Good morning. I hope everyone is doing well this morning. It's a lovely day, here - the sun is shining and it's going to get pretty warm. It looks like we're skipping spring, for now and moving right into summer. I like the warmth, but not when it gets hot enough to need the air conditioner because I like to have doors/windows open for the fresh air.
Anyway, it's been another pretty quiet week here, which is nice. I've had plenty of time to practice calligraphy and work on some projects. I do have a couple of birthday cards to get made, so I need to get started with those before it turns into a "hurry, hurry" situation.
Well, I said last week, I was into a full on weight loss effort and unfortunately, that didn't turn out the way I planned. I've steadily gained - I mean, like a pound/day - and I haven't really changed anything I'm doing. I've also been noticed a LOT more visible swelling in my hands/feet. Whenever something like that happens, I start looking at causes, beginning with medications - particularly any new ones I might have started. Yep - sure enough!! A couple of months ago, my doctor finally agreed that the medication I've been taking for GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) wasn't working. I've been on a double dose for over 2 yrs and still having break-through acid most nights.
My doctor prescribed a newer PPI, but when I went to get it filled, they wanted over $300 for the script, so back to the drawing board. I asked about a medication I'd taken some years ago - it was relatively new then and was quite expensive. I finally had to go off it because insurance refused to pay for it. I figured, by now, there would be a generic and it would be less expensive. Yeah, there is a generic and although it's "less expensive" than the brand, it's still pretty spendy, though much less than the $300+ for the other medication prescribed.
Anyway, although the medication works pretty well - I've had only a few episodes of break-through acid - side effects include swelling of the hands and feet, as well as sudden weight gain. Typically, I would counter that by cutting back on food intake, but I already don't eat that much and if I cut back too much, I won't get the nutrients I need. I'm going to try to go back to the old PPI and see how that goes. I "have" to get rid of some of this weight, as it's beginning to cause issues, other than making be feel less confident, etc.
Last time I had blood work, my glucose level was quite high. My doctor has ordered further testing (A1c, insulin, etc) for the next round of blood work and I believe it's only a matter of time until I get the diabetes diagnosis.
So - I didn't take the acid reducer yesterday and I'm down by 0.6 lbs this morning. I'm sure some, if not all, of that would be elimination of some water weight. We'll have to see what happens over the next few days.
Along with all this, I'm in the process of preparing for the surgery on my eyelids. I have to go tomorrow for an EKG, the later in the week, I'll meet with the surgeon for pre-op planning. The surgery will be on March 22. I've never had an abnormal EKG, so I'm hoping this weight issue isn't going to change that.
So that's my story - how has your week been? If the weather in your neighborhood is good, I hope you're getting a chance to enjoy it. Personally, I'm loving the longer days, even though they're still pretty short. I hope you've been able to meet/exceed any goal(s) you set for yourself over the past week and look forward to hearing about your week.
~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~
**Stay safe and wash your hands**