Can't See My Feet, But It's A Start

[tink]

Hi everyone! Nothing earth shattering here, but I thought I would let you all know that I went to the doctor on Thrusday for a check up on my Human Growth Hormone. I am in a study with this doctor and Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. I got weighed for the study and I lost 13 pounds!!!!!!! I was sooo thrilled. I don't know if it is the Growth Hormone, the Topomax or stopping the Lexapro or the percocet. I'll be even more happy when I can see my feet again from a standing position!!! Before I got sick I was very thin and muscular. I gained like 50 pounds since getting sick and it's not from eating. I never feel hunger, that part of my brain is damaged. My stomach never growls, and I never feel hungry. My endocrine system is destroyed-- my pituitary gland, thyroid gland and hypothalamus gland. Hope you all are doing well.

Love.

Lori

[sarahin]

Lori,
Very promising early results! Keep us posted on your progress. I was always thin before I had my thyroid nuked (radioiodine). I gained 50 lbs in 6 months even though the though of eating (esp meat) made me sick. Its a miserable thing. I never got back to my old weight, but loss over 35lbs of it. It will feel great to get some of the excess off. Got my fingers crossed that the improvements continue for you.
Sarah

[JulieNH]

Lori, that's GREAT! So glad to hear the Human Growth Hormone is working! What are your levels now? How much (dosage wise) do they give you, and how long have you been doing this? I know you have to inject yourself daily......I'm sure glad it's working and worth the pain! :eek: Have you ever heard of anyone having TOO much Human Growth Hormone after a rupture? Is that possible instead of having too little?

While it's still warm out, and still flip flop weather, maybe you should go have your toenails done in some flashy color so every time you look down you'll get a little reminder of the joy of being able to see your toes again, when you can, it'll be soon! :D Congratulations!
JulieNH

[TitaniumCranium]

Hey Lori -
If you do not mind me asking , is it the HCG hormone????
I wish you well with continued weight loss. I know the feeling of weight gain and no exercise. :(

Lori (T.C.)

[ChrisC]

Lori - GREAT news!!! It's wonderful that one thing (or a combination of things) is working so well for you! Keep us posted on your progress.

[FireflyR7]

:D That is cool!! What kind of diet are you on? I was a size 8 before my surgery, gained 50 lbs in 2 years. I am still pretty homebound and exersize is not really an option for me at this point. I don't have any appitiete and I have to force myself to eat some days? The Dr. said it has a lot to do with my meds.? I would give anything to get back down to fit into my clothes!!! I try to eat healthy and nothing has worked. Dr. even tried one thing that should help but, I had an allergic reaction to it? I even had my thyriod checked out?

I bet you are so proud of yourself!! ;) It is a good feeling, I am very proud of you!! :D Keep up the good work and share your diet foods with us?? Tricia

[RUTHIE]

Hi Lori,
This is all very interesting to me. I had my rupture in Jan 05 and clipping at AGH in Pittsburgh, I'm from Erie. After one of my angeograms that I had there the nurse gave me a card with a specilist thats does endocrine testing, since back then I was having symptoms and weight gain and menstrual problems and asked about it. I never followed up with this doc cause i didn't want to have another out of town doc, since I can't drive long distances anymore and is hard for me to get to Pittsburgh for appointments. But since then I have been having weight gain that is so hard to control, I exercise and watch everything I eat and still can't loose, my moods are unpredictable, acne breakouts!!! I feel like I;'m going through puberty all over again!! I thought it was menopause, but haven't even started that yet. Can you give me the name of the doc that you are seeing at AGH?? I lost the card with his name on it and would like to follow up on all this, maybe this is my problem after all, thanks so much,
RUTHIE

[tink]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all of the support. I really am not on any diet. I always have sort of watched what I ate. I'm not really a sweets eater so I guess that's a bonus. I think the reason for the weight loss is the combonation of the Human Growth hormone (HGH) and the headache medicine Topomax. Julie, I guess you can have too much growth hormone. T.C. to answer your question, HCG is the pregnancy hormone! I'm positive it's not that. HGH is the abbreviation for human growth hormone.Tricia, I too was a size 8 before I got sick. I'll get back there, but I want to do it the healthy way. What I can't do--- the Plastic Surgeon can do! LOL Just kidding. I hate pain. Ruthie, my doctor at AGh is the best! He is a Neuro-Endocrine MD. His name is Dr. Murray Gordon. His office number is 412-359-3426. You may have to wait awhile to get an appointment with him, but it's worth the wait. His other partners are good too, so you may want to see them. Good luck. I get the acne breakouts too once in awhile. That is definitely hormone related. Thanks again for all of the support. What would I do without you all??????

