Weight Wars #5

 Checked my weight today and noticed it hasn't really changed since February.  However several other things have changed.  We moved to Nebraska and now have a home with stairs.  This requires more work getting up and down stairs.  I also no longer take Victoza as they told me it was no longer covered by insurance.  I changed to Trulicity.  This is similar to Victoza but it is a weekly shot instead of daily.  However when I moved I had to change insurance.  Now they are telling me my insurance no longer covers Trulicity.  Could be shortly I will be without an injectable.  I run out in a about three weeks which is when I have my next doctor appointment.  So the only variable I have here is to pick up the pace on exercise.  I think increased walking is in order.  

Weight Wars #4. Feb 2025

 My previous weight post was during the middle of Covid, April 2021.  At that time I weighed 240, obese. Now I am hovering around 220.  My eventual goal is to be under190 overweight instead of obese.  My wife blames the weight loss on continued use of Victoza.  I feel this helps but it is more.  I don't eat quite as much.  I could exercise more.  I developed sciatica in 2022 which really limited my exercise.  But to be honest it has resolved enough I could be exercising more.

Weight Wars #3.   4/19/2021

 I have posted twice before, but not for the past two years.  I saw my weight go from 298 in 2003 to 248 in 2019 and 245 in 2019.  My weight has not dropped much more.  Now I weigh about 240.  I am no longer grossly obese but just obese.  However I have been stagnant in any further weight loss.  I was able to take pills to help with weight loss, and then Victoza shot.  Victoza helped me lose about ten pounds but then no more.  However it is going to take something more to get me below the 240 line and continue my trek to 190 which is my ultimate goal.   I was doing better before Covid made everything be work from home.  Then I did not walk near as much as I no longer took the train to work.  I have not gotten into a pattern of exercise since having retired.  I keep thinking something will change.  I guess that something will need to be myself.  I need to lose that last 50 lbs to be as healthy as I can be.  

So I commit to a half hour walk or activity everyday.  I commit to doing exercises to help my frozen shoulder.  I commit to watch my food intake.  I commit to no food after 8 p.m.  

Weight Wars #2. 4/11/2019

I published a previous post about my weight and being half way to not being obese, down from 298 to 248.  I can now say I am down another 5 lbs but still only half way.  The difference is an adjustment in my height.  I guess I am shrinking, which means I have another 10 pounds to lose before escaping the obesity line.  So down 55 pounds with a goal of 55 pounds more.  I hope this sharing will motivate me, as my life is at stake.

Weight Wars. 9/29/2018

I came across something really scary: a record of my weight from 2001 through 2003.  I started at 292 in December of 2001.  However I was down to 285 by mid January; only to blossom back up by the end of the year.  My last recorded weight in 2002, early December, was 292.  Then I became my heaviest.  I started 2003 at 298.  That is just gross.  That is the most I have weighed my entire life.  That is 100 pounds above the obese line.  I recorded that by the end of 2003 I was back to 285.  I have continued a mostly downward spiral, with significance periods of getting stuck.  I am half of the way to the obese line--in other words I am 50 pounds lighter than my heaviest with another 50 to go.
What have been the consequences.  I have diabetes and tinnitus, and sleep apnea and high blood pressure.  Weight is a contributing factor in all these areas.  I hope when I am no longer obese--some of these health issues will be resolved.  I would be grateful if just one or two  would improve and I not have to take so many medications.

MOHS Infection

 I thought my MOHS wound treatment was going great, and then last Sunday I woke up with red puffiness in my face and gross pus.  I called the clinic and they put me on an antibiotic and also asked me to use polysporin.  It is doing much better now.  I think the cause was I had shaved too close to the wound with an electric razor.  These are the pictures Sheri ook to send to the doctor so she could see what was happening.

MOHS Surgery October 8, 2025

 My MOHS surgery happened Wednesday.  In this surgery a layer of skin is removed and then examined.  If any cancer remains then another layer is removed.  I had two layers removed in a circle on my cheek about the size of a nickel.  The second layer wasn't as big as there was only cancer in a corner.  My skin cancer is squamous cell carcinoma.  I understand this type is sometimes deeper.  They then closed it with stitches, telling me they pinched it into a line.  I read the MD notes which said the put in nine stitches, four underneath and then five on the surface.  Looking at the picture it looks more like 20 stitches on top.  I know it took them a long time to sew it all up.  

temporary bandage

final bandage

After 48 hours I was told I could change the bandage.  These pictures are from that change of bandage.  The original bandage was tight, to prevent bleeding after the catheterized some blood vessels.  Now the bandage is more to hold the aquaphor against the wound.  Aquaphor will promote healing.  

Follow-up on the Sore on My Face: Squamous Cell Carcinoma

 Turns out the sore was skin cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma.  I am now scheduled for a MOHS procedure next month.  They said this will entail peeling off one layer of skin at a tme until the get to where there are no more cancer cells.  It again will be done with a local anesthesia so I will be awake during the procedure.  They said not to do anything for a couple days after while it heals.  I will have a big bandage on my face.  Also should take it easy for several days after the surgery.  

Here is the AI overview:

Yes, Mohs surgery is considered a type of surgery. It is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used to remove skin cancers, such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Mohs surgery involves removing thin layers of tissue and examining them under a microscope to ensure that all cancerous cells have been removed. It is typically performed as an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia. 

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is considered more dangerous than basal cell carcinoma (BCC) because it has a higher chance of spreading to other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes and organs, if left untreated. While both are common types of skin cancer, SCC has the potential to grow into deeper skin layers, leading to disfigurement and, in rare cases, life-threatening complications. However, both types of cancer are often curable when caught and treated in their early stages. 

Hopefully I have caught this early enough that ther should be no problem.

Boys Town: Challenges for the Youth They See

 This lesson is from the Hall of History at Boys Town.  It points out the problems of youth can be complex and involve a host of related issues.  

Caring for children: five main challenges for youth who come to Boys Town

Carving of the Face for a Sore

First experience for me yesterday.  I had a sore removed from my face to be studied for cancer.  I had a sore that would not heal of probably at least a years duration.  Lidocaine works very well.  They said there would be a small sting as they injected it.  It was much more than a small sting.  IUt really hurt.  But after it started working I didn't feel a thing.  Especially when they were cutting it off, I did n't feel a thing.

Labwork says  Squamous Cell Carcinoma.  I got the lab from the One Health lab and haven't talk to the MD yet.  They did cut it off but said I may have to come back for more cutting if it was cancerous.  Symptoms include an open sore which doesn't heal which describes the thing I had on my face.  It was also sensitive to touch.

I also had a large tag from the back of my leg.  It was also tested but no cancer in it.  

Positive Thinking Book: Silver Boxes

Silver Boxes: The Gift of Encouragement by Florence Littauer, Word Publishing, Dallas, 1989. 

This is a fascinating book about treating others with kindness.  What she says is that our "words should be like silver boxes with bows on top."  That is the basic philosophy.  She adds a personality assessment, to give some warning that we are not all the same, and sometimes, with our different natures, we may offend someone without realizing it.  She talks of four personality types:
Sanguine the popular person, Choleric the powerful person, Melancholy the perfect person and Phlegmatic the peaceful person.  We can have strengths and or weaknesses in these areas.  All personality types are important.  There are some who have a combination.  We are all unique. 

Silver Boxes was put into a poem for this book.  The poem summarizes the theme.