September 14, 2009

  • What A Wonderful Day!

    When life is good, it can be great!  Today I woke up feeling more energetic and...well, normal (if there is such a thing) than I have in ages.  I have no idea how or why but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. 

    The strange thing is that I thought I was feeling good long before today.  Isn't it weird how your memory of such things can fade when you have been ill for a long period?  I have been healthier for over a year now and, other than the problem with back pain from time-to-time, I truly thought I felt good.  I have gained weight (from 80 lbs. to 124 lbs.) so I don't look like death warmed over.  People that saw me back when I was ill thought I was dying.  When you figure I am 5'5" tall and used to weigh a hefty 260 lbs. 7 years ago, you might understand why my weight loss scared a lot of people. 

    I had actually started a serious diet way back then (2002) because I decided that I wanted to live and see my grandchildren grow up, marry and have great-grandchildren.  I had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes two years previously and, the more I read about it, the more I realized that I would be much healthier and have fewer health problems if I lost the weight. 

    I went on a modified diabetic diet of about 2400 calories a day.  It took about 2 months for me to really start losing weight but I kept at it.  Some days I reduced the caloric intake even though I knew it was smarter to keep to a regular calorie intake and reduce it over time on a schedule.  But since it was working for me, I figured don't argue with results.  It took me almost 2 years to lose 100 lbs but I felt wonderful about it.

    But when I started losing weight faster, I really thought it was just my body responding very well and the fact that I had further reduced my calorie intake to about 1600 a day.  I had no idea that I had some health issues that were taking over and causing me to lose another 30 lbs. in about 6 months.  By the time I hit that 130 lb. mark, I was starting to have occasional abdominal pain episodes.  I was down to 110 lbs. when I finally had to find a local doctor (we had moved from the Ft Lauderdale area over to the Gulf Coast about a year before this).  He made some adjustments in my diabetes medications and took other tests and gave me some pain medication (very mild since he was hesitant about giving me that without a real diagnosis).  We did, eventually, find out that I had gall stones and needed my gall bladder removed.  By this time, I was in almost constant pain and was almost unable to move off the couch. 

    After recovering from that surgery, I had hoped to feel better but was surprised that I was still having a great deal of pain.  It was during my recovery from the gall bladder surgery that we ended up moving here to Alabama.  Thankfully, friends and family were a great deal of help since I was unable to lift anything and could hardly stand up for longer than 5 minutes.  It was a bit of a nightmare for me since I wasn't used to being helpless.  I was supposed to rest, stay off my feet and not lift anything heavier than 10 lbs.  I was also not to vacuum or do things that would cause me to tighten up my stomach muscles at all.  Weird instructions but I can tell you that it really wasn't hard with the way I felt.

    I spent the next two years trying to find out why I had these horrible bouts of pain.  The doctors sent me through all kinds of tests, even checking for metasticized scarring from the surgery as best they could.  Finally, one young doctor came up with the diagnosis of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).  I got my instructions, the medications for it (some just temporary to stop the spasms which caused the pain) and it worked!  Little by little, I got better until I finally felt we had found out what it was.  I was told that having both at the same time (gall stones AND IBS) would make it difficult to diagnose since two problems at the same time in the same general area is unusual.   Figures, right? 

    So I have been taking care of my dietary intake for things that upset my system and, for the most part, have been doing well.  I was told that if I could go a few months without an episode, I might never have a problem with it again or it might be six months or a year before it happens again.  I have learned to *feel* the signs of irritation before it becomes a big problem.  I know when I need to stay close to home (and the bathroom).  I feel wonderful when my IBS is quiet but I had no idea that the way I felt was not really the best I could feel. 

    I am saying a prayer of thanks and gratitude that I have had this day.  I hope to have many more like it in the days ahead. 

    Love you all.  Have a great day and take care of YOUR health.  We only get one go 'round in this life and that can be long or short, depending on what YOU do with it.