Do you ever wonder if you were meant to do what you think you were meant to do? Or does this even make sense? When I was in elementary school I met a friend named Sara. Sara was an animal lover. We used to play veterinarian and cut open our stuffed animals and restitch them together. We planned to have our clinic when we grew up and call it "S & R Veterinarian Services." We used to gallop around Sara's back yard, jumping over benches, and along with our veterinarian service planned to run a boarding and breeding facility for a variety of horse breeds. I see now that we would have been very busy people, but probably pretty happy with our horsey lives. I remember visiting the CSU Veterinarian School with my mom and Sara when I was in 5th grade and I knew at that moment I wanted to be a vet. So, here I am today, a pediatric occupational therapist (OT). That makes sense... right?
Somewhere along the line I went off track. In undergraduate school at CSU, I started out as an Equine Science major on track for vet school and somewhere along the way I got scared. What if I didn't make it? I could barely pass Basic Chemistry and I am not really science minded... how the heck would I make it through a DVM program? So, I abruptly switched to psychology and started volunteering in therapeutic horseback riding programs where I was introduced to OT.
I became an OT thinking that I would go into hippotherapy (basically this is OT done with people on horseback). Yet, since I left school I have worked in a hospital, a school, lectured about therapeutic horseback riding, worked home health, and worked in a clinic. I like my current jobs but they are not my passion and with each new job, after different amounts of time, I get burnt out. Now, I am burnt out.
I think our household is burnt out right now. My husband has been working his butt off at school, barely sleeping or doing anything but school work, school and work. In fact I am not sure I would recognize him without a computer in front of him these days. He works so hard and I can see him getting burnt out. Luckily, he has summer session coming up, and I am hopeful he will have a little more time to relax and decompress.
I, on the other hand, am SO burnt out. I seem to be in a place in my career where either I don't have anything to do all week or I am working until 8pm every night and waking up exhausted in the morning. The problem is those weeks where I have nothing to do equal weeks with no pay.
I spent today reading an article about OT and Burn Out. It is true that as a health care provider of any kind you have to have the skills to be separate from your job and leave work behind. But how do you leave children and families behind when you know they are struggling? The article also said to carve out time for yourself. Sure, I do that, on days I am sick I catch up on my sleep. Or at 9:00 pm when I have returned home from work at the clinic, make dinner, clean up, and am crawling into bed, I take 5 minutes for myself. I close my eyes and think "damn, I am tired." I think overall I am just tired of working 9 hour days or zero hour days. I am ready for consistency. But, each time this happens I wonder if I am doing the right thing, am I in the right career, maybe I should have been a vet after all, or maybe I need to pursue something I am more interested in.
Don't get me wrong, there are lots of opportunities out there waiting for everyone, even me. But how do we pick the right choice, the right path? It is much the same in taking care of our health as it is in our daily lives. The path you chose will eventually have a fork in the road, and if it doesn't, then sometimes you have to pick up a shovel and start making your own road. And sometimes we build a road, up a very steep hill, simply to find we meant to stay on the road we left 10 years ago. It may take a while to get back on track, but in the end, roads and paths are what life is all about.
4.30.2010
4.23.2010
Darn Sinus Infections
Just as I have been starting to feel better I ended up with yet another sinus infection, and yes the same exact one from last week. After consulting with the NP today it looks like I still have no choice but to visit an ENT to find out what is causing this continuous string of sinus infections. Yesterday was quite terrible, sore throat, no voice, and terribly stuffy. However, today after some acupuncture, I am feeling quite a bit better. I was sent home with some Chinese herbs and was released from the use of the earwax tasting herbal remedies!
All of these sinus infections again bring me back to thinking about imbalance. When one system of the body is out of balance, clearly it will affect other systems. I think this is where our current medical system falls short. Why do we continue to take medications that simply fix the symptoms and not the underlying problems? Maybe it is our society and the need for instant gratification and quick fixes. I hope this long journey, the more curvy and steep path, will lead me to balanced systems and away from covering symptoms.
