Doctor.

[witchscauldron]

It is a well-known fact that I dislike doctors. Nevertheless, I went to see one today. Woo.

I expected the walk up to the clinic to be 40 minutes - big hill in the middle. I blasted through it in 25 minutes - go me! Felt good. I conquered that hill. Got there, and waited...and waited...and waited.

Waiting is bad for your nerves, esp. when you don't like doctors.

So I finally get to see Dr. Boyle. The name should have tipped me off. This man is a gruff cross old Irishman - like my Uncle Mark, only a doctor. We went through my family history blah blah blah...and then it came out - I'm stupid and I'm fat. Apparently my blood sugar was 16 or something...that's bad. Very bad. He kept looking rather repulsed as he kept telling himself he'd have shuddered to see my blood sugar last year, when I was much heavier.

I was expecting this. It does not mean I like it.

I mean - yeah, ok, I'm fat - I know that. The fact that Dr. Boyle was actually rather annoyed that I was fat was...well, annoying. He also said it very patronizingly - grotesquely obese were the words. Ah well. So I am. But just because I am doesn't make me stupid - I wish I hadn't felt dumb the whole time. I felt stupid because I didn't know I had this, that I didn't look sooner, that I knew nothing about it...blar.

Wonders continue - I got a physical exam. Raar. Icky! Cardiograms suck, but at least they don't hurt. I don't get freaky about them, tho. It was ok....after the exam he definetely thought that I also have PCOS - the excess pigmentation in my armpits, the back of my neck, and my groin all seem to point to that, as well as my rather embarrasing facial hair. I'll have to see a GP and get some advice on who to see about that.

So yeah...agressive exercise and diet should balance this out, along with the meds. I'll get some info and whatnot at the Diabetes clinic here in town when I can do their course in a couple months. More blood and pee tests - ick - and then I was off to the bus home. I feel better knowing what to do now.

So I take the bus, and get off at the corner of Charlotte and Park St. - it's about 2-3 blocks from home. I figure I'll walk. As I get off, my purse strap comes loose - and my keys fall off. I don't discover this until I'm off the bus, and it's moving on.

~*SIGH*~!

So I book it - the bus station is 5-6 blocks away, max, but I've gotta boot it to catch them at the station. This is a feat I have never before accomplished, since I am slow and the aforementioned fat. Mind you, in the last year my speed and stamina have picked up a lot, and I haven't tried to catch the bus lately, either. I made it in record time. I found my keys. I even got to use my unused transfer to catch a bus home! So while earlier this week I felt rather unhealthy and useless, I'm feeling somewhat better now.

I'm gonna walk, if not every day, every other day. I'm gonna cut out the last of the useless sugary junk from my diet. I'm gonna kick Diabetes' ass. You watch me.
-M.

Comments

[silere.livejournal.com]

woo! go morg. :)

PCOS

[evergrey.livejournal.com]

Okay
The first thing you need to know about PCOS is that most doctors don't know shit about it. Sad but true. Until very recently, they didn't even look beyond the infertility issues. You want to try and find an endochrinologist who actually KNOWS a good lot about it.
PCOS is likely what caused your diabetes.
Also, PCOS causes weight gain. The excess androgens that your body produces makes it very difficult to burn off fat. It makes you put ON fat like nobodie's business. Don't let him tell you you have PCOS because you are big- it is caused by a combination of genetics and all the unnatural chemical crap we ingest in this modern factory and preservative driven society.
My sister was a slip of a girl until rcently. She's 26 and she hasn't had her period since she was 18. I was skinny when I went through puberty. I don't eat as much as mos tpeople, and I have a better diet than most people, but I'm uh, quite round.
Avoid carbohydrates. You have to have SOME, but let them take the form of, say, brown rice if you can. Protein is good, veggies are good, some fruit is good. Remember that fat does not convert to fat in the body- it's sugars and carbs that do that. Of coruse there's also the considerations you have to take for diabetes that I'm not so familiar with.
Whenever there is somethign wrong with a woman that isn't obvious, and hell, even when it is, doctors tend to blame it on a) fat or b) hysteria.
Heh. I hate doctors.
Being overweight is MUCH more likely a symptom than a cause. Excersize is good, improving your diet (not dieting, just improving it!) is good. If you don't end up skinny, love yourself anyway, andknow that you are shaped like a woman, not a little boy. :}
Ah, and right now there are medications for people with PCOS. They're still, as far as I'm concerned, in their expiramental stage, and they work for some people and not for others.
Some doctorsprescribe a progesterone-based birth control pill. While this might work for some people, it just made my ister and I psycho. We also gained more weight. I personally do not beleive that adding MORE hormones will help, but again, that's just me.
If you get your period at least once every three months, you're doing well on that front. Taking 2 or 3 birth control pills at once often induces a period if you don't- if your uterus is producing blood but not shedding it, the blood can rot and the walls of your uterus can harden, whcihcan cause cancer or endometreosis. If it isn't making any blood, though, you should be okay. An ultrasound should show if there is buildup or not. An ultrasound will also show how cysty your ovaries are.
And finally- if you work with the lady, I know you can be strong. And it isn't the end of the world! Many, many women suffer from PCOS. And hey- we get extra upper body strength. ;}

