiac rehab this morning and my son had to go over to drive him home. His blood pressure dropped to 90/50 during the session. While waiting for them to get in I phoned the rehab nurse and found out from her that he had diarrhea all night long that he didn't tell me about, and her feeling is that he was just dehydrated. Maybe this is why Dr. Fuhrman calls for the recipe to make small servings. She also discovered today that he doesn't eat any breakfast before he goes for his hour exercise session and said she reprimanded him for that, too, and now wants him to eat before coming. She told him she doesn't care that he's not a breakfast eater usually but should have at least a few pieces of toast before coming in to give the body the fuel it needs. I think a nice bowl of something like Apple Pie Oats or just plain old fashioned oats with blueberries will do the trick. Only takes 3 minutes to get ready from pantry to table so he has no excuse. I'll even make it for him while he gets his sneakers on, it's that quick to make.
Back to the soup - he has informed me that he's not going to any more of it ever, and has said not to make any more very veggie heavy meals like that ever again. Even before his heart thing he had a hard time with meals like this, and I had been asked not to make any on a work night. He has a 90 minute commute each way via public transportation, and there are no restrooms on subways or light rail trains nor their stations, so if the urge hits, he's literally SOL. So no more Fuhrman or other greens-heavy meals for us, at least not the night before any day we have to leave the house, which is just about every day.
It sucks to get old.
You can tell Autumn is in the air, even though the temperatures aren't quite there yet during the day. In the mornings, sure. More than once already I've waken up to temps still in the upper 40's, but they warm up to near 80 by afternoon. But morning comes later, night comes earlier, and my body starts craving those soups and stews. I've read on a few message boards and blogs that others are feeling the same way.
Speedy Vegetable and Bean Soup
Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 pound frozen Asian vegetables
1 pound frozen broccoli florets
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
1 pound frozen collard greens
2 cups frozen corn
1 cup frozen onions
7 cups carrot juice
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes, snipped in half
1 cup cooked adzuki beans, or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
1 cup cooked red beans or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
3 cups cooked lentils or canned no salt added or low sodium, drained
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest or other no salt seasoning
1 tablespoon Spike, no salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
8 ounces organic baby spinach or coarsely chopped organic spinach
Instructions:
In a large soup pot combine all ingredients, except the fresh spinach. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add more water if a thinner soup is desired.
Turn off heat and stir in spinach to wilt.
The recipe above was taken from the Member Center on the Fuhrman web site using his link to recipes from the book. The link only works for forum members. The recipe as printed in the book is a bit different:
First off, the name is Quick Vegetable Bean Soup.
The first few rows of frozen veggies stays the same, but there's no corn in the book version.
Then there's just one cup of water and 4 cups carrot juice.
The lentils are listed as 2 cans instead of freshly made.
Adzuki and red beans are both listed as one can each.
The sun-dried tomatoes aren't clipped in half and is only a cup.
The book calls for a pound of spinach, the web only half.
Garlic is listed as 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
Other spices are 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala and an optional 1/2 teaspoon curry powder. There's no mention of Spike.
Another optional ingredient is 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.
Cholesterol Protection for Life
Joel Fuhrman, M.D.
page 102
My changes include combining both recipes.
Frozen veggies stay the same and I'm including the corn because I love corn. But wait - Where's my broccoli? I know I bought a bag of broccoli the other day! Crap! No broccoli! Oh, well. Too late now.
Since all I have left in the closet is one jar of carrot juice, that's what I'll be using. The water is a bit more than the one cup in the book but less than the 4 cups in the web recipe. This finally finishes off my stash of carrot juice.
I made fresh lentils and there are no adzuki beans in my entire city, canned or dried, so one full can of red (1 1/2 cups) will have to do. This pot is getting really crowded, and it's the largest one I own, too.
Who cares about what size to cut sun-dried tomatoes? I just grabbed a bag of julienned. No mess, no measure.
Same ease for the spinach. I have a 1-pound bag of triple-washed baby spinach to dump in. That'll bring it up to the rim of the pot when I add it.
Spike and nutritional yeast are being used, for both taste and convenience, but I'll leave the nooch at 1/4 cup, thanks to my having powdered, not flakes.
 |
| After the spinach was added |
I love these dump, heat & eat recipes! As soon as VeganMoFo is over I already have some Jeff Novick SNAP and Engine 2 meals planned. This one takes an hour to heat, but once everything is dumped in you can just forget about it until dinner time.
As usual when I make these big batches of soup, I used the large pot from my pressure cooker, the 8 quart one. When the spinach was added, as I predicted, the greens were over the top, but once they warmed and softened and mixed into the soup, the level came down to about an inch below the rim of the pot. Whoa, mama! This makes a heck of a lot of soup!
But because it's mostly green/yellow veggies, it's not that filling. My husband even dunked 4 slices of whole wheat bread in his bowls just to feel fuller. We each had 2 large bowls of it and used up half the pot, even though Dr. Fuhrman says this makes 10 servings. I guess they would have to be smaller servings than we're used to eating. We'll have those smaller ones when we finish this soup over over the next 2 days for lunch.
As for the taste? Well, there are so many things in there you can't really taste any one - it's just a mouthful of, well, stuff. All that stuff made this a fairly expensive meal to make, compared to the usual starchivore meals I make, that is.
All those frozen veggies alone, even choosing store-brand when I could, cost over $20, then add the juice, the ebans - well, it certainly costs more than a bag of veggies and a few taters. To be honest, if it wasn't for the spices - the VeggieZest and Spike, this would probably be pretty much tasteless.
Others may enjoy it, but this isn't a soup I'll be making again. My husband had a dizzy spell and cold sweats in cardiac rehab this morning and my son had to go over to drive him home. His blood pressure dropped to 90/50 during the session. While waiting for them to get in I phoned the rehab nurse and found out from her that he had diarrhea all night long that he didn't tell me about, and her feeling is that he was just dehydrated. Maybe this is why Dr. Fuhrman calls for the recipe to make small servings. She also discovered today that he doesn't eat any breakfast before he goes for his hour exercise session and said she reprimanded him for that, too, and now wants him to eat before coming. She told him she doesn't care that he's not a breakfast eater usually but should have at least a few pieces of toast before coming in to give the body the fuel it needs. I think a nice bowl of something like Apple Pie Oats or just plain old fashioned oats with blueberries will do the trick. Only takes 3 minutes to get ready from pantry to table so he has no excuse. I'll even make it for him while he gets his sneakers on, it's that quick to make.
Back to the soup - he has informed me that he's not going to any more of it ever, and has said not to make any more very veggie heavy meals like that ever again. Even before his heart thing he had a hard time with meals like this, and I had been asked not to make any on a work night. He has a 90 minute commute each way via public transportation, and there are no restrooms on subways or light rail trains nor their stations, so if the urge hits, he's literally SOL. So no more Fuhrman or other greens-heavy meals for us, at least not the night before any day we have to leave the house, which is just about every day.
It sucks to get old.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Unbelievable!
Hubby is home. Still running a low grade temp (between 99 and 100), is puffy, has low potassium, and is slightly anemic, but he's home.
Dietary instructions? "Go home and have a big, bloody steak. You can use the iron and protein. Eat plenty of red meats."
His first meal home was a salad with the Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing and a bowl of Tinkayada pasta with homemade sauce, mushrooms, kidney beans, and plenty of spinach. Later on he had a nice ripe banana. Next time I make the dressing I'll use blackstrap molasses instead of the maple syrup and when we have the pasta leftovers tonight I'll toss in some more spinach and a ricotta cheese made with tofu (This recipe, minus the salt and oil, from Isa's first book.). Bloody meat, my fat ass!
Now comes the healing and recuperating. If I try any new recipes I'll post about them, but for now, only tried-and-true until he gets his appetite back. Thanks again for all your well-wishing and prayers.
