Too busy & now sick

Lots going on, including being sick for the better part of a week now. I just haven't felt like posting.

Got Busy

I think I need to find a way to post just a little check-in every day.  Otherwise, before I know it - weeks have gone by with no updates.

I went to the doc this week - annual female type exam along with fasting blood work. Blood work with some interesting results.

My potassium levels were WAY too high.  I have idiopathic cyclic edema (unexplained swelling in my ankles and sometimes hands).  The best treatment for this condition is spironoloactone.  Recently my doc and I decided to double the dosage.  Spironoloactone is a potassium sparing diuretic.  I had been supplementing (obviously, incorrectly) with potassium.  When we doubled the dose, I immediately started having deep muscle cramps in my legs, muscle fatigue, back aches, queasiness, etc.  D and I did some research and stopped the potassium supplements immediately and I made sure to tell the doc to check the potassium levels when the blood work was done.  The result - the levels are still way too high.  Most of the symptoms have subsided.  I still have the cramping and fatigue, but the queasiness and back aches are gone.  The doc called Friday night - go back to my normal dose of spironoloactone.  Sigh.  Playing with dosage means more blood monitoring, which is a major pain.

But more interesting was that my calcium (blood calcium, not bone calcium) was high.  Additionally, my Vitamin D levels are low.  Doc and I need to talk about this.

And still even more interesting- my fasting blood sugar and A1C levels were normal.   That's some great news.

The lipid panel was another story.  I'm concerned about the rising triglycerides level.  It could be a function of my having gained weight.  My triglycerides to HDL ratio was still good, so I'm not panicking.

That's it for me.  No new insights.  Just staying steady.

Gut Wisdom

I'm slowly plodding through Marc David's The Slow Down Diet and one of the exercises was to quiet yourself with some deep breaths and then take an inventory of what foods work.  Not in term of what the nutrition label says - but in terms of how you feel thinking about the foods, eating the foods and after eating the foods.

Weird Monday

It is all but dead in the office today. Boredom, I’ve decided, is a danger for me. My boss, along with about half of the company is on PTO today. No phone calls. Very little email. Very little instant messaging. Just plain wierd. And boring.

Crying is cathartic

For the first time since the weight gain started, I allowed myself to cry about it.  Actually, my body didn't ask permission - the tears came and would not be held back.  All because my doctor asked me why I hadn't lost any weight.  There's no valid answer -  just excuses.  Mine as simple "I haven't had time."  But the tears started when I followed that up with "I don't know if I'll ever lose this weight."

It's time to make that donation!

As I promised mid-February, once a month I will randomly choose one of my supporters who left a comment on my blog during the last month and make a $25.00 donation to his/or her selected charity.

Today is the first random selection:  Sandrelle!  Check out Sandrelle's inspiring, motivational, educational and giving blog: Keeping it OFF!