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Category: prednisone (Page 2 of 4)

Low Dose Naltrexone Update

February 23, 2013 / / 11 Comments

It’s Saturday morning and a perfect time for blogging. Life has settled down quite a bit here over the past few days. Life has been nothing but complete chaos and stress since about November and despite the fact that I think I have handled the stress fairly well, I am praying for no more crises for at least the next few months. The rest of the year would be nice too!

I have been playing catch up this past week with a lot of things I have neglected as of late, namely wedding planning, housework, and agent hunting for my book. More importantly, I have been trying to catch up with those friends and family that I have been neglecting and I am slowly but surely accomplishing that. I also have a list of health related blog topics in my head that I really want to write about as there has been so much going on and I think that the experiences I have been having might be useful for people to read about.

I think today I am going to start with an update about how I am doing with taking low dose naltrexone (LDN). I have been getting e-mails from people asking me if the LDN is working, if I am having any side effects, etc. The first post I wrote about LDN you can find here: Low Dose Naltrexone. If you have an autoimmune disorder, I think the post is worth a read. LDN is also being used for other illnesses other than autoimmune diseases but I try to write about what I know based on my experience and that experience is with taking LDN for Sjogren’s syndrome.

When I wrote the first blog entry about LDN, I was five weeks into taking it. Now I am about ten weeks into it. Since the five week point, I have been able to completely finish weaning off of prednisone. This was no small feat mind you. I had been taking prednisone for about fifteen continuous months, with the exception of one month where I had weaned off and had to go back on it. I did have some difficulty coming off the prednisone and the withdrawal symptoms were tough for the first two weeks or so, but my body seems to be slowly adjusting.

Before I came off the prednisone, and while on LDN, there was a period of about three weeks where I was feeling amazing. I mean, AMAZING! I went into my rheumatologist’s office for a routine appointment and told her that I had not felt that way since before all this autoimmune fiasco began, which was five years ago. Can you imagine feeling like yourself for the first time in five years?!? It was incredible.

However of course that did change when I stopped the prednisone but I am trying to be patient and give my body the time it needs to adjust. Part of thinks that it would have been nice to not have messed with the prednisone and enjoyed feeling good for a while longer. However the other part of me felt stronger that I did not want to be dealing with prednisone withdrawals and possible flare up issues closer to my wedding, which is three months away. This weekend it will be one month I am off the prednisone and that is usually my tipping point for things to go awry so I am crossing my fingers. Speaking of awry, at this point I am only having two issues, severe itching and hair loss. I thought the issues were related to coming off prednisone or perhaps even related to an autoimmune flare starting, but it appears this is probably not the case. I will hold off on the details of that situation for now until I have more information.

Overall, I think the LDN has had a positive effect on my autoimmune symptoms. When I came off the prednisone, my migraines initially got worse but are improving with the help of a supplement I was given by my integrative medicine doctor called petadolex. I have begun to have some minimal joint pain in the mornings that quickly goes away but other than that, I seem to be holding steady in regards to my pain levels. I have managed to wean off my steroid inhaler and currently take no medications for my autoimmune related asthma. That is a big deal. I am off my prescription migraine medication, another autoimmune medication called Plaquenil, and a medication that was being used to stimulate saliva called pilocarpine. I have noticed a small improvement in my dryness symptoms. My use of pain medication and Motrin has decreased.

I am able to do short periods exercise on a regular basis and am having less painful after-effects of the exercise as compared to before LDN. With the exception of the time period after I stopped prednisone, I have noticed an improvement in my mood and anxiety levels. I have not noticed any improvement in my esophagus/swallowing issues since starting the LDN. I had a few meals where I forgot to take my Procardia, which enables me to swallow more easily, and I immediately regretted not taking the medication. The LDN also has not made a difference in my reflux issues. The debilitating fatigue that I experience improved initially but I have been struggling with my energy levels since coming off the prednisone.

The only side effect I have noticed from LDN is insomnia. It has improved over the past month to the point that I am willing to continue riding out the side effect because the benefit is worth it right now. I am experimenting with some different natural solutions to this problem and it is also worth noting that I was having some insomnia issues prior to starting LDN.

So that is the scoop. I do have to mention that in addition to starting LDN, I have also begun going for allergy shots every week and have drastically changed my diet to an autoimmune protocol of the Paleo diet. However I did not start either of these treatments until after I had that three weeks of feeling great so I do strongly believe that the LDN has been a contributing factor in some of the improvements I have experienced. I am still on 3mg and am holding off on going up to 4.5mg until my insomnia is more under control as lack of sleep is a huge trigger for autoimmune symptoms.

Am I still skeptical? Sure. The improvements I have had could be a fluke but I don’t think so. I do think it is a situation where time will tell for sure. My goal is for LDN to keep me off the steroids. If that is the only benefit I get, it will be worth it’s weight in gold.

Low Dose Naltrexone

January 9, 2013 / / 54 Comments

In my last blog entry I discussed my current experiences with an integrative medicine doctor. (Going Down the Road of Integrative Medicine). In that entry, I mentioned a new medication I was prescribed by this doctor called low dose naltrexone (LDN) and I think that it is worthy of its very own blog entry so here we go. Be forewarned, it’s a bit complicated…

Since we have the modern day miracle of Google, I am not going to spend a lot of time describing LDN and exactly how it works, but I think there are some basics that are important. Naltrexone is a medication that was created in the late 1970’s as a treatment for heroin overdose and subsequently used in larger doses (50-300 mg) to treat heroin addicts. It blocks the opiate receptors in our body, which are also found on immune system cells. The next discovery, in the 1980’s, was that naltrexone at lower doses (hence why it is called low dose naltrexone), blocks these opioid receptors and increases the endorphin levels in the body, which were noted to be low in people with autoimmune disorders as well as in many other illnesses, such as cancer and AIDS. At lower doses, such as 3-4.5 mg, the LDN blocks the opioid receptors for a short time, a few hours. Once this blockade wears off, the body responds by increasing its production of endorphins and this results in cellular changes that inhibit cell growth, inflammation reduction, and healing. It is not an immune booster or suppressor, but rather an immune regulator.

OK, whew. That hurt my head. I have found two books to be extremely helpful in understanding LDN. The  first is: The Promise of Low Dose Naltrexone Therapy by Elaine A. Moore and Samantha Wilkinson and also Up the Creek with a Paddle by Mary Boyle Bradley.

Now, when my integrative medicine doctor told me that he wanted me to try this medication, he did not make any promises or unrealistic claims about its effectiveness. He did refer me to the website:
http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/ for more information. However after scouring this website, I became skeptical about the medication. I had a hard time believing that one medication, as seemingly harmless as this one, could effectively treat all the diseases that it claimed it could: autoimmune disorders, many types of cancer, and AIDS. Because if it was that effective, why were so many people still sick? Why didn’t more doctors and patients know about it?

After about a month of online research and reading the above two books, I had to admit that I was very intrigued by the positive effects LDN was having on some people with autoimmune illnesses, specifically multiple sclerosis (MS). Sjogren’s syndrome and MS can share an uncanny amount of similarities in terms of symptoms and many people with Sjogren’s are originally misdiagnosed as having MS. I also read many anecdotes about the success of LDN on other autoimmune illnesses such as Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

So WHY don’t more people know about this? Many proponents of LDN therapy claim that it is seen as an alternative therapy and that its use is not widely recognized because there is not enough clinical research done on the positive effects of the medication. There have been some small clinical trials done at a few very noteworthy medical institutions, but it has not been studied on a large scale. Why not? Well, pharmaceutical companies fund these trials and naltrexone is a generic, very inexpensive medication to produce. According to LDN proponents, there is no financial incentive. Despite the fact that this may sound like a conspiracy theory type of thing to a lot of people, with my less than favorable experiences in regards to the pharmaceutical industry, it all makes sense to me.

