Parotidectomy Surgery

On November 21, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Health, Pain3 Comments

Yesterday was my parotidectomy surgery to remove the entire parotid gland on the right side of my face. It’s also known as the saliva gland. There were several stones that were blocking the path which caused the saliva to stay in my gland causing it to stretch, which hurt like a mother trucker.

When I woke up in the recovery room I was totally confused. I had no idea where I was or how I got there. I felt like I had been in a car accident, like a Mack truck crashed into my face lol. That’s a bit severe, but you know what I mean. I had trouble waking up too. You know how when you didn’t get enough sleep the night before and people are forcing you to wake up and your body is fighting you and you can barely open your eyes? That’s how it was waking up in recovery. I wanted to wake up, but I was having a hard time.

The nurse came over to me to talk to me. I asked her what happened, why I was here because I was still confused, but then the memory of what happened started coming back to me. I said oh wait I remember. She asked me why I was there and I said to remove my parotid gland.

The doctor came to me and was telling me what he found. The cat scan with contrast told them that the stone was 1cm which is pretty big, but it wasn’t just 1 stone, there were 3. After the surgery, he told me that it was the size of his pinky finger tip, you know the part of the tip that has the nail and he held his fingers up to where the finger bends. That was how big it was. Plus he said there was a lot of infection in the gland. He sent it to the lab.

He wanted me to come back in 7 days to remove the tubing that is sticking out of my neck into a ball which collects the drainage, and I just called them to make that appointment, but this doctor is only in the surgery clinic on Friday’s and he won’t be there next week due to Thanksgiving. She wanted to make the appointment for December 6th and I was like whoa, I thought I only had to have this for 7 days. I asked her to ask the doctor to call me to tell me what to do. Since he is only in the clinic on Friday, I hope he calls me this Friday to tell me what he suggests I do. If I can just come in as a walk in and have them remove the tube then that would be fantastic, otherwise I will have to wait until December 6th to have it removed.

During surgery, they intubated me to help me breathe. When I speak now, it’s with a lower volume and a softer tone. I’m sure it’s temporary, but I kind of like it lol.

Dr. Trang at Kern Medical Center did a wonderful job with the surgery. He made sure that my nerves weren’t damaged and the stitches are beautiful and I know it will heal nicely so you barely even notice them. Scar cream is a bit on the expensive side, but I will use some of that to make the scar go away.

Anyway, he prescribed 2 medications for me. Keflex which is an antibiotic and Percocet for pain. I have never taken Percocet before so I don’t know if it’s addictive or not. I hope not because I don’t like to have any vices. It says it’s Oxycodone/Acetaminophen which is generic for Percocet.

I told my aunt that I was taking Keflex which by the way I’ve taken before. She told me that it will cause a yeast infection (YIKES!) so I need to eat at least 1 yogurt a day. My yogurt of choice is Yoplait.

I fortunately don’t have any pain and I am not as exhausted as I thought I would be. I mean I’m not laying in bed feeling sorry for myself. I actually have my normal amount of energy if you can believe that. My partner said that it looks like the hole in my face is already starting to fill up. I don’t know how, and I certainly can’t see it filling up or what it would be filling up with. I’m positive that everything will go back into place and the scar won’t be too bad and everything will be fine. I don’t have any worries.

Here are a few more pictures.

Surgery Day

On November 19, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Daily Blog1 Comment

Tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for since August. It is the day that my parotid gland will finally be removed and I will no longer suffer from the pain that it causes me.

There have been some good days and there have been some bad days, mostly bad days. There was a whole week when I didn’t have any pain at all and I started wondering if perhaps I should just not have the surgery and live with it, but then the pain would come back and that would confirm that I do in fact want to continue with the surgery.

I have been quite depressed lately, not just because of the pain that I’ve had, but also because of the fact that I am having surgery 1 week before Thanksgiving and I will have a fresh scar on Thanksgiving day. If we were staying at home or visiting family that wouldn’t be a big deal, but we always go to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving. It’s just easier and less expensive. I’m not depressed about the fresh scar anymore because I’m sure it will be fine in a week. I don’t know that for a fact, but I’m sure it will be fine.

