Return to blogging + weight loss

So it's been a while since I blogged for a few reasons. First and foremost is that the ER is ruining my life. I. Hate. It. I can't really go more into it without turning into a majorly Negative Nancy, but second, the hours are also stupid and I get home around 8:30/9:00 every night, so the last thing I really feel like doing is cracking open the laptop to blog. Buuuut, I promised a friend of mine I'd blog and I'll try to start up again, even if it is a bit late by the time I get home.

In other news, I had personal training yesterday and we finally did a weigh-in and some measurements (just BMI and body fat percentage). I'm glad we did that because it majorly adds some motivation. He likes to check every 2 weeks and I feel as though that's nice in case I have a bad week. However, we never really set a weight goal for my next weigh-in. So, I guess I'll just try to lose reasonably? Also, we weighed in after a workout, which is silly, in my opinion, cuz I'm typically covered in sweat. So, here were my measurements:

• Weight: 239
• BMI: 35.3
• Body fat: 38.6%

Also, my weight was way different than my scale on Friday, so let's go with the lower number ;-)

I'm also still fasting twice a week. I've been doing Mondays and Wednesdays rather than Mondays and Thursdays. It's pretty easy to do in the ER because the patients just keep on coming, no matter what the time.

I'm also still going to the chiropractor. Last Friday I threw my back out about a half hour before I saw my chiropractor. It was majorly painful and it felt slightly better after he adjusted me (he said I threw out my sacroiliac joint), but it took another 3-4 hours for the pain to go away. I also had a surgery scheduled with one of my clinic patients and standing throughout that was terrrrrrible. I cried right before we started and cried right after. The pain was overwhelming. So, I learned one thing: labor is going to be the worrrrrst (I'm not pregnant). Fortunately, the pain didn't return. Usually when I throw out my back, the pain lasts for a week. I'm going to go ahead and assume that it's because of going to the chiropractor that things got better so quickly.

That's all I've got right about now. I'm pretty boring since I work all the time. Anything exciting in any of your lives?

Update in outline form...ish

So, I've taken a bit of a blogging hiatus to deal with some..."issues." I figure there's no time like the present to talk to y'all about said "issues" because well, I'm avidly looking for something to do that isn't school-related (which is kind of a bad idea because I should be doing school work, but I can't focus).

Since my last really emo post, a lot of things have happened. Here's a brief outline:

1. I was diagnosed with mono...ish
2. I started going to therapy
3. I went to the ER
4. I learned to hate ER docs
5. I had an abdominal/pelvic CT and have more "issues"

1. Over my spring break, I saw my family doc because I'd been experiencing really intense nausea on almost a daily basis. He ordered a CBC with differential, a basic metabolic panel and an ultrasound on my gallbladder, pancreas, and liver. My ultrasound was an educational experience (the tech was really great and taught me a few things), and my CBC came back saying that my monocytes were high while my white blood count was low. Basically, it looked like mono. Sooo, my doctor had a mono test done, which came back negative, but he said I probably still had mono because of my symptoms (I mostly complained that I felt as though I'd had a cold for three weeks and was exhausted, but I thought that was med school). I felt slightly better having a diagnosis on my side telling me that I wasn't just pathetic for not being able to get out of bed. However, that did mean that getting up at 7:15 a.m. was unlikely since I was supposed to rest as much as possible. I took that for all it was worth and stopped going to the gym and slept...a lot.

2. I got that diagnosis after my second therapy session. I see a woman who specializes in *gulp* eating disorders. She is helping me to work through my binges/help me get over not having control over everything. We've only met twice (since I had to cancel twice), but so far it's okay. I'm supposed to keep a food diary, which I've done most days. But when I'm in Midland, I don't like keeping a food diary. Mostly because I feel like it's kinda private and I also feel kind of ashamed that I have to do it. So, yeah... We don't meet again until April 8, so I'll let you know how that goes.

3. Two weeks ago, I developed some abdominal pain that eventually referred to my back and went to the ER. The pain wasn't too bad early in the day, but of course it got way worse when all urgent cares were closed. So, I called in a good friend and we had a romantic date at the ER where the ER doctor didn't listen to me, did a blood and urine test, told me I was fine, and then sent me home.

4. He told me most causes of abdominal pain were unknown and tried to give me a prescription for Aleve. Um, yeah, no thanks.

5. So, I did what anyone would do and went back to see my family doctor to tell him about the pain. He palpated my abdomen, which was beyond painful, and then decided to order and abdominal ultrasound. The result? I have a small bowel filling defect which could very well be the result of a parasite I picked up in Africa. I get to have another CT done on Monday morning. A CT isn't bad except when you have to have contrast (which is probably like all CTs now-a-days since contrast gives you waaaay better images). If you have to have the barium contrast, you drink nasty-flavored chalk. If you have the iodine contrast injected in you, it makes you all flushed and feel like you're going to pee yourself. In fact, during mine, I was pretty sure I had peed myself. False alarm, but my goodness, that was worrisome for a hot second.

I haven't been to the gym since all of this started going down. I thought the pain I developed was because of my spleen (despite the fact that the ER doc told me my spleen was fine) and didn't want to rupture it by aggressively working out (being a med student gives you stupid fears). My eating is better...ish. Mostly I haven't binged because I'm too ashamed to have to write it in my food diary for my therapist to see and judge me. Not so sure that's the point of the food diary (since she told me it's simply to record what I do), but that's what's happening with that. 

I'm not so sure what I'm going to do in terms of a goal/plan for April, but I know I want to do something. I do know that I want to start blogging again. I've just been a bit distracted. Sorries. To make amends, here are some cat photos:

Just hanging out

Inception kitty: lazy boy in a lazy boy

Model kitty

D'aww