One Year Milestone

Well, it's been almost a year since I began my journey with the eat to live/eat for health challenge. I haven't been exactly following Dr. F's plan to the letter, but doing the best I can. In mid-March 2011 I weighed 344.2 lbs. At my dr. appt just this past Friday I weighed 284.8.

So far I've been able to completely get off cholesterol medication, reduce blood pressure meds from 40mg a day to just 5mg a day. I also was able to stop injecting insulin and reduce metformin from 2 1000mg pills a day to 2 500mg pills a day.

Still no improvement with musculoskeletal issues, though I weaned off the drugs anyway and am trying other means of dealing with the pain and weakness.

Dr. keeps reminding me I have almost 125 lbs still to lose, but I'm so happy to have gotten rid of almost 60 that I think I'll move on to a different doc. One who will cheer me on as I lose something every month instead of one who berates me for not losing enough each month. This one only praised me for the 10 lbs lost the very first month, and then the 7 lbs lost last Sept. Every other loss was met with scorn. It's a good thing my success didn't depend on him at all!

Sun. Mar 4, 1:51pm

Wow! Absolutely amazing!! Congratulations on your improved health and reduction on the prescription drugs and weight loss!! Keep it up!!

I'm sorry your current doctor lacks good bedside manner. Perhaps he has watched too many episodes of Biggest Loser and thinks he is doing you a favor? :\ Definitely find a more encouraging and supportive doctor!! You deserve it!! ROCK ON!!

:)

Sunday, March 04, 2012, 2:09 PM

nice job, keep it up!

-PEERtrainer

Sunday, March 04, 2012, 2:29 PM

Great job! Congratulations! Yes definitely get another doctor. You deserve to be praised.

Link

Sunday, March 04, 2012, 6:58 PM

Thank you so much for posting this. It just show how much progress a person can make in a year. Congratulations. I think the most important thing your story points out is that we need to do this for ourselves. It would be wonderful if the people, and doctors, around us could be supportive and positive but that isn't always the case. Your proved that it can be done. I do hope you can connect up with a doctor who is more helpful but I know you will continue your successful journey no matter what.

Monday, March 05, 2012, 8:57 AM

Thanks everybody. And yes, pp, I am doing it for me not for the doc. I had hoped he'd be my cheerleader but he started out trying to get me to take a combination of diet pills. He went so far as to electronically send the scrip to the pharmacy even after I said I didn't want it. So that when I went to pick up my bp and diabetes meds, they'd be there too. But thankfully my insurance denied them. And there was no way I could pay for them out of pocket. They cost more than $350 a month. Besides, I want FOOD to be my medicine. The right foods of course.

So then every single visit he started pressing me to have the gastric bypass. Telling me I could completely cure diabetes within a week after the surgery and lose more than 100 lbs in less than 6 months, if I just do the surgery. Once he even scheduled it, against my wishes. And told me how disappointed he was when I didn't show up.

So this past visit on March 2, I was so excited to get on the scale and see that I'd lost 59.4 lbs in 50 weeks. To me that meant more than a lb a week, consistently, for almost a whole year. I turned to him and smiled but he saw it as a failure. A whole year and ONLY 59 lbs. And that's what I get for not taking the diet pills or having bariatric surgery. And don't I feel just horrible only losing 4 lbs a month. I said no, I'm thrilled to lose an average of 4 lbs every month because I'm losing! I don't want surgery. I really don't have a problem with eating. Not a compulsive eater, no problem with junk food. I have a really good grasp of what I need to be eating, how much, and when.

My real problem is the physical disabilities that keep me from walking and exercising. I do the best I can but it doesn't seem to be enough. And this doctor keeps also pushing steroids, narcotics and dangerous psychotropic drugs to get the pain under control enough to be able to exercise. I weaned off all that poison almost a year ago and have no intention of ever getting back on it. It's those drugs that put more than 90 lbs on me in the first place, in less than 3 months. Then after that I couldn't even move as well as I could before the drugs (and I couldn't do very well then, but at least I wasn't fat).

