Tuesday, February 14, 2012

The Truth

Turns out that I may or may not have fatty liver disease. I kinda hope I do, because the alternative is leukemia or another type of cancer.

For a long while (don't even know how long) I've had pain in my upper left abdomen. The pain actually began when I was about half way through my pregnancy. I mentioned it to the midwife. She seemed unconcerned. I did too. Of course, that didn't stop my googling, topics like "spleen" "pancreas" were are both articles in that region of the abdomen. I just figured the little bugger was pushing on something. (Even in utero, the kid can push my buttons.) After I had her, the pain pretty much stopped, or I should say, came very, very infrequently. Not enough to either give it a second thought.

More recently, the pain has gotten a lot more frequent, mainly after large and/or fatty meals. So, at my 6 month check up (gotta go every 6 months to keep an eye on cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which, by the way, the went down a bit!), I mention to her about the dull pain. She says, "Eh, probably gallstones (in my head I know this isn't the case b/c it's not where the gallbladder is), and she gives me a script for an abdominal ultrasound.

The results are in, but I haven't had my follow-up appointment yet. I have an enlarged spleen and liver. This is very disheartening. The condition is called NASH (Nonalcoholic Steato Hepatitis). From my reading, and yes, there has been lots and lots of reading, it can be reversed (if not too far along), with diet and exercise. Yay! If not reversed, it can lead to cirrhosis, and eventually cancer, and/or liver failure.

This condition can be caused by high triglycerides which, in my case, are genetic (thanks, fucked up paternal genes!), the result of obesity (thanks, idiot who likes to eat; oh wait...), alcohol, diabetes (perhaps should get glucose checked), Syndrome X (a.k.a. Insulin Resistance, a.k.a. Metabolic Syndrome). The latter makes losing weight very difficult.

So, I am self-diagnosing until I get the follow-up appointment. Since I have diagnosed myself, I have also laid out a plan to get this shit under control. No fucking way am I going to get cirrhosis. Fuck that shit. I mean, it's like (and pardon the lack of political correctness) getting lung cancer without being a smoker. Not that alcoholics deserve cirrhosis, or smokers deserve lung cancer, but there is a REASON. Yeah, I know my reason. I'm fat. And per a post last month, I'm OK with the fat part, but I'm not OK with the unhealthy part! No fucking way.

It is time to come to grips with reality. If I want to live long (I do) and be healthy (I do). I must make a change (I will.)

Today, February 14, 2012 is the day I am posting on the web all my numbers. I am going to use this blog to track my progress. It's not going to turn into a weight loss blog, cause (and no offense to anyone) they bore me. And I won't take offense if my blog bores you. It bores me too, it's just my little corner of the world where I can feel like, "Hey, some one may read my dazzling writing and be inspired to do something cool." Whatever. I don't know.

My Stats (with a minor disclaimer: I weighed myself in clothes, around noon, after drinking a glass of water, so ya know, it's probably 1/2 lb. difference.)

Here goes...
(gulp)

Weight: 249 lbs.
Waist: 42"
Hips: 54"
Thigh: 30"
Upper Arm: 15"
Chest (including boobs): 45 1/2"

Lipid Panel (as of 11/25/11)
Total Cholesterol: 233
HDL: 41
Triglycerides: 267
LDL: 139

2 comments:

Kris said...

just wanted you to know i'm reading. and i hope everything turns out ok. xo

Jaime said...

Thanks, Kris.