NeuroTalk Support Groups - View Single Post

Joselita · 10-05-2007, 10:13 AM

Vic,
I know you don’t mind my long posts, and that you will actually read them...so I figured that I would come out of lurking to post to you. LOL. I don’t post as much as I used to on here, because folks don’t read what I write, so why bother, you know? But I know that you will.....others that write longish posts usually will take the time to read what folks write to them. You know what I mean?

I am sorry about the detour that you and our daughter took on the way back from your Doc’s office. You had me kinda scared with the part about the “5 young gentlemen”, so I was very relieved that they didn’t approach your car or accost you in any other type of way. I have to go through Birmingham to get to my new doc (my old doc was in the middle of B’ham, not very far off of the Interstate at all, but this new one is all the way across B’ham, and I have to go driving through the city it’s self...through parts that I had never, ever been in before) and I know how scary it is to come face to face (even through a windshield) with those groups of young men. Birmingham has one of the highest crime rates in the country,...and people get dead or go missing up around there, daily. There is a girl from here that disappeared up there....the have only found her car, and it was found not far from where I drive through to get to my new doc’s office. Believe me, I DO NOT stop for ANYTHING there.

But, I kinda got off of the whole detour thing. LOL. That so totally sounds like me, I sat here and kinda laughed about it. Only thing is, I would have not been scared to get off of the Hwy to try to find an alternate route, unless I was SURE of where I was, and that there was such a thing around....and if I had tried it, I am not so sure that I would have been able to get myself sorted back out right to get home. LOL..I think that I have mentioned a time or two before that I can get lost in a paper sack and not know how to find my way back out? LOL....it seems to be an inherited thing; my Grandmother (maternal) was like this, my Auntie is (mom’s sister), and Jay is. Weird thing about him...he gets lost on the ground, but not up in the air? How exactly does that work I wonder? ROFLMAO!!! I am glad that at least one of my kids doesn’t get lost. Meghan can find her way to and from just about anywhere you plunk her down in, as can my Mom. Wish I could....*sigh

Ok...now, about your weight problem. I have an idea or two about that....

First, I have a question for you; have you ever had your blood tested to see if you are anemic? I am not a betting woman (ROFL..how many people can say that they have been to Vegas and NOT gambled? I only have played machines twice out of all of my trips there; once one time waiting for Bubba and Jay to get back from the bathroom at a casino we were passing through when my Dad INSISTED that I drop a coin into a machine [I didn’t win anything, and didn’t see the point in trying it again], and once when Bubba and I went and met Barb2406 at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street. She suggested that we go across the way to The Horseshoe [I think that was the one...LOL] and try the machines there, so that is what we did. I won. I only played a Nickle Machine. I used a whole dollar’s worth to figure the thing out, and then actually played with my next dollar...and wound up winning $15 for my troubles! Not bad, if I do say so myself. Haven’t done it since, though...LOL. ****** Bubba off BIG TIME, because he was hitting the $1 ones, and something that was $20...and told me that if I could win on the .05 thing that I should try the higher ones, on which he was losing. I didn’t. He lost. I won. Point made, I thought. ROFLMAO!!), but I am willing to bet that you ARE anemic. I am like 90% to 99% sure of it.

If you are....then that would explain the inability to gain weight. I myself tend to be a little anemic, but don’t seem to have trouble gaining weight. I have the opposite problem, probably because my metabolism is soooooo slow anymore. But, my Grandfather was anemic and couldn’t gain weight, even eating bags of candy to try to. My Mother is and always has been anemic. She had “Child Hood Anemia”, which I am sure has a more sophisticated technical name than that, and still fights it to this day. As a child, she couldn’t eat. She would gt hungry...and she would try to eat, but after only one or two bites, she would be “full as a tick” as we say here in The Land of Cotton, and felt like she absolutely couldn’t put anything else in, or she would puke. I didn’t totally understand this, until I had Jay and he got to be a toddler. Wound up that HE had the same problem. The child would be absolutely starving, and running around under my feet while I would be cooking supper (or breakfast, or whatever) BEGGING me to hurry up....yet when the meal was place in front of him, he would take only about 2 bites, and then say he was too full. The fights that we had with me trying to get him to eat, because I KNEW that he needed more nutrients than what he was getting from only a couple of bites. I tried EVERYTHING! I tried bribery; favorite deserts didn’t work, as he was too full feeling to eat whatever was already there; favorite suppers didn’t work, as the same thing would happen after only two bites; getting new privileges or losing favorite ones didn’t work, as he is a very stubborn child (hmmm..wonder where he gets that from? Probably the same place his sister does...LOL); MONEY didn’t even work. I tried EVERYTHING! The doctors didn’t want to test him for anemia, saying that he would eat when he was hungry.....and that boys didn’t usually get anemic, especially children at such a young age. I tried telling them to test him, because he has HORRIBLE nose bleeds....but they didn’t listen to me about that. It was only I kept on badgering them, telling them how I about had to force feed the child, and they finally started listening when he started to be “too small for his age” according to their STUPID charts (remember, this was a child that came into this world weighing 10 lbs 3 oz, and was between 23 and 24 inches long! NO WAY he should have been “small for his age”.......but he got that way) AND because he got one of his horrible nose bleeds IN the docs office (they were so bad, that I was scared to not check on him constantly at night. His nose would bleed then, too...and I was worried that he would choke on the blood running down his throat....) that they FINALLY decided to test his blood. Were they surprised to find that I WAS RIGHT! HE WAS Anemic! So, it was on to iron supplements for him, and off to get his nose cauterized.