As I see it, there are two issues with LDN. The first is that the one major side effect it has is insomnia. This is something I have been struggling with significantly since last Spring, possibly due to another medication called Topamax. The second issue is that because it blocks opioid receptors, you CANNOT take any narcotic pain medications while taking LDN. If you do, you have to stop the LDN. Luckily, my rheumatologist is not a big fan of using narcotics to treat Sjogren’s related pain issues and I have adverse reactions to many narcotics anyways. Because of this, I have worked hard at learning and utilizing other pain management techniques. When things are really bad, I do resort to a pain medication called Tramadol. Because of its mechanism of action, Tramadol is a centrally acting analgesic, rather than a true narcotic. However I was instructed that if I do take Tramadol, to space it four hours apart from my nightly LDN dose.

LDN is routinely taken between 9pm-2am although some people say that it can be taken in the morning. However since endorphin production is highest around 2-4am, it is thought that this is the best timing for the highest effectiveness. LDN also needs to be specially compounded by a pharmacist and not every pharmacy does this. I get mine from Skip’s Pharmacy in Boca Raton, Florida. One month supply, not covered by insurance, costs me about twenty-five dollars with shipping.

So five weeks ago, after much trepidation and research, I decided to just go for it and I took my first dose of LDN. To begin with, the only side effect I have noticed is the insomnia and I will admit, it is pretty rough and worse than before I started the LDN. I have since weaned myself off of the Topamax, which I take for severe autoimmune related migraines, in the hopes that will help alleviate the insomnia. I already have a lot of alternative methods I use to help sleep such as meditation, herbal tea, etc. but like clockwork, I wake up between 1-2am every single night after going to bed around 10pm. Sometimes I fall back asleep and sometimes I don’t. However that all being said, I have been battling a bad viral infection this week and have been sleeping better. Not sure if that is because I am sick or not. Because sleep deprivation is a trigger for worsening of my Sjogren’s symptoms, before this week, I had been taking a sleep medication two to three times a week to help me catch up on my sleep. I was told by Skip’s that the insomnia should improve and possibly even go away within the next few weeks.

It is very hard to see a benefit from a medication like this when you have recently started other treatments as well. I started an autoimmune medication called Arava in October and an eye medication called Restasis in November. Except for a week exacerbation of joint pain on my third week of LDN, my joint pain has significantly improved and my eye doctor told me last week that my eye dryness has improved. LDN related? Possibly.

Since stopping my migraine medication, I initially had a week of migraines and they have since resolved. I am hoping it stays that way. If I continue to have a significant reduction in migraines or even complete resolution of them, I will absolutely attribute that to LDN because prior to LDN, I could not function without Topamax.

The improvement I have noticed, that I know cannot be attributed to other medication, is in my overall well being and my energy level. It is difficult to explain but does make sense considering LDN affects our endorphins. I feel more able to effectively cope with my physical symptoms when they do arise and my mood seems more stable. This is significant because I am still in the process of weaning off prednisone. There has also been a decrease in my anxiety level to the point that this week, I can say I have no anxiety at all. That is also significant as I am still waiting for some test results and this would naturally produce some anxiety for me.

At first, I did not see the improvement in my energy level. It was subtle. I also am not sure if it can be attributed to the Arava as well. Although I am still extremely fatigued by about 4-5pm each day, I have noticed that my days are becoming more productive. This is highly unusual, actually unheard of, when I am weaning off prednisone.

And that is where I am at five weeks into my LDN journey. In my head, the jury is still out as to how effective this treatment might be for me long term. I am hopeful.The signs so far are positive and I think time will tell; especially once I am completely off prednisone and hopefully the Arava as well. I also think that it is not a treatment that when used alone, will cure me. Rather, I think it is one more tool, along with exercise, supplements, diet, stress management, and multiple other modalities, that can be used in my long journey to improved health.

