Can pants shrink sitting in my closet?

I don't understand it - I'm pretty close to completely over the effect of Ovarian Polycystic Syndrome on my abdomen. There is only a little bump above my belly button left and it should be gone in a month or so. I actually feel like I am thinner then I was before having this health issue. But still my regular pants are not fitting me and I don't understand it. I am even wearing a size medium underwear instead of large. So why aren't my pants fitting me? :( I don't get it. I'm tired of wearing thise 3 pairs of pants waiting for everything to be completely resolved. Even other people have remarked how slim I look now. So why didn't my pants get that memo? I guess I am going to buy at least 1-2 pairs of pants next time I get paid. It's just frustrating that I have to spend the money when I have perfectly good pants that should be fitting me. ::sighs::
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Ovarian Polycystic Syndrome

I got all my additional blood and saliva test results back last week which were to rule out rare conditions, so we can be absolutely sure what I have is Ovarian Polycystic Syndrome (aka PCOS). So now we're 100% sure that it's PCOS and nothing else. My doctor called in a prescription late Friday afternoon so I couldn't pick it up on Friday, but it should be ready by now. I don't remember the name - all I can tell you is it starts with the letter "M" and has been in use for a long time, so a lot is known about the medicine. This should resolve all my symptoms and have the additoinal bonus of possible weight loss (Yay!). I'll be really glad if it actually does resolve all my symptoms. I also wonder if the PCOS might be having an effect on my asthma - after all hormones effect everything in your body. We'll see.

Now all I need is to find out the results of my follow up ultrasound. That should be interesting since the technician asked me if my intitial ultrasound was done at a professional facility. I wasn't aware there were bootleg radiology facilities. I thought they pretty much all were professional and full of certified people??? I'm wondering if this means she found something other then what the prior results did. Who knows. Should be interesting.
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I Let the Bed Bug Bite

Jazzmin and I have been getting bug bites since this past summer. I couldn't figure out where they were coming from - I never saw anything on me chomping away. We've been suffering with very itchy bites - new ones appearing once a month.

I saw a promo for the late night news last week about bed bugs, though I didn't stay up to watch. I decided to check out online what bed bug bites look like to see if maybe that was what was plaguing Jazz and I. And wouldn't you know - the bites look EXACTLY like the ones Jazz and I had been getting. I read up about the bug bites and everything is the same as what we've experienced.

So I've ordred mattress and box spring covers that are supposed to bed bug proof your bed. The only other option would be to throw the mattress and box spring out - but I just bought them! Dont' want to do that. The good thing is, is I don't have a major infestation of them. If I did then we'd get bit more often.

I'm glad to finally know what has been going on so now I can fix the problem. Really hard to combat a problem when you don't know what the root of the problem is. Glad to see there is an end in sight.

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Back to Blogging

I know I have been bad about blogging for a while, I blame Mafia Wars - a game on Facebook and MySpace. Whenever I had a spare few minutes I'd play that instead of blogging. Shame on me... But I have deleted that program so hopefully I will be more consistant with the blogging.

Just to catch up, I think everybody knows about my belly swelling to the point I thought I was 4 months pregnant. Turns out it wasn't but I don't know what exactly happened because my ob/gyn didn't tell me (as he only communicated with me by leaving voicemail messages). All I know is that my tests are all normal. But my belly has started going down since I got my monthly a couple weeks ago.

I am having my wages garnished for the next couple of months due to an old student loan from about 20 years ago. But since I am not taking martial arts for a few months - the money I save there will compensate for the garnishment. So I guess it's not so bad. Though it's not a particularly great thing to go through.

Jazzmin will be going to public school next year. I've finally come to the conclusion that the education she gets at Holy Rosary is no better then public school. Additionally, I don't like most of the teachers at Holy Rosary and don't have confidence in their ability to teach effectively. Most seem a bit off between the ears. It took a while for me to decide that public school was just as good because Jazzmin did have some good teachers in the begining. I liked her kindergarten and 2nd grade teacher - Jazz and I had decided maybe it's that she gets a good teacher every other year. But then 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers have not impressed me or were just bad. I don't need to pay for crazy - I can get that in public school for free. I checked out the state testing of the public school in my area and they do moderately well in english and above average in math. So they're at least as good as Holy Rosary - maybe better.

