Hello and welcome to my journey to try to get a bit healthier. In this blog, I will write about my progress and setbacks and challenges. Warning: I will complain... a lot! So, if you don't want to read someone whining about their aches and pains and stomach issues and how they want a donut, don't read! I keep things mainly to myself in other venues (facebook, work) but here, I'm going to let it all hang out. I don't mind some advice (a recipe you've liked, someone who has the same issues that has found something that works well) and I appreciate support... but I don't want lectures (especially when I have setbacks). However, I do want to be accountable. But, I believe I respond better to positive reinforcement instead of negative.
Okay, so just a teensy bit about me. I'm 46. I'm overweight. I weigh 174 lbs and want to lose 35. The highest weight for my height in the healthy range is 132. I have a variety of health issues, which I will go over below. I take a ton of meds. I'd like to be able to get off some of my meds and improve my health status at least a little bit. I don't think, however, that I can improve to the point that I will be able to get off more than 1 or 2 of them and that I can "cure" any of my illnesses, but if I can increase my energy and be able to get more done and know that I'm trying... well, I'll be happy.
I have a fitbit and will wear it. I'll also log my food. At first, I'm starting out with more of a maintenance calorie count and not worrying so much about eating better. I will slowly drop the calories down and add goals to eat better. Currently my goals are:
20 minutes of cardio a day (right now this is mostly done by walking my dog)
be within calorie range
6 glasses of water
3500 steps
These will change over time.
I will post screenshots from my fitbit here... each Sunday for the week before.
So, what do I have? Here's my laundry list of the significant things:
- Diabetes -- at the moment, insulin-dependent: 4 shots a day (3 fast acting & 1 long release)
- Dercum's Disease (DD) -- rare disease characterized by multiple painful fatty tumors.... also comes with a host of issues. More info can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dercum's_disease
- Gastroparesis (GP) -- stomach paralysis which causes delayed gastric emptying... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroparesis
- Idiopathic Hypersomnia/Narcolepsy -- I also have very mild sleep apnea. The IH/narco causes sleepiness during the day and will make me wake up to hallucinations -- hypnopompic -- at night if I don't take a sleeping pill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersomnia
- Fibromyalgia (FM) -- my doc says it is secondary due to my DD http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
- Chronic Kidney Stones -- Have passed over 50 since I was 19.
- High Blood pressure (treated with meds), high tryglycerides, fatty liver
- Raynaud's Disease (makes me very sensitive to cold & you'll see me with ear muffsif the temp dips below 60 degrees!) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/raynauds-disease/DS00433
- Depression, anxiety, OCD (I have several ways this is manifested which I attempt to keep hidden from most. I will just talk about it in general terms, like "My OCD was a bit better today...")
- Migraines -- nearly always on my left side. I rate them from a level 1-3, with 1 being throbbing and just annoying and 3 being nauseous and light sensitive and can't do anything - I am just starting botox migraine treatment, which I hope works!!
- I also went into early peri-menopause a few years ago... most of the symptoms have passed, but I still get them from time to time.
- Irritable Bowel -- probably caused by the other issues I have (Fibro, GP)
- Vertigo -- ranges from mild dizziness to the entire room is spinning and my head fills like it is a big balloon. Apparently it is BPPV (I assume from the exercise my doctor gave me). It comes and goes. When it comes, it lasts for sometimes an entire day! http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorders/types-vestibular-disorders/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo
