TheGaudyMagpie Member

I think she meant "shoring up" in the sense of "protecting."

I had an unexpected schedule complication over the past few weeks that will be resolved next week, so I'll be signing up for the gym again. I'm not sure how much I can do just yet, but I'm starting to do some push ups against a counter, working my way down to the floor. I think I will be stuck with the machines for awhile,…

Glad to hear it!

Vitamin D deficiency causes all kinds of trouble, including depression and joint pain. I'm walking a lot too, and in a sunny area, but I probably need to start tracking it better because of the med I am taking for the bile salt malabsorption (it can cause fat soluble vitamins to be low). I also notice a huge difference…

Ugh. Luckily I have not had any breakthrough bleeding/spotting since the first month or so on HRT. Everything else has been recognizably a period, even if unusually light for me, and has lasted only that long (though mine usually go 7 days and always have). Mine aren't usually triggered by stress, but I usually know when…

Also Hope, I hope the biopsy comes out OK. They're no fun.

I had a biopsy less than a year ago (I'm on HRT so it's pretty routine with any bleeding at all). It's nothing weird. Just a period. Gyno said I can still expect them from time to time, but it was just unusual to have a near normal cycle length after so long. The drop in hormones in the beginning was also very sudden so we…

I'm 48 and on HRT. I won't say it's as easy to lose as it once was, but I am losing steadily. A lot of people have success on a low carb diet, but I'm bucking the trend as I had my gallbladder out a couple of months ago. I'm following a high carb/low fat diet and I'm finding that I'm having a lot of success with that. It's…

Took the first dose last night and it worked like a charm. So, in case this happens to anyone else, it's bile malabsorption. :) There's some anecdotal evidence that it also helps with weight loss because it prevents some fat absorption. So I'll be interested in seeing if that is the case. I guess I didn't realize how much…

Recompositioning. It's basically increasing muscle while reducing fat at the same time, which usually means eating at maintenance or close to it because muscle growth arguably does not occur in a deficit. My surgeon has tentatively OK'd an increase in exercise with the caveat that I stop if it hurts and wait two weeks to…

Heard from the doctor. She's prescribing the drug for bile malabsorption so I guess she thinks it's that too. She says it will resolve, but this has always been an issue to some extent so I'm not so sure.

I eat a low fat diet currently, so no greasy foods, and especially not in the morning. I was previously told that I'd adjust, but this was an even worse problem before I had the GB out, and I'm seeing some stuff out there about the D variant IBS actually being this bile absorption issue (I had been seeing a gastro who was…

Well, I was doing that last year with a trainer but I had gallbladder surgery in May and I can't do any heavy lifting for a few more months. I am currently walking and hiking, but I will probably start with some light weight/high repetition work soon to try to build some strength, and maybe explore so other stuff that…

I've been feeling much better since it is gone. I think I've had low grade infections off and on for years (I've had mysteriously high WBCs at various times).

Oh yeah, the lap chole is way easier than that. The woman in the bed next to me had fibroids removed and she wasn't even allowed to drive for a month. The only prohibition I had on driving was that I had to wait at least 24 hours after my last narcotic pain reliever. I'm still a bit sore, but it's not bad. It's kind of…

Well, the actual surgery is not too bad as surgery goes. I'm thrilled to not have the gallbladder pain anymore. If your symptoms match, it would be worthwhile to look into as there are options other than surgery.

Hi Panda. Thank you for your input. I think I can probably handle some basic curls and I will probably start with that. I don't have access to a rowing machine, but I was thinking I might try rows. Again, I'm wondering if I should just suck it up and join a gym because it seems like I'd be better able to stabilize my core…

Yes it was. Mine was badly infected so I was in the hospital for a few extra days. Even so, I was not down for long at all. I was admitted on a Thursday evening, had the surgery on Saturday, left the hospital on Monday and was back to work the Tuesday of the next week (it could have been Monday, but that was a holiday).…

I can exercise to tolerance per the doctor, so I'm trying to find something that is mild enough that it doesn't do a lot of pulling. If it doesn't pull or cause a lot of pain I can do it. I'm thinking things like bicep curls, if I stabilize on something. I recognize I can't do things like press, and I won't for the full…

I had what I thought was heartburn and it turned out to be my gallbladder. If the pain tends to be more on the right side and goes all the way through to your back, ask your doctor about checking for gallstones. I thought it was heartburn right up until I ended up in the emergency room with a blocked biliary duct. A few…

I use traditional HRT and I found that it at least stopped the weight from settling around the waistline (though a lot of moved to my chest and butt -- I don't mind it as much there). I discovered that there were two other culprits last year when I was really struggling. One was the migraine preventive I was taking…

I remember getting really cold too. My body just couldn't seem to regulate. I'm on HRT now so I haven't had any issues lately.

I'd look into histamine intolerance, based on that list. Egg whites can trigger a histamine reaction in some people. It may be that duck eggs trigger less of a reaction, and it may also be that your histamine levels have dropped enough to be able to tolerate some things you might not have been able to before.

I very rarely get migraines now so I don't need solutions to avoid them. The nerve ablation was meant to treat neck pain but I have had almost no headaches since -- just the one I always get at the beginning of my cycle, but I don't have super regular cycles now. This is consistent with some of the newer theories of…

What's funny is that most people seem comfortable with BCP, but that's a higher dose of hormones and carries a higher risk (it's also generally ingested vs absorbed, which is another risk issue). I'm 47, so I'm a little early and osteoporosis is a concern and estrogen helps guard against that. I'm on bio-identical estrogen…

I encountered no negativity whatsoever from my healthcare providers regarding HRT. My primary at the time I started it actually uses it and cites quality of life issues. The big study that turned everyone against HRT has largely been qualified, and there's some indication that HRT does reduce all-cause mortality rates when…

I had some pretty extreme side effects with Topamax, but I know a lot of people take it and it doesn't seem to affect them much. It's very effective for migraines if you can tolerate it. I take nortriptyline (Pamelor). It doesn't seem as effective, but I have virtually no side effects from it and I find it very energizing.…

I'm glad the progesterone is helping. I'm having a nerve ablation in my neck in a few weeks that we hope will cut down on my migraines. We've been having a lot of weather changes here in the past couple of weeks that have triggered the neck pain (probably from facet joint deterioration), which triggers the migraines. I've…

112 seems low for someone without a thyroid at all. I'm on 137 and I arguably have some function left as I had radioactive iodine ablation rather than a complete thyroidectomy. While you can theoretically lose weight if your thyroid levels are too low, the calorie threshold may be too low to provide complete nutrition. If…

I don't worry about carbs much as long as I'm within calories. The loss is slow but it is happening. A lot of people see results with low carb, but I don't think it's necessary and for some people it's not recommended. I find my workouts are better if I stick with moderate carbs. If you're concerned, perhaps you could cut…