I feel like a prisoner waiting to get out of jail when it comes to Jazzmin finishing this school year. I will be happy to not have to take a train to her bus stop anymore. We'll get to leave the apt. later in the morning as a result. When I come home her after school is at taekwondo - so it's a 5 min walk from home. Instead of taking 2 buses to get home with approx 20-30 min travel time. And by going to taekwondo 5 days a week she'll go up in the ranks faster then she has going once a week. Plus Jazzmin always has this extra energy to burn after school - so being in taekwondo will tire her out and I'll pick up a mellow version of my daughter.

And let's not forget the fiscal liberation as a result of Jazzmin being in public school. I plan to pay off all my bills while also saving money to go to Korea the summer of 2010. I will also put more money into my 401K. But all this has to wait until the end of June. Sigh.

OK, that's it for now - I'm all blogged out.

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Slave to the Pump

Today I had to breakdown and order a refill of my Symbicort. I've been feeling better and it's obvious that I will soon be fully recovered from the ill effects of asthma, so I didn't refill when I initially finished with my last inhaler. I was hoping to save myself the expensive added expense of buying more asthma medication. But I've noticed that the lack of Symbicort has adversely effected my performance in martial arts classes. If I didn't take those classes then I wouldn't need to order the inhaler because I am doing fine when not exerting myself. It seems I will have to be a 'slave to the pump' for a little longer. I will take it for another 2 months and stop taking it to test the waters again. Well, at least there's light at the end of the tunnel - at least the asthma will eventually be gone.
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Asthma going away?

Isn't it amazing how I could find clip art of a girl who looks just like me? lol Since Saturday I've noticed that I am able to do more during my workout. For example, I can do 50 jumping jacks without stopping where as before I'd have to stop after ten and then continue. Last night I jogged 10 laps in class instead of having to go at a slow pace. This makes me hopeful that my asthma is going away!!


But I've had a period of time before where I felt I was getting better only to have it go back to how it was. Though this time is different because I've never been able to workout like that with my asthma. I was thinking about it - my pulmonary doctor said it would take about 4 months before I'd start to notice improvement (re: from the time I gave Nova up). It reminded me that I am also feeling the affects of the 2 cats I got rid of in April - so that means in August is when I should've started to improve from not having them around. Maybe I am feeling the affects of those 2 cats not being around and next month will be even better (when predicted I'll start to feel better without Nova).


I am crossing my fingers that I do finally make a full recovery from asthma. I'm afraid that it's going to be a permanent thing - though I know it's an irrational fear. I can't wait to feel what it feels like to be normal again - it feels like forever since I've felt 'normal'. I will be so happy to be symptom free!


And an added bonus is I'll get in shape faster since I'll be able to do more during my workouts since I won't have asthma hindering my performance. Yeah!
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I'm Sick :(

Jazzmin started to feel sick on Monday - thankfully her grandmother was able to pick her up from school. She ended up staying out on Tuesday with her grandmother as well. Tuesday is when I started feeling sick with my ear and throat hurting. I thought by Wed. the gland in my neck would be the size of a golf ball. While my gland didn't swell, I did feel worse on Wednesday so Jazzmin and I stayed home sick.

I had heard that if you put hydrogen peroxide in your ear that it will help ward off a cold. When I used it on Tuesday night it was really bubbling in my ear so I figured it must be killing some germs. But, obviously, not enough germs to prevent me from feeling worse the next day. Who knows if it helped stop it from getting worse then it already did, don't know.

I came into work today thinking that if I suck down lots of lemon tea that I would be fine. Now I'm starting to think that was a bad idea. But I might as well stay since I'm here. We'll see how I feel tomorrow morning.
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Ode to My Big Toe

A week or so ago I sparred for the first time in Taekwondo and I hurt my big toe. I didn't think it was a big deal even though it appeared bruised around the edge of my toe nail. I thought it might be black and blue under my nail but because I had nail polish on I wasn't sure. I thought that was the extent of my injury though.

I got a pedicure on Saturday and it looked as though my nail was completely torn from the nail bed. But my nail still felt securely in place. Last night a little blood started coming out of the side of my nail while I was in Gumdo class.

OK, maybe my injurred toe is not appropriate fodder for a blog but I am bummed about it. It could take about 6 months for things to be resolved. If the nail stays on I have to worry about water getting underneath and creating fungus (which is resolved by soaking in white vinegar). Or will it, in fact, come off and then I have to walk around with no toe nail. Gross! As of last night I've started wearing bandaids on my toe so as to ensure nothing pulls at my toenail to encourage it to come off further.