My brother also has anemia problems now, because of his HIV status. He has bad problems gaining and keeping on weight. He never used to...infact, he was more like me and had to FIGHT to keep weight off, instead of to keep it on.

Jay’s girl friend is also anemic, and also doesn’t eat enough to keep a fly alive. I had to get her to eat better things....like corn flakes in the morning that had a good % of daily iron, instead of the donut sticks that she had grabbed up, and had in front of her unopened. She didn’t know she was anemic, all she new is that her “blood iron was low”. SAME DAMN THING! Sheesh. When I got her to eat things that had more iron in them, she actually started getting a bit hungrier and eating a little bit better. I am sure that she is back to her old habits again, though.

So, because of all of these things....I have some ideas of what to try to do to get some weight on you. ESPECIALLY If you are anemic. These things should work even if you are not. However, it would be helpful to find out if you are, as then you could find out from your doc about taking an iron supplement. Iron is NOT something that people should just take, like they tend to take other vitamins and minerals. Too much iron is toxic and WILL kill you. So, if a doc can tell you what mg or iron to take, how many times a day, according to your weight, and then be able to monitor and change that dosage as your weight changes that would be best. So, before you go taking ANY iron pills.....talk to your doc. Taking a daily vitamin that has some iron in it should be ok, as that isn’t the same as taking the straight old iron pills, that have become a staple in my family.

The thing to understand about anemia is that it creates a vicious circle. Folks aren’t hungry when are anemic, so they don’t eat much, or right. The more that they don’t eat things (especially things that have iron in them) the more anemic that they get, and the less hungry they are. It goes around and around. To feel that you have to force your food, is a big sign to me that you are most likely anemic. It has sounded to me like you are having to force yourself to eat for a long while now, and that maybe you DO eat through out the day, but I bet that those 2 hamburgers and whatever, made you feel absolutely miserable to get down. Nice to tell the doc that you ate such a thing, but hard to get down, and was probably the most that you have eaten in one sitting in a while....right?

First...DO NOT drink ANYTHING with Caffeine in it 2 hours before, or one hour after eating any meals. Reason for that is that Caffeine inhibits the body’s ability to absorb iron from the food that you eat. Same goes with taking that Vitamin w/iron supplement. Don’t take it when you are having your morning coffee. Take it at night, or something, if you are a caffeine fiend like I am, and HAVE To have my morning coffee. If you can get your system to start absorbing iron, it will help with your ability to start gaining your weight back. Even if you aren’t anemic, this is a good thing to do anyway, to help with caffeine intake. Pretty much the only thing that Jay could and would drink at meal times was milk. With all of the crap that is out there on the market, you would be surprised at just HOW MUCH stuff has caffeine in it. Even some of the juices do. So, try to read the labels. Sodas aren’t good to drink at mealtimes when you are having absorption problems....I can’t remember if it is the carbonation, or something else that is in ALL Of them that interferes. But they aren’t a good option when you are having troubles eating and/or gaining weight.

Another thing that he had to do, was only have about an inch and a half of liquid in his glass at meal times. This was so that he didn’t fill up on whatever (be it water, or milk or whatever) he had to drink instead of on the food that he had in front of him. Since it took so very little to make him feel full, we couldn’t waste that “space” by getting it fulled up with liquid. However, it isn’t very pleasant to not having anything to wash your food down with at all. So, he could have that little bit, and then more once he was done with his meal. Jay doesn’t have troubles eating or with anemia now (don’t know if the anemia thing could pop up again in his future....I hope not. I know that he is OK now, though), but still to this day the child doesn’t drink much at all when he is eating. Probably if you measured it, it would turn out to be only an inch or two at the most of whatever is in his glass that he drinks with his meal. He will drink TONS afterwards though....LOL. I think that he just got into the habit, as he hasn’t had to worry about this for many years now. Not too bad of a habit to have, though,,,,right?