Dietary instructions? "Go home and have a big, bloody steak. You can use the iron and protein. Eat plenty of red meats."
His first meal home was a salad with the Esselstyn 3-2-1 Dressing and a bowl of Tinkayada pasta with homemade sauce, mushrooms, kidney beans, and plenty of spinach. Later on he had a nice ripe banana. Next time I make the dressing I'll use blackstrap molasses instead of the maple syrup and when we have the pasta leftovers tonight I'll toss in some more spinach and a ricotta cheese made with tofu (This recipe, minus the salt and oil, from Isa's first book.). Bloody meat, my fat ass!
Now comes the healing and recuperating. If I try any new recipes I'll post about them, but for now, only tried-and-true until he gets his appetite back. Thanks again for all your well-wishing and prayers.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
The Dangers of Moderation - My Husband's Stress Test Results
For those who bothered to read my post regarding my husband's chest pains the other day, here's a follow-up.
He failed his stress test.
He got extremely short of breath within seconds, his blood pressure spiked and the nurses said he showed EKG changes which indicated cardiac damage and he needs a cardiac cath done ASAP, so it's scheduled for tomorrow. He has the same cardiologist as I had back in 2009 and he and one of the same nurses who assisted in my cardiac cath back then explained that there most likely is some blockage, that the cath will will show how badly and where. If it's in a not-too-bad place and less than 75% blocked the doc said he can first try lifestyle changes, meaning 100% adherence to the food plan of Drs. Esselstyn and McDougall and a strict, strenuous exercise program; but if the blockage is in another area or too solid, he may need an angioplasty, with or without a stent, or even bypass surgery as worst case scenario. The doc & nurse both said that the whole foods, plant-based, no SOS food plan for dinner, his biggest meal of the day, certainly helped and may have prevented this from happening sooner, but those cheese and pepperoni pizzas and cheese sandwiches and potato chips did their own share of the damage.
In either case, my husband is now committed to 100% (Dr., not Rip) Esselstyn/McDougall, and as soon as he's allowed to, a steady exercise program.
We plan next week on packing a box of all the cheat foods that are still in the house and finding a food pantry to donate them to. I'm sure those folks in need would love to have jars of natural peanut and cashew butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese, maybe even bags of potato chips (Unless our son refuses to give them up himself and hides them in his room). We may have a jar or 2 of marinara sauce that have a tiny bit of oil in them, so those will have to go, as will the semolina pastas we have left (only 2 boxes right now because I already stocked up on Tinkayada brown rice pasta when the store had a sale a few weeks ago). Of course, his "emergency" cans of SPAM will have to go. I've been tossing them out as they got outdated (and when they started to swell on the pantry shelf. No kidding!) so there are only 2 of those left, too. Those cans have been here since long before Hurricane Sandy so that tells you how long they've been around.
Of course, if they feed him after the cath tomorrow they'll give him a typical hospital tray of SAD food. After mine they gave me greasy breaded veal parmesan coated with at least a half inch thick layer of mozzarella cheese, as well as very salty broth and ice cream for dessert. I have a cooker of rice going right now and plan on bringing a container of it with veggies to eat for my own breakfast at the hospital tomorrow while he's having the test done. I brought brown rice krispies today but never had a chance to eat them. I'll bring another container for my husband to eat instead of the crap food they give him after the test. Our hospital dietary department has no idea what even "vegetarian" means, much less "whole foods plant based no sugar, oil or salt!"
I hear him stirring about in the kitchen so I guess his nap is over and it's time for lunch. I'll reheat that Awesome Almost All Orange soup for us. It was delicious, BTW.
Keep your fingers crossed, candles lit and rosary beads humming tomorrow around 7:30am, okay? Thanks.
He failed his stress test.
