My health confession & weight loss /long but informative

[Star*]

Hi all - a little over a month ago - I had a near miss thinking I had a real heart attack. Dude pulled somethings and it prompted me to try - one more time with the doctors office. I made a list of ALL the things that were bothering me healthwise and vanity wise about my life. I wrote them out - and at the bottom of this list I wrote a note to the doctor and it said : I have been battling with being overweight and feeling poorly for over six years. I am not just fat. I have tried weight watchers, I have tried a lifestyle change for 2 years with a board group I belong to. I have done exercises. I am at the end of my rope and if you do not care to work one on one with me and are going to tell me I'm fat - go on a diet and dismiss me - or do NOT want to take time to work with me to discover what is wrong with my health by doing proper in depth tests - then please don't waste my time or yours and point me to someone who will. I'm serious and will do what you say -but you have to be as committed to MY HEALTH as I am."

I made her read it out loud. She did. I got weighed and measured 5' 81/2" and 248 lbs (sounds so English) - Based on the list of problems I listed among which were:

Severe fatigue -
Swollen right ankle, leg and thigh, face and arm
Hair just falling out, but hair on face growing in
Severe crippling migraines 2 a month 20-23 migraines a month -
Joint pain that is very painful - hands mostly - wrists, elbows and feet
Muscle stiffness & aches - Go to bed 40 and wake up 90 lol.
Rosacea so bad my cheeks look like Carl Maldens nose

I know I have anemia and I have Thalassemia trait. I also have Raynauds. I have a thyroid nodule - but I just felt so lousy...

So she ordered a boatload of tests. I have had thyroid panels, hormone panels, you name it - I've had it and then some. So far it looked like Lupus was in the running. I've been told this before. I was also told that it sounded like Scleroderma and Cushings. Then the big whammy - which I have already been through testing - the dreaded once again brain tumor diagnosis. About three or five years ago this came up and I had the most dreadful test - the MRI - not dreadful if you have veins - but I have vasculitis - and no vains and because of that I'm a phlebotomists nightmare. Well - once again - contrast in the top of the foot and the big loud machine said "OMG she has a brain - but no tumor." And as before I said "Could I please get that in an 8x10 to send to my Mother to show her I have a brain?" and I got "Please remain still and quiet until the test is over." - no sense of humor at all. They suspected pituitary tumor of some sort. It did show that I have a tumor in my sinus. But since I took Egyptian history on mummification and then compared it to the surgery of removal of sinus tumors/polyps - NOT HAPPENING. NOPE...that booger (literally) can just stay there.

What they did find out was that I have glucose resistance and had to go on an all sugar free diet high protein diet. (at first) but in 4 weeks with minimal exercise....15 minutes on the stationary bike 5x a week - I've managed to loose 12 lbs. and I'm on medications (thanks Janet) for the headaches again (well you get old, you forget) and I get about 3 migraines a week now, and medicine to help with the glucose resistance, and something for the swelling (I can wear sexy shoes again) mrrrrwow, and I have to take vitamin D-1000, and Iron.....

I feel better - not great, but getting up in the morning is so much easier than it's been in years. I'm on 1600 calories a day - and now have to eat breakfast, 2 snacks a day - and stop eating by 7:00 pm at night. PERIOD - no excuses. I munch ice - it helps.

But I think the key was finding out WHAT I needed to put back into my system first to help it. Without the metformin I wouldn't have had a chance diet or not. I do eat WW for lunch with sugar free jello or pudding and I have crackers like KAMI rice or Special K for snacks - lots of fruit apples, or grapes to munch on - and since I've done that? I went back to the eye doctor and my vision has IMPROVED.

I still have lots of tests ahead of me - but the Nurse Practitioner said - one thing at a time. So - if you are considering a lifestyle change please consider before you start - going and getting a complete physical with bloodwork - and.....feel free to take all the hints my NP gave me on loosing weight - which were and are the best I've ever gotten =

STOP EATING **** - no chips, cheetos, doritos are your friend -period
STAY TO THE OUTSIDE WALLS OF THE GROCERY STORE WHEN SHOPPING
(she's right - we have saved a bundle - the good stuff is on the outside walls)
LIMIT PORTIONS - USE THE SMALLER PLATES IN YOUR CABINET and fool your eyes
ABSOLUTELY NO EATING, SNACKING ANYTHING AFTER 7o PM.
SOME FORM OF EXERCISE - 5 x a week for 20 minutes - build up to it. SET A GOAL....when I started riding the bike - I could not do 3 minutes without feeling like I hated her, the bike and my thighs....after a week I had burns on the inside of my thighs...I hated HER worse.
START READING LABLES - HOW MANY GRAMS OF SUGAR? HOW MUCH SODIUM?
ANYTHING WITH THE WORDS : HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP in the first 5 ingredients - NOT GOOD FOR YOU....
IF you are glucose impaired OR overweight and want to drop weight fast? TRY going SUGAR FREE.
NO SODAS - DRINK 8-10 bottles of water a DAY - yum.
YOU MUST EAT BREAKFAST - oatmeal, cheerios, rice checks - 1% milk-
USE SPLENDA or SPLENDA BLEND NOT SUGAR

Breakfast, snack around 10, Lunch around noon, snack around 2-3, dinner around 6-6:30, dessert - sugar free fudge bar/sugar free pudding cup near 7:00 - brush teeth - drink ice water until morning. And - in a week - you will notice you literally spring up - and don't feel run down as much as you did.