As for my PCOS symptoms. I have been more tired in the past week and probably because I am fighting this infection. My weight has stalled at 145 to 146 lbs. Again, I think exercise will be necessary to get off of this plateau, My hair growth has not been too bad this month, which is encouraging, and I certainly feel better with less bloating and no acne to speak of.
I am hopeful to find a cure and a cause for my sinus infections. And I am hopeful that any link between my hormonal imbalance/PCOS, sinus infections, and adrenal sluggishness will soon become clear!
All of these sinus infections again bring me back to thinking about imbalance. When one system of the body is out of balance, clearly it will affect other systems. I think this is where our current medical system falls short. Why do we continue to take medications that simply fix the symptoms and not the underlying problems? Maybe it is our society and the need for instant gratification and quick fixes. I hope this long journey, the more curvy and steep path, will lead me to balanced systems and away from covering symptoms.
As for my PCOS symptoms. I have been more tired in the past week and probably because I am fighting this infection. My weight has stalled at 145 to 146 lbs. Again, I think exercise will be necessary to get off of this plateau, My hair growth has not been too bad this month, which is encouraging, and I certainly feel better with less bloating and no acne to speak of.
I am hopeful to find a cure and a cause for my sinus infections. And I am hopeful that any link between my hormonal imbalance/PCOS, sinus infections, and adrenal sluggishness will soon become clear!
4.19.2010
Choices that are not mine
Have you ever had the experience at night, when you are lying there trying to go to sleep and you have thoughts that seem profound? Most often you wake up the next morning to realize they were not all that profound, just tired babbling in your head.
Last night, as I lay between asleep and awake, I started thinking about PCOS and the statement "I am not PCOS, PCOS is not me." My brain cries out "but PCOS affects everything in your life! Your weight, your energy, your mood, and effectively your relationships." The most difficult thing is that PCOS effects my choices, or at least my ability to make certain choices. And by this I mean the choice to eat whatever I want, the choice to have energy to do whatever I want, and ultimately PCOS will decide if I am able to get pregnant or not. Out of all of these choices that are not mine, the last one bothers me the most. I think about it the most, it is on my mind, and it is the one thing that makes me the most sad. I know, just like everyone tells me, "why are you even thinking about this yet? You aren't even trying yet!" My favorite is "the more you worry about it the worse it will be."
I came across another blogger the other day, a "slim cyster," (This means she has PCOS symptoms but not a weight problem). She had 8 miscarriages before she and her husband gave up and decided for adoption. I began to think, how long would we try for? How much heart ache would we subject ourselves to? How much money will we have to spend just to have a baby if it doesn't happen? While most "normal couples" a baby cost them one night of fun, it just may not be the same for us. Does it ever seem that, as you go through your day, every woman you walk past is pregnant or chasing after 2 or 3 kids? Why them? Why not women with PCOS? Why do I have to feel like less of a woman because of this stupid syndrome?
So, why worry now? Well, I am certainly not getting any younger, and so the thought crosses my mind often. In the end, the reason I am on this "quest" to health is because I want to be able to have a baby some day. When we are ready, I want to have that choice. So, push on I will, in hopes that if I do all of these things, if I can affect change, than maybe there will not be heartbreak at the end of the journey, maybe there will be tears of joy.
Last night, as I lay between asleep and awake, I started thinking about PCOS and the statement "I am not PCOS, PCOS is not me." My brain cries out "but PCOS affects everything in your life! Your weight, your energy, your mood, and effectively your relationships." The most difficult thing is that PCOS effects my choices, or at least my ability to make certain choices. And by this I mean the choice to eat whatever I want, the choice to have energy to do whatever I want, and ultimately PCOS will decide if I am able to get pregnant or not. Out of all of these choices that are not mine, the last one bothers me the most. I think about it the most, it is on my mind, and it is the one thing that makes me the most sad. I know, just like everyone tells me, "why are you even thinking about this yet? You aren't even trying yet!" My favorite is "the more you worry about it the worse it will be."
