The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Lauren]

Yeah, good luck with the tests...I hope they give you something concrete but harmless as the reason for the problems you've had!

I look forward to your updates on the caloric experiment! :-)

Lauren

[DogMa]

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually having trouble cramming so much food down my gullet!! But at the same time, I'm able to get my ring off my finger for the first time in two months. I'm curious to see what the scale says tomorrow.

Now if the extra calories could just fix the chest pain, blood pressure and crazy heart rate ...

[SuzyQ66]

I hope they figure out what is causing your health issues soon. I sometimes get skipped heart beats and I know that can be annoying but I have lived with it my whole life. Doc said it won't kill me. I used to have rapid heart rates...but they took care of that...born with all of it.

Glad to hear that increasing your calories is making the weight come off. Gosh I wish that worked for me...LOL!! I just love your determination.

[nickieluv]

You are living my fantasy. On the calorie-front, anyway. Although knowing you, more calories is probably still under 1500? Not like the 3000 I might consume on a really bad day. There's no magic bullet here. But I am glad that it seems to be working for you. Now just get those pesky results back - I agree with Lauren, give it a name and get it treated but hopefully it's something minor. Have fun working out!

[DogMa]

Yep, still under 1,500, but getting darn close some days. Today I was down 0.2, to 127.6, BUT with my usual sandbox issues, so it's probably a little more.

And thanks, Suzy. My heart rate issue is only with exercise - when my HR gets up to 200 or more. Given that my parents both died of heart disease and my brother had a heart attack a few months ago at age 49 (two years older than me), my doc's a bit concerned. Plus I've never had anything CLOSE to high blood pressure till now - and since I'm at a healthy weight and eat a sensible, healthy diet, that's kind of a concern, too.

Then again, maybe it's because I wasn't eating enough and I've been putting my system under too much stress. I dunno.

The nurse e-mailed me a few minutes ago. I'm still a little anemic (about a tiny bit worse that I was in May, even though I now take iron every day). And then she said my thyroid was normal, but didn't tell me the actual figure. I e-mailed back to ask, because I'd like to see what it is in relation to my May results, plus I asked for suggestions on the anemia. Still have the heart tests coming up next week.

[DogMa]

Just checking in quickly. Hopefully I'll have time to read journals later.

Doing well. Plugging the treadmill into a different circuit (or breaker?) is working well, but I'll need to wait a bit on the electrician so I can stop using a long extension cord. Teemu has a mast cell tumor on his head. He's having surgery next week to have it removed and evaluated by a pathologist. They apparently don't categorize this type of tumor as benign or malignant; they just assign a stage to it. Stage 1 means it hasn't spread at all, and the prognosis is very good. Stage 2 is worse but treatable. Stage 3 ... he's not going to be stage 3. He can't be. Anyway, the surgery and tests are around $800, so I can live with an extension cord awhile longer.

[nickieluv]

I'm sorry about your baby, Robin - try to keep thinking positively. I really believe that, and prayer, works wonders.

[Tawanda]

I hope Teemu will be okay. Sorry that you two are having to deal with this.

[DogMa]

Thanks, guys. I'm trying not to worry too much until he's had it removed and evaluated. I just can't even think about anything beyond that, after everything we've been through together.

The good news is that, once again, I haven't even considered turning to food. I did eat some not-so-healthy foods the afternoon of the diagnosis, but that was planned ahead of time and not all that bad (small servings, at least, and just one meal because I wanted to try a new restaurant nearby). No break in the workouts, either, which is good. I think I should probably start doing more upper-body work, if my shoulder can take it, so I'm better able to lift him. Just in case.

I kinda feel bad for Mojo right now, since Teemu's suddenly getting more attention. I don't think she understands, although I'm guessing she'll at least partially figure it out when he goes for surgery next week.

[DogMa]

Just stopping by to check in. No emotional eating while I'm waiting for Teemu's surgery, so yay for that. Haven't even been tempted, honestly, including our potluck watch party yesterday at work for the inauguration.

Still doing the higher-cal thing. I seem to be maintaining more than losing, BUT my body fat has dropped a little, I have a LOT easier time with exercise and I haven't had chest pain in a whole week. So I'm sticking with it awhile longer.

Still working on building up my running again; I think I've done so little lately that I'm basically starting over. Anyway, today after my warm-up walk, I ran 5 minutes (5 mph), then did 30 seconds at 6 mph every five minutes, and then for my last interval I did 30 seconds at 6 mph and 30 seconds at 8 mph. Then walked for a few minutes as a cool-down. Total of an hour. That last sprint is tough, but this time I didn't feel like I was going to drop dead on the spot, like I kinda did last week. HR went to 193.

[nickieluv]

Well maybe all this time you were kind of starving yourself? I think it sounds like the evidence points to you sticking with higher calories for a while just to make sure. Especially since the chest pain seems to have gone away. You are so good. If I was trying to have extra calories I'll bet I'd add in a Snickers bar. Lots for me to learn still!

[DogMa]

I'm going to ask them at the tests tomorrow, and see what the doc or nurse practitioner thinks. I kinda DO think I was starving myself. I don't know how other people do it on so few calories.

But yeah, no Snickers here. I'm still sticking to the other program; I just add a little extra protein and sometimes a serving of fruit, or pick the higher-calorie meals. Plus my pre-workout Vitatop, of course.

[DogMa]

Yay. I seem to have fixed myself, between the calories and the potassium I started taking a week ago. BP was totally normal at the test today (110/75), pulse was normal (72 before the stress test), etc. And, to any doubters out there, I now have incontrovertible medical proof: I really DO have a heart.

Now I just need Teemu's tumor to be stage 1, and all will be good again.

Oh, and weight's 127.8, after being up a bit for a few days. Now that I'm feeling so much better and my workouts are back to normal, maybe I'll actually drop down a few pounds.

And my friend found a Wii Fit for me, so yay!! Plus I splurged the other day and got an Ab Rocket at Costco. Didn't feel it at all when I did it, or even the next morning, but by yesterday afternoon I was getting sore and by last night ... OW. But a good kind of ow.

[CaribGirl]

Are you taking over the counter potassium, or prescription?

[DogMa]

OTC.

The nurse-practitioner just called. No echo results till tomorrow, but she said the stress test was great and my bp even on the treadmill was way better than most. Heart rate was 176 when I stopped. She was questioning my monitor's accuracy and asked if I felt like I was working as hard today as I do in a workout; I said not even close, especially when I'm doing sprints or hills, which is when my HR gets its highest. This is more like what it is during the regular part of my workout. So she said it definitely could be a calorie issue, and it also could be that the potassium is helping, and that I should drink Gatorade or something like that after a workout instead of just water because I'm apparently working at a very high intensity. Which is fine, she said, but I may be throwing my electrolytes out of whack.

So ... yay.