Going DownThe Road of Integrative Medicine

January 7, 2013 / / 6 Comments
 

“Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.”~ Frederick B. Wilcox

 
 

I had been toying with the idea of seeing an integrative medicine doctor regarding my autoimmune issues for over a year. Integrative medicine takes into account the whole person and uses both conventional and alternative medicine as treatment. It focuses on body, mind, spirit, and community rather than just flesh, bones, and organs. It combines conventional medical treatment with complimentary and alternative treatments (CAM). Some of these CAM practices and treatments include dietary supplements, energy healing, clinical nutrition, and detoxification. Integrative medicine focuses on eliminating the cause of the disease rather than just managing the symptoms. Some people see integrative medicine doctors as quacks and some people view them as miracle workers. I know people who have seen them and the reviews have been mixed, although I would say I have heard more positive experiences than negative ones.

Despite the fact that the autoimmune illness I have, Sjogren’s syndrome, had been unstable for years (except with higher doses of steroids which are a nightmare to deal with), I had put off the idea of seeing an integrative medicine doctor. It wasn’t that I hadn’t dabbled in what I guess would be called alternative medicine, such as acupuncture and massage, but the idea of anything other than standard Western medicine making me healthier seemed foreign to me. Maybe that was due to the fact that I am an RN. I have been trained in traditional medicine and it is all I’ve ever known. However it was becoming clearer to me that perhaps traditional medicine alone was not going to be the answer for me. Not that I was looking for a cure mind you. I had accepted the fact that I have a lifelong chronic illness. But rather, I needed more effective tools and treatment to improve my quality of life because as it was, that quality of life seemed to be going downhill year by year.

So this past November I went in to see a doctor at Northampton Wellness Associates here in Massachusetts. The practice is a group of integrative health care practitioners. I will admit, I was skeptical but my skepticism dwindled as I spoke with my new doctor. We discussed my history and a lot of the things he said made perfect sense. For a while now, I have often wondered if my autoimmune problems were triggered by the radiation therapy I had for lymphoma in 1996. I was never a particularly sick child or teen but from 1996 on, one health problem after another crept into my life. I did not share this theory of mine with my new doctor (Dr. L) but he said the same exact thing to me. He thinks that I am genetically predisposed to an autoimmune disorder (my sixty-five year old father was recently diagnosed with one) and that the months of radiation treatments brought out the autoimmune illness. He was quick to point out that this was unavoidable. I had to have the radiation in order to save my life, but now we must also figure out the best way to deal with the end result of that possible trigger.

He also went on to explain that most of the symptoms I experience are autoimmune in nature such as my asthma, migraines, joint pain, allergies, etc. Now I had always thought this and my rheumatologist had made some associations, but the further back we looked into my adult health history, the more I realized how connected all my ailments were. Dr. L also stressed that there may be several other contributing factors to my autoimmune issues such as allergens, environment, diet. etc.

We came up with a plan. I agreed to go for allergy testing which would initially be done by blood work. He did warn me that the blood testing for allergies is not always accurate but it is the least invasive preliminary step in the allergy testing process. I ended up testing positive for two different mold allergies that are often found on certain foods and so I am now beginning to attempt to eliminate these foods. Luckily, many of them are gluten or dairy based foods, which I already have eliminated from my diet.

However my blood allergy testing also did NOT reveal a cat or dog allergy; both of which I know for a fact I have due to traditional scratch test allergy testing I had done years ago. I spoke with the allergy department at the Center and decided to continue on to the next step of intradermal allergy skin testing which I will begin next week. The intradermal skin testing is significantly more reliable.  I thought it was important because if there is any chance that allergens (especially to my dog) were contributing to my autoimmune issues, I may want to pursue non-medication treatment for it; specifically allergy injections.