Love,

Lori

[JulieNH]

Tink,
An interesting article came up today which had to do with hormones (insulin).


From Reuters:
Low glycemic load diet may help fight acne Wed Aug 22, 4:34 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Avoiding high glycemic load foods could help acne sufferers clear up their skin, the results of a new small study suggest.

High glycemic load foods refer to foods that cause a sharp increase in blood glucose, or sugar, such as low-fiber carbohydrates. Low glycemic load foods cause an more gradual and sustained increase in glucose, and include foods such as high-fiber, complex carbohydrates.

After 12 weeks on a low glycemic load diet, men with acne had a significant reduction in pimples, whiteheads and other lesions compared with their peers who stuck to a conventional diet, Dr. Robyn N. Smith of RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria and colleagues found.

"The results of this study open up the prospect that nutrition-related lifestyle factors may affect the (development) of acne," Smith and her team write in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, while cautioning that additional research is needed.

Low glycemic load diets have been promoted for weight loss and diabetes control. Given that high levels of insulin may contribute to acne, Smith and her team note, it's possible that reducing dietary glycemic load could reduce acne severity.

To investigate, Smith and her team randomly assigned 43 men with acne to a low glycemic load diet or a standard diet. Men in the low glycemic load group were instructed to replace high glycemic load foods with more protein and lower glycemic load choices, while those on the standard diet were simply encouraged to include carbohydrates in their diet.

By 12 weeks, the number of acne lesions had dropped by about 22 in the low glycemic load group, compared with about 14 in the control group. The men eating the low glycemic load diet also lost weight, and showed greater reductions in levels of the male sex hormone androgen and increased insulin sensitivity.

It's not possible to determine if the improvement in acne was due to weight loss or better insulin sensitivity or both, the researchers write. "Therefore, these results should be considered preliminary and larger scale studies are needed to confirm the effect of dietary intervention on acne," they conclude.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, August 2007.

[TitaniumCranium]

Hi Lori -

There is a medical tx for weight loss using the HCG (yes, pregnancy hormone) for both men and women. I believe you can find under Transformation.com. A doctor had mentioned it to me , you are monitored weekly by MD .... shots and diet @ 8 week intervals ..... off I believe 4 weeks, start another 8 weeks until desired weight lost. A nutritionist helps you plan healthy meals, highly discourage skipping meals etc. I may speak to my ns about it . I was curious if that was what you were on. ;)

Well, kep up the good work !

Hugs,

Lori (T.C.)

[RUTHIE]

Hi Lori,
Thanks for giving me the # for Dr Gordon. I am trying to get in to see an endocrinologist here locally, but if he can't give me some answers I will give this doc a call for sure, thanks,
RUTHIE

[Pressing On]

Hey Tink,
I'm finally online again!! It's great that you lost some weight. I also take Topomax to prevent migraines and I found that I have really lost my appetite on a lot of days. Also since before my clipping, I get nauseated with the thought of eating meat. So I'm now at vegetarian, but am trying to take iron
supplements to make sure I get enough.
It's now been 2 months, and I am trying to exercise a little but don't have much energy...I've been listening to you all, drinking lots of water, and taking rests.
I have a great book called Strong Women Stay Slim that is full of healthy recipes, simple exercises and a complete meal planner that is so easy to use.
It helped me lose 25 pounds 2 years ago, and I've kept it off, so it may be worth a try.
You need to be proud of your accomplishment so far, and know that your true
beauty shines from within your heart--that's what all of us see!!
Big Hug, Rebekah

[tink]

Julie, thanks for the interesting article. I really enjoyed reading it.

T.C. (Lori) That is also interesting. I never heard of using the HCG hormone for weight loss. Please keep me posted about that. Do you go to an Endocrinologist for that? Is the weight loss a permanant thing? Good luck!