This has not been a good week. Fluid started collecting in my body. Each morning I would weigh and the number would be two to three pounds more than the previous day. I had gained nine pounds before I was able to start back on my booster meds. With the booster, it was not enough to have a loss week.
On another note, I got some results from my oncologist the other day. One of the things they test is my creatinine levels. It has gone up in the last couple of months. This is not good. The higher the number the closer I get to dialysis. For those that don’t know, I’m at stage 4 out of 5 kidney failure. I have got to limit my salt intake otherwise I’ll be on dialysis three days a week. I do not want that.
What a rollercoaster of a ride! I thought I knew all about weight loss but nature threw a curve ball at me. I was doing so well but I woke up one morning to find that I had gained three pounds over the course of twenty-four hours. I had counted all carbs and it was far below my allotted amount. I had exercised quite a bit that day too so I felt confident that I going to see a new number. Boy, when I stepped on that scale thinking I would see a much lower number, I was astonished to find out that I had gained three pounds. The rest of the week went about the same. This week’s weight loss was a struggle but I managed to lose exactly one pound. I’ll take it.
After a rough start to the week, I was able to get back on track and do what I needed to do. To help matters, I had a flower bed that I needed to replace the dead rose bushes. It took me three days to do it but I managed to replace the dead bushes with new bushes. I am completely worn out. After all that I managed to lose 2.8 pounds last week.
Tomorrow is weigh-in. I’d like to see if anyone out there is willing to voice their opinion as to how much I’ve gained or lost.
Come on guys let’s play along. Did I gain weight? If so, how much? Did I lose weight? If so, how much did I lose?
I’m looking forward to seeing what you guys have to say. Remember, I lost over fifteen pounds last week. Did I lose that much again? What do you think??
Alice Fitts. One of the girls that I photographed earlier this week.
Model Heavin A recent picture I took of a young lady
Drum Roll Please………. 15.6 pounds down since August 19th. No, that’s probably not healthy to lose this much in one week but consider this, it’s mostly fluid. I started taking a drug known as Metolazone which is a booster drug to Bumetanide. Bumetanide, or Bumax for short, is a drug to get the excess fluid off the body. When taken with Metolzone, it’s like Bumax on steroids. There is a certain way I have to take it in order for it to work. It doesn’t take but a week or two to get all the fluid out from inside the body. Now, if I have confirmed fluid in my lung cavity then I have to get rid of the fluid another way, Bumax won’t help there.
Not only did I take the booster drug this week, but I’ve also cut carbs, and salt and I’ve done a little bit of exercise. While on the drugs to help get rid of the fluid, I can lose upwards of 2 pounds a day. Once off the drug, I’ll be good to lose less than a pound a week.
I’m off the drug so we’ll see what happens next week.
I turned 59 a few days ago. I did not go into a dark, deep depression. It was just another day for me. As many health problems as I have, I consider it a blessing just to wake up in the mornings. My wife, on the other hand, has an issue with each birthday she comes across. She’s a little over a year older than me and when she turned 60, let’s just say that she turned into a different person. It took a few days for her to get out of her slump. I’m not looking forward to next year.
I know I’ve written about it before but one of my health issues is that I’m having issues with my breathing. This has been an ongoing thing for several years. It started off as a side effect of one of my cancer medications. The medication was causing fluid to build up around my heart and lungs. I had to have fluid removed from around my lungs on four different occasions totalling up to around 5 liters. The first time I had it done they weren’t sure what was causing my breathing issue and it took several weeks of testing before they found out. During this time I wasn’t able to do much of anything without getting out of breath. Even walking a short distance became a struggle. Remember now, I was still trying to work through all of this.
Like I said, this has been an on going struggle for a couple of years now but after several medication changes it got better. Now it’s back but with a difference. There is no fluid around my lungs. X-rays have proved it. As with the other times, my weight would go up dramatically, and it’s doing the same thing now. I’ve gained upwards around 30 pounds in about a months time. That’s not normal. I’m on mediation to help relieve the fluid but I ran out last week. I had to wait until this week before I could get it refilled because of the insurance.
I think a big contributor to this is salt. I’m supposed to be on a low sodium diet but that’s hard for me to do. I’ve greatly reduced the amount of salt but I need to reduce it some more. Another thing that is not helping is, of course, my diet. I’ve got to do better. I’ve committed myself to a weightloss program for the next six months. But, until I get this fluid undercontrol, I will just continue to gain weight. Losing weight for me right now will definitely be a challenge. One, I get out of breath so easily so walking is a challenge even the treadmill will be a challenge. Two, the fluid. If I only knew the cause then I might could do something about that.2
On August 15th, my birthday, I weighed in at 287.2. On the 16th I weighed 287.4, 18th 288.5, 19th 290.5, also on the 19th I received my medication and the next day, the 20th I weighted in at 286.6. Of course I peed every thirty minutes or so. I haven’t weighed in this morning so I don’t know if I’ve lost any weight or not. BTW, I know I’m going to get some people telling me not to weigh everyday but this is what my cardiologist wants me to do. I should weigh about 275lbs once I get all the fluid off.
I’m planning on posting weekly to let everyone know how I’m doing on my weight loss.
I would if I could. For years now I’ve been having trouble breathing, especially when I do anything strenuous. Walking up a hill or an incline, pushing or pulling an object or just taking a shower causes me to get out of breath. For years now I thought it was due to fluid being built up around my heart and lungs due to diastolic heart failure and medications for my CML. I just recently went to my pulmonologist and they found a little bit of fluid around my lungs which I had it removed it was only 1.5 liters of fluid. After having it removed I’m still having trouble breathing. The pulmonologist put me on a once a day inhaler for 2 months. Today marks the end of my inhaler as well as my next appointment for my pulmonologist and I’m not any better as of yet.
I’ve got my doctor scratching his head because there is no apparent reasoning for my shortness of breath. The pulmonologist did suggest that I tried to lose weight because I’ve got a lot of pressure against my lungs.
I’ve lost 6 lb since my last visit two months ago.
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything and I have probably lost several followers because of it. As I’ve stated several times throughout my time here, I really don’t post to gain followers. I post because this is a way that I can keep myself honest.
If you want to know about me just ask. I’ve posted enough about my health that I think most people turn me off the minute they see that I’ve posted something. I do feel encouraged that people do like a post though. Although they are few, I do like the comments that get posted on here. So far none have been out of line and I appreciate it.
I lead a pretty boring life so there’s nothing much to post about unless it’s my health. Having CML does make it a little challenging. Something is causing my breathing issues but we are not sure yet.
Stat tuned, I’ll have a story to tell about our flooring project that’s going on now.
Like I said earlier today, I’m still here. I kept thinking that I needed to post something but as always, I got busy with something else. I’ve got a bit of bad news to share. The breathing problems that I’m having are not caused by my heart or fluid in my lungs. What’s worse is that they don’t know why I’m having these issues. I can’t walk into my home and climb the one flight of stairs without becoming winded.
Not so long ago I was riding my bicycle twenty miles a day. Not any more. My son now is riding my bike where he lives. At least my bike is getting some mileage on the tires.
It’s been too long. I had no idea just how long it’s been. I’m still alive, obviously. I’ve got a lot going on so I’ll post more about some of the things later this evening.
grayfeathersblog 