1600 calories a day - for the rest of your life.

DON"T GIVE UP when you get bored in 2 months - AND do NOT reward yourself with KRISPY KREME or DUNKIN DOUGHNUTS when you loose 12 lbs

So far - she's been right - and her specialty is Women's health - diabetic prevention - weight loss management. (I didn't know that)

Maybe this will help someone...I hope so. I was going to jump back on here and start with the working out and diet - and then when I thought I was having the heart attack and had to get and EEG - I got angry because I'm pretty sure that my health issues took a dive due to stress from dealing with Dudes GFGness. Doctor said yes -

ALSO - My cortisol (stress hormone) is off the charts.....I thought it was because of Dude and his stuff - nope. It's due to the glucose intolerance AND can be from peri-menopause - which will be the NEXT thing we tackle - if I don't tackle some dumb dumb first during that pre-"that".

If you've made it this long - I hope there is SOMETHING in there that helped you. AND HAPPY LOOSING.

Hugs
Star

 

[Nomad]

Awesome...I'm rushing out the door to go visit our son and will re-read this. Thank you so much for sharing it all...you never know it might help someone. I think it might help me...I'm just STUBBORN...especially about certain things like the WATER!! UGH!

It seems we have much in common. I get the headaches. My cortisone levels are high. And I strongly suspect glucose issues. I've had trouble getting my doctor to address...this and am thinking of seeing another. What kind of doctor did you see for all of this...esp. the glucose issues????

Can you PLEASE tell me what medication you take for the glucose issues and what were the side effects?

husband and I were very careful about our food intake this week. I exercised 30 minutes or more a day and he exercised 10 minutes a day. We ate almost the exact same foods. He lost 6.6 pounds. I lost .6 pounds.

I DO think there is something wrong here.

What test did you take for the glucose intolerance and again what medication are you taking????

Can you give us some suggestions on how you get all that water down???


I agree, no food after 7 p.m. seems to help some folks, including me. I've always done 7:30 p.m., maybe I'll try to go a little earlier.

Congrats on the migraine improvement and congrats on the weight loss!!!! Wooo Wooo~~~~~~~!!!!!!

 

[trinityroyal]

Star, I am SO HAPPY to hear that you've finally found a medico who LISTENED to you and is helping you figure out what's going on with your body.

It's so frustrating dealing with all those people in the medical profession who just go by statistics and averages, and assume that ALL their patients fit within those frames. It sounds like your Nurse Practitioner is a real Godsend. I would hang onto her with both hands.

Glucose intolerance and insulin resistance are a real bear. Your NP is right, cutting out all sugary stuff makes a world of difference. But having someone actually listen to you, pay attention to what you already know about your body and your health...that's GOLD.

Congratulations on your great progress so far, and on your persistence in finding the right doctor and treatment for you.

Yay!

Trinity

 

[Star*]

On the addressing glucose issues:

I told my doctor that I crave sweets, then crash, then crave sweets, then crash. I gained most of my weight around my around my abdomen. If she had not suggested that I have a 4 hour glucose tolerance test I was prepared to ask for one. They're not bad - you fast, midnight to morning then get blood drawn. You get a yummy orange sugar drink then sit for 1 hour, then get your blood drawn again. Then you wait an hour repeat, wait and hour repeat. It regulates how well your body (mainly your liver) processes the glucose/insulin. From what I understand my body doesn't do it fast enough and thus what I eat isn't being used as fuel - it gets absorbed as fat.

As far as drinking water - I had to get creative with the ice cubes. I found cups that I enjoy drinking out of, and different water to me tastes different. My palate prefers our home well water or Dasani. My pocket book enjoys sterilizing the bottles and caps in our diswasher and filling them from our tap - but when Dasani is on sale? Yum AND Kroger makes a brand of Peach tea that is sugar free, calorie free - and yummy. There are other flavors that have no sugars and calories - some are good some are yuk - pink lemonade is good - I can carry the little packs in my purse and use whenver - but mostly? Ice texture and size helps.

The medication for glucose resistance I take is Metformin or Glucophage. So far? No side effects. Some people do get diarrahea -BUT you HAVE TO remember that it's a medicine taken with a low -NO sugar diet. Like that Alli is NO fat or you poop yourself thin? This is NO sugar. If you eat loads of sugar and take metformin you can have diarrahea. Or so I'm told. I take one in the morning. The medicine I take for Migraine Maintenance is Topomax 2 a day (so far) it's a seizure medicine for Epilepsy that works for a number of things other than seizures, and when it does NOT work - I have Relpax on hand that is a MIRALCE (insert angels singing) DRUG. When both of those don't work -rare case it's off to the ER for a morphine/delaudid/phenegran cocktail and 2 days of bedrest. Both metformin and Topomax have appetite supressant qualities.

