Posts by irishmum

Okay, you're 17yrs old and existing on 1400-1500cals a day. I know someone more knowledgable about it all is going to come along & explain exactly why you've got a 'slow' metabolism- it's basically because your body thinks theres a famine going on and is storing any little bit of extra energy it's getting. Your body won't burn off any 'extra' calories, because you're not feeding it enough. Think of the body like a furnace- you need to fuel it for it to burn efficiently.

I don't dispute that you're eating healthily, and well done for changing your lifestyle to do so, but seriously- you're still growing, and you need to provide your body with enough nutrition to ensure you don't develop problems later on in life?

You mention weight flucuations in both your posts, yet seem convinced it's not water retention? Why? My weight can fluctuate by up to 5-6lb up or down depending on several factors- the time of the month, what foods I've eaten, how much water I'm drinking etc.? Your face 'swelling' is a classic sign of fluid retention?

You also mention that when you initially started your change, you lost 15lbs of "actual fat?" How do you know this was "actual fat"? Most people who drastically change their lifestyel find the lose weight rapidly in the first few weeks. It's rarely "actual fat", a lot of it is excess fluid retained by eating unhealthily in the first place.

If you have access to a trainer or fitness expert- the first thing they'll tell you is that you need to eat more than you are to fuel your workouts.

Anyone?

Hi Foxriver, thanks for the exercise info. I did the C25K programme earlier this year, but it made NO difference to my weight, so I've reverted back to brisk (4.5/5mph) walks 2-3 times a week. I've been toying with adding in weights so my try this & see what happens? I'll check out that link too to see if it'll shed any light on my problems?

My doc wants to wait another 4wks to re-check my TSH levels before he adjusts my meds- I don't know why- maybe to make sure it's not just a temporary 'blip'?

It's frustrating, but all I can do is persevere with what I'm doing & hope it all falls into place soon?

Thanks again!

Original Post by carolyn5:

Anytime a women drops below a 1200 calorie intake, it backfires.  Your body holds on to the foods you have eaten and stores them as fat.  Never go below 1200 a day.  Some women thing by eating lower than that they will loose weight faster, however it has the opposite affect and actually causes you to gain.  I say aim for 1200 to 1400 a day and that weight will fall off with excersise

 Lessons all long learned carolyn5. 

If I was 'only' eating that much I wouldn't be doing much exercise or else I'd be back to square one with my calorie intake/burn. If I was doing any amount of 'real' exercise I'd be aiming for 1500+.

As it is I'm constantly between 1300-1500...and still waiting on that weight to 'fall off'. Thanks anyway.

Damn thyroid....and hormones....and years of yo-yoing!

Good lord! I've never heard of a pea allergy before! I had a feeling your wee one would be unique with any allergies she'd have though?  Just kidding.

My two were thankfully okay food-wise. My brothers two have an egg allergy- a bummer as they have to go to hospital to have any immunisations, and have to have special cakes at birthdays & stuff.

The eldest is also allergic to tomatoes/tomato paste/puree? It causes a reaction like your daughters- swollen blistered lips, nasty bum rash, prickly skin rash etc. Docs have told her she'll grow out of it, but she's 7 now and still has reactions after a small amount (they keep trying her with little bits every so often as advised)?

I'm with you too. We never had any baby-proofing when I was growing up?

Medicines/bleach/shampoo etc. are kept in a high cupboard (that even I have trouble reaching!) I don't bleach my floors everyday (or week for that matter!), they're lucky to get swept daily!

Kitchen utensils are kept in a drawer where they could get them if they wanted, but they know which is sharp and which can hurt (especially after an 'adventure' with a craft knife....ouch!! Lesson learned)

My 2yr old is going through a phase where she empties the toilet bowl to 'wash the floor'. Now if I could manage to get her doing this with clean hot water and actually be useful I'd be flying!  She loves using my (few & far between) expensive hair/face cream to 'clean' her face, so I got her some kids lotions & put them in fancy bottles- problem solved. If they ever put something in their mouths they didn't like- they spat it out, no harm done- this includes dead wasps/flys etc. that I hadn't swept up in time!

I did 'plug' the sockets. But that was due to a phase of sticking stuff into them to get the 'buzz'?!?

And they have no interest in Daddy's guns either.

UPDATE: Well, since that last post, I've gained another 5-6lbs, in 5wks- 1lb a week!?! I've been eating fresh foods, trying my darnest to stick to 1300-1400 a day...yet I'm still gaining.

How is this possible?

I weigh & log every single bite, so I fail to see that I'm 'missing' out extra calories. Even if I did miss a few, I still shouldn't be gaining like this?? It's ridiculous. None of my clothes fit me any more, and it's getting more & more tempting to just stop eating!! Well, not really, but the frustration is driving me to drastic thoughts!!!

I've had blood tests, an abdominal ultrasound- nothing has shown. What the heck is going on with my body?!?!?

Hi Dancerqueen, thanks for your reply.

Here in Ireland an 'upper' abdominal scan covers from your breastbone/lower ribs to around your waist area, a 'lower' scan covers all around your ovaries/womb area etc.?