I came across another blogger the other day, a "slim cyster," (This means she has PCOS symptoms but not a weight problem). She had 8 miscarriages before she and her husband gave up and decided for adoption. I began to think, how long would we try for? How much heart ache would we subject ourselves to? How much money will we have to spend just to have a baby if it doesn't happen? While most "normal couples" a baby cost them one night of fun, it just may not be the same for us. Does it ever seem that, as you go through your day, every woman you walk past is pregnant or chasing after 2 or 3 kids? Why them? Why not women with PCOS? Why do I have to feel like less of a woman because of this stupid syndrome?
So, why worry now? Well, I am certainly not getting any younger, and so the thought crosses my mind often. In the end, the reason I am on this "quest" to health is because I want to be able to have a baby some day. When we are ready, I want to have that choice. So, push on I will, in hopes that if I do all of these things, if I can affect change, than maybe there will not be heartbreak at the end of the journey, maybe there will be tears of joy.
4.17.2010
A visit to the naturopath
To continue from yesterday, I wanted to share what the last blood tests showed. I was surprised and sad because my cholesterol has gone UP... even on the candida diet with no sugar and low carbohydrates. So that was frustrating. But the NP related it to the problem that is showing up the biggest right now, which is slow adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands help with your energy level and mine are slow, especially in the AM. Which totally explains my exhausted feelings in the morning where I feel like I need to stay in bed until 10am. It is almost as if my adrenals do not wake up until later in the day. The good news is that my thyroid is looking good, for the most part. The NP did say that not all of the tests were run that he asked for, so I will be having a few more done in May when I go to see the Endocrinologist.
Most surprising though was my glucose levels... they are... LOW!! I am actually verging on hypoglycemic. This appears to be secondary to the Metformin. So guess what the recommendation is? Go off the Met! hooray! So the plan is to speak with the endocrinologist in May and let them know I want off... and then see how I have to proceed. I am a bit worried, I think the endo will think I am a nutter for wanting off of it. But I can always go back on if things go awry. I think I will hate myself more if I do not give my body a chance to regulate hormones on its own and see what can happen. The NP also brought up a good point that if I want to get pregnant any time in the future, better to go off the Met now and see what happens than doing it while I am pregnant... I think this is a good idea to.
I have to admit I am quite excited about the prospect of no Met, but at the same time I am worried. What if I grow a beard? What if I gain a whole bunch of weight because it really is not under control. My biggest concerns is that with my Cholesterol being high already, will it go higher if I am off of the Met? It is all yet to be determined.
I am quite enjoying being off of the candida diet. I have decided to stick to it for the most part, but I did splurge the other day and had a fruit tart that was SO yummy... I really did miss sugar. But I did notice I was able to control myself and even though I had sugar I have not craved it at all... then again it has only been a day!! :)
As for today no sugar eaten and I stuck to the candida diet all day. I have lost another 0.2 lbs... the weight is coming off a lot more slowly now and I think it is time to introduce exercise again. Any suggestions for fun ways to work out? My goal is lowering that darn cholesterol with exercise and continued healthy eating! Onward and upward! Cheers!
Most surprising though was my glucose levels... they are... LOW!! I am actually verging on hypoglycemic. This appears to be secondary to the Metformin. So guess what the recommendation is? Go off the Met! hooray! So the plan is to speak with the endocrinologist in May and let them know I want off... and then see how I have to proceed. I am a bit worried, I think the endo will think I am a nutter for wanting off of it. But I can always go back on if things go awry. I think I will hate myself more if I do not give my body a chance to regulate hormones on its own and see what can happen. The NP also brought up a good point that if I want to get pregnant any time in the future, better to go off the Met now and see what happens than doing it while I am pregnant... I think this is a good idea to.
