Marguerite
Active Member
I saw the gastroenterologist today for my liver biopsy results. The outcome - my liver is much worse than when they last checked, ten years ago. This is a new doctor, he's much nearer than the previous one, and it doesn't cost me ten bucks just for parking.
The good news - I have no scarring. The bad news - fatty infiltration is bad now. I asked how this could be happening, he said it's my diet. I said, "How come?" and pointed out that I spent ten years on a low fat diet to no avail, I still gained weight.
He said that I have to lose weight. OK, I know that. But despite all efforts, it's no go. I have been dieting since I was 20, when frankly I didn't really need to diet, but the diet charts back then declared me overweight at what I now realise was normal, for me. I'm short in the leg and long in the body, so if you look at dress sizes, you would assume I was 20 Kg lighter than I am. But dieting like we were taught to only piles on more weight when you come off the diet.
I've lost weight in two ways, and two ways only - by starvation, when I simply ate nothing for about two months. I'm not kidding - I drank coffee (no sugar) and took fibre tablets with a lot of water. And vitamins.
The other way I lost weight was about three years ago, when I went on the Atkins Diet. This doctor does not want me to go on Atkins. And even on Atkins, I stayed on the initial phase (supposed to be for a few weeks only) for six months, and lost a total of 10 Kg. It is just not healthy to do this, it is one step away from my former starvation diet.
The advice now - since I can't exercise, and my already limited diet is maintaining my weight, then he says I need help - drugs.
Xenical - all it will do is train me to avoid fatty foods. Since I already do this, I don't think it will help me. He agrees.
Reductil - he wrote a prescription. it will cost me $80 and risks putting my blood pressure back up. It is supposed to work by not only stopping me from feeling hungry but also increasing my metabolism (or at least stopping my metabolism from getting any slower than its current snail's pace). The doctor said it MIGHT help; it's better than lap band surgery, which he says I'm not a candidate for.
So I looked up Reductil tonight. The information is insufficient, there is a chance it will interact with my pain medications (but the website is reticent on more detail here). The big crunch came when I realised that Reductil contains as one of its inactive ingredients, a colour I am allergic to.
So unless the Aussie version is uncoloured, or I can get a dosage that doesn't contain that colour, I'm snookered.
The doctor was clear - unless I lose weight my body will continue to deposit fat into my liver, which is now almost saturated. I have insulin resistance, which means that although my pancreas can pump out as much insulin as I need, my cells are not good at picking it up and using it. Hence - I can feel like I've got low blood sugar, but my body is still packing away any raised BSLs as fat. I will feel weak and shaky as if I'm fasting, but instead of being able to use the energy, it gets stored instead.
It's crazy. I'm not a big eater. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning and was still not feeling hungry when I saw the doctor at lunchtime. I bought some lunch - two pieces of sushi, light on rice and heavy on the raw tuna. I felt satisfied after two pieces of sushi (no more than two bites each). When I got home I had a handful of macadamia nuts, and we had a roast dinner tonight. I ate less than even easy child 2/difficult child 2, who only eats her dinner on a bread and butter plate.
And that's about average. No biscuits, no cake, lots of fruit and salad.
I was referred to a dietician the last time a doctor wanted me to lose weight. The dietician said I wasn't eating enough. On her diet, I gained. She also said I should eat less fruit and more vegetables, like tomatoes. I explained that tomatoes are a fruit, she said that for my purposes, they are vegetables. When I asked how I could distinguish between vegetables and fruit, she didn't have an answer. I was left feeling very unimpressed with her ability to really know what she was doing.
I'll ring the specialist in the morning to see if there is a version of Reductil that doesn't have that particular colouring in it, but it's looking gloomy.
So does anybody have any ideas for losing weight that I haven't already tried? I am going to try to walk more, especially at the end of the day, it's more a matter of getting the time to myself then. But I know my walking won't make enough difference - any exercise is limited by my muscles' inability to perform aerobically.