He got extremely short of breath within seconds, his blood pressure spiked and the nurses said he showed EKG changes which indicated cardiac damage and he needs a cardiac cath done ASAP, so it's scheduled for tomorrow. He has the same cardiologist as I had back in 2009 and he and one of the same nurses who assisted in my cardiac cath back then explained that there most likely is some blockage, that the cath will will show how badly and where. If it's in a not-too-bad place and less than 75% blocked the doc said he can first try lifestyle changes, meaning 100% adherence to the food plan of Drs. Esselstyn and McDougall and a strict, strenuous exercise program; but if the blockage is in another area or too solid, he may need an angioplasty, with or without a stent, or even bypass surgery as worst case scenario. The doc & nurse both said that the whole foods, plant-based, no SOS food plan for dinner, his biggest meal of the day, certainly helped and may have prevented this from happening sooner, but those cheese and pepperoni pizzas and cheese sandwiches and potato chips did their own share of the damage.
In either case, my husband is now committed to 100% (Dr., not Rip) Esselstyn/McDougall, and as soon as he's allowed to, a steady exercise program.
We plan next week on packing a box of all the cheat foods that are still in the house and finding a food pantry to donate them to. I'm sure those folks in need would love to have jars of natural peanut and cashew butter, boxes of macaroni and cheese, maybe even bags of potato chips (Unless our son refuses to give them up himself and hides them in his room). We may have a jar or 2 of marinara sauce that have a tiny bit of oil in them, so those will have to go, as will the semolina pastas we have left (only 2 boxes right now because I already stocked up on Tinkayada brown rice pasta when the store had a sale a few weeks ago). Of course, his "emergency" cans of SPAM will have to go. I've been tossing them out as they got outdated (and when they started to swell on the pantry shelf. No kidding!) so there are only 2 of those left, too. Those cans have been here since long before Hurricane Sandy so that tells you how long they've been around.
Of course, if they feed him after the cath tomorrow they'll give him a typical hospital tray of SAD food. After mine they gave me greasy breaded veal parmesan coated with at least a half inch thick layer of mozzarella cheese, as well as very salty broth and ice cream for dessert. I have a cooker of rice going right now and plan on bringing a container of it with veggies to eat for my own breakfast at the hospital tomorrow while he's having the test done. I brought brown rice krispies today but never had a chance to eat them. I'll bring another container for my husband to eat instead of the crap food they give him after the test. Our hospital dietary department has no idea what even "vegetarian" means, much less "whole foods plant based no sugar, oil or salt!"
I hear him stirring about in the kitchen so I guess his nap is over and it's time for lunch. I'll reheat that Awesome Almost All Orange soup for us. It was delicious, BTW.
Keep your fingers crossed, candles lit and rosary beads humming tomorrow around 7:30am, okay? Thanks.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
VeganMoFo Day 27 - More Apologies
Sorry for being such a bad MoFo'er, but this has been one of our craziest weeks ever (again). The elderly relative with Alzheimer's we care for from afar got lost coming home from church on Sunday, so now we're hustling to make sure she's safe. She's still refusing live-in help, refusing to allow a homemaker for more than a few 3 times a week, and in fact wants us to stop her visits entirely, still crying she wants us to move in with her, something we told her years ago will never happen because there's no way my husband can commute via public transportation to work (Only 1 bus, runs hourly, takes twice as long as his commute now, and doesn't run well in inclement weather and is canceled altogether when it snows because the trip goes down dangerous steep hills). We're making appointments for interviews at various assisted living facilities and nursing homes with Alzheimer's units in the area because we weren't too thrilled with the place she was in earlier this year, and so far either the people we have to talk to aren't in this week or won't even bother talking to us because there are no openings and long waiting lists.
