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Sarajevo, Bosnia, 2012

Hello from Minneapolis! I am actually somewhat glad to be back, surprisingly. Usually when I come back from trips abroad I’m depressed for quite a while afterwards. Since arriving back home from Dublin late Friday night, I’ve felt pretty energized and motivated and in a decent mood. I miss my friends a lot, of course, but I’m feeling positive about finally making some important decisions about my future, regarding my career, moving, creative projects, etc. While the trip was really fun, it was also physically demanding and exhausting, so I’m glad to be home to finally get some rest and to attend to my joints which seem to be exploding with inflammation. This afternoon I left a message for my rheumatologist’s nurse about wanting to discuss with my doctor other treatment options and needing help with what to do next about this stubborn right foot and ankle. Hopefully she will return my call tomorrow and we can get the ball rolling. Strangely, the weather here right now is cooler and less humid than in Dublin and Berlin, so that’s making me feel better.

Also in health news – sadly, I think I have gained back some of the weight I lost just before I left on my trip. Even though I was walking a lot, my careless mass consumption of Croatian/Bosnian/German/Irish beer and delicious bread and pastries probably didn’t help the situation. So now it’s back to tracking calories, self-sacrifice, and near-starvation. I’ll find out what the damage is when I weigh-in Friday. Can’t wait. I did go on a little bike ride today though and that felt good. I’ll have to work my way up to two rides a day again and I’d also like to start swimming on a regular basis, if I can muster the energy to drag myself to the pool (I blame laziness and inconvenience for current procrastination). But seriously, during the entire trip I kept thinking about how much I really do want to be healthier physically and to continue losing weight. It will be a challenge to get back on track after nearly a month, but I think I can do it.

So, that’s the update for now. I took a million photos and I’ll post a link once I get them uploaded if anybody wants to see them.

As always, thanks for reading!

Angela

Joy!

I received some wonderful news today when I went to my doctor appointment -

I’VE LOST SEVEN POUNDS!!!

Incredible! Especially since I’m currently taking 15 mg of prednisone. Wow. I’m beyond happy about this. And, if I keep doing what I’ve been doing, I should continue to lose more weight (says my doctor). The last time I was weighed there was about three weeks ago. I’m so ecstatic and relieved that my “dieting” and tracking calories is finally starting to pay off. Maybe my metabolism isn’t dead after all?

Well, I just wanted to write a quick post to share with you all my good news. I’m going up north early tomorrow morning for an annual family event and I’m really looking forward to that. However I know there will be a lot of bad food temptations there this weekend and I’ll have to work extra hard to control myself. But I can do it, right? The temperature is also supposed to be in the 90s with high humidity again. Ugh. Maybe it will be too hot to eat. Ha.

Happy weekend!

Angela

The good, the bad, and the Balkans

NE Minneapolis, 2012

I can’t believe it’s July already; so many things have been happening – good and bad, as usual. I’ll get the bad out of the way first, I suppose. With great frustration, I’m back on prednisone again because my right foot (toes, ball of my foot) has been flaring up pretty bad for the last 2-3 weeks. It’s definitely swollen and my toes hurt and are tender to the touch. My right ankle has also been worse, so basically I just want to chop off my entire right foot starting at the ankle. For the past month I’ve been working so hard on improving my diet and tracking calories in order to lose weight, and being back on prednisone is making this even more of an uphill battle. I’m simultaneously really angry and depressed about it. And about the fact that I don’t seem to have lost one single pound yet, despite drastic calorie cutting and an increase in my bike riding. I don’t know what to do except keep on with it and try to have patience. I did make an appointment to see an endocrinologist at the University of Minnesota Medical Center’s Weight Management Clinic. I have to wait FOREVER to get in to see the doctor though. But once I get in for my appointment I really hope someone can help me. Doing all of this work with no results is really disheartening. I think my metabolism is dead.

Relief

I’m so happy.  This flare-up seems to be getting better and WITHOUT being on prednisone!  I could cry I’m so relieved.  I hope it will totally go away.  I think I’ve lost a tiny bit of weight, too.  Patience is very difficult sometimes.