And who is to blame for this? My former pedicure guy - he cut the sides of my nail at the top that were connected to the edges of the nail bed. He said it was to prevent ingrown toenails and I thought nothing of it. But obviously when kicking in sparring the fact that part of the edges weren't attached made the force of the kick pull up my nail. Had he not cut the sides I doubt I'd be in this situation.

So annoying!
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Size of Fat vs. Muscle

I've been trying to figure out how it is I am losing size but gaining weight. My first question was how big is a pound of muscle vs. a pound of fat. Above is a photo of 5lbs of fat vs. muscle and it appears that fat takes up twice as much room. To really get a sense of how big that 5lb of fat is - here is a picture I found of somebody holding it:

Every website I went to find out exactly how much bulkier fat is - they did not give out numbers. But the pictures say a lot.

I also wanted to find out the difference between muscle and lean muscle. It was described that regular muscle comes from weight lifting and a specific diet to build up mass. Lean muscle is developed by diet and multiple reps with light weights. It really is 'mission impossible' to try and find a valid answer to the size difference between the 2 (if there is at all). I just wonder does regular muscle have fat in it and that's why there's a need to label some muscle 'lean muscle'?

My real goal is to find out why I see the shape of my body go down yet my weight go up. I realize muscle takes up less room, etc. But I weigh so gosh darn much that it doesn't seem to the complete answer to my query. I don't feel I have the fat or muscle to justify my weight. But if one of the 2 could be labeled the culprit then it'd have to be muscle since I'd be wearing 3-4 clothing sizes larger then what I do now if what I weigh was based on fat.
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High Blood Pressure Meds

I went to my cardiologist yesterday to see if the high blood pressure medication he gave me last month worked. It was the lowest dose possible and it turns out that it did help. I experienced some side effects from the medication so now he's got me on a new high blood pressure medication.

The first one he gave me caused my feet to swell up and my ankles were easily made sore from walking. Anybody whose had extreme water gain in the feet knows what feeling refering to. It's really unpleasant to walk more then 6 blocks with this discomfort. I can only imagine the water gain the rest of my body must've had from the meds - maybe I'll notice my clothing a little loser after I've not being on the meds for a few days.

So now I have to take this new medication for 2 weeks and then go back to the doctor. If this has the same success of lowering my blood pressure as the other one did (with no adverse side effects) then I will likely be put on the next higher dose. My current blood pressure is 130/80 (after first mediction) and he wants to get the second number down to 70. So we'll see what happens.

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Hunger & My Weight Loss

I am so hungry right now. In fact, I find myself to be hungry most of the time. The supplements I am taking (flaxseed oil, CLA & B complex) are obviously doing their job in speeding up my metabolism. A breakfast that would normally keep me satisfied until late afternoon now only does so for a couple hours. I had a ham, onion, ham and cheese egg white omelette and a yogurt around 10am. Now it's noon and I'm starving - as if I hadn't eaten all day. ^*^sigh^*^

But I know if I want to lose weight I can't binge when my tummy is screaming for food like this. So I have to suffer the hunger in order to reach my weight loss goal. I am going to have my trusty hot chocolate - that always helps chase away the hunger. It's actually relatively low in calories and has the added bonus of giving me my chocolate fix (admitted chocolate addict).

I hope this is all worth it. At the end of the summer I hope I will have lost lots of weight and be noticeably skinnier. I can never tell if I've lost weight unless it's significant - so I am not sure if I've lost weight. I think I have. Another problem is getting on the scale isn't a valid measure of my weight loss because I am not only losing fat - but gaining muscle from my workouts. I have been keeping up the 5 workouts a week - only 3.5 weeks to go. Of course I will be working out 4 times a week once September starts up - but it will be more spread out. Instead of Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs, & Fri. it will be Mon., Wed., Fri. & Sat. And no kick boxing after this month - only Gumdo and Taekwondo.

Well, wish me luck on my weight loss!! :)
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High Blood Pressure

The last time I went to my pulmonary doctor she said she thought my blood pressure was high enough to warrant medication. While my blood pressure is merely on the high side in the normal range - she still felt it was adviseable that I took medicine to lower it. But instead of prescribing the medication herself she referred me to a cardiologist. Apparently there are some high blood pressure meds that have adverse effects on patients with asthma. And she wanted to give the cardiologist an opportunity to do any other testing he felt relevant.

I initially had an appt. with the cardiologist on Tuesday but he ended up being a no show. I was advised, after they finally tried to contact him to see where he was, that he was called away to another hospital (as his office is located within NY Med. Ctr.). So I was rescheduled for yesterday. Thankfully he opted to grace me with his presence this time. He gave me an ekg and then prescribed a low dose of a blood pressure medication. In a month I have to go back to see if the low dose was enough to control my blood pressure.

