I think I broke my brain.....

I know my body is broke, but at least I used to be able to think.

I'm serious. It doesn't want to work. I read the low-carb headlines, I start thinking about the topic at hand, I start to pick it apart in my mind, and then *POOF*. Gone. It's like my brain says, "ENOUGH ALREADY!" and just shuts down.

I think it really has a lot to do with the fatigue I'm dealing with. My TSH test results were 3.01. Not exactly the number I was expecting. The way I feel I expected it to come back around a million or so.

So now what?

I don't know.

I'm totally lost as to where to go from here. I did get a B12 shot while at the doctor and it helped a bit. Enough that I'm fantasizing about having B12 intravenously pumped into my system continually. How sad is that? I actually asked for another shot 4 days later when I took my Mother-In-Law to the doctor. I'm like a junkie begging for a fix. They said they couldn't give me another for a few weeks or I'd overdose. I've tried one of those sugar-free liquid energy shots a couple of times. I think whiskey would have been more effective, although it would have burned more going down. At least with alcohol I'd have forgotten why drank the shot in the first place.

My question: Why is my low-carb lifestyle not making a difference in my energy levels? It used to. I used to have more energy, at 30, than I did in my teens. So now that I'm approaching 35, overweight from allowing stress to control the part of my brain that regulates common sense, and struggling to get my health back on track, I feel hopeless. It's so very opposite of the way I felt just a few short years ago.

Nothing I've tried has helped and I don't know what to do about it. Taking care of yourself requires effort. I don't have the energy to put forth the effort. It's a cycle I can't seem to break out of.

So here you have it. All out in the open. I'm a head case who's body is broke and I don't know why. Anyone know where I can score some B12?

I finally went to the doctor...

Yesterday I hit what felt like an all-time low. I decided enough was enough. I don't care if I don't have insurance... I need help. So today I saw a doctor. We talked about my history, all the years I've battled with fatigue, my weight yo-yo's etc.

She did a pressure point test on me. Then looked me in the eye and said "you don't have fibromyalgia". I think my heart I always suspected this, so it really came as no surprise, but it was nice to hear a doctor say it.

She drew blood and is sending it off to test my thyroid and to see if I'm anemic. She got me fixed up with more acid reflux meds, which I rarely need now that I'm low-carbing, but nice to have around for when I do. She also tested my blood glucose with her meter then with mine. Looks like mine needs to be calibrated as it runs about 10 points higher than hers. It was actually good today... 89. Lowest I've seen it in months.

She got on to me a bit about skipping out on my Mammograms I'm supposed to be getting and gave me the number of a clinic who will take care of me for free. Thank the Lord. I can't imagine what getting those will cost otherwise.

Then before I left she gave me a B-12 shot to help me out. I don't know how long those take to work or last, but I can already tell a little difference.

Anyhoo... I'll just deal with money issues later I guess. Right now I have to save myself and my sanity. I should have results back on Monday, so I'll give an update then.

Have a great weekend!

What's Going On With Me

Many of my regular readers my be wondering what's up. I've not been posting daily like I normally do. Have I lost interest?

Nope.

I'm having some health issues. I call it my personal energy crisis.

Many of you will remember me talking about fatigue and how I suspect I might have thyroid problems. I don't yet know what is going on, but I do know it can't continue. In the last month my energy level has slowly gotten worse and worse. So much so that climbing 3 flights of stairs the other day had my legs shaking and I thought I was going to collapse right there. This isn't good. It has taken every shred of energy I have just to keep up with basics here at home. What few posts I've done have taken me much longer than they should and they weren't even as detailed or as researched as I'd like them to be. Phooey... half of them were just me blabbing about my life or something.

So I apologize to those of you who expect better content, or at least more frequent content, from this blog. I promise that will be coming back just as soon as I can get this figured out.

Last week I decided it was time to consult a professional about this. I contacted Dr. Keith Berkowitz from the Center For Balanced Health, who is a fantastic doctor and was once Medical Director of the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine. After discussing my problems he told me it could be Hypoglycemia and to try eating smaller, more frequent low-carb meals to keep blood sugar levels steady. We also discussed taking probiotics for healthy digestion and eliminating stress where I can. Another suggesting he made was avoiding foods that are fermented, moldy or pickled in case there is a yeast overgrowth.

So, now I'm trying to get used to eating every 2-3 hours. I feel like a pig eating this often. :) But I do think it's helping some. Not anything drastic, but I am feeling a bit better. Maybe this will be just what I need to get my weight loss moving better as well.

I know this is just a basic overview and nothing terribly interesting or detailed, but I wanted you to understand why things have been abnomral here as of late. I'm hoping and praying to be my old self again very soon. Please help me pray I find the answers I need. And I promise to do my best to post when I can until this mystery is solved. Just don't be surprised if each post is only a paragraph long. ;)