health update

So most people besides my family don't know that i've been having minor health problems. For awhile i have not been feeling the greatest. My mom mostly noticed that i was tired, fatigued, and cold all the time (common college student symptoms especially in idaho). i also was having a hard time loosing weight with dieting. Last fall my mom took me into the doctor to get a checkup and blood test to check all my different levels just incase. from my test results it showed that i had a hyperactive thyroid. We then went to a thyroid specialists to have some more tests done. He wasn't able to do treat it till my thyroid died (for lack of a better term) and became hypoactive. i waited several months and had blood tests done to track my thyroid. In november, they finally called us back and said my thyroid had gone hypoactive. They put me on medicine, that i take every morning, to help make my thyroid normal.

For those that don't know, the thyroid controls all of our hormones. It's really important that my hormone levels return to normal for many reasons. i had a checkup in january to see how i was doing. i still didn't feel any better, so they ran a blood test to see if everything was still normal. Turned out that my thyroid levels are good and normal..... so something else was wrong.

My doctor wondered if i was insulin resistant. He had me come in and test for that. i went in at 8 in the morning and they put an IV in my arm. They gave me a drink that was strictly glucose (sugar) to test my insulin levels. Every half hour they would come in and draw blood. They did this for 2 1/2 hours. It was kind of a long process but in the end it would be worth it. We actually got my test results back and it said i tested negative for insulin resistance. phew i thought! but at the bottom it said i was hypoglycemic. My mom's mom was hypoglycemic as well. we didn't really know what to do from there so we just waited till i had my next checkup.

I went to my checkup today and it was a bit of a shocker. My doctor told me that i was insulin resistant and that i had severe hypoglycemia. We didn't understand my tests results that well so i wasn't aware that i was insulin resistant. My doctor told me that i have very low blood sugar levels that most people would pass out at those levels. i constantly go day to day with those low levels which is the answer to why i feel so crummy all the time. Insulin resistance can also tie in with Alzheimer's disease. My mom's mom also was diagnosed with this disease. Also if i don't change anything that i'm doing right now i will gain 50-70 pounds in one year. That totally freaked me out. soooo.... he put me on medicine to help make my insulin levels normal. He also wants me to count my carbs every day. 3 meals a day-at most 30 carbs and 3 snacks a day- at most 15 carbs. This will help my blood sugar levels to normal out. Also for working out, he said interval training is best. This has been quite the long road trying to figure out what was wrong with me. Even though i had quite the scare today, i am glad we finally figured everything out. Now i can turn things around and get my health back to normal. i am definitely going to miss my sweets but i really need to make a change! i have a checkup in four months so we'll see how things work out! i'm hoping for the best!