I've also been arguing with one of the nurses from rehab. Because I'm not losing scads of weight even though I'm doing 60 minutes of cardio in front of official witnesses three times a week and another 45 to 60 minutes 3 more times at home in front of only my son, this nurse feels I just must be eating too much or eating the wrong foods. When I described the McDougall program to her she did nothing but bad-mouth it for a half hour, telling me it's not healthy to eliminate entire food groups, that I'm eating too few calories, need those "healthy" fats in my diet. Remember folks, this is a cardiac care nurse with not just her BSN and state nursing license but has multiple certifications in advanced nursing care, including critical cardiac care! I told her that my doctor, the cardiologist that runs the entire cardio-vascular unit, the guy the hospital BUILT the unit FOR a few years back, not only had heard of the McDougall program (As well as Dr. Esselstyn, Ornish and Barnard and C. Collin Campbell) but was very happy and said he wished he could get ALL his cardiac patients to follow the program. She didn't care - she still claimed it wasn't healthy. She said I should be going to a place like her 400+ pound sister is going to, one that makes an individualized food plan for each patient (her sister eats 3000 calories a day, minimum, about 1/3 each in fat, protein and carbs). No thanks. I'll stick with McDougall. It was because of McDougall my coronary arteries were clear as can be, with no cholesterol plaques or deposits, no blockages, when the cardiac cath was done. I doubt they would still be clear if I ate 1000 calories of fat every day. Maybe she just wanted to make sure I would *stay* a customer of the cardiac unit?
Food - Yesterday was . . . I really have to think what the heck we ate! Oh, my husband and I had a chili I tossed together (just canned beans, canned no-salt-added petite diced tomatoes, frozen corn kernels, and 2 packets of lower salt fajita mix), a dump and heat meal. Today is brown rice and veggies; tomorrow is potatoes and veggies (That Poorman's Meal I mentioned in the past). Thursday will be spaghetti and whatever (sausages, not-meat balls, or just some veggies tossed into the sauce - who knows?). Friday will be our traditional whole wheat, cheeseless pizza.
Saturday, Halloween, we have no idea what we're doing. We may be bringing that relative into a nursing home, rehab or even a hospital, or just at her house clearing out & painting a room in preparation for a live-in companion. I usually make a stew on Halloween and call it Witches' Brew, but I have a feeling that this year we'll eat something even more horrendous - leftovers!
ACK! My husband just got home and I guess he'll want his dinner. Hopefully I'll be checking in again tomorrow with a slightly better MoFo post.
I've also been arguing with one of the nurses from rehab. Because I'm not losing scads of weight even though I'm doing 60 minutes of cardio in front of official witnesses three times a week and another 45 to 60 minutes 3 more times at home in front of only my son, this nurse feels I just must be eating too much or eating the wrong foods. When I described the McDougall program to her she did nothing but bad-mouth it for a half hour, telling me it's not healthy to eliminate entire food groups, that I'm eating too few calories, need those "healthy" fats in my diet. Remember folks, this is a cardiac care nurse with not just her BSN and state nursing license but has multiple certifications in advanced nursing care, including critical cardiac care! I told her that my doctor, the cardiologist that runs the entire cardio-vascular unit, the guy the hospital BUILT the unit FOR a few years back, not only had heard of the McDougall program (As well as Dr. Esselstyn, Ornish and Barnard and C. Collin Campbell) but was very happy and said he wished he could get ALL his cardiac patients to follow the program. She didn't care - she still claimed it wasn't healthy. She said I should be going to a place like her 400+ pound sister is going to, one that makes an individualized food plan for each patient (her sister eats 3000 calories a day, minimum, about 1/3 each in fat, protein and carbs). No thanks. I'll stick with McDougall. It was because of McDougall my coronary arteries were clear as can be, with no cholesterol plaques or deposits, no blockages, when the cardiac cath was done. I doubt they would still be clear if I ate 1000 calories of fat every day. Maybe she just wanted to make sure I would *stay* a customer of the cardiac unit?
Food - Yesterday was . . . I really have to think what the heck we ate! Oh, my husband and I had a chili I tossed together (just canned beans, canned no-salt-added petite diced tomatoes, frozen corn kernels, and 2 packets of lower salt fajita mix), a dump and heat meal. Today is brown rice and veggies; tomorrow is potatoes and veggies (That Poorman's Meal I mentioned in the past). Thursday will be spaghetti and whatever (sausages, not-meat balls, or just some veggies tossed into the sauce - who knows?). Friday will be our traditional whole wheat, cheeseless pizza.
