Night Owls #4
 

Okay, Curious, I give it up to you...(Idealist bows in deep respect to the master). The fate of my weight is in your hands! ;)

So tell me, huh? huh?, what's a poor ol' skinny guy gonna do to put on twenty or so pounds without gaining himself a gargantuan "love-handle"? :p (By the way, you'd be luck to pinch an inch right now.)

I don't know that I could do the ensure thing. I strongly dislike "thick" or syrupy drinks. I don't drink more than half-a-dozen sodas in a year. I pretty much just stick to my teas and my decaf coffee.

The med he prescribed is actually a tricyclic antidepressant. You may have heard of it, it's called amitriptylene. But he prescribed it in mega doses. I took it once before for sleep, at 25mg. Now I'm supposed to take 150mg every night! According to what I can find, 150mg is the maximum daily dose, but it's usually spread out over three times a day. My doc wants me to take it all at once, just before I climb in bed, 'cause it might have some "weird" side-effects for a while...:confused:

I don't much care for sweets. I like very lean foods. My favorite kind of chicken is a plain white chicken breast baked in the oven with no oil, butter or spices at all to flavor it. So you can see my problem here. I'd be happy if I could put on FIVE pounds in the next thirty days, let alone FIFTEEN!

Help me out here, my friend. Please...:o

Hi there .... I'm just wondering about your new med. Are you going to be starting at a lower dose and then increasing it to 150 mg? It just seems like a lot to be taking at once .... especially since your doctor said it might have some 'weird' side effects.

Smart question, Scrabble...;) Yeah, actually I'm starting on 50, increasing to 100 after a week, and then to 150 in another week.

But when I looked up the med in my "pill book", at such a dosage it listed as "most common side-effects" such things as hallucinations, disorientation, and quite a few other disturbing things. I don't like the sound of that at all! :eek:

If they start making me feel too weird, I'll stop taking them. I trust my doc, I really do. But I trust my body more.

So how was your day, Scrabble, dear? :)

Hey everyone
I agree with scrabble!!
I took elavil.same thing your gonna be taking.I just cant spell the other name for it right now..LOL
It actually should'nt be taken by people with heart problems..Off the top of my head thats all i can think of..However you should start off slow..I dont care what the doc said!!

My crazy neuro put me on this topamax.You have to increase slowly with this med too!!
He told me .Oh just increase up to 200mg.I asked him,should'nt i go slow?He said your fine.Just take an extra pill.I did'nt know any better back then.Well lo and behold..I broke out in one of the worst rashes i ever had in my life!!!!
Also i felt REALLY funny in the head!!When i called ..He says maybe we adjust your dose down to 150mg..DUH!!!YATHINK???
So sometimes they dont know best.I always read up on the meds.I also read up on interactions..

Ok i'm hoppin off my soap box now..How is everyone?
Halloween is over,boohoo
I cleaned my house today and kitty proofed it a bit..:D

Well I'm glad you aren't taking it all at once to start out with!

I went through some weird 'stuff' while starting an AD a while ago. (Wellbutrin) I had very vivid dreams for a while that were rather strange. I didn't always remember what I had been dreaming about but when I did recall, it seemed that I was trying to do something or solve something and I would wake up feeling agitated and restless. I ended up trying to take my 2 doses farther away from bedtime and that seemed to help in the end. Initially I was told by my doctor to take one dose just before going to bed to avoid having an upset stomach. Luckily I didn't have that problem though.

*waves at Kell! :)

Hey, Kell-Bell!!! How ya doin'? I was off writing somewhere else for a few minutes. How are you feeling after all that cleaning?

Kitty proofed your house???

(I know what you mean ... I just initially read that as if it was your cat, named Kitty, who had proofed your house after you cleaned it!) hee-hee!

Ooohh. Thanks for that, Scrabble. And you too, Kell. I absolutely HATE having weird, vivid dreams. I have enough trouble sleeping as it is, without seeing Freddie Krueger in my dreams...:eek:

I think I'm gonna start off at 25mg and take it from there. I really think the doc is over-playing the whole thing a bit. It's not like I'm starving to death or anything...:rolleyes:

LOL @scrabble.I went back and read it after you said that and it does kinda read that way:D
Funny!!:)
Having kitties run around is similar to having little kids running around.I have to make sure theres nothing that can hurt them..Since i have not felt like doing much.There was much to do..HeeHee
I'm still not finished.I m doing it in increments-otherwise i will be in massive pain!

