One year, 50 pounds (w/ pictures and a question)

davidoneil13 · August 2014

"poor sleep, difficult breathing, sinus congestion, indigestion, chronic fatigue, and pain through the mid-face region"

Have you been tested for food allergies? Maybe it is WHAT you are eating not the amount you are eating. My daughter has had severe food allergies since about 4 months old. She had similar symptoms, as well as eczema.

Ever since my health declined, it was obvious to me that it was influenced by what I ate. For several years, I thought it must be some kind of allergy or intolerance, but I could never isolate anything. It was only recently that I thought that maybe it's not what I eat, but how much. It's definitely possible I missed something, however.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

You've made some really great progress there! Wonderful!! I hope you also find some answers with your other health issues. I understand all too well how hard it can be getting answers.:flowerforyou:

Thanks! I'm feeling more hopeful now than I have in years--just have to sort out the last lingering problems. I hope you find the answers you're looking for too!

funchords · August 2014

You're asking about glucose testing, do you have a diabetic friend? Ask if you can do some random tests. Use a fresh lancet needle and test well past 2 hours after eating.

If you don't have such a friend, ask your doctor for a meter and some strips. It will likely come with about 10 test strips. My USA-based doctor gets these for free. (The meter companies push their meters so that you have to buy their test strips, which is where they make your money.)

As a last resort, you can buy these in a drug store. They are not too expensive.

Test when you wake in the morning, test when you feel good (more than 2 hours after eating). These will be your baseline. Then wait until one of your bad days and test again (again, more than 2 hours after eating).

jennifir · August 2014

Are you taking B12? You may have a deficiency. I've been taking 5000mcg and it's made a big difference in my energy levels. I'm no doctor though, just going by my personal experience.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

My dad tested negative four different times and finally tested positive at 87 years of age. The problem with GF alternative products is that they cause huge blood sugar spike and that makes one feel crap all over again. And like you, I have stopped asking doctors in this country for guidance, especially when it comes to nutrition and fitness. A friend of mine studied medicine at Georgetown University and admitted openly that they spent very little time on nutrition. I would say skip the doctor and focus on good old trial and error - in time you will figure out what bothers you.

Thanks for this feedback. I feel the same way. I've had great experience with doctors for routine problems, but I hate talking about my chronic issues because nothing ever comes of it, and I think I end up looking like a hypochondriac.

audrast · August 2014

Sounds like there is a combination things that could be happening. Breathing, congestion, face pain ... have you been allergy tested?

The indigestion, fatigue made me think stomach sensitivity, intolerance (dairy or other item) or maybe a vitamin or mineral deficiency. The easing of your symptoms as you've lost weight might point to it. If you've limited your intake of something calorie dense like dairy or bread, you might have been avoiding the problems they can cause.

I dealt with the allergy issue recently. All my life no allergies and then they came on all of a sudden. I'll be eager to see if my continued weight loss affects the severity of my symptoms this coming season.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

Congrats on your loss! You look amazing.

I'd really recommend asking your doctor for a comprehensive blood test, in which they test for Celiac, your fasting glucose, and thyroid along with many other things. If you have access to look at your results, look at them. If you are in the high end of the normal range for anything, talk to you doctor about it. Some doctors will see that it's "normal" and let it be, but some will say it's not normal for you. If your doctor dismisses you, get a new doctor. You know yourself and you have to live with your health, you have to advocate for yourself. I can tell that you are educated and well informed and know yourself well. So if your doctor doesn't work for you, get one who will. Best regards!

Thanks! Your advice is reasonable and I may try a new doctor at some point, if any problems persist after reaching 10% body fat or so. Unfortunately, I just returned to grad school for a PhD a couple years ago, so I'm suck with the university docs for a couple more years.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

You're asking about glucose testing, do you have a diabetic friend? Ask if you can do some random tests. Use a fresh lancet needle and test well past 2 hours after eating.

If you don't have such a friend, ask your doctor for a meter and some strips. It will likely come with about 10 test strips. My USA-based doctor gets these for free. (The meter companies push their meters so that you have to buy their test strips, which is where they make your money.)

As a last resort, you can buy these in a drug store. They are not too expensive.

Test when you wake in the morning, test when you feel good (more than 2 hours after eating). These will be your baseline. Then wait until one of your bad days and test again (again, more than 2 hours after eating).

That's good advice. Back in 2009 I did some readings with a Wal-mart glucometer and saw post-prandials between 60 and 170 (fasting was about 80). I should probably test again to get some hard data to support my hunches.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

Are you taking B12? You may have a deficiency. I've been taking 5000mcg and it's made a big difference in my energy levels. I'm no doctor though, just going by my personal experience.

Thanks for the comment. That was one of my thoughts too. I do take B12 from time to time now, but it doesn't seem to make much difference.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

Sounds like there is a combination things that could be happening. Breathing, congestion, face pain ... have you been allergy tested?

The indigestion, fatigue made me think stomach sensitivity, intolerance (dairy or other item) or maybe a vitamin or mineral deficiency. The easing of your symptoms as you've lost weight might point to it. If you've limited your intake of something calorie dense like dairy or bread, you might have been avoiding the problems they can cause.