The doctor explained to me that, while my blood pressure isn't alarming, if it's left uncontrolled it may lead to health issues down the road. I imagine having high blood pressure causes your organs to work harder and that ends up being the root of problems long term.

Heart issues can cause breathing problems - I am hoping this medication will aid in resolving my breathing issues. We shall see!

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2 Hour Workout

Well, I survived my 2 hour workout last night - 1 hour of Taekwondo and 1 hour of Gumdo. The taekwondo session was moderate - 25-50 of each warm up exercise (push-ups, jumping jacks, crunches, mountain climbers, squat touch, etc.). The rest of the class was spent going over curriculum because there were a few people (myself included) who had to prepare for our belt test this Wednesday. Doing curriculum isn't particularly taxing so the class was doable. Gumdo is never that bad - just get through the warm ups and then do the sword forms.

Unfortunately I have to take two classes on Wednesday too. First I have to take my belt test - which will be done during class. And then after I have to go to Gumdo because they're doing tip testing and I don't want to miss that. Next week, no doubling up on classes. Maybe I'll alternate weeks of doing extra classes, as it is - I already do 5 a week. Doing 6-7 classes in a 5 day period is a lot.

There was this little 8 year old girl in my Gumdo class last night - her brother was in the class and so she was allowed to take it instead of sitting around waiting for him. She takes Gumdo with her age group - so it's not like she doesn't know what she is doing. She is so tiny - she's the size Jazzmin was shen she was 4 years old. She is very cute - but the reason I love her is because she asked me, "Don't you have a little sister that goes here?" She was referring to Jazzmin. I told her no - that was my daughter. And she was like, "Oh!" She just assumed I was Jazzmin's sister - now if that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is!!
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Went to Pulmonary Doctor Today

I went to the pulmonary doctor today and she said that it would take until about October before I feel significant difference re: my asthma due to the cats being gone. She said it takes a long time for the proteins, etc. from the cat to be gone - even with cleaning. So I still have to suffer with my symptoms at this point (still taking the same asthma meds).

She was concerned about my blood pressure - it's always been on the high side of the normal range. She said that shouldn't be the case, esp. since I exercise on a regular basis. She wants me to go see a cardiologist about it and eventually wants me to go on high blood pressure meds. But she wants me to see the cardiologist to get his analysis before doing anything. She said that problems with the heart can also cause shortness of breath and maybe the blood pressure thing is adding to my breathing issues.

So I am going to the cardiologist next week. Let's see what he says. I am not happy that I will have to wait until October to feel normal again. Hopefully I actually DO feel normal by then.

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Astham Update

I don't think I'll be doing a double dose of classes at Tae Kwon Do tonight. I was going to try taking 7 classes in 5 days this week but my asthma has been feeling worse this past week. I just don't know if I could handle doing two classes in a row today. So I am only going to take Gumdo tonight. I have an appt. with my pulmonary doctor next week - hopefully she can do something to help me out.

How odd that now the cat is gone and I clean my apt. that my asthma gets worse?? I think this asthma problem corresponds with the higher dosage of daily inhaler medicine I started taking. Maybe that's why they're so cautious about upping the dosage of asthma meds - maybe too much can cause breathing issues too? I dunno - am grasping at straws.

Asthma = no fun.
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Echo Cardiogram Results

I went to get my echo cardiogram stress test this morning to see if my leaky heart valve leaks more when I exercise. They hooked me up and it was a little embarrassing to have to be topless, but at least it was a female doing it. They did an echo cardiogram at rest and then put me on the treadmill. It didn't take long before I started getting out of breath but I lasted until after the 3rd stage (each stage 3 min. and goes faster with each stage). Then the RUSH me back to lay down to take an echo cardiogram right after being on the treadmill.

The doctor told me that the very slight leak in my heart valve is normal and what everybody has. He said that I am not somebody with a leaky heart valve problem. He also said that my lung capacity before and after workout was normal.

So now that my doctor has ruled out pulmonary hypertension and leaky heart valve as contributing to my breathing problems - it seems sure that asthma is the culprit. I have to find a different pulmonary doctor to do the follow up because the one I initially went to see is no longer "in-network" for my insurance. It would end up costing me more money if I went to see her. So I am going to make an appt. and then call for documentation of my results so I can show the other doctor. Hopefully he/she can get me some meds that will finally, effectively, control my asthma symptoms.