I will have a tube (I don’t know how they are going to do that, will there be like an IV port coming out of my neck?) draining fluids for 7 days which will be removed the day before Thanksgiving. I can deal with that. I mean, it’s only a week, right? I don’t have any plans on leaving the house during that week. I plan on lots of bed rest and catching up on my reading. I’ve neglected my Nook for such a long time, it’s time for an excuse to read a book or two, or three.

Anyway, I’m not scared or nervous. I’m sure it will all work out and I will take pictures when it’s over and more pictures next week when the tube is removed the day before Thanksgiving to show how much I’ve healed.

What more is there to say?

On November 15, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Before I discovered Twitter and Facebook, I used to blog up to 6 times per day. With Twitter I can sum up my thoughts in 140 characters and with Facebook even more. That took the fun out of blogging which is why I don’t blog as often as I used to.

I’ve come to the point where I honestly can’t think of anything to say, even in a 140 character tweet. Yesterday I was bored and said this:

“They say if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all, but something is better than nothing.”

I think this was directed at myself because I don’t say much anymore.

Lately all I do is sit here looking at all the wonderful and sometimes snotty things other people say in their tweets and/or Facebook updates and think to myself, why didn’t I think of that? Why can’t I think of anything to say anymore?

Today I was bored and said this:

“When you don’t get any mail you think “No news is good news.” But sometimes it’s nice to get SOMETHING, even if it’s just coupons.”

What’s the point of even having social networks anymore? I become friends with people and never say a word until their birthday and then all I say is Happy Birthday. I’d love to read more books or play one of my MMORPG games, but I can’t even get into those because I’ve become bored with them. Is the problem that I’ve just become bored with everything?

I’ve been playing The Sims Freeplay on my phone a lot more than I used to play it, but only because I have something to accomplish and I’m guessing when I accomplish all of my tasks I will get bored with it again. What I need is something to be excited about. I remember playing EverQuest for sometimes 16 hours a day every day for 8 years until I became bored with it because everyone in my guild left to either go into another guild or to play the newest game. I also started playing other games, like Lord of the Rings Online, but I had nobody to play with so I eventually got bored with that and the same thing happened with EverQuest 2 and DC Universe Online. MMORPG games are more fun when you have people to play with.

Well it seems that I had more to say than I thought, but that seems to be all I can think of for now.

Depression About Surgery

On November 6, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, HealthLeave a comment

In August I went to the doctor to get help for an issue I was having with my parotid gland on my right side. I had a cat scan with contrast and they found several stones and the only way that I can get them out is with surgery to remove the entire gland. The problem is, it will leave a huge scar on the side of my face that will look like the image to the left.

Most people wouldn’t want to have a huge scar on their face of all places. I mean, a scar on your arm or your leg or stomach is normal, but your face, that’s like the one place that you want to keep scar free. Well, without thinking I said that if this is my only option other than living with it, then just do it because I can’t continue living with this horrible pain.

I still feel that I want to get the surgery, but I have also sort of gone into a depression knowing that I’m going to have this on my face soon. Not only will I have this on November 20th, but I will have a tube sticking out for 7 days which means it will be removed the day before Thanksgiving. I will have a fresh scar during the holidays. I know that the holidays are just like any other day to me, but I still don’t understand why I couldn’t have had the surgery by now so it’s all healed up BEFORE the holidays. I mean, this started in August and we’re in November now.

I’m sorry, I’m scatterbrained. I’m just going through something right now. I know it’s all mental, but still, I just don’t want to have to be out in public with this on my face for Thanksgiving, especially since we always go to a restaurant for that holiday. I know it’s probably silly and you are thinking oh get a grip, get over it, but wouldn’t you be worried about this too?

This is going to go one of two ways, one I will be fine and I won’t think it’s that big of a deal and we will go out and eat and it will be fine. Or, I will be so depressed that I won’t be able to get out of bed until New Years.