I dealt with the allergy issue recently. All my life no allergies and then they came on all of a sudden. I'll be eager to see if my continued weight loss affects the severity of my symptoms this coming season.

I agree this may be allergy-related. You may be right that these allergic-type reactions can be alleviated through weight loss. I've also noticed that some minor skin issues I had (sensitivity to certain soaps; mild chest acne) have completely disappeared with the weight loss. Maybe unnecessary body fat just increases sensitivity?

arewethereyet · August 2014

David,

I am not a doctor but have an educated enough guess regarding many of your symptoms. My father suffered from indigestion, headaches, poor sleep, fatigue and was easily agitated. Breathing issues were on and off, but overall he simply felt crap a great deal of the time. At the age of 87 he was rushed to a prestigious hospital with a mysterious shutdown of his intestines and it still took my suggesting they check for Celiac Disease - the surgeon literally rolled his eyes at my insistence of a blood test. Long story short, my dad is a Celiac and was undiagnosed for decades, but ALL of his symptoms vanished once he set out on a gluten free diet. The doctor said that being of Western Irish descent heavily predisposes one to carrying the two Celiac Disease genes and that it was a shame he was undiagnosed for almost his entire life.

Trust me, if it is gluten that leaves you feeling generally unwell taking gluten out of your diet for a week will lead to very obvious positive changes. As a child of a Celiac I was tested and told I am only gluten intolerant - meaning gluten won't cause permanent damage to my health, but it certainly makes me feel rough overall. I get a raspy asthma like thing in my lungs, chronic insomnia and migraines if I overdo gluten on any given day. When I am strict in removing gluten I feel a decade younger and actually manage to sleep before the sun comes up - gluten brings on wicked all night sleeplessness!

Oh lastly, my father did suffer from shakiness and erratic blood sugar before being diagnosed - I can remember him holding on to a railing once and thinking it was low blood sugar, but all these things went away within days of dropping gluten. The thing is all the doctors he had seen over the many decades wrote the many symptoms off as stress related or simply part of the aging process. Do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes researching your symptoms online as American doctors are so behind the rest of the world when it comes to understanding how gluten can significantly rock the health of their patients.

I hope you don't misconstrue my lengthy post as being pushy - it is just you mentioned so many of my father's symptoms that I felt the need to share. Congrats on the weight loss and best of luck to you.

I wish I read this 5 years ago:flowerforyou:

Removing wheat from my diet (all gluten products) most of the above symptoms went away, my migraines became 1x a week than 9-10 a week, and in addition my arthritis in thumb joints and feet all but disappeared. Gone! Wow.

So the info you put out there is important to someone

audrast · August 2014

Some preliminary research is pulling up results about obesity-linked inflammatory response. But this is something to talk to a physician about. I might be able to do research online but nobody knows your body better than you and your physician. At your next appointment, make a list of questions about you symptoms and ask if some testing for allergies and/or deficiencies is indicated. There is no harm in asking, and a good practitioner will take your concerns seriously.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

David,

I am not a doctor but have an educated enough guess regarding many of your symptoms. My father suffered from indigestion, headaches, poor sleep, fatigue and was easily agitated. Breathing issues were on and off, but overall he simply felt crap a great deal of the time. At the age of 87 he was rushed to a prestigious hospital with a mysterious shutdown of his intestines and it still took my suggesting they check for Celiac Disease - the surgeon literally rolled his eyes at my insistence of a blood test. Long story short, my dad is a Celiac and was undiagnosed for decades, but ALL of his symptoms vanished once he set out on a gluten free diet. The doctor said that being of Western Irish descent heavily predisposes one to carrying the two Celiac Disease genes and that it was a shame he was undiagnosed for almost his entire life.

Trust me, if it is gluten that leaves you feeling generally unwell taking gluten out of your diet for a week will lead to very obvious positive changes. As a child of a Celiac I was tested and told I am only gluten intolerant - meaning gluten won't cause permanent damage to my health, but it certainly makes me feel rough overall. I get a raspy asthma like thing in my lungs, chronic insomnia and migraines if I overdo gluten on any given day. When I am strict in removing gluten I feel a decade younger and actually manage to sleep before the sun comes up - gluten brings on wicked all night sleeplessness!

Oh lastly, my father did suffer from shakiness and erratic blood sugar before being diagnosed - I can remember him holding on to a railing once and thinking it was low blood sugar, but all these things went away within days of dropping gluten. The thing is all the doctors he had seen over the many decades wrote the many symptoms off as stress related or simply part of the aging process. Do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes researching your symptoms online as American doctors are so behind the rest of the world when it comes to understanding how gluten can significantly rock the health of their patients.

I hope you don't misconstrue my lengthy post as being pushy - it is just you mentioned so many of my father's symptoms that I felt the need to share. Congrats on the weight loss and best of luck to you.

I wish I read this 5 years ago:flowerforyou:

Removing wheat from my diet (all gluten products) most of the above symptoms went away, my migraines became 1x a week than 9-10 a week, and in addition my arthritis in thumb joints and feet all but disappeared. Gone! Wow.

