Yay! An explanation!

[Shari]

After my accident, I sat in that stupid chair in my living room for 3 months, and lost weight. I'm certain a lot of it was muscle mass, but I lost body fat, too. I didn't eat much (which is typical for me), but I was still surprised because I was doing N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

They had me on calcium and D supplements, with an extra high dose of D that I took once a week because my D levels were very low.

The high-dose D supplement ended about the same time as my reign in the chair did. I started hitting PT hard and returned to work.

And was exhausted. ALL THE TIME. Easily explained by still healing, attempting to regain muscle, etc. Then I started gaining weight. I gained 20 pounds in no time flat, and no matter what I did, didn't seem to matter. And now its 10 months later and I'm still way more tired than I should be. So I went back to my doctor, and he re-ran my labs on everything.

They just called and my "slightly underfunctioning" thyroid has apparently gone whack-o and its WAY underfunctioning now. He is tripling my thyroid medication. YAY! Maybe that's all it is.

I think I am also going to ask to continue on the weekly high-dose D supplements. It is still low, and I am a milk-drinking, non-sunscreen-wearing, outdoorsy working fool...

But I feel better knowing there might be a reason why, other that just still incredibly out of shape from the accident.

 

[InsaneCdn]

Its especially nice when there is something that can actually be done about it!
<grin>

 

[Shari]

Exactly! 5 hour energy shots are way too expensive to be a long-term solution!

 

[keista]

Glad you got some answers!

 

[DaisyFace]

Hi Shari--

I'm also low on D and taking a weekly supplement.

I learned something interesting: Even if you spend all day in the sun....you may not be getting enough D if you shower at the end of the day. The reason? D is generated by your body naturally on the surface of the skin. Then, it takes the body 48 hours to absorb all the Vitamin D it produces. Un-absorbed Vitamin D is easily washed right off with soap and water....

 

[Jody]

That is great that they found out what is going on and it can be treated!!!

 

[Shari]

Hm....Daisy, that IS interesting. If I'm outside, it generally involves something dirty, which I then top off with a shower... Last night's activity was re-burying the dead horse (something keeps digging him up, and the ground is so dry, its like a sandbox...)

Yeah. No. I'm still showering. They're going to have to give me the supplement! lol

 

[InsaneCdn]

DF - please, whatever you do - don't let my difficult child - or Step's J - or a number of others - know about this... Promise? The LAST thing WE need is for them to have some really logical "reason" to not shower!!

 

[AnnieO]

Well, J just "forgets"... LOL!

 

[DaisyFace]

Last night's activity was re-burying the dead horse (something keeps digging him up, and the ground is so dry, its like a sandbox...)

Yeah. No. I'm still showering. They're going to have to give me the supplement! lol

Um....ewwwww!!!!

Yes, please shower!

(And I'll keep my mouth shut so that all our difficult children don't have any excuses!)

 

[Shari]

It was not pleasant. I showered with my clothes on, then washed them on the sanitary cycle.

Then I washed the dogs, and literally all they did was be in the general area.

I put 200 pounds of damp clay from the bottom of the pond over it last night - hoping the critters didn't dig thru that last night. Tonight, husband is helping me just cover the whole area with more pond clay. Won't grow grass well, but neither will a big hole in the ground...so...

I'll be showering again tonight! lol

 

[Steely]

I learned something interesting: Even if you spend all day in the sun....you may not be getting enough D if you shower at the end of the day. The reason? D is generated by your body naturally on the surface of the skin. Then, it takes the body 48 hours to absorb all the Vitamin D it produces. Un-absorbed Vitamin D is easily washed right off with soap and water....

Really??? Fascinating. I always assumed there was no way I could be low because I am always outside. Thanks for that info.

Shari - I am SO glad you finally got some answers!!!

 

[susiestar]

i jsut learned from the nurse practitioner at my pain doctor that if you have chronic vit d problems, or are like me and your body just HATES vit d, it could be a parathyroid problem. I have an appointment to talk to my reg doctor about it, and am looking into some things on my own. I don't drink milk and never have because it makes me vomit. Most vit D foods do, though I can often tolerate cereals with vit d in them, though I can't tolerate milk iwth the cereal. I also can't go outside because my skin, head eyes, etc... all freak out totally. those weekly supplements made me incredibly sick and when we finally had shots compounded so I could take it that way,w ell, t made a very small improvement for an incredibly large amt of $$ that we just could not afford.

Do some research, get some GOOD info and if you don't respond in about a month to the rx supplements, get to an endocrinologist!!

 

[InsaneCdn]

maybe you'll have to entomb the beast in concrete?

 

[Shari]

What we did tonight was close to concrete! Sludge and clay from the bottom of the pond.
Susie I was reading how d can affect thyroid...which is why I started wondering if my supplements this winter weren't what made the difference.

 

[buddy]

RE: DF - please, whatever you do - don't let my difficult child - or Step's J - or a number of others - know about this... Promise? The LAST thing WE need is for them to have some really logical "reason" to not shower!!

I thought for sure when I started to read this that you were gonna say dont tell them about the horse....scary that that is where my thoughts would go. My difficult child would wanna dig it up and see what it looks like....Hope we dont live near the burial site...he has 24/7 supervision so I think he has an alabi ! smile.
My difficult child has very low vitamin D too and is outside tons...But the endocrinologist said that because he is a child of color that he will not absorb as much. He said he needs 4 times the recommended dose. We will retest soon.​

 

[InsaneCdn]

Buddy - this whole "shower" issue is an on-going subject on the board... both seriously, and in humour. Once you've been around a while, you'll catch on to some of these "inside" jokes.

 

[Shari]

Only here can we laugh about a dead horse that won't stay buried, stinky kids who don't shower, and tie it all together with an underactive thyroid and vitamin d deficiency.

I love this place.

 

[Shari]

Buddy, I had to laugh. I have an older difficult child and that's what he'd want to do, too! When I talked to him after my accident, he wanted to know what the exposed bone looked like and if it was "cool". lol

Unless your difficult child has claws (and you do not have to respond to that...some days, I think mine does), it is not your difficult child doing the digging!