lisa
So it's RSD :( - June 20, 2016 Update
Jul 20, 2014
Never in a million years would I ever have thought I'd see the day I'd be praying to stop losing weight. But here it is.
I had my RNY over 12 years ago. The rapid weight loss was amazing, I loved it. I dumped A LOT! In fact, I still do. I avoid sugar and have gone completely Organic/Non-GMO. So I feel better about what I'm not putting inside my body and my son has also embraced Organic/Non-GMO eating as much as possible. Fortunately, he loves salads, and knows he needs to lose about 20lbs, but at 17 he's still growing and how he towers over me. He's over 6'.
I wrote before that I had been diagnosed with RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). Then they (they being whoever decides what a diagnoses should be, etc.) changed the name and symptoms. But my doctors continue to call it RSD. I see a pain specialist once a month for Fentanyl patches and Oxycodone. Tomorrow they're going to try a Stellate Ganglion Block to see if that will help the pain in my hand.
My right hand is deformed, and the Ulna is now 3x normal size. My orthopedist says it's possible that this all stems from a broken wrist I had when I was 8 (or thereabouts). I gotta disagree. I've had much worse broken bones but I would think that an injury almost 40 years old, would suddenly cause my hand to have so much pain and deformity. I had a 3T MRI on my hand and I don't remember seeing any thing that looked wrong with my wrist. My orthopedist said the same thing he always says "Arthritis". Uh uh. If this was arthritis, the crippling kind, it wouldn't be happening in just one part of my body, my hand. And I don't believe that the break involved the Ulna. It was like a hairline fracture from what I recall.
Now on to the Specs:
Starting Weight 241
Post Surgery Weight 139 at it's lowest
Weight Gain post surgery 50
Weight Maintained 184 - 187 consistently
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Onset of RSD - 2-3 years 157
Weight Maintained 140 for two years now
Lowest Weight Ever 138
I'm in size 7/8 jeans but I need to go down another size. I have other AI disorders that cause a lot of fatigue, pain, etc. The 'pooch' from having kids and weight loss was a pooch until RSD; losing 50 lbs as rapidly as I did, now it's just ugly skin. It's only a matter of time before I fit into those 1980's jeans with embroidered back pockets and go waist high that I actually got in the 1980's and kept with the foolish belief I might someday fit in them again. Without the excess skin, I'd be wearing them right now. Remember the old joke? "Did you hear about the latest in designer birth control?" "No, I didn't" "It's called Sergio Prevente'!"
My daughter said something that kind of smacked hard. She brought over a pair of Capris she wasn't wearing anymore. One look told me they were too big. I asked her what size they were, though I could see the label, she said "10". If they don't fit her, and I remember when she was a size 10, why would they fit me? She practically screamed at me to try them on. First of all, I don't take orders from my kids and second, I have never worn capris and never will. I got little tiny bird legs. Then she commented "You lost all that weight but you still have boobs?!" I feel like a stick with boobs. Yeah, I lost all that weight but didn't lose my boobs. They sag a little more than they used to, age'll do that to anything - it's gravity - but I don't understand why she feels she must weigh less than me or be smaller than me. I'm 5'7.5" and she's 5'4". She tried to see if her hands were smaller. She was getting desperate. We wear the same shoes, same ring size. What's the big deal? Now she's not speaking to me.
I had back surgery last year, and while I won't comment about how I feel about the doctors involved, now I have a seriously nasty scar. It's like opposite of Keloid. Add that to the parts of me that look like a Shar Pei and I'm really disgusted. I tell myself I should accept myself unconditionally daily, and supposedly in 30 days I'll believe it. But the mirror doesn't lie. What am I going to do about all this sagging skin? I can live with my thighs, I can live with my arms. But the sagging skin makes a 'flapping'sound during certain activities. I can't say that for sure, because I had plenty of co-morbids going, but they were just starting and ended immediately with surgery. I don't even look like my the last pics I posted. Things I bought before that never in a million years fit, fit now. Tiny tees that teens wear fit.
I'm not built to be this skinny. I have broad shoulders and big chest. I can deal with the pain with assistance from pain management physicians. I think that the Hyperhydrosis is related, but to which disease/disorder I have no idea.
If anybody else is experiencing the same issues, and have gotten a Dx or know what the heck is going on, I'd appreciate hearing from you. I also have Sjogren's Syndrome, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Fibromatosis, and other stuff I can't remember. Oh, right, Cognitive Function Deficit.
Getting ready to list the house. 11 years ago it was a hidden subdivision that was beautiful. The property gently slopes to the creek and recent annexation has caused nightmarish changes. New population-dense subdivisions on every side. They're building a hike & bik path on the other side of the creek. I don't know what more is coming, but it's more than I'm willing to live with. I bought cheap and Annexation that permits business from home, horses, etc., and the size of the lots (avg 5 acres) have raised the values; I should be able to walk away with enough to get another place and pay off all my debt. Fingers crossed :)
So that's my June 2016 update.
Lisa