As far as men vs. women on the weight loss? My girlfriends here and my NP told me MEN WILL ALWAYS LOOSE QUICKER. WHY? Their fat is on the outside of their muscles....DF has already lost 20 lbs to my 12.
THAT has been motivation like no other for him to not take the TEMPTING brownie that I made for Dude. We were both amazed....usually would have hit the brownie pan like a buzzard on a gut wagon -but nope. Nada.

Hope this helps - and I also know re the water - the MORE I drink the more fat it flushes out and the more it helps my body. So I tell myself - silently ee yourself thin....

 

[Wiped Out]

Star,
It's great you are seeing such great improvements!! I'm glad your doctor listened and has been helpful. I totally agree with you on the water. Before I had my big weight loss back in the mid/late 90s I never drank water. I stopped cold turkey at that time on the soda and added in the water instead. It was a huge help! I have to admit that I have added in some soda but in limited amounts.

Thanks for sharing all of the great ideas, they are helpful! Keep up the good work!

 

[gcvmom]

I'm proud of you for taking the situation by the horns and just doing it! It all makes sense. The program sounds like it's very do-able. And you are committed (well, maybe some days you feel like being committed, but this is way better), which is 90% of the battle, no?

I still think I'd do better with my diet and exercise if I left town for a week here and a week there (like I did in Cleveland)! Something about being here, around all the difficult child-ness and the accompanying chaos just flips the poptarts-on-the-couch-at-midnight switch in me like clockwork. Then again, maybe my acknowledgement of the chaos will help me to work on not letting it overwhelm me...

It's been nice not having difficult child's around this week. I've been busier, not snacking, getting some stuff done... weight's holding steady, but hasn't dropped any more either. Okay, wait a minute... this is YOUR thread!

GO STAR! (clap clap-clap clap)

YOU CAN DO IT! (clap clap-clap clap)

YOU'VE GOT THE SPIRIT! (clap clap-clap clap)

THERE'S NOTHIN' TO IT! (clap clap-clap clap)
GO ROCK THAT BODY! (clap clap-clap clap)

GO WORK IT OUT! (clap clap-clap clap)
YOU ARE THE REASON... (clap clap-clap clap)
THE GUYS ALL SHOUT! (clap clap-clap clap)
HEY STAR! HEY STAR! HEEEEEEY STAR!

Here's to a happy and healthier you!

 

[Star*]

WO - doing the water really has not been much of a change - I used to be a body builder, boxer and long distance runner - OH how the times have changed. lol....ahem.

GCV Mom -that...(sniff) was the LOVELIEST (blow..elephant trumpet) CHEER.....(wahhhhhh) that anyone has ever (kleenex) done for me.

THANK YOU - it was very much appreciated.

And the flipping poptarts - OMG blueberry unfrosted - WHAAAAAAAhhhh....(now I am really crying - I miss my friend) and my little beanie donkey? DRIVES around in a poptart box and terrorizes the house at night - really really. Has for years - ask Dude - it's a family joke.

Thanks all - and yes - the stress of GFGDUMB - makes snacking a must have -

 

[KTMom91]

Now that the staples are out of my knee...and I can go back to the gym...I can walk in water. Not on water...but in water. That was my exercise pre-knee surgery, low impact, high resistance, and I walk about 30 min a day, sit in the hot tub for a while to stretch out, dry off, then go home.

Every time I really get started on a program, I go in for surgery. I've had three in the last year. Have I lost weight? Nope.

Those are all great ideas, Star. Metformin has been a help to me as well. And for my confession? We're about the same weight, but I'm about 5 inches shorter.

 

[Fran]

good luck. 12 lbs down and a few more to go.
by the way, I have mri's of both son's saved. difficult child's is perfectly normal. easy child has a nice golf ball size hole in his. Go figure. Neither seemed to mind the MRI or the EEG, fortunately.

Hope your blood work all gets corrected. It's worrisome when you don't know why you feel the way you do.

 

[Star*]

KTMom - well, if they would QUIT messing with your knees you would BE taller - (shakes head as if!) and lol about the walking on water thing - I needed a good chuckle this morning and.....that was it - (picturing you walking on water - and sunshine)

Fran - a golfball size hole? WOW. That is amazing. The odds and obstacles our kids overcome never ever ceases to amaze me. We had an MRI of Dude's brain done and saved it to "compare" later in life also. Not sure what it would show - but I did keep it. Every now and then he likes to take it out and look at it. He said "Maybe one day somone will look at this and say "Right there! THAT is what made X happen, and THAT is why you did X and behaved like X." - Bittersweet logic.

 

[ML]

I am soo happy to hear this update, Star. My feeling is that, perhaps to a lesser degree in some, sugar is as evil as any white powder out there. It is soo bad for us.

Your health was standing in the way of your fully living and now, I am excited to watch you blossom and go full speed into the next chapter. There is nothing holding you back now girl. You embody the term "survivor".

Love and hugs, Michele