HRT Hysteria, High Cholesterol, FAT!

I have finally done it - 194 lbs. One pound less than I weighed when my younger son was born 21 years ago! Egad!

I was thinking that I was 186. That was bad enough!

Up from 175 last year.

And my doctor went bezerk!

(Was it the apple pie? The See’s candy? The wine?)

First - they raised my thyroid from .15 to .175 (going back up) – seems “the motor is running but not in gear”.

If your tyroid is not right------ the levels show I am“in range” – but hey, THAT’S never worked before for me. I kept TELLING people.

After four weeks - I am to have another THS test to see how that goes.

Watch me get back up to .20 Synthroid – where I was for years!

Second - they ripped off the Estrogen patch. EEEEK!

Third - No more progesterone

And of course --- no more tampons, napkins, or whatever you want to call the mess and fuss on a monthly basis. No more gym interruptus.

No more stains and leaks.

That’s worth dancing over!

My son said, “Now you can have sex and not worry about getting pregnant.”

I reminded him that I am SIXTY and getting pregnant has not been a concern for some time!

He’s got a smart mouth! That's OK. He's living with INSTANT MENOPAUSE!

Fourth - They put me on the pill (Premarin) that I wasn't  absorbing last year – just because I wasn’t  absorbing it - for 4 weeks. A “natural” trim down the dosage. Ha ha and ha!

Then I call the doctor - if I am having hot flashes (I have night sweats – which the down comforter is not helping), emotional upheaval  (how would we know?), and other menopause symptoms (like???)

My poor son! And he’s stuck living here until chemo is over! ANd then I wil visit! Since he will be in my house in San Diego where I want to be. you can be sure that I will visit.

It seems that after 60 - HRT is harmful - before 60 - it is useful.

The NEXT month - I do one Premarin pill every OTHER day. And then stop.

Then I am off - unless I am not dealing well with hot flashes, etc.

Then we do a DIFFERENT drug - developed for women over 60 to keep bone density etc. in place. One that tests out fine. (It was HRT OVER 60 that hit the news – and misreported.) My bones a re fine so far. I have not shrunk.

I am to get off carbs - no bread, crackers, cereal, etc. etc. – “no white anythings....sugar, salt, flour, bread, potatoes....stuffing, gravy, pasta, milk, milk products, cakes, cookies, desserts, no fruit with too much sugar in it,” according to my full-blooded sister (I have a whole bunch of half brothers and sisters), who is fighting this up-down weight thing too. Inherited.

No stuffing.

No pie.

No candy.

No bread.

No cookies.

No more brownies.

No chocolate.

In fact - I need to get off the flavored coffee bit too.

And no eating after 7PM. She says no eating after 5 but I don’t get home to start dinner until 6-6:30!

My son says that we are to throw things OUT. Egad.

My Connecticut Yankee roots are upset! "Waste not, want not!" metality kicks in kicking and sceaming all the way to the trash can.

I am to be on 1000-1200 calories a day (or less) - 4-5 envelopes of the SOY stuff I bought

and increase the aerobic exercises. My sister loves Atkins. We both have lost weight on Slimfast. I have used Medifast. I have also used a food diary.

Guess it’s time for another one!

And I am to decrease the amount of weight lifted - the hemorrhages  on my wrists after intensive gym sessions indicate the weights are too high. Lower the weight. Increase the reps? I was doing that! Lowering the weight. Fabio told me that already.

Guess I have to lift less. But that makes me weaker! I am sulking.

AND.

Fifth - I have an asthma pill I am to try for four weeks. (Singular – seems to be working.)

To see if I can be off the inhalers.

Gasping for breath at the top of the stairs like a landed carp is not good.

OOOPs - I wrote everything down except the inhaler part. (Do it with the inhaler or without it?) (without it works fine.)

MY DOCTOR DID NOT KNOW THAT THE ADVAIR DISPENSER HAD FAILED. Well, he does now!

And I have to walk 2 miles or more a day. Eeeek! Back to marathon training. (My legs are rebelling!) I do stairs at work. All day long. No elevator. All us asthmatics end up gasping all over the top floor at intervals. We wll know who we are. It's that open-mouthed gasping-carp look.

In fact - I am to get on the treadmill now.

My tryglicerides went to 500+ --- WAY up from last year - and it is critical!!! The doctor doesn't want to do pills. Not yet.

How I am to keep track of all this and my son’s chemo pills too!!! I have no idea.

Dr. wants his weight down too

But --- the Christmas tree is in the house.

The dog can settle with a cooked egg.

I gave her chew bones (I need to go shopping). (She’d rather be in because it’s windy and cold outside and sheep dogs like to be on a rug and inside. I have no idea how she was surviving on a ranch!)

Once home from this doctor visit, I spun through my bedroom – hung everything up – picked up the floor – hauled the Rubbermaid thing with size M clothes out of my room. (Garage storage.)

I spun through my son’s room – a full garbage bag!

I had done the dishes this morning.

I sprayed the mildew in the bathroom (a constant ritual in Northern California – I was spoiled by the dry air in Southern California).

I will clean my bathroom this weekend – and throw out old makeup.

I had cleaned his bathroom already.

I will shampoo more of the main rug. A never-stopping task.

The spot where the third couch was – has carpet showing. My older son has acquired the couch.

I will put the Nordic Trak back up.

Neatness is important if I am not eating.

With the patch off, I am also going into withdrawal.

It’s the “end of month nesting syndrome”.

I had soy (after only 11 minutes on the treadmill – after 90 minutes in the mall at high-speed in high-heeled loafers – my legs rebelled).

He has a frozen dinner.

He ran to his room with the fat-free enhanced with chocolate and nuts brownies.

Which are very, very good.

I will try to focus on something else.

Maybe a sequel to “The Bitch in the House”.

Appropriate.