Make sure that you are eating things that have some iron content in them. That way there is something for your body to absorb when you eat.

TO just plain old gain weight, this is what they tell my brother to do; drink milkshakes! In his case, they just want the fat to get on him sometimes, so they tell him to drink whatever kind he wants, to just drink A LOT of them. He is like me, and a complete chocoholic, so that is what kind he tends to get. However, I have told him to try Vanilla and Strawberry (yuk...I HATE strawberry!) Because of the howl caffeine factor. But, sometimes it is best to just of with what you crave in order to get weight on. When he is trying to get weight back on, he tries eating something first, and then doing the milkshake thing. But, if he isn’t “that hungry” he will get a milkshake. They are filling and fattening.

Another thing to try, is to get something like Slimfast or Boost, or whatever. NOT to use as someone like me would, to help get and keep weight off by following the directions on them....but as a thing to go WITH your meals. Or, if that is too filling right now, as a “Snack” between them. Lots of those shakes/drinks have BUNCHES of stuff that your body needs in them, including iron. So, you could try that and see if they help. Even if all you can do is drink one of those things and eat some chips or crackers or half a sandwich...that will help a little. I personally used to like to get the kind that you mix up yourself, and then follow the directions to make the “mouse” thing out of them, rather than the drink thing. Since you don’t need to LOOSE weight, you can add stuff to it in the blender too. TO make it taste better and to get more “stuff” into it to help put more “Stuff” on your bones.

Things that do have a higher iron content that you might try eating are;
Raisins (jay and I like those. My Mom hates them. Probably has something to do with having BOWLS of them forced down here when she was a kid and couldn’t eat)
Spinach and other such greens (which I LOVE!!!)
Liver (I hate that. Smells WONDERFUL but gack! My Mom loves it, though)
Other Red Meats, and meats in general. This is gross, but when I am getting anemic (and no...it just doesnt have to do with the “normal” reason women tend to get that way each month. Not in my case, at any rate), I start craving RARE steak. I eat my steaks rare anyway, because I like them that way. I HATE an over cooked steak. However, in public, I will get med. rare in order to not gross out whomever I am eating supper with, if it isn’t “family”. But, the more anemic I get, the more I crave rare steak. I know I am getting pretty bad when my mouth waters just thinking about a rare steak and some spinach on the side. LOL
Some of the cereals, breads, and whatnot that have high wheat content. Just read the labels and see what they have. If something has 25% of your daily value, and you can eat that thing 4 x a day...or other things that have iron in them of a similar %, then you are getting a good amount of iron. Similar to what I tried pointing out to Danni (Jay’s GF). After only one day of eating stuff that had better iron content, her apatite did get better.

I just realized how every long this has gotten. I am sorry for that. So, I will end this here. I hope that there is something here that can help you. If I think of anything else, I will post it...in a shorter post. I really didn’t realize just how long this had gotten.....so I am really sorry for that. I hope that you didn’t try to sit and read it all in one sitting. Lord knows that it took me many more than one sitting to get it written. LOL. I think that is part of my problem; because I CAN’T sit and write things in one sitting, they wind up getting longer then they should because I have to keep coming back, and I loose track of just how long they really are. That, plus I am just naturally a talker. That doesn’t help much either. LOL

Anyway...I hope that you can get some weight on you...and I HOPE that the pump does help you. Please try to not put all of your eggs in one basket, though. I have my fingers crossed that it WILL Help, but you know that there is always the possibility that it won’t. I don’t want you to fall into the kind of depression that I fell into when my perm SCS didn’t work like I had so hoped (and even convinced my self some what) that it would. I am not saying don’t have Hope..DO! Just....I don’t know. Try to keep your expectations realistic, and be prepared for the possibility that it might not be what it should be for you. Have you looked into that Pumpsters group? That might be a good place for you to get some info from. I hear that they are a GOOD group for those that are considering the pump, or that even think a pump is in their future. They are also supposed to be good for after the thing is implanted...to help with questions might arise after implantation, and support for afterwards too.

Ok. Stopping here. Love you. Hope that you are doing ok. And have my fingers crossed and sending good thoughts and prayers that this all works out for you like it should!

Love and

Jose the long winded (or fingered) jabber jaws (or...jabber fingers? ROFL!!)