Well now, after this last appointment I talked with my insurance company again and finally got approval to switch clinics and doctors. The person I talked with understands how committed I am to my own success and also saw the record of how I've slowly but surely lowered doses and gotten off meds. Saving them money. So now I'm looking for a doctor who will be my health care partner. Not like a disappointed parent scolding a headstrong child.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012, 9:00 AM

Your progress is excellent and MOST DEFINITELY you need a new doctor. You present clinician has no respect for you and your progress. His actions with the script writing and making the bariatric surgery appt clearly show that. You deserve a strong ally in this journey...and I'd go as far to say that your good insurance dollars are being wasted on his "services".

I worked as practitioner for years (retired) and I didn't always agree with the steps people were taking to get on track but I never stepped over the line like your doctor has. Instead I talked with people respectfully and I saw tremendous progress with many individuals over the years. You deserve respect no matter what your journey is....absolutely and always.

A tremendous amount of money goes out to healthcare (even if it is not out of pocket). Working as a true ally in patient care is part of that package. That doesn't mean placating healthcare consumers when they are way off course, instead it means talking respectfully about options. Your practitioner stepped over a line by taking unwanted steps toward his idea of good treatment. And clearly you are getting results...not just pounds either...you are getting metabolic results.

Have you thought about looking into physical therapy as a way to get your movement program underway? I am sure there are some great adaptive steps to get started so you can make progress with skeletal issues. The right doc could get you lined up that way. Insurance coverage plays a role too.

Best to you OP. Hang in there. You are doing great!

Tuesday, March 06, 2012, 10:13 AM

Your doctor is an idiot. People who get a gastric bypass or take a ton of pills more often than not don't keep the weight off because they didn't learn to live like a thin person along the way. And in your case, losing slowly means you will fix your metabolism gradually and naturally, not break it with starvation.

Kudos to you for being so wise and so good to yourself!

Oh, and the unwanted prescription thing -- I discovered my doc was charging my insurance company $100 every time she wrote a scrip. (She wrote a lot that I never filled.)

Tuesday, March 06, 2012, 12:23 PM

Thank you. Yes, I've been thinking the same thing (that he's an idiot; a pompous, full of himself idiot). But there wasn't anything I could do about it because my insurance requires the patient to choose a clinic/hospital then a primary physician. Once chosen, you have to stay with that choice unless you move more than 25 miles away. But after explaining the whole situation to the insurance customer service rep, I was given permission to choose a new clinic and primary.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012, 6:20 PM

So glad you are finding a new doctor!!! Some doctor's are so full of themselves!!! Some of them are also clueless about what is right for their individual patients!! YOU HAVE MADE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH ALL YOUR WEIGHT LOSS!! Don't EVER let anyone tell you otherwise!!

Wednesday, March 07, 2012, 10:00 AM

Ok, finally found a new doctor who is willing to be my partner in my journey to better health. She's not a rigid do-as-I-say kind of doc. When I showed her my log of weight loss, metabolic changes, and medication reductions/eliminations over the past year she was very pleased. So I'm confident she will cheer me on during the months I "only" lose 3 lbs as much as when I lose more.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 12:33 PM

For OP--Yeah!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 3:52 PM

bump

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 12:48 PM

I've been on a 5 year plan. When I started I had no idea that I could actually last 5 years. It's been long and I'm finally happy about where I am

Friday, October 25, 2013, 1:04 PM

Congrats

personal congratulations. 2nd of all I'm sure the musculoskeletal improvements will come in a short amount of time! Since it has been one year you might want to consider studying to [url=http://www.bestpersonaltrainercertification.net/how-to-become-a-personal-trainer/]become a personal trainer[/url] so that you could not only help yourself more but also help others!

Thursday, May 22, 2014, 7:26 PM

Tyler

Congratulations on all of the progress you've made. Keep it up!

Link

Thursday, May 22, 2014, 7:28 PM

Wow! Very inspiring! I am impressed that you actually went to the insurance co. And worked with them and they approved a new doc for you. I am so grateful for this site and all the knowledgeable people spreading the word that most doctors won't. You are what you eat and drugs aren't always the answer. Also patience and perseverance are definitely required. Coming here is awesome too and sharing with people going through similar circumstances. We get it. Not negative judgments like your previous thoughtless, uninformed, numbskull of a doctor. I would love to here how it's going with you. Keep up the great work!

Sunday, June 22, 2014, 12:40 PM

Congrats

Good job! Not all are successful in losing weight or trying to be fit in general. You are an inspiration. All the best and good luck.

Friday, June 27, 2014, 3:40 AM

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