I have to admit I am quite excited about the prospect of no Met, but at the same time I am worried. What if I grow a beard? What if I gain a whole bunch of weight because it really is not under control. My biggest concerns is that with my Cholesterol being high already, will it go higher if I am off of the Met? It is all yet to be determined.
I am quite enjoying being off of the candida diet. I have decided to stick to it for the most part, but I did splurge the other day and had a fruit tart that was SO yummy... I really did miss sugar. But I did notice I was able to control myself and even though I had sugar I have not craved it at all... then again it has only been a day!! :)
As for today no sugar eaten and I stuck to the candida diet all day. I have lost another 0.2 lbs... the weight is coming off a lot more slowly now and I think it is time to introduce exercise again. Any suggestions for fun ways to work out? My goal is lowering that darn cholesterol with exercise and continued healthy eating! Onward and upward! Cheers!
4.16.2010
Sinus Infection... But... Candida Free!!
Hooray! I visited Kim, my acupressurist today. I am officially Candida free! No more Acupressure appointments for me! Although I am totally going to miss seeing Kim every two weeks to hear her crazy life stories and our wonderful conversations, I am quite excited to be done with the whole Candida Diet. Unfortunately, Saturday marked the start of ANOTHER sinus infection! Goodness.... But this time I am pretty sure it is allergy/dry air/ pollen related. It was terribly windy last weekend in Colorado and I am thinking this is part of the cause, along with the yellow gook of pollen that covered all of the cars last weekend. Anyway, a visit to my naturopath on Wednesday introduced me to the wonderful world of herbal remedies... that taste like crap! :) I am sad to say that my alternative now, since I am no longer open to using antibiotics to cure my sinus infections (this leads to candida overgrowth), is to use herbal remedies. The current one tastes like ear wax. My husband asked me how I know what ear wax tastes like... but isn't it just one of those things you can guess at?
I wanted to also take a moment in this blog to mention the sheer opposite experiences I have had in the past weeks, working with naturopathic and western medicines. I had to visit my MD to have the blood tests done for the naturopath (the only way insurance will pay is for the MD to order them). The MD looked at me like I was nuts, but went along with it. After two weeks of waiting to receive the test results I had to call and get them faxed. Now, they told me they would call if anything was out of range, and things were out of range... but no one called. Had anyone read the tests? Who knows?
Cut to Wednesday. I faxed the labs to the naturopath on Monday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon I went for a visit. I was met with RETYPED labs and a whole manual on how we will proceed with my health care!!! Holy cow! Who does this!! We went over every lab result out of range, discussed treatment options, how we are going to continue to treat different problems, where to start. AND it included information about diet, exercise, supplements! WOW!
Anyway, I wanted to blog just shortly today. I must stop for now and go shop for butterfly decorations for my nephew's birthday on Sunday. But I shall return at a later time tonight or tomorrow to finish this story!
Happy Friday!!
I wanted to also take a moment in this blog to mention the sheer opposite experiences I have had in the past weeks, working with naturopathic and western medicines. I had to visit my MD to have the blood tests done for the naturopath (the only way insurance will pay is for the MD to order them). The MD looked at me like I was nuts, but went along with it. After two weeks of waiting to receive the test results I had to call and get them faxed. Now, they told me they would call if anything was out of range, and things were out of range... but no one called. Had anyone read the tests? Who knows?
Cut to Wednesday. I faxed the labs to the naturopath on Monday afternoon. Wednesday afternoon I went for a visit. I was met with RETYPED labs and a whole manual on how we will proceed with my health care!!! Holy cow! Who does this!! We went over every lab result out of range, discussed treatment options, how we are going to continue to treat different problems, where to start. AND it included information about diet, exercise, supplements! WOW!
Anyway, I wanted to blog just shortly today. I must stop for now and go shop for butterfly decorations for my nephew's birthday on Sunday. But I shall return at a later time tonight or tomorrow to finish this story!