The issue here is this is my face, which is the first thing that people see. People judge you as a person before they even talk to you. I know, RuPaul says it’s none of my business what other people think of me and I usually think that too, but it’s my FACE! Why does this have to happen to me just before Thanksgiving, or at all for that matter?

As if I haven’t been through enough in my life with being diagnosed with HIV at age 21, then upgraded to AIDS at 23, being diagnosed with having Parkinson’s, Scoliosis, being homeless as a teenager just because I was gay and being abused throughout my childhood. It just seems like I am a target for something messed up. Why me? Why do I have such a messed up life?

Well, I guess I should just be thankful that I am still alive despite the fact that I was supposed to die in 2000 and nearly died in 2002 from Steven-Johnson syndrome, which is another messed up thing that happened to me lol. Eh hem, as I was saying, at least I have a roof over my head and I’m somewhat healthy and not homeless.

I suppose it could be worse. I could be homeless and not have any medical insurance and would have to just live with the pain for the rest of my life. So I guess I should be lucky that I can have the surgery. But I still can’t help but feel depressed about the scar. UGH! Life sucks.

Bread Machine for Beginners

On November 4, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

I have been having a lot of fun with my new bread machine. I’ve mostly made 100% whole wheat bread for sandwiches, but I’ve also been making spiced pumpkin bread which I also use for sandwiches. The picture above is my first attempt at making bread, this one is wheat bread, not 100% whole wheat.

Not every loaf of bread comes out perfect though, in fact, I had no idea that my dough has been too dry until now. The other day I made a loaf of 100% whole wheat bread and it came out smaller than usual, and when I took it out, it was really thick and hard. I cut the slices and noticed that it wasn’t light and fluffy at all, which is how bread should be, but decided that I will just go ahead and eat it anyway and hope for the best. Last night I had a sandwich with that bread and had the worst stomach pain in my life about 6 hours later. I don’t know if it was the bread, or a combination of the bread and all the pretzels that I ate and the fact that everything was dry that was causing the pain. I had a heating pad on my stomach for nearly an hour.

I decided to do a little bit of research, which I should have done to begin with. I found this website called Salad in a Jar with 6 Bread Machine Secrets for Beginners. I am glad I found that because I found out that I’ve been doing it wrong all this time. My bread is always the same consistency, but never touches the sides of the pan. It’s always a hard ball in the center of the bread machine that just spins in circles. I didn’t know it had to touch the sides. So now I know why the bread is so thick.

The person who wrote that blog post said to use the bread machine to knead the bread, but then transfer it to a bread pan and bake it in the oven. Well, I don’t have that luxury because I don’t have a normal oven. Well, we have a normal oven, it’s just old and I never use it. I bake everything in the toaster oven, which is why I bake the bread in the bread machine.

So now that I have this new knowledge, I am going to attempt to make a regular loaf of wheat bread, not 100% whole wheat. I will make sure it has enough water and is tacky and sticks to the side and is not too dry.

I really want my bread to come out light and fluffy and not too heavy and I want it to taste good. I also want my partner to like it so he doesn’t have to buy his own bread from the store, which was the whole reason I have a bread machine lol. I don’t blame him for wanting to buy bread, because it is too hard to eat, so I really hope it works out now. I have my fingers crossed. I have my eyes crossed for good measure.

Bread Slicer

On October 30, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Food, RecipesLeave a comment

I know, this is a very strange thing to blog about, but I’m excited because the bread slicer that I bought on eBay actually works. I tried using it when I first got it, but it didn’t really work out because I sliced the bread too soon, so it wasn’t slicing right because it was too soft. The trick is letting the bread harden a little before slicing it which usually takes a day. I was also pushing down on the top when I was slicing it the first time because it was wobbling too much in the slicer. That gave me uneven bread. If I don’t touch the top, it gives me perfect slices every time.

The bread in the image above is spiced pumpkin bread. I normally only make 100% whole wheat bread to use for sandwiches or toast, but the spiced pumpkin bread is awesome to eat during the holidays. In case you want the recipe, here it is.