********UPDATE********

I just made an appt. with a pulmonary doctor for next Wednesday. This doctor is a Columbia U. grad and is board certified. So she should be good. I research where the doctors I see went to school - it's just so hard to find a good doctor. I figure if they went to a good school there's a good chance they'll be the most helpful.
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Gumdo is Low Key

I took my first Gumdo class last night - I was hoping to have my cool uniform but it hadn't come in yet. :( It turns out that Gumdo is pretty low key and not necessarily a workout to suppliment Tae Kwon Do. Gumdo is more skill based then athletic.

I'm still going to do it for the summer, esp. since I'm contractually obligated to. It'll be good to do just for the experience even if it doesn't contribute to my weight loss.

I've decided to take the kick boxing class at the school this summer - that's an additional 2 classes. And I know, for sure, they do a good workout. I'm going to take this, not only because Gumdo isn't a workout, but because it turns out that they're not going to have Saturday classes this summer. Apparently the kids' classes are very empty during the summer and the 2 adult classes on Saturday are not insentive enough to stay open. Taking Saturdays away is taking a workout from me - so kick boxing will help make up for that.

I am determined to go all out this summer to lose weight - am going to do everything I can while I have the opportunity. I am also going to go on a diet. I already make an effort to not go crazy with the junk food and watch what I eat, but I am going to followed a structured diet this summer. It's by this doctor who helped run "Celebrity fit club" - wanted to try and see if it works!

Today I have my echo cardiogram - so hopefully after this I can get treatment and start recovering from my asthma issues. Then it will be easier to take the classes this summer and I'll be more inclined to go during the school year. Can't wait to get this asthma thing resolved!!!!!!!!!!

Pulmonary Test Results

My pulmonary tests came back as my having pulmonary hypertension. Or should I say, the results sheet faxed to me yet not explained by my doctor states that as diagnosis. But then the contents says some other results being normal. I'm confused. I faxed the results to my general practioner so she can tell me what the results mean. I've called 4 times to the doctor's office with no call back from the doctor.

I've looked up Pulmonary Hypertension in Wikipedia and it's a little scary. Hope my general practitioner can gets back to me and clarifies things.

I have an echo-cardiogram scheduled for June 12th - so we'll see what happens after that. I don't know if I am going to stick with this doctor. Not only due to her lack of response and directly relaying my pulmonary results - but it turns out she is one of the few doctors at the facility I go to that isn't an "in-network" doctor for my insurance. I got something from Blue Cross stating that they're only paying a portion since she's not in-network and I'm going to end up paying about $170 for the one consultation visit I had with her.

In the 10 years I've gone to this facility - all the doctors there have been in-network, I was never advised that I'd have to double check this info. ::sigh::
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First Class Back at Tae Kwon Do Saturday

So I finally took a taekwondo class since all the drama from asthma. It was as light as a class could be - and by the end I was feeling worn out. I took my emergency inhaler before class - as always. I was able to do the warm up just fine (25 each of jumping jacks, push ups, mountain climbers, up and downs and squat thrusts). Then after that all we had to do was practice or forms for the rest of the class as there is to be tip testing next week.

During the last 20 min. of class I was starting to feel really drained, like I had really done a workout when I didn't. I did have to take another hit of my emergency inhaler halfway through class. I wasn't extremely out of breath but I felt discomfort. For the duration of the weekend my bronchial tubes felt sore. Strange, huh?

Also, my body is feeling like a rusty robot since I took the Prednisone. Hopefully that is something that will eventually go away.

I think I am going to limit myself to just Saturday classes until my breathing issues are resolved. If this light class was hard on me - the regular class will be impossible. Even if he gives a hard class next Saturday - it's less of a pain to compensate for my issues 'cause the class is small.
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Got My Pulmonary Test Today

I was expecting more from this test - but it was just more of the same, blowing into a tube and sucking the air back in. The added bonus was they put a clip on my nose so I could only breath through my mouth. I thought they were going to do some type of test to show my poor breathing when I exert myself - but no dice.

When I went into the testing office it smelt like they washed the floor with urine. YUK! It was such a nasty smell! And I don't know why they required I wear no make up and loose fitting clothing. I don't even know why I was made to deprive myself from my morning cup of coffee. ::sigh::

I am supposed to call the doctor and tell her assistants that I've taken the test so the doctor can view the results on the computer. But wouldn't you know everything is going to voicemail even though the outgoing message states they open at 9am. I guess I'll keep calling.

Up next is my echo cardiogram on June 12th.
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