difficult child is killing me, so, I'm a new member of HL

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
At least that's the preliminary report.
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After sinus surgery, and disliking the fact that my surgeon dismissed high blood pressure, unexplained pain, hormonal imbalance, and exhaustion, I went to a new doctor. Two, actually. One for allergies and one for ENT stuff. Explained the past couple years to them both, they ran some tests, blood work, this that and the other, and I had enough positive test results to qualify as having metabolic syndrome, a precursor for cardiovascular disease.
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Yeah! He figures this may have been a contributing factor to the constant sinus infections - not that surgery wasn't needed, but this may have been aggravating already small sinus cavities. I have a very high CRP level, which is a marker for inflammation, and even tho the last round of allergy testing came back with few true allergies, my IGE's came back elevated, as well, so I'm in constant allergic reaction mode. In addition, tho my blood glucose levels were good, insulin levels were too high. By height/weight charts, I'm at the high end of average, but, like most of my family, I'm heavier muscled than average, so I'd like to lose a few pounds, but weight isn't my biggest obstacle.
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I've known I was hypoglycemic since I was 13, so I've always watched what I eat, but with difficult child, I've gone into survival mode, and survival mode is biting me back. Great. So, back to the diabetic diet, I guess. Somehow, I have to figure out how to do this. I had heart arrhythmias a couple of years ago. My dad, who seemed healthy as a horse, without even high blood pressure, laid down for a nap last year and never woke up. He was 67. Tho it had not been detected, he had heart disease and clogged arteries, but what killed him was an irregular heart beat that didn't correct itself. I want to go like him, but I don't want to leave my family behind like he did, either...
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Anyway, a bit of hard to swallow news on an otherwise glorious day. Maybe this will help get my husband off his patootie and helping me out more, too.
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Any suggestions to push me in the right direction would be appreciated!
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
I'm sorry to hear this news. Good thing is that it's been recognized and now you can be proactive.

Just keep thinking of the reward of feeling better when you make the changes. Cause you will feel better. Start small. Baby steps. As you start to feel better it will encourage you to do more.

I think you need a GP to help you manage these risk factors. Possibly medication interventions for the blood pressure. Did they check your cholesterol? Possibly meet with a nutritionist.

Also, coronary artery disease is itself an inflammatory condition. With your CRP elevated, I would be wanting to be aggressive in managing the inflammation in your body. Long term inflammation can wreak a lot of havoc.

Do a google search on heart healthy diets or recipes and you'll find a lot of sites out there with a lot of really good recipes.

I'm including this for your reference:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4756
 

LittleDudesMom

Well-Known Member
Shari,

Like Heather, I think speaking to your doctor is a great place to start. Your doctor probably has some diabetic eating programs you can start on or perhaps can give you a referral to a nutritionist, which would be wonderful.

I'm glad you are taking your health by the horns. Glad to have you with us!

Sharon
 
Shari,

I'm glad you're here but wish it were under better circumstances. I think Heather and Sharon (LDM) have given you excellent advice. I can't think of anything to add to what they have already said.

One thing you can do before speaking with your doctor and possibly seeing a nutritionist, is to make small changes to the way you eat. For instance, one thing I did when I wanted to lose weight was to switch from using half and half in my coffee to using either skim milk or just about 1 tbsp of fat free half and half per cup. I also switched from using sugar in my coffee to using SPLENDA. (I tried to get used to drinking coffee "straight up" but couldn't.) Then once I got used to that, I began making other small changes. I stopped buying yogurt with fruit in it. I started buying plain yogurt and mixing a serving of it with a package of SPLENDA and fresh or frozen fruit (no sugar added).

Once I made these changes, it got easier to make healthier changes to other foods I enjoy also. And, small changes to foods you enjoy can add up to lots of pounds lost over the course of a year.

Well, I have to go. difficult child 2 is "melting"!!! I hope you get to speak with your doctor soon. WELCOME!!! WFEN
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Thanks, all.
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Luckily, I've done the diabetic diet before (in junior high, no less! Talk about hard!). I don't recall ALL the specs, but I recall a lot, and I'm googling as I go. And I can't really blame this all on difficult child. Just in dealing with him, I let my gaurd down with diet, and that's just not working. I'm still not sure how to squeeze a better diet into my already overbooked days, but it has to happen. Period.
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Today is day 7 of a predominantly diabetic diet. My big cheat is bananas, I have one a day, sometimes 2. But other than that, I've been good. I have noticed I'm not as tired thru the day, so maybe its working.
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I was suprised at the options available now, tho! There is bread that you can actually have 2 slices of! Which is WAY COOL.
 

ScentofCedar

New Member
Every step taken in the right direction brings us further away from where we were when we started. If we look at it that way, if we can remember where we would be right now if we hadn't taken those first, small steps, I think that is helpful.

And isn't it nice that we have one another to bolster us up?!?

I am glad you are here ~ welcome!

Barbara
 
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