Luckily, at this point, my health insurance covers a majority of the costs for Dr. L. My health insurance changed January 1st but at my November visit, I had my regular copays for the doctor visit and the blood work. I have checked with the Center regarding my new insurance which will have the same coverage as my old one, including for allergy shots if I do definitely go that route. However I am aware that there will probably be other suggested treatments that may not be covered by my insurance but my philosophy is to take that as it comes. I am also trying to look at it from the perspective that further treatment may help me eliminate some of my current prescription medication and overall health care costs (think hospitalizations and ER visits) and allow me to cut the cost of these, all of which have skyrocketed.

I made it very clear to Dr. L that I did not want to abandon my traditional treatment for the Sjogren’s at this time but yet, my goal was to eventually get off as many of my prescription medications as possible as I was on at least thirteen different prescriptions. That is a ridiculous amount of medication and I felt that I was probably having medication interactions. He was very receptive to this and said we would take it one step at a time. We would start with allergy testing, I would continue to wean off my steroids (which was my plan with my rheumatologist anyways), and he wanted me to start a new medication.

The idea of another medication surprised me coming from this type of doctor. It is called low dose naltrexone (LDN) and honestly, it is worthy of a blog entry all by itself. I had never heard of it before and it required a lot of research on my part. It is an “alternative” medication that he routinely prescribes for all of his autoimmune patients as it has been shown to have the capability to regulate the immune system and has had some good outcomes with certain autoimmune disorders. However I have only been on it for a month and am waiting a little longer to see how it continues to work out before I write that blog. The LDN can take a while to see a full effect so we agreed that we would meet again in February and see where things are at.



I liked the fact that Dr. L was treating this as a process and not overwhelming me with a million treatment options all at once because to be honest, I have seven or eight other specialists who are doing a great job at overwhelming me, no matter how unintentional it may be. I will admit, the process is very intimidating for me. I know about all things in traditional Western medicine. I know when to trust what a doctor tells me and I know when a doctor doesn’t know what he or she is talking about. As a nurse, I know about prescription medications (well except for LDN!) but not so much about supplements and herbs. It is certainly a learning process and one that I hope will prove to be beneficial.

Am I still a little skeptical? Sure. But I am also skeptical about putting toxic, possibly cancer causing drugs into my body as I have been doing. I am skeptical about dangerous side effects I may have, and have already started to have, from being on steroids the rest of my life. I am skeptical about the quality of life facing me until the day I die. So really, what do I have to lose?

What I Have Come To Understand

September 10, 2012 / / 12 Comments




In the two and a half years I have been writing this blog, I don’t think I have ever written a post about a doctor’s appointment with my rheumatologist. The appointments tend to be pretty significant since the rheumatologist treats the Sjogren’s syndrome. I am sure that I have mentioned events that have happened at certain appointments, but I think that has been the extent of it. I think the reason for this is because I don’t think people will be interested or that the post may be boring. Today I realized that I may have made a mistake. Sharing information from these appointments with my rheumatologist not only may help someone else, but it also gives other people the opportunity to give me feedback about their experiences with different treatments, side effects, and complications from medications.

I have had more severe symptoms than usual lately with some new ones thrown in for fun. Therefore I have been seeing my rheumatologist, Dr. P, more often than usual. These appointments tend to be  stressful for me compared to those with other doctors. Sjogren’s syndrome, like many other autoimmune diseases, often presents with a myriad of symptoms and often it is like trying to fit together the pieces of a puzzle. Is this symptom autoimmune related? Is it a side effect from a medication? There is the unpredictability of not knowing what the next step may be in treating the illness. Then there is also the fact that Dr. P’s office is an hour away from home, she is usually running behind (I have attributed this to the fact that she does not rush through her visits), and sometimes there is lab work to be done after the visit. From the time I leave my home to the time I pull back in the driveway, I am looking at a five hour trip. Exhausting.

