Really Need Help

OK - I am really struggling with maintenance. I have now introduced all of my trigger foods back into my diet - eating WAY too many calories, carbs, sugar. I always get really sick, swear I will get back on track, then the minute the sickness goes away, I eat junk again. I have only gone 1 day on plan since July 4. Every other day I am messing up. Has anyone done this so early out and what did you do to get yourself back on track? I want to nip this bad behavior in the bud before the weight gain gets out of control. Any advice is so appreciated.

tdbull, I feel your struggle. I have not had a revision, but just recovering from gall bladder surgery. I have removed all the trigger foods from my home, but the office has a cabinet full of them. My plan today is too take more of the things I can have like veggies and string cheese to help me get back on track. Good luck!!!

Thanks - every meal, every day is a reset for me. I won't give up.

I hate to admit, but at one year out I was experimenting as well...got sick more time than I can count.  At the same time - I had a hard time keeping my weight on, and IMO I got too skinny for my age and bone- muscle structure. 

 At the end - I realized that I was eating thee junk food because 

- it was there...

- stress eating

- and I could justify I can "afford it" weight wise.

 

But after a few severe low BS episodes - RH - and severe pain - gut issue (hernia - eventually had surgery for that) I tried to find foods thast I can enjoy and food that "would not hurt me or others"  (driving while having RH and realizing I could cause accident - was not cool) 

I went to therapy to try to deal with issues of my body dismorphia, and deal with stress eating.  

I kept a journal that I recorded my eating and how's I felt before,  after and overall emotions.  

I just found the journal - and reading some of the pages now made me realized I was really really sad,  depressed,  really dark places. 

Craving junk foods - for me now indicates imbalance -  either my iron- protein levels - vit D- B12- or thyroids  - or adrenals are not on optimum level and I need lab work to determine what is going on.   Optimum levels is not = in normal range, optimum for me = I feel good. I.e I can feel when my iron- ferritin is below 30. I get tired,_ more depressed, even when my other blood markers are good to great.  Combine low normal iron with low normal protein+ low normal ,D and B12 - and I was in a veally bad emotional- energy shape, even thinking of taking my own life - I was that tired and depressed.

 

My food cravings (I.e. jar of pickles a day) indicated my body needs more real salt and acid (acid=  helps with digestion) .  And so on.

As a child and as MO person - I took way too many antibiotics - so now I do have internal ( in the gut - I was tested a few years ago)  candida - yeast overgrowth.  I keep it under control with diet, herbs or ...if I feel its getting worse - I use Rx diflucan.  

Eating more carbs ,- sugars - makes the candida get stronger - andf tyhast causes me to crave my carbs- sugars.   Having said that: I would not recommend anyone take Rx for that unless you know you have it.  Drugs can have serious side effects. 

(Typing on a tablet is a ***** to edit for spelling and other mistakes or typos - so forgive any you see)

 

 

Thx H.a.l.a. - my labs did come back normal, but what is normal for us, right?? I'm just a train wreck right now - just retired July 4, have been hosting a lot of parties and have been stressed with my new lifestyle changes. My past response was to turn to food, which is what I've been doing now - especially bc I feel that I have worked so hard to lose this weight, that I can give myself a break. NOPE - I feel awful. Today is a new day and I appreciate your feedback. I am also going to call my NUT, have her help me tailor my vits, and see if she can get me into therapy and have insurance pay for it. I really appreciate your feedback.

when I felt so horrible and felt like I was dying - my docs told me my labs were normal.. 

One vet (I will be grateful to her for the rest of my life) asked me to get coppies and when she review it - she told me 2 tings: 

1. my labs were not complete

2. some of the test the run - were normal but low normal - so combination of 3-4 critical vitamins / minerals - in very low to low normal made me feel terrible..  

She suggested I go back and have the other lab done, plus she told me that if that were here  (no medical advice given - lol) she would drastically increase the individual vitamins, minerals and proteins and see if that would help.  at the end - that helped some - but I still could not absorb the iron - enough of it anyway so I ended up with iron infusions. 

