PCP Appointment

So today I saw my new PCP. The first thing they did was weigh me, and I was excited to see that I lost 3 pounds by just eating 5-6 small meals per day! And when I say this, I mean not necessarily healthy foods either. I'm still transitioning off of my junk food supply of cookies, cake, and candy. But I eat about 400 calories per meal and I eat at like noon (because I wake up late right now due to sleep apnea), 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m., and midnight if I'm still up. But it's not all bad foods, like I'll eat a Lean Cruisine frozen dinner that's high in protein for dinner, or a protein bar for lunch. I really enjoy this way of eating/lifestyle because I'm not hungry! In fact it's the opposite, I don't feel like eating, I almost feel like I'm forcing myself to eat and have a hard time finding something that I have a taste for because I'm not hungry.

Aside from that, it was a very serious appointment. I complained about my sleep being horrible, I have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, I wake up tossing and turning all night, and even last night I woke up gasping for air. Sometimes I don't even try to go to sleep because I know I'm just going to toss and turn when I try and force it, so I'll stay till like 4 in the morning and then finally pass out. Then I wake up at noon the next day. My sleep apnea is out of control. It's affecting my entire life from school, my ability to keep a job, my moods around people, and my weight. My psychiatrist confirmed that the sleep apnea combined with the PCOS is most likely the cause of the regular weight gain I was experiencing before I just lost these 3 pounds. During the day I almost can't do anything but sleep, so now I'm behind in my classes and will have to get a medical withdrawal for one class. I'm literally only awake now to write this blog post because I drunk a Monster energy drink so I can be productive after about a week of not being productive. I'm just so tired of being sleepy all of the time. And it didn't hit me until after I left my appointment today that I have literally eaten so much that my body has a hard time breathing now. It was a wake up call.

My PCP also recommended that I take progesterone birth control pills instead of the regular estrogen birth control pills to treat my PCOS's irregular menstral cycles. It's November, and I still have not had a cycle since April of this year. I was told by my endocrinologist that I need to at least have 4 cycles per year in order to be healthy. Typically estrogen birth control pills are the first treatment used to treat PCOS. But when I was about 13 years old, my dad did not approve of me taking them at such a young age. Then as I got of age, I found out that I have a history of breast cancer on the maternal side of my family. This means that I am not allowed to take estrogen birth control pills or else it will greatly increase my chance of getting breast cancer. But what I found out today was that there is progesterone birth control pills. I'm going to do more research into it, but it sounds like I should be able to safely take the progesterone birth control pills without increasing my risk of breast cancer. Hopefully by doing this, I will be able to effectively treat my PCOS which will help with regular menstral cycles, and weight loss.

I also complained to my doctor about what seems to be Scoliosis forming in my upper back. I have this strange like arch on my spine in between my shoulder-blades. It's almost as if I'm already becoming a hunchback. I also complained about the pain of my Sciatica in the lower lumbar of my spine. I have a hard time being physically active for longer than 5 minutes before I experience extreme tightness and cramping pain in my lower back. I just learned this week that if I need to do something for longer than 5 minutes like standing or walking, then I have to take a Tylenol Extra Strength in order for me to not feel the Sciatica pain. The only exercises that do not trigger pain in this area is swimming and rebounding (mini trampoline). But now that I have lost my license, I am unable to drive to the rec center to go swimming. So now it's down to rebounding.

Last week, I did about 3 days of rebounding for a half hour, and aside from my feet hurting at the end of it, it was great! I listened to my favorite music while I jumped on it. I recently moved it into my room from the living room to have easy-access to it. But now due to my extreme fatigue from the sleep apnea, I hardly have the energy to jump on it for a half hour like I did last week. So my PCP said to workout for at least 10 minutes a day. She said doing at least ten minutes of activity will give me more energy. She also said that losing weight will also decrease the stress on my back. I still do some yoga poses when I can. It's about the only thing that helps to relieve the pain, aside from the Tylenol. I also see a chiropractor when I am able to make it to his office.

My doctor took a lot of blood tests and she will discuss the results with me in a week at my next appointment. They also are scheduling with the hospital for me to have a sleep study done in order to get a CPAP machine to treat the sleep apnea. I am very against needing a machine to sleep, but I'm so desperate that I literally have no choice if I want to live a regular life.

2018 has been a great year for me, a lot of blessings and opportunities have come my way, but now it seems like a lot of things are crashing down around me. So I am just doing my best to stay grounded, knowing that God will fight my battles for me.

#weight #health #apnea #Scoliosis #PCOS #weightloss #PCP