The Skinny on Susan

Life is a series of two steps forward and one step back. Or, in my case, two pounds forward, ten pounds back.

In my last post, I wrote about my ongoing struggle to gain weight and my visit to a nutritionist. I was alarmed today when I stepped on the scales at the City of Hope and discovered that I've gone from an underweight 112 to a skeletal 105 pounds. At this poundage, I have to be careful on the dance floor; my sharp, protruding hip bones could be lethal weapons.

Of course, this weight loss follows a week of symptoms that resembled a stomach flu. But I suspect that there's something more going on. For weeks, I've felt an uncomfortable feeling of fullness. And my body seems to have trouble absorbing nutrients A few weeks ago I learned that my Vitamin D levels were at an alarmingly low 9.5, when 30 is low normal. I'm also Vitamin C deficient, which is strange since I make a steady diet of the lemons, oranges and grapefruit from our back yard.

I know I've written before about seeing a GI specialist, and I've finally scheduled an appointment for September 7. I'm eager to get to the bottom of this. (No pun intended.)

Missing in Action

Yes, it's been a while since I've posted. Friends often ask me why I haven't updated more often, and I tell them it's boring to post (and read), "I'm sick with a cold."

I recently realized that I've been sick almost continuously since early December. Back-to-back flus followed by back-to-back-to-back colds with a short bout of pneumonia thrown in for good measure. Every time I think, "I'm back," my temperature spikes to 101 - my body's signal that I have another cold coming on.

I think I'm at the tail end of a cold and am enjoying the surge in energy and the chance to finally work on "rebuilding."

Speaking of rebuilding, I saw a medical doctor/nutritionist about gaining weight. The mere act of keeping a daily diet diary has made me realize that I really don't eat enough to maintain my weight, let alone pack on a few pounds. (There, I said it.) And the reason I don't eat enough is that I almost always feel uncomfortably full, like I'm going to explode. I don't think this is normal.

Otherwise, life is good. I've enjoyed watching the guest house and the baby grow. The house will soon be complete, but baby Joseph will keep on growing (a bittersweet realization).

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