For well over the past decade, I have had an ongoing struggle with my health and my increasing weight. I seemed to continue to gain and feel increasingly miserable as the years continued. I have tried nearly every ‘weight loss’ product and system under the sun. I did have temporary success with weight watchers previously, however it left long term damage to my psyche to my relationship with food. The markings of ‘good and bad’ food with their outdated system of ‘low fat is best’ has had long term consequences. Counting calories never worked because again I put a lot of emphensive on ‘good’. Low calories? Has to be the best possible thing I could have. Ignoring the fact that these products normally were so jam packed with mountains of artificial ingredients that left me with awful stomach pain. But I’m eating ‘right’ so what’s the problem?
I was in the best health of my life while breastfeeding my now 2nd Grader son and doing weight watchers. However, once I both quit weight watchers (the points were just way too low without breastfeeding points) AND breastfeeding the weight steady creeped back on. I cannot explain the shame I felt having to buy larger size clothes again and pretend I just didn’t see the smaller sizes in the back of my closet collecting dust. I was receiving so many compliments when I lost weight, it was so embarrassing to see the looks of disappointment in the same eyes.
Doctors had no explanation other than I must be eating too much and not exercising enough. While I didn’t hit a traditional gym I was on my feet all day at work as a medical assistant and did a hefty hike to and from the train system. The weekends (before having my son) often included a lot of hiking. But still, the overall answer was ‘You could be trying harder’. It was so frustrating and disheartening.
Around 2019, I had a surgery to remove my gallbladder after repeated gallstone attacks. This made my dietary intact relevantly strict.
In late 2020, I met with a new to me doctor that suggested it was Irritable Bowel Syndrome that was keeping me bloated. I met with a Gastroenterologist that recommended I mix gatorade daily with metamucil and take a stool hardner.
Yeah, it confused me too.
Still not feeling any better or seeing any decrease in my weight loss, I requested food allergy testing to see if I was continuously consuming an allergen that would be causing my body to stay inflamed. My doctor agreed and the results came back with SEVERAL massive food allergies. When I met with her to follow up, she insisted those must be a lab abnormality and to continue following the protocol the Gastro doctor recommended. Please note, even though she claimed my results were with a lab abnormality I still had to pay the invoice for it.
Feeling defeated, I stopped seeing that doctor and seeing any medical intervention in general. What was the point?
Then late last year I was so fed up and tired. I found myself scrolling Amazon looking for different mail in lab sensitivity tests in yet another attempt to figure this out myself. It was then I had a moment of clarity that if I was willing to fork over all of this money I should find a new doctor.
Feeling burned by the physicians in the network in my city, I looked to the hospital two towns over that I previously had excellent care. I asked Spirit to align me with the right physician that would give me the roadmap to discovering my optum health. Not only did I find a doctor almost instantly but she had availability for later that week (everyone else was 6 plus months out).
After doing additional research on my symptoms, I had discovered I had the majority of the symptoms for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I was nervous to bring this up to this new to me Doctor.
Would she think I was a hypochondriac? What if she just tells me to ‘try harder’ like the other doctors? Will she think I’ve been visiting doctor google too frequently?
To my shock, she agreed that my symptoms seemed to be in alignment with that diagnosis and ordered blood work. Right after Thanksgiving, I was officially diagnosed with PCOS and begun taking Metformin to assist with my symptoms. In very early of this year, I was given the option to begin taking weight loss medication to jump start my weight loss.
Given the current popularity of weight loss medications as well as limitations by my insurance, we landed on Phentermine which is an appetite suppressant stimulant. I plan to do a more in depth post regarding this in the future.
The medication worked wonders along with continuing my wellness routine which included taking care of my physical vessel as well as my spirit body. Oh, and I eat anti-inflammatory, relatively low sugar with an emphasis on high protein.
Currently, I have discontinued taking Phentermine, which is putting me into high drive to follow my exercise and eating plan so I do not gain the weight back (I cannot let the haters win, y’all).
Please, please.. ADVOCATE for yourself and your body! If you have a doctor you do not feel comfortable with or doesn’t listen, fire them and find another provider. Your health is EVERYTHING. Do not be afraid to be labeled as a ‘Karen’ if it gets you the tests needed!