Week 41

To put it lightly, this was not a good week. I think a big part of it was the nerves and stress of seeing the MS specialist. And of course, we were out of town for a day and a half so we ate out for three meals. I am not sure what my deal is with not being able to keep myself on track. A lot of where I mess up is at lunch time. Since I live so close to work, I got home during lunch. Unfortunately, that puts me near a bunch of food so I have my lunch, and then I just keep on eating. By the time I get done from lunch and put in all the WW points, I am down to like seven points for dinner. Well obviously, I need more than seven to get a decent dinner. I am not even necessarily eating "bad" stuff during lunch, I am just eating too much. I am trying to identify trigger foods, those that send me into a tail-spin and make it difficult to resist eating them continuously. I didn't get any walking in during the weekend though technically I had time. We are planning on going tonight but then are supposed to get a major snow storm in the next two days so will be trying to keep driving to a minimum. I seriously cannot wait until Spring gets here. And I hope I won't be starting over when it finally does get here!

Weight change this week: +4.4lbs
Total weight loss: 34.6lbs

And So It Goes...

Today I saw an MS specialist and was officially diagnosed with the disease. Despite holding out hope that something else was going on, I had the feeling that it was probably the correct diagnosis. The doctor was excellent and I wish I lived closer to where he is so that he could follow my treatment and progress. I am planning on following up with him 1-2x's per year to make sure I am on the right path. I also told him that I would be interested in participating in research studies in the future. As a clinical psychology major, I know how hard it is to get research subjects when you need them!

I will be starting treatment soon, like the interferon drug called Rebif which is an injection that I will give myself three times a week. I can only imagine how expensive it will be, but worth it in the long run. My prognosis looks very good given my age, gender, and general lack of severe symptoms. I am hopeful that I can live a relatively normal life.

The doctor encouraged me to be taking at least 2000 I.U. of Vitamin D every day as it has shown to have good effects in MS. He also encouraged me to get some exercise, like walking every day. I had been really good about walking until it got so cold that I couldn't tolerate it anymore. So my plan is to walk at the local mall or at my church as they are both warm, safe, and well-lit. Hopefully that will continue to keep my muscles active and help me continue losing weight.

Week 40

Well, for being week 40, I would have thought I would have been a little bit further along than this. But a lot has happened in the last few months that has made the weight loss come to a screeching halt practically. Thankfully, I have only gained a little back and seem to be able to maintain my current weight fairly well. Until this terribly cold weather ends, I don't know that I will be exercising. That kind of sucks too because I can tell I have lost a lot of muscle tone, especially in my legs.

I will be going up on Wednesday to see an MS specialist in order to get a confirmation on the diagnosis of MS. I hope it's not MS, but I know it could be something worse too. As always, prayers are appreciated very much.

Weight change this week: +0.4lbs
Total weight lost: 39.0lbs

Week 39

So, I totally forgot to weigh-in on Sunday, though I know I had a gain. I would have weighed in on Monday and counted that but I forgot that day too. Since it was MLKJr day, I didn't have to go to work, so I spent much of the day in my pj's. I did get a call to go and see the neurologist early. It was icy and nasty here so they had a lot of cancellations. Since I was supposed to see him two weeks after my last appt. I took advantage to get in there. I saw the doc for all of three minutes. He said that the diagnosis is "probable MS" and is going to refer me to a MS specialist in Des Moines. So I go see that guy next Wednesday to get a definitive diagnosis. Until then I am scrambling to get a copy of all my records to take with me. I am glad I got the appt. as soon as I did but it doesn't give me much time to make sure I have all my info to give to them. But, I will get it done and hopefully get some answers.

Weight loss this week: ????
Total weight loss: ?????

Week 38

This was a busy weekend. I started my steriod infusions last Wednesday and finished them up yesterday. They made me puffy, crave carbs (crave everything really), and exhausted (due to insomnia). But I managed to hang in there pretty well weight wise. Hopefully I can keep the trend going down now instead of up. I got rid of all my bigger clothes so I will not have anything to wear if I don't keep my weight in check for now.

So for this week:

Weight lost this week: -2.0lbs
Total weight lost: - 39.4lbs

Week 37 and the trend continues! :(

The week started out better than it ended weight-wise. I did great early in the week getting back on track but during the weekend had a bit too much fun apparently.

Weight gain this week: + 1.2lbs
Total weight loss: - 37.4 lbs

I did at least get a wonderful night away on Thursday night with my husband. I found a holiday rate at a really nice hotel in a town about an hour away and we were able to stay there, go out to eat, and do a little bit of shopping with our Christmas gift cards. Instead of paying an arm and a leg to go to a movie, we took his portable DVD player with us and hooked it up to the hotel TV and enjoyed a movie right there in our room. It was definitely a nice break for both of us.

Back on track and tracking today!