I substituted the oil with butter, and I don’t use the lemon juice and it comes out just fine. I don’t use the lemon juice because I found a recipe for cinnamon raisin bread from Betty Crocker that uses butter instead of oil and it doesn’t use lemon juice. The recipe for cinnamon raisin bread that came in the recipe book that this recipe came in used oil and lemon juice, so I simply just cut out the oil and lemon juice and replace them with butter in all of my bread recipes and they still come out good, amazing in fact.

I use the 1lb recipe for my bread machine and the bread usually goes over the top, if I use the 1 1/2lb recipe, it goes way over the top and touches the vent and the glass on the door of the machine. That’s way too much bread, so the 1lb recipe is perfect. The Betty Crocker recipe must be the 1 1/2lb recipe because it always goes over the top.

So I just wanted to show the slicer and how thick the slices come out. I was hoping for thinner slices, but this is fine. At least they aren’t too thin on one side and too thick on the other which is what usually happens when I don’t use the slicer. It’s a good guide to use. Oh and this bread slicer was only $7.99 on eBay. I give this bread slicer a thumbs up.

Here is this same bread slicer on Amazon and here it is on eBay for $6.99. Naturally they lowered the price by $1 the day AFTER I bought it lol.

Oh and just in case someone asks, because I was thinking about it too, you can buy an electric knife if you want to, but a regular bread knife works just fine. Although an electric knife will probably give you a more even cut on each slice, a regular one works just as well. The bread in the image above isn’t 100% perfect, it’s uneven, but it’s not too uneven so it doesn’t make too much of a difference to me, but I’m sure you will get the same or near the same results with an electric knife. So if you already have a regular knife like I do, save your money and just use that. If you don’t have either then buy whichever one you want, but a regular bread knife will work just fine.

I Bought a Bread Slicer

On October 18, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn FoodLeave a comment

The bread machine that I bought at the thrift store seems to be the best thing ever, you could even say since sliced bread. Pun well intended. The bread machine is awesome, but there is only 1 issue that I have, and that is slicing the bread. I have a long bread slicer knife, but the bread slices are uneven. Sometimes they are too thick on one side, and paper-thin on the other, or some are too thick while some are too thin or some are just lopsided lol. It’s very difficult to slice bread, so I have been researching bread slicers.

I wanted a wood bread slicer because wood is way better than plastic when it comes to something like this, but they are way too expensive. I decided to buy this particular bread slicer on eBay because it was only $7.99 with free shipping. Although, today it is $6.99, but I still feel like a got a good deal, so I’m fine with what I paid.

What I really want is to cut thin slices like you see in this picture. I want thin slices because the bread that I make with my bread machine is really… and I’m not sure I’m using the proper term… dense. It’s not fluffy like the bread you buy in the store, you know like Wonder Bread or Sara Lee bread. It’s harder like the really expensive wide breads that you buy. I like the airy or fluffy bread, but the problem with those is they rip to shreds when you spread peanut butter on it, but this bread doesn’t have that problem which is why I love it so much. I think the thinner the slices are, the better the sandwich will taste and the less calories it will have.

I see from this picture that you can slice the bread at any size you wish, like the slices laying down are thinly sliced, but the one they are slicing in the bread slicer is double the thickness. That is perfect if you want to make French toast. If you are making pumpkin bread or banana nut bread then the thicker slices are better, so at least I have that option.

I really hope this bread slicer isn’t a piece of crap that will break as soon as I start slicing the bread. That’s another reason I wanted wood, because plastic is crap and it breaks, wood is sturdy and will literally last a lifetime.

My new plastic bread slicer will be here next week. I hope it was worth it.

Parotid Surgery

On October 11, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Health, PainLeave a comment

A couple of months ago I mentioned that I had pain in my saliva gland aka my Parotid gland. I went to the doctor who gave me an anti-biotic medicine and said I may need surgery and even asked me if that was what I wanted. He sent me to Kern Medical Center and that surgeon told me that I had Sialolithiasis which is apparently a very common thing. I’ve never heard of it.