Happy Friday!!
4.08.2010
Another day... Another Diet
A visit to the naturopath yesterday was interesting and helpful as always. I feel I should back up a bit. Tuesday was a horrible day. I woke up feeling sluggish and much like I imagine it would feel like to be a zombie. I had a crazy morning and then ambled into work at 1:30pm, realizing I had forgotten the ever important monthly parent meeting. I called my boss, explained my situation and returned to my job. By that evening I had been bitten (yes someone bit me!) and I went home in tears. Some days don't you just feel like you suck at your job? I did that day.
Cut to yesterday, a new day and new appointment with the needles and my favorite naturopath. We discussed my Easter Day snafu of too much food and my new zombie like feelings. While lots of needles were being stuck all over (chest, legs, feet, back, and stomach), we discussed my diet. I was excitedly explaining how I was going to soon be done with the Candida Diet when the naturopath started, just as excitedly, telling me about my next two diets... my excitement waned at the mention of more diets. So, the next diets, once I am done with the Candida Diet, will be (in this order) The Elimination Diet followed by a likely appearance of the Insulin Resistant Diet. The first (Elimination Diet) will last only 3 weeks... or so I am told, the second (IR diet) could last any amount of time... But I don't know how long. This makes me a bit concerned and I have a feeling the IR diet does not involve a return of sugar and sweets to my diet, and maybe not alcohol either. :(
So what is the elimination diet? The goal is to determine what sorts of foods cause distress and inflammation to your GI tract (i.e. intestines and stomach). The thought is that because your GI tract not only digests food for you, but also is responsible for your immunity and health, keeping foods that upset the GI tract would be important. Makes sense... right?? So, you eat a diet of Water, rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, tapioca, fresh fruit (Thank god!), vegetables, beans, peas, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, and or olive oil/flax seed oil. Then every three days you add in one of the "forbidden foods." These include: Dairy, gluten, tomato products, soy products, alcohol, caffeine, peanut products, beef, pork, cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, canned meat, sausage, shellfish,and meat substitutes made from soy... and of course sugar too! You then add that forbidden food (just one at a time) until you have "symptoms of inflammation" such as body aches, gas,bloating, general feelings of yuck, fatigue, etc. If you never show signs then you can keep that food in your diet! But if you have symptoms then that food is out... for good. :( I have a feeling sugar will be out... for good. I have NO idea how I will do this one.. but I will do my best. If not for my health... just for something to keep writing about or just for the experience to see if all of these diets and craziness work. Luckily, (and I never thought I would say Luckily and Candida diet in the same sentence) I still have the freedom of the Candida diet for at least two more weeks.
As for the IR diet... I have not researched it, but I am hoping that once I am through the elimination and candida diets, there may not be a need for the IR?!?! I'll let you know how it turns out! I do know that this is a diet many women with PCOS and metabolic syndrome use to lose weight and become healthy. At this point, if it gets me off Metformin I am willing to try!
I did leave the naturopath on Wednesday feeling a bit more energized and ready to face the world. After one more client that afternoon and a stellar (if I do say so myself) guest lecture at the university, I came home and felt TONS better. (One of the students even wrote "you rock" on the bottom of my evaluation).
Thursday, yes today is Thursday, went fairly well. I had a fairly quiet work day, I feel tired but not like a zombie, and I am looking forward to a day off tomorrow and a pedicure as my treat for the day! I wish everyone a very happy and relaxed weekend. If it is warm where you are get out and move and appreciate that you have a body that works for you... even if it only works 25% of the time!