My doctor had suggested that if the scan came back clear then there would be a chance it could be 'something like IBS', but I'm not totally happy with this as what I have is a 'pain', and not triggered by any particular foods? I haven't changed my diet at all since this began so I'd take some convincing that it was a 'dietary' problem? A 'digestive' problem maybe, but not dietary? The pain is now there all the time. It's not severe (or what I'd imagine to be 'severe'?), but I am aware of it all the time? The pain has mroe or less settled deep in my back on the right hand side, and occasionally in my right shoulder-blade area- but I don't know if thats connected? I googled kidney infections/disease, and I don't appear to have any of the typical symptoms? (frequent athrooms trips, pain on urination etc.) and my doc had done a dip-test when I first went to him- would that not have indicated an infection? I don't know?

I had blood tests done which showed elevated PCV levels (I hadn't a clue either! LOL!) which apparently is a sign my body was fighting some sort of infection, but where it was couldn't be specified with a blood test, hence the scan referral I think?

I completely understand how knowing someone who has had cancer so completely impacts your own concerns.

I like neonsquirrel's acronym for IBS a a lot! IBS is not a diagnosis nor is it a medical condition. It is rather a term used to indicate "no known condition or disease despite clear gastrointestinal symptoms."

So everyone "diagnosed" with IBS is being told exactly that: I'm Basically Stumped.

People given the IBS label are 4 times more likely to have undiagnosed celiac disease than the general population. They are also many times more likely to have undetected parasitic infections that are the root cause of their GI distress (than healthy controls with no GI symptoms).

...Your symptoms lean towards gall bladder distress of course, but lower right abdomen pains are common in celiac disease (many undiagnosed celiac patients have had their appendix removed in error). And as I said, the gall bladder becomes diseased with many celiac patients (for reasons I'll skip over at the moment).

Many undiagnosed celiac patients have had their gall bladders removed, despite the absence of disease (rather to try to alleviate the pain), only to continue to have pain in the same area despite the absence of the gall bladder at that point.

Don't assume your doctor will screen for celiac disease -- make sure that he does. In fact it should be the first thing he rules in or out.

If the scan shows no gallstones, a biopsy of the gall bladder may be warranted (to determine if it is diseased (not cancerous!). If it is, then celiac disease should be thoroughly ruled in or out (false negatives on the blood test occur with enough frequency that it's important you are really confident in the result).

Then he should requisition an O&P stool sample (o.k. not exactly "fun" to give a stool sample, but not invasive at least!) to rule in or out any underlying infection from various water-borne and food borne pathogens. He should do an H. pylori breath test (the bacterium responsible for upper GI distress and stomach ulcers).

All the possible pathogenic origins of your symptoms can be resolved with antibiotics -- and yes, being infected with these parasites is more common in developed nations as ground water systems are poorly monitored and more prone to contamination than ever before. Many physicians are still stuck in the mentality that it will only apply to someone if they have traveled to a developing country -- this is an outdated approach.

And IBS should be the last thing he contemplates after ruling out all other possible real conditions.

The chance that your symptoms can be completely resolved is very, very high.

Best of luck!

 Thanks for all this info- it's very interesting.

My scan is today at 1pm. I've been told I won't really be told anything today, the sonographer will 'read' the results and forward them to my Doc. He's told me that they may say something if theres anything really obvious, like stones or a 'mass' (argghh!!!) but they won't  'diagnose' me or anything?

What if I am imagining it all...? I don't want to be seen as a hypochondriac? But then again, I don't want anything serious to be wrong either?!?

And because I have to fast- I think I'm starving! LOL! I'm all over the place!

I'll update later on today...

UPDATE: Well, I don't have ANY stones, gall or kidney. And she didn't see anything out of the ordinary? She did lots of pics, and measuring, and asked if I had a history of kidney infections? Maybe she saw something on my kidneys?

Anyway, it's back to the drawing board. At least I didn't have any major problems (like tumours or something!) so my mind is at rest regarding serious illnesses? Maybe my symptoms will subside a bit now I know for sure theres nothing there? The dangers of self-diagnosing eh? LOL!

So do you think the gain could be caused by inflammation? It's the part thats niggling me most at the minute? Though I can't see how it could? Anything I've read has indicated gallstones cause rapid LOSS, I can't find anything where it can cause gains? Of course- apart from your post that is! LOL! 

I'm a firm believer on getting things checked. I've had pre-cancerous cells removed before, so anything that 'niggles' for longer than a week or two gets checked? It's not often, so my Doc should know I'm not a hypochondriac? But I don't want to keep bugging him and come across like one? But again, I'd rather that than let something fester until it's too late?

It's scary how far you were let go before they 'believed' you?

A friend from another diet forum passed away recently after being diagnosed with gallstones. When she had surgery they discovered cancerous cells on her gallbladder that had spread to her liver. It was 6wks from her first visit to the doctor with a pain in her side to the day she entered the hospice. She passed away 3 days later. She was 26.