Hello all,

I would love to say I'm back to 100% but it just hasn't happened yet. However, the good news is that all my numbers (cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides, etc.) are great. What's not 100% is my mood and my weight loss.

For the past few months I have been using a glucose monitor and testing my blood when I feel bad or really good to see where it's at. Anxiety always coincided with my glucose being around 70-73 (80-100 is normal). So, easy math, when my blood sugar starts getting low, bring it back up with complex carbs or natural sugar (apple, etc.) otherwise it can shoot high and drop back down again. I was really surprised how what seems like a small drop in blood sugar could effect me so dramatically and I'm really glad I know now. Knowledge is power. I'm also taking Omega 3. My chiropractor told me that Omega 3 helps repair damaged cells. Damaged cells are what causes the insulin not to be taken into the cells. (round hole, square peg type of thing). He said I should not take a department store brand for a long period of time because of the mercury in it. Says it can make you sick if taken for a long time. He suggested a pharmaceutical grade but haven't gotten any more details on that just yet as he said he was testing a few of them.

Since I was still really not feeling myself (anxiety, depression, irritability, low energy, fatigue, hopelessness, difficulty concentrating, frequent & urgent urination...) and I read in a few magazines that a low morning temp, under 97.2, taken under the arm before getting out of bed, that last for more than 7-10 days can be an indicator of thyroid problems I went back to my dr. I had a TSH test done and it was lower than ever before at 1.17. He said that meant it was actually working better. So... I had told him during the visit that out of the entire year I had only felt myself for about 10 days and that I wasn't losing any more weight. All the weight I have lost has been during one week, then the next month during another week. Weird. I eat well, or at least I think I do. I told him I have 2 eggs with cheese for breakfast, 6oz chicken with lettuce and spinach with low carb dressing for lunch and then dinner varies. His actual advice for me to lose weight was to have one egg instead of two and cut out the chicken at lunch. What?? YOu've got to be kidding me!! Needless to say I'm probably not going back to him. He's helped me a lot to this point but I'm not getting any more help from him so I'm trying an alternative route.

I've had a lot of back pain over the last 6 years. I've been to drs and chiropractors off and on for it but never kept going. I have found a really great chiropractor that also has a soft tissue massage therapist in office. After the xrays and test he'd determined I have lots of "issues". He explained to me how the spinal cord and how the nerves down my spine work and how you can feel "messed up" when your brain isn't connecting/communicating with other parts of your body. So, I've looked into that more an almost all of my symptoms can be connected to some part of my spine. So, I can't say this is the exact cure-all solution, but I'm going to take this as a next step to better health.

I've been going now for two weeks, have more flexiblity and less headaches. I was having headaches almost every day for the last 2-3 months. In my evaluation, he diagnosed me with depression and dysthymia, which is a type of depression that's more likely to affect women. It's a disorder with similar but milder and longer lasting symptoms than major depression and lasts for more than two years. With this mild depression you can still experience periods of major depression. Many of the symptoms are right on target with how I feel.

So, I'm being treated with an anti-depressant and having my spine "corrected" and since both of these things, the depression and my spine can cause all my symptoms I"m hoping I'm on the right track, as least my odds are good.

Please remember, you know your body. Dr.s are NOT gods and should not be treated as such. Get second opinions and stick up for yourself and work towards better health! You deserve it!

Take care of yourself and enjoy your life. Tina