Cut to yesterday, a new day and new appointment with the needles and my favorite naturopath. We discussed my Easter Day snafu of too much food and my new zombie like feelings. While lots of needles were being stuck all over (chest, legs, feet, back, and stomach), we discussed my diet. I was excitedly explaining how I was going to soon be done with the Candida Diet when the naturopath started, just as excitedly, telling me about my next two diets... my excitement waned at the mention of more diets. So, the next diets, once I am done with the Candida Diet, will be (in this order) The Elimination Diet followed by a likely appearance of the Insulin Resistant Diet. The first (Elimination Diet) will last only 3 weeks... or so I am told, the second (IR diet) could last any amount of time... But I don't know how long. This makes me a bit concerned and I have a feeling the IR diet does not involve a return of sugar and sweets to my diet, and maybe not alcohol either. :(
So what is the elimination diet? The goal is to determine what sorts of foods cause distress and inflammation to your GI tract (i.e. intestines and stomach). The thought is that because your GI tract not only digests food for you, but also is responsible for your immunity and health, keeping foods that upset the GI tract would be important. Makes sense... right?? So, you eat a diet of Water, rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, tapioca, fresh fruit (Thank god!), vegetables, beans, peas, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, and or olive oil/flax seed oil. Then every three days you add in one of the "forbidden foods." These include: Dairy, gluten, tomato products, soy products, alcohol, caffeine, peanut products, beef, pork, cold cuts, bacon, hot dogs, canned meat, sausage, shellfish,and meat substitutes made from soy... and of course sugar too! You then add that forbidden food (just one at a time) until you have "symptoms of inflammation" such as body aches, gas,bloating, general feelings of yuck, fatigue, etc. If you never show signs then you can keep that food in your diet! But if you have symptoms then that food is out... for good. :( I have a feeling sugar will be out... for good. I have NO idea how I will do this one.. but I will do my best. If not for my health... just for something to keep writing about or just for the experience to see if all of these diets and craziness work. Luckily, (and I never thought I would say Luckily and Candida diet in the same sentence) I still have the freedom of the Candida diet for at least two more weeks.
As for the IR diet... I have not researched it, but I am hoping that once I am through the elimination and candida diets, there may not be a need for the IR?!?! I'll let you know how it turns out! I do know that this is a diet many women with PCOS and metabolic syndrome use to lose weight and become healthy. At this point, if it gets me off Metformin I am willing to try!
I did leave the naturopath on Wednesday feeling a bit more energized and ready to face the world. After one more client that afternoon and a stellar (if I do say so myself) guest lecture at the university, I came home and felt TONS better. (One of the students even wrote "you rock" on the bottom of my evaluation).
Thursday, yes today is Thursday, went fairly well. I had a fairly quiet work day, I feel tired but not like a zombie, and I am looking forward to a day off tomorrow and a pedicure as my treat for the day! I wish everyone a very happy and relaxed weekend. If it is warm where you are get out and move and appreciate that you have a body that works for you... even if it only works 25% of the time!
4.05.2010
Ooops.... too much food.
In starting the Candida diet I read over and over again that once you started to come off of the diet, you had to slowly integrate the items you have not been eating. Well, cut to Easter Sunday. I invited my parents over and woke up that morning dreaming of roast beef. There is nothing in roast beef that is not allowed on the Candida diet, but the recipe I found had this wonderful, yummy gravy recipe. Yes, it had wine, in had vinegar based ingredients, it had mushrooms. But, I decided, "hey I am doing great on this diet, I am almost done with it, I can splurge just a bit!" Wrong! I enjoyed Mashed Potatoes with the gravy and Roast with the gravy. I also enjoyed corn souffle and banana pudding (made with Stevia which is okay on the Candida Diet), but I did cheat and I put whipped cream on top of the banana pudding and ate the gravy. The end result... I was SO sick! I am still not feeling myself this morning and have a pretty upset stomach. But, a lesson for sure during this experience. I will not make this mistake again. Back on the Candida Diet Restrictions I go this morning. I will readily follow the guidelines once again, and hope that I did not do too much damage to my prior progress!