Years ago, I used to work out in a gym, I was a very active person. I really get fed up with myself, sometimes.
All ideas welcome.
Marg
The good news - I have no scarring. The bad news - fatty infiltration is bad now. I asked how this could be happening, he said it's my diet. I said, "How come?" and pointed out that I spent ten years on a low fat diet to no avail, I still gained weight.
He said that I have to lose weight. OK, I know that. But despite all efforts, it's no go. I have been dieting since I was 20, when frankly I didn't really need to diet, but the diet charts back then declared me overweight at what I now realise was normal, for me. I'm short in the leg and long in the body, so if you look at dress sizes, you would assume I was 20 Kg lighter than I am. But dieting like we were taught to only piles on more weight when you come off the diet.
I've lost weight in two ways, and two ways only - by starvation, when I simply ate nothing for about two months. I'm not kidding - I drank coffee (no sugar) and took fibre tablets with a lot of water. And vitamins.
The other way I lost weight was about three years ago, when I went on the Atkins Diet. This doctor does not want me to go on Atkins. And even on Atkins, I stayed on the initial phase (supposed to be for a few weeks only) for six months, and lost a total of 10 Kg. It is just not healthy to do this, it is one step away from my former starvation diet.
The advice now - since I can't exercise, and my already limited diet is maintaining my weight, then he says I need help - drugs.
Xenical - all it will do is train me to avoid fatty foods. Since I already do this, I don't think it will help me. He agrees.
Reductil - he wrote a prescription. it will cost me $80 and risks putting my blood pressure back up. It is supposed to work by not only stopping me from feeling hungry but also increasing my metabolism (or at least stopping my metabolism from getting any slower than its current snail's pace). The doctor said it MIGHT help; it's better than lap band surgery, which he says I'm not a candidate for.
So I looked up Reductil tonight. The information is insufficient, there is a chance it will interact with my pain medications (but the website is reticent on more detail here). The big crunch came when I realised that Reductil contains as one of its inactive ingredients, a colour I am allergic to.
So unless the Aussie version is uncoloured, or I can get a dosage that doesn't contain that colour, I'm snookered.
The doctor was clear - unless I lose weight my body will continue to deposit fat into my liver, which is now almost saturated. I have insulin resistance, which means that although my pancreas can pump out as much insulin as I need, my cells are not good at picking it up and using it. Hence - I can feel like I've got low blood sugar, but my body is still packing away any raised BSLs as fat. I will feel weak and shaky as if I'm fasting, but instead of being able to use the energy, it gets stored instead.
It's crazy. I'm not a big eater. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning and was still not feeling hungry when I saw the doctor at lunchtime. I bought some lunch - two pieces of sushi, light on rice and heavy on the raw tuna. I felt satisfied after two pieces of sushi (no more than two bites each). When I got home I had a handful of macadamia nuts, and we had a roast dinner tonight. I ate less than even easy child 2/difficult child 2, who only eats her dinner on a bread and butter plate.
And that's about average. No biscuits, no cake, lots of fruit and salad.
I was referred to a dietician the last time a doctor wanted me to lose weight. The dietician said I wasn't eating enough. On her diet, I gained. She also said I should eat less fruit and more vegetables, like tomatoes. I explained that tomatoes are a fruit, she said that for my purposes, they are vegetables. When I asked how I could distinguish between vegetables and fruit, she didn't have an answer. I was left feeling very unimpressed with her ability to really know what she was doing.
I'll ring the specialist in the morning to see if there is a version of Reductil that doesn't have that particular colouring in it, but it's looking gloomy.
So does anybody have any ideas for losing weight that I haven't already tried? I am going to try to walk more, especially at the end of the day, it's more a matter of getting the time to myself then. But I know my walking won't make enough difference - any exercise is limited by my muscles' inability to perform aerobically.
Years ago, I used to work out in a gym, I was a very active person. I really get fed up with myself, sometimes.
All ideas welcome.
Marg