Any one else like me?

Have your metabolism checked. Get a rmr test and a vo2 max test. With your medical history I would assume they would be covered by insurance. With that data you can structure a good diet and exercise program.

Wow - Thank you all for answering and asking questions. I was expecting to hear crickets for 24 hours and maybe one person would say I was just over eating. This is so great I moved from my phone to my big computer to write back.

So here goes

1. I will try to figure out how to share my diary. I was super good about keeping the journal in 2012, but not great in 2013 and just started up again, but you may see some good patterns.

2. I have been battling with weight since I was 14 (and I just turned 40) so I have been weighing and measuring for years. It was really surprising at first. The potatoes in the recipe is definitely not the potato you see in the store. The store ones are generally 3 times the size that the recipe calls for. Don't get me started on restaurant portions. But good suggestion.

3. I was in pain for 14 months due to a headache. I have had a lot of medial testing done due having "new daily persistent headache" for 14 months. Basically you get a very bad headache and it doesn't go away no matter what you do. Image getting a headache and it being with you every hour of every day for up to 5 years - It really sucked, but in trying to figure out why I was in pain, I think I had about every test in the book run. In the end there was no real "cause" of the headache that never goes away, but some faulty nerves. I was hospitalized in December and now I feel about 98% (not 100% yet, but getting there).

4. I have asked about metabolism testing and the doctors here do not really know what I am talking about. Can you give me the full names of the tests and maybe what type of doctor would run the testing?

Now to answer the longer questions.

"1) How long has your thyroid been stabilized on medication? "
- Less than a year - BUT, I was put on synthroid when my THC (might have wrong initials) was 2.7. I now sit around 1.0. So it wasn't really that high to begin with. I know some doctors do not consider it high until it's over 10 or 5. It was something my doctor tried when she was searching for something to help my headaches before I was diagnosis with new daily persistent headache. They ran the whole panel in the hospital in December and I was in range for the Ts.

"2) How accurately are you logging your food? Do you weigh everything or eyeball portions? Do you eat out at restaurants often or prepare most of your food yourself? Do you monitor sodium? Opening your diary might be helpful"
I am going to try to figure out how to unlock my diary. I do not eat out in restaurants much, (1 per week) and I do prepare most myself. I do a good bit of eyeballing with veggies but am stickler for nuts, oils, bean, cheese, eggs, etc..

" 3) Do you have any other medical concerns, like hypertension? Are you on any other medications? "
I am on medication for my headaches. As I said before I am super healthy, except for the stupid headaches which are now under control. All my meds are off label to help prevent the stupid headache from coming back so for example, I am on bystalic (blood pressure lowerer )- though I have lower blood pressure (100/60 area). So please do not read into any of the meds because generally I am not taking them for their marketed purpose. I have been taking synthroid (since mid 2013), bystalic (headache - started in 12/2013), Cymbalta (started mid 2013 though this is my last week of that), dymista (nasal antihistamine/decongestant), for allergies, flexiral (started 12/2013), and diflucan (just for a week or so to fight the yeast overgrowth I got from the IV antibiotics). But really I have been fighting this my entire life.

" 4) What kind of exercise are you doing? "
I was a modern ballet dancer so I am trying to get back to some type of ballet classes. Right now I am taking 1 ballet class, 1 mid level yoga class and then walking on the elliptical trainer.

"5) Last time you lost the weight, how many calories were you eating and how long did you continue to eat that level?"
When I last lost the weight was in 2012 before I got my stupid headache. I was on a vegan, oil free, starch free diet (I was also told I was yeast and lactose intolerant). I was about 800 to 1000 calories, but that diet is really strict. Then I got the headaches and one of the meds (darn you elevil) made me gain 20 pounds in 3 weeks. That is when the charting came in handy so I could show the doctor what I eat and that I wasn't just eating bon bons all day. I was eating about 1400 calories a day when I gained that 20 pounds in 3 weeks. Then I lost about 10 pounds in 10/11 or 2013, but I did eating one meal a day (about 500 or less calories) That was when I was in a lot of pain and not trying to eat that little, I just couldn't do anything due the pain. So I went to the hospital in December, I feel great, but the 10 pounds I lost is back. I eat fairly normally in January (about -1200 to 1400 a day). I know I can lose weight if I eat one meal a day - but I am not doing that.


"6) What happened to cause the weight gain this time- was it the pregnancies?"
See above. I lost all the weight from both of my pregnancies through hard work and eating very little food while breast feeding.

I think I got it all.

I hope I am not running off people with the details. If I am supposed to someone write folks back privately, please let me know the etiquette.

m

Is it just BMI that leads you to believe you're overweight? A BMI of 24.9 is in the upper end of what is normal, but those BMI figures are overblown and nobody uses them anymore.