Quote:
Originally Posted by Mountaindewed
I’ve heard that doctors don’t always check your thyroid levels correctly. They don’t do all the tests they are able to do. And levels they may call normal are in reality not actually normal.
I had bad cholesterol last year and I was told to avoid basically every thing I eat. I didn’t listen but I did drop 24 pounds. I have had a few lab works done since this past May but I haven’t heard that it’s gotten worse or better. Just that things are ok enough to continue with procedures. I also have highly suggested kidney disease but it hasn’t been an issue.
But because of the meds I have to be on now for the rest of my life it would be very bad if I developed diabetes or high cholesterol. Both run in my family and my dad died of complications from diabetes. My mom was prediabetic but she got it under control with diet and walking every time she can. So I am worried and I’m trying to watch things even though I like to eat unhealthy stuff. I have to have lab work done regularly now the doctor told me he needs to keep an eye on my red blood count. I don’t know what would be wrong if it was too high or too low.
I’m sorry your going through all this. It sucks having medical issues on top of mental health problems.
|
Thanks, Mountaindewed.
I'm planning on buying books.
One of my previous physician assistants recommended "The Obesity Code." The same author also wrote "The Diabetes Code." But those recommend intermittent fasting, which is really tough to do.
My current primary care physician recommended Dr. Gourmet. He was an internist (medical doctor), or perhaps still is, but he's also a culinary artist. He is aware of what foods we should and shouldn't eat. He has a website, which I linked above. He also sells books at his website, through Target, and perhaps also through Amazon. I purchased one of his books, but I plan to get all of them. His plan seems more reasonable, but not enough to reverse prediabetes.
I plan on buying books for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis as well as reversing diabetes as well as losing weight when you're in your 40s/50s and have a chronic health conditions/mobility problems.
I do plan on changing my diet, but I did need to store processed foods in case there were shortages. I don't have a vehicle, and I don't know many people here. I can't ask them to go grocery shopping for me, so online and door deliveries are all I can do safely. The problem here is that they cater to able-bodied in-person shoppers, so sometimes they don't allow certain products to be sold through door deliveries or shipping orders. They will tend to run out of the healthy foods, so then I'm stuck with processed. I stocked up on processed foods just to survive many bouts of potential shortages. Our state is in crisis standards of care because our test positivity and cases and deaths are so high, and our ICUs are completely packed or overflowing. They even ran out of morgue space in our area. It's really bad. So, if it weren't for this pandemic, my blood tests would have been normal (I never had these issues before the pandemic, when I was last tested in 2019).
My health deteriorated from this pandemic (not from Covid, as I've never tested positive for Covid - unless it was a false negative). I was sick with bronchitis and some undetectable respiratory illness in March 2020, but I was prescribed a Z-pack and felt better nearly 3 months later. My abnormal labs began there and then worsened just this year when I retook them.
It was a huge step for me to quit smoking, but even then, I'm still at the same risk level as a smoker with severe Covid-19. So there are limited benefits to quitting smoking. I quit smoking in March 2020. However, my health still deteriorated, and my labs only worsened. My weight gain was largely due to quitting smoking, and my pandemic stressors only worsened my health all around.
Until this pandemic goes away, my body is going to be in fight-or-flight mode. This only makes everything more likely - obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and more. Having PTSD is like being a smoker; the risks of death remain, and it's not like you can just switch PTSD off or "quit PTSD" like you can with quitting smoking. Your triggers are automatic, so the best you can do is manage your PTSD. But the PTSD itself is a risk factor for early mortality. It's scary and depressing.
I feel more of the betrayal trauma now than I ever did. I feel my abusers literally ruined my life.