I have  been more frustrated than usual with her, myself, and the whole Sjogren’s situation in general. I had just recovered from the whole Guillain-Barre/blood clots in the lungs fiasco when I began to develop severe, debilitating migraines thought to possibly be autoimmune related. After struggling to find a medication at a dose I could tolerate to manage these migraines, some of my Sjogren’s symptoms decided to come out and play; most likely because I had weaned off my steroids. Severe fatigue and joint pain worse than I have had in at least a year were the highlights. In addition to that, I have been having some significant urinary issues that come and go and that has prompted some further testing; the cause thought to possibly be autoimmune or medication related.

What this has meant is that Dr. P and I have been continuously trying to figure out a course of treatment to manage my illness. A course of treatment for an illness that has no cure and really no acceptable or standard form of treatment. If you have diabetes, you change your lifestyle, check your blood sugars, and take insulin. The end result is that most of the time, your illness can be controlled. Not the case with Sjogren’s, or many other autoimmune illnesses for that matter.

And there are only so many medications to try. Appointment after appointment Dr. P and I discuss the options and what may come next in regards to medications. She keeps wanting to put me on or increase my dose of prednisone. This gets me pretty worked up to say the least. If you have spent any time reading my blog, you will understand how much I hate prednisone. Here’s the thing though: as Dr. P said today, I am between a rock and a hard place and it is a matter of choosing the lesser of all evils. I have already been on many of the other autoimmune medications such as methotrexate, Imuran, Cellcept, and Enbrel. Cellcept did help quite a bit but made me so sick that my previous doctor had no choice but to take me off of it. Enbrel helped a little but not enough to justify the chronic sinus infections it was causing me to have.

As we discussed today, there are some other options to consider such as the medications Arava and Rituximab. But they are not without their risks as well. It is hard to make decisions, I am sure for her as well as for me, about which risks to take. Do we consider Imuran again and take the risk of liver damage and other complications or continue trying the steroids at different doses and see what side effects I can live with and risk long term complications such as diabetes, cataracts, and stroke? As much as I hate the prednisone, there is no doubt, it works for most of my symptoms. The problem is that I need a lot of it and the more I take, the worse the side effects are and the higher the risk of severe long term complications.

So our plan for now is to double up my prednisone dose to 15 mg for a few days and then slowly wean it down to 10 mg rather than the 7.5 mg I am currently on. We did this about two weeks ago when the pain and swelling got bad enough to interfere with my daily functioning and it worked but once I got back to 7.5 mg for a few days, the symptoms started up again. So this time we will only wean down to 10 mg. We agreed that 10 mg is the maximum dose of prednisone that is comfortable for me long term. Well, for Dr. P anyways. 0 mg is the maximum dose I am comfortable with but the reality is that my options are getting fewer and fewer and I cannot risk further Sjogren’s complications or live in this state of health.

What I came to understand from my appointment today is that there are no easy answers. Not even easy answers, but any concrete answers.

There is no medication in this world right now that is going to fix me without making me sick in some other way. Maybe someday there will be. But not today.

I am also starting to understand that I don’t think my body is ever going to go back to the point it was at before December 2008, which is when Sjogren’s started to truly ravage my body.

This does not mean that I still cannot do what I am doing; exercising, eating healthier, reducing stress. I will keep trying to control my symptoms through diet and exercise. I will live a healthy lifestyle. I will meditate. I will work with my doctors and stick with my treatment plan. I will laugh and I will play. But I guess for now at least, I am not going to place any of my hopes on any one medication to be the answer for restoring my body to the state that it was once in. Rather, I will continue to work with the body that God has given me in this moment and in this day to live in the best possible way that I can.















































































Photo Courtesy of Google Images

Rediscovering Weight Watchers

June 20, 2012 / / 7 Comments
“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.” ~ Dr. Dennis Waitley

So I have been writing a lot over the past six months about nutrition and exercise because I am on a mission, and I mean a SERIOUS mission, to improve my autoimmune symptoms as much as I can by eating healthier and exercising my very unpredictable and sometimes seemingly frail body. As all journeys are, this particular one is an ever changing and evolving journey. This blog entry is about my most recent change.