Kell's post about her rash reminded me that a long time ago when I was trying all kinds of meds to try and get some sleep .... that I would wake up in the night and get to the washroom (because I had to drink a full glass of water with the sleep med at bedtime) and I was so out of it that I literally stumbled from one wall to the other in my short hallway. I felt horrible! Really spaced out and yet not any more rested by morning. I was worried I might fall down the stairs (beside the bathroom doorway) or that if my kids needed me in the night that they wouldn't be able to wake me! Well, I talked to my doc and it turned out that the dose was just too high for me because I had lost about 20 pounds due to stress. I just thought of that because you've lost weight, Idealist. Hopefully, your doctor has taken that into consideration though, since he is the one who wants you to gain some weight. ;)

Kell,

see I first read that 'Kitty poofed your house' and I thought that meant that after you cleaned it, then Kitty messed it up for you! LOL

I bet your little furballs are getting cuter and cuter! :)

I dont think i had weird dreams when i took elavil..
I wish i could spell amitrptilyne..LMAO
I know thats not the right way to spell it and im not scrolling back..heehee
*waves back @scrabble:)
Idealist if you only weigh 135 ..Well then i would say,yes you really need to put some weight on....
You could drink the boost.They have some for weight gain and they WILL give you energy at the same time.
Just a thought...

I hope he's that smart, Scrabble...:rolleyes:

Yeah, Kell, but I don't LOOK like skin and bones or anything. Just real slim.

Very scary story about those sleep meds you were on scrabble!!

I have taken meds and been so out of it i have staggered into walls too..VERY scary when you might fall down steps though...

As for my lil furballs..I just posted new pics in the our pets section..*Holds her head up all proud like*..heehee

Did everyone evaporate? LOL Looks like I ain't the only one vanishing here...:p

I installed mozilla firefox tonight and i'm still learning how to use it:D
I booted myself off!!

That's pretty bad when you boot YOURSELF out of the forums...:p

'Course, I've done that, too...:rolleyes:

Sorry, I was away typing a PM that ended up being rather long .... :rolleyes:

LOL...I thing all of us are jumping around like a bunch of Mexican jumping beans...reading here...writing there...:D

I was also popping up to help my daughter in the kitchen as she was making sugar cookie dough. It is chillin' now .... and she'll roll and cut the dough tomorrow night. She is making Halloween cookies and I bought her all kinds of goodies to use for decorating them. I know ... Halloween was yesterday but, hey .... I'm Ukrainian! :D

sheesh...night owls are supposed to up late. :rolleyes:

idealist...what you eat is fine. you just have to start eating more often. even if it is little snacks. some nuts. cheese. fruit. i know you said you like ( love? :p ) bread. a slice of bread with peanut butter.

boost and insure are more like thick chocolate milk ( or vanilla or strawberry) do you like milk shakes? yogurt? make fruit smoothies.

even making pasta salad with the chicken breast.

not eating can become a habit. your stomach shrinks. you get full faster and don't get the feeling of hunger as often.

eating an also be a social thing. if you are home alone during the day...it is easy to skip a meal.

my dad is on provigal. it speeds him up. he actully gets the munchies. i thinkhe weighs about 140...but he was 175-180 when he was dx'ed with pd. he does eat lots of dark choccy. :D

howdy howdy howdy kell and scarbble. :D

--------> *waves 'hello' ....... :)

Just home from running errands after work ... and I have to change into stretchy clothes before going back out in the rain to go to my Pilates class. It's already dark and I'm feeling very tired ... so it would be easy to just curl up on the couch and stay home .... BUT I'm going to push myself to go because I know it will feel good to do it. :rolleyes:

Good for you, Scrabble. Thinking ahead. Might be tough in the short run but later you'll feel a lot better...:)

I like the pasta salad idea, Curious. And I like nuts, cheese & most fruits. But I ain't big on milkshakes except once in a while.

I think you're right about the stomach shrinking and the social eating. I can't hardly eat a whole sandwich without getting full, and I do spend a lot of time at home alone. That's mostly when I forget to eat.

The thing I hate most are those times when eating just becomes a chore. No matter what it is I'm trying to eat, sometimes it seems like I have to just choke it down, and it's hard.

How about boiled eggs? Cottage cheese? Cream cheese on toast? I like those things for breakfast. Are they healthy enough?

Thanks for the help, dear. Like it or not, I guess I gotta take this thing seriously (sigh)...:o

yeppers buddy..all those are wonderful.

but...what i would like for you to do is not make a whole sandwich to eat at once. cut it up into 1/4's and put them in baggies. think small and often.:D

it is also phycological. you fix a whole sandwich...can't eat it all. you feel let down on yourself..and wasteful. so eat just a piece and know your buddy will be sooo proud of you!

i can see from the foods you like...they are also what your body is starving for...protien. complex carbs. brain food! don't worry about milk shakes and stuff like that.

and you know what...fix something to eat and come here and socialize while you eat. :D

add some nuts to a pasta salad for extra crunch...calories and lots of nutrition. and don't forget to share! :p

The food ideas sound good to me.

I've been helping my daughter to roll out the sugar cookie dough from last night and she is using the Halloween cookie cutters. The last pan is in the oven and we'll decorate some before I head to bed. She'll have time tomorrow to finish decorating them before her Pathfinders sleep-over since she gets off early from school on Friday.