So the info you put out there is important to someone

For what it's worth, I can see the value of avoiding wheat even for people who don't have celiac, because white flour products are so calorie dense and nutritionally empty. Of course, many people are also legitimately sensitive, and for them there is all the more reason!

davidoneil13 · August 2014

Some preliminary research is pulling up results about obesity-linked inflammatory response. But this is something to talk to a physician about. I might be able to do research online but nobody knows your body better than you and your physician. At your next appointment, make a list of questions about you symptoms and ask if some testing for allergies and/or deficiencies is indicated. There is no harm in asking, and a good practitioner will take your concerns seriously.

Thanks again for your thoughts. I've read that these obesity-related conditions are often related to the "invisible" visceral fat rather than the adipose tissue that is so easy to see. I may have been a case of thin-on-the-outside/fat-on-the-inside, who then just became fat. Now that I'm thin again it may just require a little bit more body recomposition to eliminate the last of the hidden fat. I think I'll try a doctor again if I haven't sorted it out on my own in another half-year or so.

pita7317 · August 2014

I tried REALLY hard not to respond to this post due to negative/arguments/statements.
But I must.
Get gluten out of your diet. I did 95%, 5 years ago. HUGE difference.
Lost weight, feel so much better !
I lost only like 10 lbs after cutting WAY back on gluten but that in itself gave me the incentive to keep going on the weight loss train.
Do it. Try it. At least for 2-3 weeks. You WILL feel better.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

One last thought - when my Dad was in the hospital he was literally dying according to the medical staff and they ran tests on organ function but failed to check his vitamin D. When I insisted his regular physician do so it was at 7 and his doctor said something about his very low level being responsible for his inability to stay asleep. This vitamin can cause weight gain and difficulty in getting the new weight off, even with diet and exercise. If you have not had your D checked lately and wish to skip the doctor, simply get a finger prick test from the Vitamin D Council via the post.

Oh, and to arewethereyet, the migraines I used to blame on moderate Guinness consumption back in the nineties felt the same as the migraines I get today with a slice of whole wheat pizza!

You know, I did have a vitamin D test once and I was low. I supplemented for a while, but didn't notice anything dramatic--but I should probably keep with it considering it's so cheap.

I wonder if many of these symptoms and markers cluster together because of some central metabolic issue. That is, maybe low vitamin D is a marker for an underlying problem, and supplementation will help the deficiency but not solve that problem.

It sounds like a lot of people have had to struggle through health problems like mine, and that there are lot of possibilities. These comments have given me a lot to think about.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

I tried REALLY hard not to respond to this post due to negative/arguments/statements.
But I must.
Get gluten out of your diet. I did 95%, 5 years ago. HUGE difference.
Lost weight, feel so much better !
I lost only like 10 lbs after cutting WAY back on gluten but that in itself gave me the incentive to keep going on the weight loss train.
Do it. Try it. At least for 2-3 weeks. You WILL feel better.

I certainly don't want any arguments! I appreciate your comment. I tried a gluten-free diet for several years, and I think it's worth trying for anyone with inexplicable health problems, but it wasn't the answer for me.

davidoneil13 · August 2014

I fully get where you are coming from regarding low D3 indicating some underlying situation and from what I have found it is usually indicative of autoimmune issues. I read an Oxford Medical Journal study saying that low D3 is almost always found with clinical depression and anxiety patients. I researched tons on D3 as my father was quite leery about supplementing and only University level research made him commit to taking the D3 daily.

I once met a doctor that was so obviously healthy that he actually glowed, you know as pregnant women glow. This doctor had such energy and his eyes sparkled as in someone with optimal health even though he was face to face with sick patients all day. So I asked him straight up about his lifestyle habits and he said he kept his diet simple, almost boring with fruit, veggies, nuts some meat and fish but no gluten or dairy. Before I could ask about supplements he quickly added that he takes 1000 mg of buffered C, a B Complex and 10,000 D3 every day.

Now I was shocked at the amount of D3 and even the C but he simply said that this is what it takes to allow him a "life." This doctor does 12 hour days and also weight lifts and hikes on his off time. I asked if he worried about toxicity, given these numbers are far greater than the suggested doses and he laughed and said something along the lines of look around you to see how efficient the suggested dose is for most Americans. This doctor then explained that he never gets sick and said the buffered C is a miracle worker for people in his field.

I can definitely understand why you would listen to a doctor like that. My current opinion (whatever it's worth) is that a simple diet is effective mainly because plain foods make it easier to maintain a low calorie intake. I notice tend to eat a lot more when I start eating the highly palpable junk foods. In either case, I guess it would make sense to eat simple whole foods.

I'm undecided about supplements. People who take them (like your doctor) also tend to live a healthy lifestyle with controlled calorie intake and lots of exercise. I'm uncertain whether the supplements themselves are contributing to the positive outcome. On the other hand, a few basic vitamins like C, D3, and the B-complex seems reasonable, and I don't want to discount their value.

One year, 50 pounds (w/ pictures and a question)

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