In January of this year I changed to a gluten and dairy-free diet with a focus on also reducing refined sugars and processed foods. Then around April, I joined a new gym with the intention of getting myself on a very regular exercise program which would help me to build a stronger body and in the process, alleviate some of the overwhelming stress I had experienced over the previous several months. Despite many obstacles with my physical abilities at times, overall my exercise program has been quite successful in terms of meeting the objectives and goals I had set for myself.

Although the primary focus of these lifestyle changes was, and still is, for the purpose of improving my health and combating this god awful autoimmune illness, there is more to the story. In addition to wanting to be healthier, I was sick of being fat. Sick of being the biggest person in the room. Sick of never finding the right clothes to fit me in a flattering way. Sick of looking in the mirror and knowing that I didn’t like the image looking back at me. I had lost a good amount of weight, thirty-six pounds, on my own over the past three years but I had stalled out in my weight loss for a variety of reasons. However as I was making these dietary and fitness changes since January, I was also determined to not fall into the diet trap again. The one I had spent so much time in for most of my life. You know, the one where you start a diet, do OK for a while, fall off the wagon, and start hating yourself all over again. I wanted my lifestyle changes to be about taking good care of my body and not about dieting.

However despite the changes I had made already, I knew that I needed to do more. Yes, I was on steroids and sometimes huge doses of them. But I felt like I was not in control of my eating and definitely not in control of my weight. I felt like I was not truly doing the best that I could do to take care of myself and I needed some help.

As luck would have it, a dear friend of mine had recently started Weight Watchers and she told me about their new program. I had been to Weight Watchers before and did well with it for a period of time. And then I would stop following the program or start cheating a lot and I would fall off the wagon. I was also concerned about the gluten and dairy-free issue and how I would pull that off. However this friend of mine is also gluten and dairy-free so she was my inspiration for believing that it could be done.

I sat down and seriously thought about if I started going to Weight Watchers, would it work for me? What if it didn’t work for me with all the steroids I was on? What if I couldn’t stick with it? What if, what if, what if. This is what I finally decided. First, I had to stop using the steroids as an excuse for being overweight. Yes, they can cause weight gain but let’s face it, I was severely overweight before I ever popped a prednisone tablet into my mouth.

Yeap, truth hurts sometimes.

Secondly, things are different now than they were when I was on Weight Watchers years ago. My health is a mess and I have a lot more to lose now. My autoimmune illness is not weight related but I have spent so much friggin’ time being sick that I want to be as fit and healthy as I can possibly  be so that I can enjoy my good days more fully. In addition, I don’t want to have to deal with any weight related health issues down the road on top of the health issues I already have. I want to be in the best possible state of health that my autoimmune illness will allow. I have never been this motivated to change.

So on my 41st birthday, May 3rd, I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting. And you know what? It felt good to be there. To be taking yet another proactive step in an attempt to create a healthier version of myself.

I have to admit, between following Weight Watchers and staying gluten/dairy-free, the past seven weeks have not always been easy. I have come to figure out that even though I was eating a lot healthier over the past six months, my portion sizes were ridiculously out of wack. I found that the new Weight Watchers program focuses more on eating whole natural foods than it used to and I really liked that fact. I have found a lot of emotional support in the group meetings and through the message boards online to help change some of my unhealthy eating habits and to learn to eat with purpose. Eat to live rather than live to eat.

And it is working. Looking at the numbers, I have lost twelve pounds in the past seven weeks, despite being on steroids for five of those weeks. This puts me back at the weight I was at seven months ago which is when I started my last round of steroids. More importantly though, I feel better about myself and what I am eating. I am starting to like the face looking back at me in the mirror every morning. Not because she is twelve pounds lighter but rather because she is working hard to be the best that she can be.

She is defying the steroid odds.

She is defying her own self doubts.

She is in control.

It is a much better place to be.

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

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