Me.

After Samantha was born, things were busy. Between the early arrival, the NICU stay, my recovery, the months and MONTHS of colic, things were absolutely nuts here. If you remember, about a month before she was born I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I have a family history of diabetes and my brother has had Type 1 and has been insulin dependent since he was 6 years old. So it was no surprise to me that I would get it. Well, I did what they told me for that month. Watched what I ate and pricked my finger testing my sugar all throughout the day. It was no fun, but I was going to do what I had to do to (try) and keep me and my baby safe. I had been told that when you have the baby the gestational diabetes just goes away. And with all the craziness that occurred with Sam's birth, I didn't even think about the gestational diabetes after she was born. It became all about her and we wouldn't have had it any other way! She was my #1 priority! I also, throughout my fertility treatments I was a a thyroid med to stabilize my thyroid. Well also when Sam was born, I didn't even think about it. I ran out of pills and just never refilled them. BAD IDEA.

Fast forward, 15 months and I have been feeling like total crap. I mean really crappy. I knew it was a combination of a few things. It HAD to be my thyroid as I just stopped my meds without talking to the doctor. And it had to be my weight. I have been gaining weight at a rapid pace. Here and there I would try really hard to lose weight. Would exercise and eat right, but could only seem to lose 3 lbs and then would lose track and would gain back even more. It was a frustrating cycle. There was also a little voice in the back of my head telling me that I might have diabetes. I am very short..5'0 and right now I weigh a few pounds less than I did a week before Sam came. I mean, that is really bad. I am so short and there is not much space on me for all this extra weight. So I knew, with all these factors combined was why I have been feeling so sluggish and exhausted and just not well. I was also losing my hair and having joint pain. Which I found out are thyroid symptoms too.

So, I finally went to the doctor this week. I had to. I need to feel well again and I NEED to be well for my daughter. They did a full panel blood work up on me. The results were that I have hypothyroidism and I am pre-diabetic. Kinda scary. But this all explains so much. Combined with not enough exercise and not eating great, I now know the thyroid issues are playing a part in my weigh and all my other symptoms. For those of you who don't know what hypothyroidism is, it's when your thyroid is not functioning properly or "enough." Which can cause all kinds of problems. My doctor vowed to get me feeling better. So I am back on thyroid medication and I am hoping to feel a difference in a week or two. She also put me on Metformin to help with the high blood sugar. This I was weary about because I had tried it about 5 years ago when I had started fertility treatments. My ob back then wanted to try that with me first to see if it helped me ovulate, etc. All I remember was spending my days in the bathroom :( It did not sit well with me. So my doc is started me out slow with it.

Now that I have the meds, I need to really buckle down with diet and exercise. I'm supposed to go for repeat bloodwork in a month and see a dietician. I'm also getting  an u/s of my thyroid done in September.

How did I get here you ask? I just lost track of ME. My girl is my life. But I just swept myself to the side. I know I need to take care of myself though! I want to be around and be healthy for Samantha too! I also do not want to try for a second child in my current state. It would not be healthy for me or a baby. I'm thinking about going Gluten Free. But I'm not sure yet. I might just ease into things first, as I hear it's very expensive and demanding and I'm not sure that's the diet plan I can handle right now. I did see this guy on The Chew the other day. He was pre-diabetic once and wrote a book called "VB6." Where basically you go vegan all day until 6pm. And I guess it works! Looks interesting.

So hopefully this summer I will see some major changes in my health!!! I just don't feel like "me." And I need ME back :)