Well I had my doctors' appointment today.  With good news and bad news.  My blood pressure was back to normal yay!  My weight was down only half a pound since my last appointment with my previous doctor over a month ago, BUT it turns out that one of the medications that I take for diabetes causes water retention and, after looking at my legs and squeezing my ankles, the doctor thinks that I am holding about 15lbs of water.  So he's changing that medicine.  Hopefully that means I'll be lighter when I go back in July. 

The medicine I take for depression (Wellbutrin) has a side effect of causing anxiety, so that's why I thought my anxiety attacks were escalating, we decided to keep that med but to change the times I take it and to make my anxiety medication (Klonipin) permanent.  We're keeping the Wellbutrin because I have horrible issues with SSRI medications (Like prozac, Efexor, lexapro, et al)  issues bad enough that a daily panic attack is an acceptable alternative. 

Also on the good news side my doctor thinks I am a likely candidate for gastric bypass surgery (yeehaww!) Bad news is he wants me to try doing the stuff he suggests first.  Which is not unexpected, he has no reason to believe that I have already tried everything considering he doesn't have my complete medical history yet.  And even more potential bad news, once (if) he recommends me for the surgery I should expect to spend 6 months jumping through hoops for the bariatric clinic that we decide on.  Which he says will either be Hershey Medical Center in Hershey PA which is roughly 100 miles from here (98.4 mi – about 1 hour 57 mins google maps) or at Geisinger Health System in Altoona PA which is only about 40 miles away  (42.3 mi – about 59 mins google maps) with those as clinics as best choice it's going to be quite expensive in gas.  Though I'm not going to jinx myself I have no idea how often I would have to travel back and forth to these places during that 6 month period.  And I don't even know if my doctor will make the recommendation even though he thinks that I am "probably a good candidate for gastric bypass surgery"  For now let's say I am cautiously optomistic , though I would be lying if I said I didn't have my hopes up. 

So I go back on July 15th, 11 days before my birthday, getting a recommendation for gastric bypass surgery would be the greatest birthday present ever. But I have to stay realistic.  It may be a year or more before I actually go under the knife.  On the bad news side I have to go in a few days before my appointment and give blood.  Another Hemoglobin A1C, Lipids (Cholesterol LDL HDL Triglycerides)  and my first Thyroid test in many years.  Which is surprising considering how big I am, but I suppose thyroid isn't one of the first things doctors think of when presented with a fat patient these days.  If I remember correctly my thyroid hormone levels have always been border line low* so maybe they've finally dropped low enough that I can get synthroid and shed some weight that way.

Wish me luck!
Love and kisses,
Ericka

*Hypothyroidism is caused from decreased production of thyroid hormone which results in decreased metabolism.