I am still amazed that I used to be able to eat foods this rich in mass consumption and not feel ill. But I did have flashbacks to before this Candida diet when I used to over eat on many rich foods and then fall into a food coma after. Don't get me wrong, I love rich foods... I just love food in general I think. But, I am hoping at the end of this experience I have learned to respect food a little more, in the way I am pretty sure I was supposed to learn to respect in when I was attending Weight Watcher's meetings. But that never stuck... I am hoping this time it will.
I am still amazed that I used to be able to eat foods this rich in mass consumption and not feel ill. But I did have flashbacks to before this Candida diet when I used to over eat on many rich foods and then fall into a food coma after. Don't get me wrong, I love rich foods... I just love food in general I think. But, I am hoping at the end of this experience I have learned to respect food a little more, in the way I am pretty sure I was supposed to learn to respect in when I was attending Weight Watcher's meetings. But that never stuck... I am hoping this time it will.
4.04.2010
Almost Yeastie Free!!
The week flew by this week. Lots of kiddo clients to see and lots of work to do. Even this weekend has been super busy too. I visited Kim, my accupressurist, on Friday morning and am delighted to report that I am almost yeast free (except for my stomach where the yeast is supposed to live!). I am really very excited. I feel like I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel for the Candida diet! She tells me that after another check in 3 weeks, if I am still doing so well, than I can go off of the yeast free diet and slowly incorporate some sugar and yeast products into my diet! hooray!
My update for last week: I did get my adrenal tests done, soaking cotton under my tongue and sticking them in little vials (that was interesting). But I did not do it until yesterday and will have to express mail them tomorrow. I also started doing some yoga.. I made it three days in a row and then did not get any in yesterday, or so far today. But I do feel this is progress. I also was excited to see that I lost another pound this week. I was feeling a bit down last week, as my scale said I had gained 1.2 lbs, but that weight plus another 1 pound is gone this week. In 14 weeks, since starting to work with the eastern medicine and the candida free diet I have lost 12 lbs! It really is amazing. I have not counted calories or really exercised for that matter, but the weight is coming off. I do think I will eventually hit a plateau where I will have to exercise. And besides, exercise is important and, considering in my job I am telling parents that their kids need to move, I should probably start moving too!
It is yet to be known if I will really be able to go off of the Metformin... but I am becoming more hopeful. I have also seen a big slow down in my facial hair growth. (I was going to apologize for typing this statement but the fact is it is part of PCOS and I am not going to edit out the icky embarrassing stuff!.) Anyway, I will be going to see the endocrinologist next month, it will be interesting to see what they have to say about the change and what they think about going off of the Metformin. I know the western medical model is reliant on drug treatment these days but I am determined to get rid of the drugs and still be healthy!
Happy Easter!
My update for last week: I did get my adrenal tests done, soaking cotton under my tongue and sticking them in little vials (that was interesting). But I did not do it until yesterday and will have to express mail them tomorrow. I also started doing some yoga.. I made it three days in a row and then did not get any in yesterday, or so far today. But I do feel this is progress. I also was excited to see that I lost another pound this week. I was feeling a bit down last week, as my scale said I had gained 1.2 lbs, but that weight plus another 1 pound is gone this week. In 14 weeks, since starting to work with the eastern medicine and the candida free diet I have lost 12 lbs! It really is amazing. I have not counted calories or really exercised for that matter, but the weight is coming off. I do think I will eventually hit a plateau where I will have to exercise. And besides, exercise is important and, considering in my job I am telling parents that their kids need to move, I should probably start moving too!
It is yet to be known if I will really be able to go off of the Metformin... but I am becoming more hopeful. I have also seen a big slow down in my facial hair growth. (I was going to apologize for typing this statement but the fact is it is part of PCOS and I am not going to edit out the icky embarrassing stuff!.) Anyway, I will be going to see the endocrinologist next month, it will be interesting to see what they have to say about the change and what they think about going off of the Metformin. I know the western medical model is reliant on drug treatment these days but I am determined to get rid of the drugs and still be healthy!
Happy Easter!
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