cirrhosis

Whew... that would certainly motivate *me* to change my ways in a hurry. Just seeing someone else my age have a stroke made me realize I needed to get serious. Up until then, my extra weight wasn't that important to me. I didn't like it, but didn't dislike it enough to make the necessary changes.

What you do may depend on your doctor's advice for diet and exercise, due to the liver condition.

For me, I had to find a form of exercise that I like and can do consistently. Walking happens to be perfect for me and was a big part of losing 90+ pounds. And I had to completely change both the quality and quantity of food I consume. That part took more research, thought, and discipline.

The way I looked at it: I could continue as I was with high risk of developing diabetes, high bp, heart disease, stroke, etc... or I could fight for better quality of life for myself from that moment on. I decided that my health was worth fighting for - and even though it's mostly an internal battle against greed, laziness, and pure bad habits, it can indeed be quite a fight.

You lose fat = you win health.

Good luck!

Wow... that is rough and I'm sorry to hear that you have to go through such an experience.

But as tross0924 said... you're still here. You just have to put a plan into action and do your best to stick to it. You've got a great community here, and a lot of people are more than happy to help motivate and inspire you to keep going. The fact that your Doc tells you you can live a normal life by losing weight should be great motivation.

If you have a bad day, just chalk it up to a bad day and look toward the next day. Always try to keep moving. If it's nice out, go for a walk around the block a couple of times. The important thing is just to move. You'll get there. Just remember it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's gonna take some time. So do not let a bad weigh-in discourage you, or a bad food day throw you off track.

I decided to get serious for once in my life when my pulmonologist read to me the results of my sleep study (which I should've done 5 years ago). My O2 levels dropped to 68%. Anything below 90% isn't good at all. His words were "... you know, that's just not conducive to life." I wanted to cry right then and there. I'm on a CPAP now and have been working out daily and eating fairly decent (i still eat junk but mind my calories) and I'm losing weight. Oh, and did I mention I'm type 2 diabetic? But I haven't had to take my meds since about May '10.

You can do this.

I was on my way there. I was probably diabetic without realizing it for a long time before I went into the ER for DKA + acute pancreatitis last April. They looked at my liver panel and asked me if I was a heavy drinker. I told them that I had in the past, but not anytime recent at that time. But, I pretty much had the trifecta of solidified doom having diabetes + high cholesterol + hypertension, not to mention the gout, fatty liver, weight issues, and I was a 1.5 PAD smoker. My CO2 levels were so low at one point, the lab called my nurse and asked him if I was still "ali--- conscious," verbatim, because I was supposed to be in a coma at that level. I laughed it off and told him I must be a walking anomaly and went to the bathroom to take a piss.

Long story short, I was in the hospital for 9 days trying to get my pancreatitis managed through insulin drips, potassium drips [I was low on that too], and they had me NPO for 3.5 days. I was being fed through an IV and it fried my veins. So, per doctor's orders, I obviously had to get my weight under control with diet and exercise, and the possibility of increasing my lifespan to a normal healthy life, and the statistically smaller chance that I could possibly reverse the symptoms of type 2 diabetes would become better. At that point I decided that if life wanted to take my life, I was going to take it back with gentle ferocity. When my survival rate came out of the 80% chance of death range, I COMPLETELY changed my entire lifestyle starting with diet.

Eating whole wheat, fiber, lean protein, a variety of vegetables, and a calorie restriction weren't anything new to me since I have an eclectic palate, I just took on the challenge of putting my cooking skills to the test to make them just as delicious as, if not more than, the normal diet I had full of processed goodness. I then put my elliptical to use after a month of straight dieting and giving myself insulin shots and taking oral meds for insulin production. In 3 months I lowered my A1C levels from 13.5, while in the hospital, to 6.8 by July and was completely off insulin and the oral meds for diabetes. I also achieved healthy normal levels for my cholesterol, blood pressure, liver panel, uric acid, etc. I was officially the healthiest one in my household. And I was the only obese one in the family. In those 3 months, the dedication to my exercise and diet gave me a loss of around 40 - 45 pounds at the time, if I remember correctly.

I continued it and I'm completely medication free for any of my prior conditions. The challenge was to go against the genetic predisposition for diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and gout. I wasn't going to let a small thing like genes get in the way of my health. I wasn't going to let ANYTHING get in my way. I had, and still have, the utmost complete confidence in my abilities to defy both life and death. And that's my strongest asset. Rebellion and defiance for authority, whether it be parental, judicial, biological, or mental. I just used it towards a positive goal instead of my usual negative ones that led me to my many near-death experiences, DKA/pancreatitis being the most recent.

So, do not lose hope or give up attempting to achieve your goal. Do everything and anything [in]humanly possible to get there. The abundance of options are always available for you to choose in order to obtain optimal health, and will remain present until you've exhausted every possibility. And in the face of exhaustion and adversity, just keep going. True, that might be applicable to only me, but then again, that possibility has to have been done from every angle in order to determine that.

I wish you luck and success with your health.

Phil, congratulations on turning your life around!! Do they know what caused your pancreatitis? When I was in the hospital for it last February they grilled me about drinking too, but I don't even drink that much. Mine was caused by a gallstone leftover in the bile duct, after I had had my gallbladder removed the year before. I've just found out I have another stone (not blocking the duct this time) and am scheduled to have it out. Having pancreatitis completely changed my lifestyle too.