Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Minor Setbacks


We all have a few of those bad days, and unfortunately mine turned into weeks.  I had a mystery illness that caused me to gain 6 lbs. in two weeks, have trouble sleeping but have all this energy.  Here I was willing to accept the consequences for diving into the French Onion dip after New Year’s Eve.  That wasn’t the case.  My clothes didn’t fit, I lived in yoga pants and leggings for weeks.  I refused to buy new clothes, I knew this was temporary whatever it was.  It was also frustrating, it was painful to workout. I was on the brink of losing it, my doctor was baffled.  He put me thru blood work, pregnancy test, x-rays, and finally an appointment with a specialist.

 
I eat healthy, I stay away from processed foods, soda, white flour, fast food.  Yes I like my carbs, I like my French fries and the occasional piece of chocolate cake (as long as I know what it’s made with).  I don’t overdo it with supplements or those over the counter gimmicks.  I drink detox tea, water like it’s going to run out and keep a regimented workout schedule.  Maybe my body had enough, it was telling me something.  I know what the feeling of being ‘burnt out’ is and this wasn’t it.  Something was wrong.
 

At the Specialist I get to hear those great words people of my age want to hear or don’t want to hear depending on how you look at it: “You’re too young to be going thru this”, and the ‘this’ was still to be determined. Now the Specialist is thorough,  he asked me a ton of questions to diagnose and at the end of the appointment I now have another appointment for more testing a week later.  “Now I’m a guinea pig, he has no idea what the problem is.” I think to myself, another $60 co-pay I’ll never get back. 

 

There’s never been 4 weeks I’ve gone without exercise of some sort, I was frustrated, angry, actually getting bored since I caught up on my recorded movies, Netflix and magazines, and getting organized around the house.  Things I’ve put off for a rainy day that would get done eventually.  Preparing for the tests was interesting, I had to have my last meal a day before the test.  Chicken, ½ of a sweet potato and left over Orzo pasta, if I wasn’t going to eat for that long I better carb up.  Now three hours later I have to drink this stuff that tasted like watered down lemon jello, by the gallon.  Yum!
 

I try to sleep in, and since my appointment isn’t until lunch time I still can’t eat anything or drink anything but water.  I’m cold, I’m freezing at this point, and it is February but for me to sleep in sweats and walk around in a robe and blanket during the day is nuts.  “It’s almost over” I try to remind myself.   In the waiting room I now realize I’m the youngest person in the room. Lovely.  Now I’m counting the hours since I last had something to eat, I’ve got a slight headache, I’m freezing, just get this over with.  It was 24 hours since my last meal, so of course when the nurse calls my name next and asks me how I’m doing, the first thing out of my mouth is “Feed me!”  It’s not her fault I’m here, but it made her laugh, she said no one has ever said it that way!  She was great, we actually had a nice chat because somehow in the midst of me answering questions I brought up I was going to write about this experience.  She was a great nurse who made this comforting and I probably made her Friday. 

 
She puts me thru another pregnancy test (this is test #2), let me just clarify that I’m on a pill that I could get my period or could not get it so dates are never accurate.  Just to be sure, yet again, I have to go pee in a cup.  Now that’s over with again and they put an IV in my arm and I’m being wheeled into another room where the Specialist is and so is the anesthesiologist.  Here’s the best part, they tell me I’m going to get Propofol and that my vision is going to get a little blurry and within seconds I’m out.  When I wake up, my first words to the nurse are, “What are you doing in my house?”  I guess it sounded like I left the TV on and fell asleep, I have no idea, it was funny, I still laugh about it.  I might have made her Friday as well, she did say I had an attitude about it.

 
Now I wait for results, otherwise I feel great.  The 6 lbs. are gone, no more French Onion dip just in case.  I have learned a few things thru the last 5 weeks.  Never be afraid to talk to your friends when something is not right with your health.  They are your biggest supporters (and uplifting card senders, texters).  When your doctor conducts a pregnancy test, at least for my insurance the cost is $45 a pop, $5 of which is not covered by insurance.  Setbacks, are just that, a minor setback.  Nothing should get in the way of your goals. Just keep going, get over that obstacle and continue the routine.  It might be frustrating to start slow, but every little bit helps.  It takes more motivation for you to get off that couch and get moving than to just sit there and press the next button on your remote.  Results don’t happen overnight, everything is a process we work hard at, we strive for.  And I don’t falter easily, I just felt that something was being taken away from me (like a child whose toy is being taken away).

 
So I wait a week to start exercising and on day three I break my toe.  I banged it pretty good, but that’s not stopping me, I can still do most of my work out until I can run comfortably.  Just another minor setback that I cannot blame on the French Onion dip.