Saturday, Halloween, we have no idea what we're doing. We may be bringing that relative into a nursing home, rehab or even a hospital, or just at her house clearing out & painting a room in preparation for a live-in companion. I usually make a stew on Halloween and call it Witches' Brew, but I have a feeling that this year we'll eat something even more horrendous - leftovers!
ACK! My husband just got home and I guess he'll want his dinner. Hopefully I'll be checking in again tomorrow with a slightly better MoFo post.
Friday, October 9, 2009
VeganMoFo Day 9 - More Tears
We found out yesterday that after the health insurance pays their share, we'll still owe the hospital over $4,000 for our share of the cost of cardiac rehab. For what - 40 minutes of exercise while the nurses sit on the phone or take turns running to the cafeteria for cupcakes and coffee?!? I have a treadmill and exercise bike at home, and I've already been taking my own blood pressure multiple times a day for years now, so why are we paying them $388 for a 45 minute exercise session? There's no other therapy, no counseling with a pharmacist, dietician, cardiologist or therapist - only exercise, something I can do in my own home and DID do before the heart thing. My husband and I will talk it over together this weekend and if we can't figure out how to beg, borrow or steal $4,000 by Monday I'm just not going back. Of course, I've been in a depressed, pissy mood since we got that notice in the mail yesterday. It's been one bitch of a week - no thyroid med increase, jury duty summons, asthma problems from a moldy library book that forced me to take my rescue meds three nights already, a reprimand from one of the rehab nurses to mind my own business when I called her over to help one guy who was turning blue, and now this. I'm ready to ditch it all - the healthy eating, the exercise, the doctors - and just live life to the fullest and hope I do die early, cuz at least I'll die happy with at least a few pennies in my pocket.
Because we were already running on financial fumes even before my expensive hospitalization (Over $75,000 for the 2 day stay, many charges denied by our insurance) we try make every cent count. In the past, any leftovers from dinner would become my lunches during the week. Now, because my guys don't have to eat low sodium but I do, many of the leftovers I can't touch, so our refrigerator is filling up rapidly with their leavings. Instead of our traditional Friday pizza today I'm insisting we eat leftovers - ALL of us. I still have some rice and veggies and that lentil stew that are salt-free so that's mine, and the boys have leftover spaghetti and Poorman's Meal.
When I made this in the past I used Julie's seitan sausages
or veggie dogs and and a jar of regular spaghetti sauce. I tried it recently with the no salt added/low salt tomato sauce and the guys hated the way it tasted, so this week I made it the way they liked it and I ate that lentil stew on Wednesday.
Hopefully we'll get rid of all the leftovers by Monday and I can post a different recipe for VeganMoFo. I feel like such a poser this year, adding nothing new to the thread. :(
Because we were already running on financial fumes even before my expensive hospitalization (Over $75,000 for the 2 day stay, many charges denied by our insurance) we try make every cent count. In the past, any leftovers from dinner would become my lunches during the week. Now, because my guys don't have to eat low sodium but I do, many of the leftovers I can't touch, so our refrigerator is filling up rapidly with their leavings. Instead of our traditional Friday pizza today I'm insisting we eat leftovers - ALL of us. I still have some rice and veggies and that lentil stew that are salt-free so that's mine, and the boys have leftover spaghetti and Poorman's Meal.
When I made this in the past I used Julie's seitan sausages
or veggie dogs and and a jar of regular spaghetti sauce. I tried it recently with the no salt added/low salt tomato sauce and the guys hated the way it tasted, so this week I made it the way they liked it and I ate that lentil stew on Wednesday.
Hopefully we'll get rid of all the leftovers by Monday and I can post a different recipe for VeganMoFo. I feel like such a poser this year, adding nothing new to the thread. :(
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