Re: PCOS

[morgandria.livejournal.com]

Hah! There's an endocrinologist in Peterborough - ONE. So if he doesn't know anything about PCOS, another doctor would be at least 1 1/2 out of the way, assuming it's even possible to get an appointment. Ah well. I suppose I can always ask my GP at home for an ultrasound if I feel like it - it's 3 hrs, but my parents are there.

He didn't seem to think the PCOS was anything to worry about, and basically shrugged it off. I have been losing weight, and am eating well, and I menstruate regularily now, so it's not as much of a concern as getting my blood glucose balanced, I guess. I've been overweight since I was 4 or 5...so it's nothing new. I was on BC for about 3 years, but it had my cycle so screwed up...and by the end of it I was in pain for it, so I stopped taking the BC and my cycle levelled itself out normally.

My diet is also super-modified by the fact I have ulcers. There's a lot I can't and don't eat anymore...even vegetables will make my stomach upset and cause nasty reflux issues. So I eat...well, a lot of chicken with a little starch, fruit, and drink a lot of freakin' water. It's boring, but it works. Now if I can curb my sweet tooth...gar. Hallowe'en was murder this year. Craving sweet for two months. >_<

I was very comfortable and happy with my body before Monday. I'm sure I will be again shortly - I know I've come a long way from where I was. It's just a sort of slap in the face, at first. But now I have information, and I am empowered and in control again, and it'll be all good. The Lady's all into disease ass-kicking mode. I know I can do this...she'll kick *my* ass instead if I don't. *LOL*

Nice talkin' with ya. :)
-M.

Re: PCOS

[evergrey.livejournal.com]

Morrigan once helped me out when I had cancer. I knew I couldn't fix it on my own, so I went to her... (I don't ask her for help unless I really need it... she seems to appreciate strength and self sufficiency, heheh)
Anyway, the doctor is a mysogynistic moron.
Research PCOS online. Read about it in different websites to get a balanced idea.
So long as your period is fiarly normal, you're safe from a lot of nasties. Like endometreosis, uterine cancer, and hemorraging to death.
PCOS can cause diabetes, thyroid failure, weight gain, acne, male body hair growth, skin pigmentation, ovarian pain, infertility (and causes a high chance of miscairrage when one is pregnant) depression, and emotional problems because of the random fluxes of hormone levels. I wouldn't say it's something to shrug at. But at the same time, don't despair- it sounds like you're doing quite well. Improving even, and good for you!
Oh yeah, and Loki says he'd be happy to update herr doktor's education if you'd like. ;} 'course, Morri would prolly be just as happy to do the same...

Marshmallow Wolves UNITE!!!

[aurorawolf.livejournal.com]

I've been a complete and total fatass my whole life, from birth onward. There never was a time I was "normal" or "thin." I've just always been big. I can't say it's all hereditary, cause it's not, but a good portion is. *shrugs* I know that if I don't change and if I don't try to lose weight, I'm destined for a lot of shit that I don't want to go through. I know a lot of dietary tricks (including "never say diet"), though I feel unprepared. (Look up Prevention's new book "The Get Thin, Get Young Plan" 'cause it's awesome). I also love to feel full, which is bad when overeating yada yada is an issue. I don't care what I eat to get full, I just want it. Maybe it's the wolf side of me, the one that likes a feast and famine diet. *curses* And add that up with the whole teenage image thing I'm going through as well. Fuck, I can't wait until college. I want to be thinner for prom, I want to be thinner for my senior picture. The bad thing is that these self image problems are caused by my wanting to conform to others, when I'm not doing it for myself.

Uhg, I'm sorry I'm rambling. Your entry just brought up a lot of stuff that was on my mind, that I needed to get out. Sorry bout that. *hugs the RavenWolfie* We'll get through it, one step at a time.

~Aurora

[lyceum.livejournal.com]

*Goes into Richard Simmons mode and puts on some oldies music*

Sweat! Sweat! Sweat!

*Gets ahold of himself, banishes the daemonic presence*

Anyhow... good for you, get rid of that pesky little disease. It don't stand a chance against ya. ;)