Wednesday Weigh-in: Week 8

Okay, so I have a confession to make.

I did not log into My Fitness Pal three days this week.  I did not go to the pool at all.  I only worked out on the Gazelle once.

I know you don't want to hear excuses but I gotta tell ya anyway.

Stomach virus for me, followed by a BIG pain flare up (had to do the soap sale in agony), followed by more stomach virus for me, followed by stomach virus for Wilbur. 

It was a difficult week, y'all, but still there's good news.

I lost 0.2 lb.!

That takes my weight-loss total to 15.6 lbs!

And MFP has graciously rounded that upward so my little badgie thing in the sidebar now says 16 pounds lost!  After such a tough week, I'll take it!!

In related news, I went to the doctor yesterday because I needed refills on a prescription I take for Restless Leg Syndrome. 

Yes, it's real.  I know you've seen the RLS commercials and snickered.  The name alone makes me snort every time I have to say or type it.

However, it really is no laughing matter.  It is torture.  I have managed RLS for about 10 years, the first seven of which I tried natural, homeopathic treatments.  I have rubbed on creams, taken vitamins, eliminated caffeine from my diet, hooked my legs up to a crazy squeezy contraption, done yoga (at 2 a.m.), pilates (at 3 a.m.) and an assortment of other stretchy-cises (at 4, 5, and 6 a.m. each morning, cause I couldn't sleep)...

All to no avail.

Torture, people.  TORTURE!

So about three years ago, I gave in and went the prescription drug route.  I have slept well ever since.

The real point in sharing this is that I went in for a routine check-up so I could get the refills, and the doctor noticed that I had not come in to have my vitamin D levels re-evaluated.

After the last BIG pain flare up in January, it was determined that my D levels were dangerously low.  I was put on a 50,000 unit mega dose to be taken weekly for two months and then every other week for THE REST OF MY LIFE.

I didn't go back for a re-evaluation because life got really busy and I had spent all of our med money for the year on MRI's and EMG's and myriad other exams...all to hear your vitamin D is low.

I didn't take it too well at the time and have to admit that even if time and money had not been issues, I still wouldn't have gone back.  I needed a break from doctors, tests and less-than-favorable diagnoses.

Well, yesterday, Doctor was not too happy with me and insisted I have the level evaluated immediately (wouldn't give refills for RLS meds unless I did).  Okay, fine, whatever....I was thinking at that point.

Then she began to talk about Fibromyalgia...as if I had been diagnosed.

Which I haven't. 

No doctor has ever used that word with me.

Exept to tell me no, it's probably not fibro...you're overweight and you are probably depressed.

She was not the doctor who has been managing my pain or had ordered all the testing initially.  She just saw the red flag on my file regarding the vitamin D thing and needed to take care of business. 

But...while telling me all the reasons why skipping the re-evaluation was wrong and dangerous, she said the little magical words that made my heart leap with joy... this looks like fibromyalgia.

That all the symptoms are there.

For 20 years, I have been seeking a diagnosis, and no doctor anywhere from Memphis to Atlanta would call my pain problems anything other than a weight problem, a vitamin D problem, or a mental issue.

I have been praying about seeing a rheumatologist thinking it could be fibro or something in the arthritis family.  I haven't gone yet because I have feared more expensive tests with no real outcome.  Plus, I wanted to lose as much weight as possible before I saw another doctor so that the red herring could be eliminated.

Yes, being overweight doesn't help.  That's why I'm working as hard as I can to lose.  However, this all started when I was 19 and was at the best weight and fitness level of my life so I don't think it is just a weight problem. 

And I definitely don't think it is a mental issue.  Depressed women do not manage a household, homeschool, help their husbands, tutor ESL students, make a zillion bars of soap in a month, and serve as the president of the homeschool association.

Just sayin'....

So the fact that someone called this something makes me feel things that I don't quite know how to put into words...good things. 

For starters... hopeful and thankful. 

It's not that fibro or anything else arthritis related is good news, but knowing what is wrong with me, being able to explain to people why I hurt all the time and have them understand, to give it a name...it would just be too good for words.

So my prayer requests this week are short and sweet:

1. I go back to the doc on Tuesday to get the vitamin D report.  I intend to have a serious discussion with her about fibro/arthritis and next steps to take. 
2. Please pray that we'll recover from the viruses that are still making their rounds through the family in time for a great Thanksgiving celebration tomorrow. 
3. For my two friends who are dieting with me.  I am not the best weight-loss team leader, but we are lifting each other in prayer which is most important.
4. For God to be glorified.

Thank you and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Healthy Living!
Dawn