Sicne then - i pay very close attention what labs are run and to the results.  My doc is interested in low - high.  I also look at trends - is it dropping ? or is it rising or stable? 

 

i.e. in December my ferritin was 86, in May that dropped to 23... ouch... even though my Hgl and RBC, and other numbers were good to very good, in the rate my body was losing blood - I would end up anemic in 3-6 months... so went to hemo and got a series of iron infusion to max me up.. (I guess she hats when people cry in his office- that was me when my ferritin was 9 and RBC were 3.5 .. plus other markers indicated anemia...)

I am very lucky with a great team of docs...  

 

posted on different post: 

1st Group (Every 3 to 6 months for life, as we are able) - I test most of these for me yearly - if needed more (when show deficiency)  (6 uyyears post op - some labs show normal - every time - I stopped asking for it) 

 *8005               Comprehensive Metabolic profile: (sodium, potassium, chloride, glucose, BUN, creatinine, calcium, total protein, albumin, total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartateaminotransferase) 10231)

* 7600                 Lipid profile: (cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, chol/HDL ratio)

* 84100               Phosphorous – Inorganic: (718)

* 84550               Uric Acid: (905)

* 85025               Hemogram with platelets: (1759)

* 83550               Ferritin: (457)

* 84446               Vitamin A: (921)

* 84052               Vitamin B-1: (Thiamin) (4052)

* 7065                  Vitamin B-12 & Folate: (82607; 82746)

* 83937               Osteocalcin:

* 85610               PT:

* 86141               C Reactive Protein

* 84134               Pre-albumin:

* 10256               Hep panel: includes ALT (SPGT) & GGT)

* 83735               Magnesium:

* 7444                 Thyroid panel: (T3U, T4, FTI, TSH) (84437; 84443; 84479; 84480)

* 7573                 Iron: TIBC, % sat

* 84630               Zinc: (945)

* 8230                  Vitamin D: (25-hydroxy) (680)

* 84207               Vitamin B-6: (Pyridoxine)

* 83970               Serum intact: PTH

* 84597               Vitamin K:

* 85730               PTT:

 

2ND GROUP (Annually, as long as the results were comfortably within normal limits for more than 2 years in a row)

 

* 593                    LDH:

* 83921               MMA:

* 84255               Selenium:

* 82525               Copper:

* 31789               Homocysteine, Cardio:

* 367                    Cortisol:

* 84590               Vitamin E:

 

For diabetics:

*496                     HEMOGLOBIN A1C

 

POSSIBLE DIAGNOSIS CODES

269.2                         Hypovitaminosis

269.8                         Vitamin D deficiency

275.40                           Calcium deficiency

266.2                         Cyanocobalamin deficiency (B12)

281.1                         other B12 deficiency anemia

281.0                         Pernicious anemia

280.9                         Iron-deficiency anemia

281.2                         Folate deficiency anemia

285.9                        Anemia, unspecified

269.3                         Zinc deficiency

244.9                         Hypothryoidism

250.0                         Diabetes

401.9                         Hypertension

276.9                         Electrolyte and fluid disorders

272.0                         Hypercholesterolemia

*579.3                            Surgical malabsorption*

*579.8                            Intestinal malabsorption *

* Bands or sleeves should not use these codes as they are not accurate.

* Some insurance companies will not pay for any procedure that uses these codes.

 

This is NOT medical advice, just my own targets for the main blood levels I watch.

 

Protein:                7's

Albumin:               4's

Pre-Albumin:       20-30's

Iron:                     80-100

Ferritin:               200-300

HGB:                    12+

HCT:                     36+

Vit A:                    60- 80

Vit D:                    80-120

Calcium:               9.0-9.4

PTH:                     20-40

Vit B1:                 Mid to top of range

Vit B6:                 Mid to top of range

Magnesium:        Mid range (but also go by if we have leg/foot cramping)

Zinc:                    Mid range

Vit B12:               1000 +

Folate:                Top of range 20

AST (sgot):          Below 40

 

Have you tried an Eval for Food Addiction, Binge Eating or other Eating Disorder and attendance at daily OA? Counseling and Rehab activities can help a lot.