Health Challenges

I want to share some of the health issues I deal with, in the hopes that this information might help others who face similar challenges but are wanting to lose weight.


I've mentioned I have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder - two of them, actually.  Not only does my sleep schedule move around the clock, putting me in bed about 2 hours later each day than I went the day before... but I also have delayed sleep phase syndrome.  I am at my peak in the middle of the night.  My core temperature drops during the day.  This is the opposite of most people.  But because of the first sleep disorder, I am sometimes sleeping through my peak, and awake when my internal clock says it should be sleeping (but can't). 


I can force myself to conform to a "normal" sleep schedule for a couple of days once in a while - but it screws me up, makes me tired, messes with my internal clock... so I try to avoid that.


I have fibromyalgia syndrome.  That one is a pain in the... well... everything.  I suppose this is in some ways karmic payback, because I used to be one of those people who sort of rolled their eyes a bit when most people would tell me they had FMS.  Yeah, until the day I realized that about 5 months had passed and I had not been out of pain for any of them.  Coming to terms with the FMS has been hard, but I also think it has helped motivate me to get off my ass and lose weight.  Even when I first got fat, I could still DO things. I didn't let it slow me down.  FMS brought all of that to a screeching halt, and suddenly getting up off of the couch was a challenge.  Suffice it to say, the weight poured on even faster after that.


I have hypertension, hypothyroidism and hidradenitis suppurativa.  You might want to avoid that last link, it's pretty gross. Losing weight will go a long way towards alleviating the first and last. The middle I've had since I was 18, and other than it CAUSING me to retain weight if uncontrolled, it isn't itself affected by my weight directly.  


As with many who have FMS, I also have chronic fatigue syndrome - though I am feeling as if the impact of that is lessening the better I eat. So I'm kind of questioning that diagnosis and withholding judgment until I see how I feel when I've dropped more weight and have been eating well for 6+ months.  


Complicating matters, I have a "central disc protrusion in a mild foraminal stenosis."  Translated into English, I've got a a couple of discs in my back that are bulging a bit.  I am HOPING that losing weight will alleviate some of the issues with this.  I am REALLY HOPING that I may even be able to avoid surgery for a while, if not permanently - but that remains to be seen and in the meantime, I will do my best to give myself the best chance of avoiding it.


The hidradenitis is mostly a curse, but it carries with it one small blessing in disguise.  The only remotely effective treatment for HS is surgical removal of the problem areas.  Having that surgery when you're still massively overweight isn't a solution - though many do it.  As long as you have excessive "skin on skin," the HS is probably going to find its way back.  Being overweight doesn't CAUSE HS, but it certainly exacerbates  the issue.  The blessing of HS is this:  when I am at or damn near my goal weight, I can have all of my excess skin surgically removed - and insurance will cover it, because it won't be cosmetic, it will be medically necessary to treat my HS.  


Anyone who has lost a lot of weight knows that loose skin is almost always an issue, particularly when you're older, and particularly if you've carried it a long time.  I've been fat for over 10 years, and I'm going to be 40 next May... so chances are, I'll be saddled with quite a bit of skin.  The fact that I can get a "tummy tuck," a breast reduction, and skin removed from under my arms and between my thighs - and have my insurance cover it - is something I'm definitely seeing as a blessing.  


Mixed in here I also get migraines, have high cholesterol, have something called amelogenesis imperfecta - which basically means my teeth were weak and began shattering, so I had to have most of them pulled, and I am autistic - which makes meals all sorts of fun since I've got a list of "food rules" as long as my arm. LOL


So that pretty much sums up my medical issues and health challenges.  I thought it best to share these in the hopes that it may be useful to someone else, and help explain some of the challenges I face in trying to lose weight - and the challenges I hope to be relieved of through losing weight!