The surgeon at KMC gave me some options, have it removed with a scope in L.A. or have surgery to remove the entire gland. My partner didn’t want me to have it removed because it would leave a huge unsightly scar. He said we could go to L.A. to have that procedure, but then we discussed how many trips we would probably end up making, so he changed his mind. See, I told the surgeon that I wanted to have him perform the surgery because I knew it would cost money to drive to L.A., and you know that I would have to come 2 or 3 times. But the surgeon today told me that the stones are too big to be removed with a scope anyway. The scope would fit in the, I’m just going to call it a vein, but the stones were way too big to be pulled out of said vein. So surgery is my only option.

My surgery will be in late November, which just happens to be 1 week before Thanksgiving, and I will have a port in the back that will drain into a container which I will have to be mindful of. I will have to keep that on me for 1 week and then he will remove it.

On one hand I’m very excited to finally have this removed to fix my problem, but on the other hand I’m not looking forward to having a huge scar on my face lol. I mean, if that’s what it takes to end this constant agony then so be it, but why did it have to be my face? Why couldn’t the gland be inside my mouth? Or why couldn’t the stone be somewhere in my stomach where I never have to worry about people seeing my scar? Why of all places did it have to be on my face? I mean, I’m not a model so it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’m going to lose any modeling gigs, but still. You never want to do something that will put a scar on the first thing people look at when they see you, or bring too much attention to yourself when you are trying to stay invisible.

Well, it’s inevitable, so there is nothing I can do but learn to live with it. I’m sure the scar won’t be too bad and I can use scar creams that will make it disappear, so there is something to look forward to. I’m just glad the pain will finally be gone soon.

So until November…

Toastmaster Bread Box 1155

On October 9, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Food, Gadgets, Products I LikeLeave a comment

wheat bread

I took a trip to the thrift store yesterday, well, my intention wasn’t to go to a thrift store, but while I was in the neighborhood, I figured let’s go check to see what they have. I was actually hoping to find a hot air popcorn popper, but instead I found a bread maker machine. They had at least 5 of them, but this one had the little paddle inside of it, 2 of the other ones I looked at were missing that. I didn’t look at the other ones because they were smaller than the one I found.

Okay so I’ve never made bread in my life and I’m 43 years old. I have always wanted to, but never tried it because I knew it would probably be a lot of work because you have to knead the bread and what not. I have a habit of burning water, so I was afraid of trying to bake my own bread. This machine does it all, so there is literally no muss, no fuss.

This is what the Toastmaster Bread Box 1155 looks like. It was quite disgusting on the inside and outside, but I cleaned it up so it looks practically brand new. It was only $5.95 plus tax, so how could you not buy it? I knew I was taking a huge risk because you never know if what you are buying at a thrift store will work, but it works just fine.

The bread maker was cheap, but the ingredients for making wheat bread weren’t. I went to the store to buy everything I needed for making wheat bread and it came to $30. Ouch! But, the good thing is that I will get a lot of bread with those ingredients, so the money I will save will make up for that.

Good wheat bread is expensive and you never really know what is inside your bread, so at least now I know what I am putting into it. It’s basically water, oil, lemon juice, salt, brown sugar, dry milk, bread flour, whole wheat flour and active dry yeast. That’s it. 100% whole wheat bread is the same, except I don’t use bread flour and it takes 1 hour longer to make.

White bread is unhealthy, but it’s basically all the same ingredients except there is regular white sugar and you don’t use whole wheat flour. I don’t plan on making white bread unless it is requested.

My first time making bread was a success, but I thought I screwed it up because I used the whole wheat setting. Well, I was making whole wheat bread, so naturally I thought I had to use that setting, but it turns out I only need to use that setting if I am making 100% whole wheat bread with all the ingredients minus the bread flour. Since I made regular wheat bread, I should have used the basic setting which takes 3 1/2 hours. Now I know.

I’m particularly excited about making other things with this bread maker like spiced pumpkin bread and banana bread. The machine didn’t come with a manual or a recipe book, but I did manage to find them online all in 1 pdf file. The recipe book has many good recipes, but I will probably only make wheat for our bread and the pumpkin and banana bread for special occasions like birthdays and holidays. They also make great gifts. Someone gave me homemade banana nut bread for my birthday once and it was AWESOME! So I plan on doing the same.

