I have hit a small speed bump in the diet. Some of you may know that a few years ago I was diagnosed with Pseudo Tumor Cerebri, which I know sounds super scary. I mean, it has the word TUMOR in it, right? This condition doesn't involve tumors at all. I won't get into the nitty gritty of it, but pretty much this condition was making my optic nerve swell and part of my vision kept blacking out. Now my vision is fine, and I haven't shown any symptoms for years, except one. My optic nerve is not flat. This bothers my eye specialist to no end because he can't tell if that is just my normal or if I still have some lingering effects of my condition.
Enter the speed bump. Diamox. Diamox is a drug used to treat Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. I had to take boatloads of it when I was first diagnosed and it SUCKS. JR and I call it Crappymox because of all of its wonderful side effects. The doctor has now put me on it again just to see if it can flatten my optic nerve even more. He also told me to lose weight (duh, already working on it!), and since I'm a horrible patient, I argued with him and told him it almost impossible to lose weight on Diamox. Here is why:
It's super hard to stay hydrated with Crappymox. It gets rid of all of the excess fluid in your body and then some. Even with my gigantor Maverick mug its hard to keep up. The first time I went to Cardio Barre after starting Crappymox my muscles were screaming! Not the "this is a good workout" kind of hurt, but more like the "when is this over so I can go die" kind of hurt.
Crappymox causes tingling in fingers, toes and face. It feels like the stabby pins and needles you get when your foot falls asleep. This is exacerbated by physical activity (ie; running), so the more I use my hands and feet, the more tingling I get. Super fun!
Crappymox also causes fatigue. I'm not talking the dopey medicine-head tiredness you get from Benadryl or pain meds. It takes all your energy and doesn't give it back, usually without warning. I'm fine and feeling good one minute and totally wiped out the next. Love my Crappymox!
Crappymox either causes constipation or diarrhea. It's hard to lose weight with the first one, and TERRIFYING to work out with the second. 'Nuff said.
In all fairness to the Crappymox, I have to admit it does have one great diet advantage. I can't drink soda. It won't cause any bad side effects, but somehow the drug makes soda seem like its flat, plus it tastes like its been laced with battery acid. Diet drinks are the worst! It's like battery acid with a handful of dirty pennies thrown in. Yum!
So don't tell my doctor, but despite my complaining and all the yucky side effects, I have still lost weight. That's because I'm awesome! Down 18 lbs total. Go me!
This is a picture of me with a "Farewell to Soda" dirty Diet Coke from Straws
Enter the speed bump. Diamox. Diamox is a drug used to treat Pseudo Tumor Cerebri. I had to take boatloads of it when I was first diagnosed and it SUCKS. JR and I call it Crappymox because of all of its wonderful side effects. The doctor has now put me on it again just to see if it can flatten my optic nerve even more. He also told me to lose weight (duh, already working on it!), and since I'm a horrible patient, I argued with him and told him it almost impossible to lose weight on Diamox. Here is why:
It's super hard to stay hydrated with Crappymox. It gets rid of all of the excess fluid in your body and then some. Even with my gigantor Maverick mug its hard to keep up. The first time I went to Cardio Barre after starting Crappymox my muscles were screaming! Not the "this is a good workout" kind of hurt, but more like the "when is this over so I can go die" kind of hurt.
Crappymox causes tingling in fingers, toes and face. It feels like the stabby pins and needles you get when your foot falls asleep. This is exacerbated by physical activity (ie; running), so the more I use my hands and feet, the more tingling I get. Super fun!
Crappymox also causes fatigue. I'm not talking the dopey medicine-head tiredness you get from Benadryl or pain meds. It takes all your energy and doesn't give it back, usually without warning. I'm fine and feeling good one minute and totally wiped out the next. Love my Crappymox!
Crappymox either causes constipation or diarrhea. It's hard to lose weight with the first one, and TERRIFYING to work out with the second. 'Nuff said.
In all fairness to the Crappymox, I have to admit it does have one great diet advantage. I can't drink soda. It won't cause any bad side effects, but somehow the drug makes soda seem like its flat, plus it tastes like its been laced with battery acid. Diet drinks are the worst! It's like battery acid with a handful of dirty pennies thrown in. Yum!
So don't tell my doctor, but despite my complaining and all the yucky side effects, I have still lost weight. That's because I'm awesome! Down 18 lbs total. Go me!
This is a picture of me with a "Farewell to Soda" dirty Diet Coke from Straws
