Dizziness update - and more changes to report.

Last post I mentioned that the medication, Reglan, that my surgeon had prescribed was the cure for my nausea, and it was.  Unfortunately, I started having the dizziness again, which lead me to believe that it was more than dehydration.  I also started having restless legs.  Not being able to stay still is a terrible feeling.  There is a real diagnosis for restless legs and medication to treat it, but as I began to think about recent changes I thought about the Reglan.  So, I looked up side effects for Reglan and there is was  - dizziness and restlessness.  It would have been easy to leave it there and not question things any more, but I thought something else could be causing these symptoms.  I decided to start with my internist and get some lab work done to make sure it was not something with my body chemistry. Turns out it was a good place to start and seeing my doctor was a good decision.  My blood pressure was low.  Really low for me.  I have hypertension and I am treated for it with 2 different medications.  I started taking medication for this diagnosis in my twenties.  Hypertension runs in my family so it only seems natural that I would have it, too.  My doctor decided to take my off one of the medications completely and decrease the other one by half.  While I'm on this subject it tells me that a family history of a disease does not mean than you are doomed to have the same family history.  Losing weight has caused my blood pressure to drop.  Maybe we can change our own history.  A pretty good reason to lose weight.  Now, back to the office visit.  My labs show that my potassium and chloride were low.  The low blood pressure and lab results are reasons to cause dizziness.  What do you know!  My doctor also thinks that I could be experiencing side effects of the Reglan as well, so I am trying not to take it as much.  She prescribed me a medication for nausea called Zofran.  While this is good for the nausea, it does not do everything that Reglan does.  Reglan also helps with digestion, something Zofran does not.  I've got these medications and I am trying to only use them when my symptoms get so bad than I cannot tolerate them.  We'll see how that goes.  In the meantime, my dizziness has pretty much gone away.  Taking away those medications for high blood pressure must be working.  I am going to have some repeat lab work done tomorrow and then a followup visit with my doctor on Monday.  I have checked my blood pressure throughout the last couple of weeks and it is up some from where it was and my restless leg symptoms are pretty much gone, too.  Decreasing my Reglan use must be helping, too.

So, I am learning what might seem obvious.  Losing a great deal of weight does cause other changes in your body than just decreasing your size in clothes.  Getting to come off some of my medication is a great pay off. Having troublesome symptoms is not a great way to find this out, but it does get your attention that things are changing in your body.  I also contacted my psychiatrist during these symptoms just to rule out any problems with the medication I take for depression.  He didn't seem to think that these meds would cause the symptoms I was having.  I have an appointment to see him for the first time since I started losing weight.  I'm sure he will see a difference in me.  I am wondering if a decrease in some of these medication could be warranted as well.  Since medication is sometimes based on weight, it would figure to me that I could use less.  I am not depressed which is good.  My medications are working and changing that balance could cause changes I don't want.  I certainly want to be off more of my medicines, but I don't want to go backwards either.  I will discuss this with him when I see him next week.  I also contacted my weight loss surgeon, too.  Symptoms of nausea are not uncommon after surgeon.  Some have more than others and I am told that it will eventually go away.  I am looking forward to that day.

Since my last post, I am down another pant size.  Now in a size 5 times smaller than I was.  I have decided to buy one pair of pants as the last pair gets too big.  I'm still wearing the same tops even though they are too big for now.  I guess I will eventually have to replace them, too.  As of yesterday, I have now lost 75 pounds.  I am thrilled, but it is also hard to believe.  These changes come slower to my brain.  Also, a friend gave me a gown that she was not wearing.  It is a size 1x.  It fits perfectly.  I was sure it would not fit before I tried it on.  I was wearing a 4x to 5x in some clothes.  Certainly amazing to me.  As I have already said, this is hard for me to believe.  It has been a long time since I could wear such smaller sizes.

One last thing.  I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but some people have given me a compliment that is disturbing to me.  I have been told that it won't be long now before I'll be married.  That some man is now going to sweep me off my feet and change my life. I know these folks mean this as a compliment, but it is not.  I am not losing weight in order to get married.  The two have nothing to do with each other.  I am losing weight for me.  I want to be a healthier person.  I want to feel better in my own skin.  I have been single all my adult life.  I am not unhappy about this.  If I were to meet someone and fall in love, it would be fine.  But, this could have happen no matter what I weighed.  That statement says to me that something must have been wrong with me that no man would not want an overweight woman.  I don't believe this.  I am the same person I was 75 pounds heavier.  It is true, I feel better and I am feeling better about my appearance, but not in an attempt to get a man.  Sure, if something did now happen in the romance department, it would be an adjustment.  But, there are going to be lots of new changes and adjustments.  I will take them as they come.  Let me repeat.  I am losing weight for me.  I hope you all understand this.

That's enough for now.  I appreciate all the compliments and "atta girl's".  I want you to continue to encourage and support me.  I hope my comments won't change that.  I just want you to understand what I am experiencing in this journey.

As for now and until next time.
woof from Phoebe, meow x 2 from Hannah & Houdini and xoxoxo from Bonnie