So I finally have a bread machine that didn’t break the bank. What an awesome gift from whoever donated it to the thrift store. I know it’s an old machine, but it’s still a gift to me since I didn’t have one and couldn’t afford to pay $75+ for a brand new one.

Weight Gain

On October 7, 2013 By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Food, Noom, Pain, WeightLeave a comment

WeightGain

We went to the doctor’s office today so I could get my clearance note for surgery to remove my parotid gland. They had me step on the scale and I was shocked to see that I was 205lbs. So yeah, I’m a bit verklempt lol.

One of my issues with exercising is that when I walk or ride my bike or do anything that burns calories, the Noom app tells me that I can eat more calories, so I end up eating those extra calories, but then I might even go over those extra calories because I think to myself that I did such a good job that it’s okay. Well, that’s not how it works. I should still stick with 1400 calories, 1500 at the most. Even if it says I can eat 1700, I should draw the line in the sand at 1500.

I’ve been using the Noom app for my cardio, but I decided to download the Noom Cardio Trainer. I’m sure that it will still show the extra calories in the Noom app, but I just want to see how it goes with the Noom Cardio Trainer.

I’ve been eating those Quinoa and Tofu burgers every day with hamburger buns which is not a good idea; I should be eating them without any bread. Here is my typical day:

Every morning I will either have a bowl of Malt-O-Meal or a banana for breakfast, which by the way the Malt-O-Meal is a green food (which means healthy) and the banana is obviously a green food. For my morning snack (second breakfast?) I usually have a banana. For lunch I normally eat a Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinner, although I’ve been eating the Quinoa and Tofu burgers, both by the way are green, except for the bun of course. Afternoon snack (linner?) is typically a banana or crackers or sometimes I will have a bowl of broccoli. That has been consistent. Dinner is typically a Weight Watchers Smart Ones, but I’ve been eating the Quinoa and Tofu Burgers. For evening snack I’ve been eating a lot of crackers. I need to stop doing that, but I get so hungry that it feels like I’m famished.

I’m assuming that my issue here is the bread and the crackers. I also have to admit that I’ve been eating candy corn, but not daily. I’m guessing that the amount that I’ve eaten so far is finally catching up to me, so I will stop eating them for the rest of the season. If I am having this much difficulty from the candy corn, just imagine how it’s going to be when Eggnog is available in stores. I’m going to go crazy because I just LOVE eggnog lol.

So getting back to the Noom cardio trainer, I have set up 5 days a week to go riding on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. I’m going to go out 5 days a week to do at least 11 miles per day, if I can do more, then great, but I’m not going to push myself that hard. The app suggests 5 days a week, so I’m giving myself 2 days off, but not 2 consecutive days which is why I chose Sundays and Wednesdays as my days off.

I am also going to buy that Gaiam Total Body Balance Ball Kit which is sold on Amazon for $20. It has an exercise DVD with it which I can watch while doing the exercises in my bedroom. The doctor at Physical Therapy told me I should buy one so I can do exercises for my back since I only have 3 more sessions left. My insurance only pays for so many sessions, then I’m on my own. My back isn’t in as much pain as it was, but anyone who has, or anyone who knows anyone with scoliosis knows that the pain is really bad. The only thing that really helps my pain is the exercises. Pain meds don’t do anything for my back pain, they help my parotid gland pain, but not my back pain. $20 is a small price to pay for pain relief. I wanted to buy one at Target, but they were the same price, but without the DVD.

I really hope I can get back down to my comfortable weight of 192lbs and possibly get back on track with my weight loss so I can get down to my ultimate goal of 170lbs. Considering I lost 70lbs this year, 35lbs shouldn’t be that difficult to lose, although it’s harder than I thought.

So to recap, my goal is to stay away from Halloween Candy and any other holiday sweets, bread and to exercise more and to try not to eat more than 1500 calories per day, even when the app says I can eat more.

Ready… set… GO!

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