My blood work came back. When I went to the doctor, she laid it out for me. It was a thorough lesson in why I feel like crap. In fact, those were her exact words: no wonder you feel like crap.
As she went down the list, I felt more and more depressed. My blood work did show that I had a good reason to feel horrible. Here’s how it went:
- Cholesterol – My good cholesterol was very low, my bad cholesterol was very high. The type of sticky cholesterol was very high and with all the numbers being what they were, she said I had a 16x greater risk of having a heart attack.
- Thyroid – My numbers were still barely in the normal range and had increased 1/2 since my February blood work results came in.
- Vit D – My numbers were low, and she thought that it was probably due to my forgetting to take it the last 2-3 weeks.
- B12 – My numbers were extremely low. I will add B12 in my diet and re-test in 3 months. At that time, if it’s still low, she’ll start injections.
- White Blood Count – Low numbers….ugh
- Creatinine – High numbers
- eGFR – These numbers were low again, in the stage 3 range. I’ve been taking a lot of Advil for pain and so, I’m now not allowed to take any more. My kidneys aren’t going to make it if I don’t change.
- Blood Sugar – I’m pre-diabetic.
So, no good news for me. I didn’t want to face this, but that’s how it is. The facts speak loud and clear. Doc says that I’m a sugar addict and it has to go. She explained that sugar has been my choice for boosting my serotonin. That is the honest truth, but I didn’t realize it.
Yesterday was my first day on this new diet. No sugar, at. all. It was very hard. I’m also cutting out sugar substitutes, gradually. I had just a little bit of splenda and will be breaking myself of it.
I’m adding a full serving each day of Nutritional Yeast, which provides a full day’s supply of B12. It tastes pretty good on meat and vegetables. I’ve added my Vit D back into my pill boxes. And, of course, increasing my water intake.
I can also tell you that Tylenol is so pitiful as a pain reliever! You probably already knew that. My face and gums are throbbing from a dental procedure this week and the Tylenol just doesn’t give much relief. It also doesn’t help Sciatica. I’m using heat and ice to try and deal with the pain.
I’m praying that my B12 will improve with diet and that soon the sugar cravings will stop. Whatever I want to eat, I know that changes have to be made. The diet I’m being put on is basically like the Mediterranean Diet.
When you have to eat organic-only meats and broths, this diet can get very expensive. I hope that I can be compliant and that good results will finally come to me.
@2019, copyright Lisa Ehrman