On my way home from Pilates in the rain ... I was thinking about how the grade 4 class I've been working in will be studying earthworms tomorrow. The students are all supposed to bring in a live earthworm in a container with dirt. I'm not too fond of earthworms ... but I don't want to appear squeamish as I don't want to pass on my feelings to the kids. So .... I was thinking that maybe I should dig up a worm to take to school too. However it was dark and really raining and I just wanted to get indoors. I was walking across the courtyard in front of my house when I saw 2 earthworms on the sidewalk. So ... I went inside and found a clear plastic container (from the deli). I was hoping that I could get a worm to just crawl into my container but that obviously wasn't going to happen. The bigger worm was already most of the way into the grass and soil ... and I wasn't too unhappy to see him disappear! I tried to coax the other worm and he just wriggled around and basically stayed stuck to the wet pavement. I really didn't want to have to pick it up .... but then I thought about the kids doing it tomorrow so I decided I should give it a try so I could get used to it. (Yuck!) I couldn't pick it up though because I couldn't get a grip on it and I didn't want to squish it. I tried flicking it and tickling it ... and when it was more curled up I was finally able to get part of it in the container so I could use the lid to push it all the way in. (*shiver) Then I used the edge of the lid to scoop a bit of wet soil from one of my plant pots into the container with the worm. Done! I put the container by the door with a note on it that says: "Mom's earthworm for school". I sure didn't want one of my kids to come home and ditch it!

:rolleyes:

hehehe Scrabble..........guess you disproved the saying that the early bird gets the worm cuz in this case 'twas the brave night owl who tubbed it:D

scrabble..:)
I just loved your lil earthworm story!!!
I'm gonna guess some of your students probably were a bit squimish today with those lil boogers too..LOL
I could just see you out there in the rain trying to coherse one of those lil worms into your container.Very cute mental pic..heehee
You made me laugh:D this morning:)

LOL @ Chemar! I hadn't thought of that! :)

Kell, I certainly was not singin' in the rain last night! And I did think about what I must look like as I was squatting there for so long.

I'm only filling in at the elementary school for the past 3 days. On the first day the teacher talked about the pet reports that the kids are researching and she said the best pet in the world is a cat. Then she proceeded to read a book about a dog and another book about a cat. So yesterday ... I wore a sweater with various cats that are knit into the pattern. After the earthworm discussion I said to one girl: "Gee, I don't know if I have a sweater with earthworms on it to wear tomorrow ..." I told her that I do have one with butterflies on it and she said "that will do!" I hate to disappoint her but I remembered that my butterfly sweater is mainly white and I don't want to risk getting earthworm dirt smeared on it. (The butterflies are made of coloured ribbon, sequins and beads.) Maybe I'll wear my gecko earrings ..... Hmmmmm...... I do have a red sweater with a cute puppy in the middle of a pile of leaves ...

Hoot-hoot! :D

What an experience, Scrabble! :p But you stuck to the plan and got that ol' squirmy worm in the end! (hehe...women...hehe) ;)

And ya said "hoot-hoot" today like a real owl! I'm so proud of ya! :p

Chemar's right. The ol' scrounging night-owl beats the early-bird to the worm every time!

Good to see you tonight, Idealist!

:)

It's good to be here tonight, Scrabble...and good to see you, too...:)

I had a right good day today, 'cept for the cold temperatures...Brrrrrrr

How 'bout you?

I'm glad you've had a good day. :)

I've ended my week off well ... I just phoned my Mom long distance so I could tell her about my day ...

The grade 4 student that I worked with for the past 3 days managed very well with me being the substitute Educational Assistant for him. No escalating behaviour that required any intervention or restraint ... ~whew! I really felt like he had accepted me today when he picked me to play 7 Up with the rest of his class. :)

I also had a phone call this afternoon from a principal at another elementary school. I had applied for a 2-day/week job at that school a few weeks ago and the job went to someone with more seniority than I have. :mad: However, turns out that Assistant isn't staying in the job because she got another job so the principal wants to see me before school on Monday morning to discuss the position. :) It would be on Mondays and Fridays so I would remain on-call for the other 3 days/week BUT the good thing is that my rate of pay will go back up to the regular employee rate (instead of the Spareboard rate). :D Also, I would be able to take advantage of the sick time I have banked from when I did have a regular 5-day/week position. (I was sick on this past Monday so that meant I didn't get paid. :mad: ) Anyway, I'll find out on Monday if I'm going to be doing the job so keep your fingers crossed for me! :D

Very cool day, Scrabble! I like the way you handled that student. Good thinking on your part. I'll bet you're really good at what you do.

I'll keep all my fingers and toes crossed that you get that job on monday. 'Course, that might make it hard to type...or walk...:p Good luck, Dear.

My day was fairly nice, too. My Mom took me out to lunch today at an Italtian restaurant I like. And afterward my Dad gave me a car! Not brand new, of course, but in very good shape. He even licensed it, insured it, and filled the tank with gas! All I have to do is drive it...:p

Boy, was I floored!

Hey, that's great! :) Sounds like you have good parents!

What did you have for lunch? :)