Week 10 – Crash and Burn
Start Weight: 298.4
Current Weight: 290.2
Total 2012 loss: 8.2lbs
I won’t sugarcoat things today. The scale showed a gain of 4.8 lbs for the last 2 weeks. Horrible! I’ve been letting stress get the best of me and it is now causing chaos in my weight loss journey. As I mentioned in the previous entry, I was relieved to get a glowing report from the cardiologist. What I didn’t mention was that the blood work from my PCP was also stellar (BP, cholesterol, thyroid and iron level were all good),,,but the nurse advised me my ANA number was high. Umm…what is an ANA number? She gave me a brief explanation, advised me that I was getting a referral to a rheumatologist and stated that I shouldn’t allow myself to be sucked in by Dr. Google.
Yeah…that’s like asking someone to stop blinking…forever.
In a nutshell, a high ANA number can indicate the presence of an autoimmune disease. Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis being the most common of the bunch. A normal ANA reading is 40 or less. The number essentially doubles in testing…so additional readings are 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, etc. The higher the number, the more chance of the presence of an autoimmune disease. My initial reading was 320. I don’t have any symptoms of Lupus or RA, so it could be early in the disease cycle or I could be one of the small percentage of people that have higher ANA numbers but are completely healthy.
Needless to say, this issue has been weighing heavily on my mind the last couple of weeks and I’ve allowed it to take me out of the game. I haven’t worked out in 2 weeks (the first week was a forced hiatus due to paranoia leading up to the cardiology appointment. I figured random chest pains warrant a break from the gym). The 2nd week’s break was from lack of motivation and to be honest, mild depression over this maddening ANA number mess. My rheumy appt. is on 4/11, so I know I need to snap myself out of this NOW. If I can gain almost 5 lbs in 2 weeks off plan, I definitely can’t afford another month of this crap!
If you are a praying person, please say a small one for me. Mentally, I am not in a good place over this and while I know I should adopt a more positive mindset, I can’t help but think that there’s a good chance the results of this appointment could change my life forever. I do have strong faith, so I know that the Lord will provide and get me through this difficult time. I just need to turn it over to Him.
I wasn’t going to write about this situation until I knew something for sure, but I suppose I needed the therapy involved with putting it out to the "universe". I will keep everyone posted on the outcome. In the meantime, I am going back to sanity with my eating/workouts and will focus on positive things daily.
Until next time,
C
P.S. If any of you have dealt with autoimmune diseases/testing, please leave your feedback…in a private note, if so desired. Thank you!
My ANA count is constantly high. It seems to get worse when I’m stressed and or depressed. The only thing that fits with my symptoms is that I may have fibromyalgia, something there’s no test for. Through the years I’ve learned to spot the signs of spikes and can manage with NSAIDs.
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I will think good thoughts for you. I have never heard of an ANA count before.
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You are absolutely in my prayers. My mother has a very mild form of lupus, and it doesn’t interfere much with her life when she does have flare-ups. Including her, I have known three people who have it to varying degrees and it’s a very manageable condition. I know it has to be scary, and I am here cheering you on and hoping you are one of those with high numbers for no apparent reason. Lots of hugs. I also had a big gain this week. I’m not sure the new points formula works for me. I have been back with WW for the past two months with little success despite honestly following and counting every single little thing. I never had any trouble losing weight on it before as long as I stuck to it honestly. It’s discouraging.
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I have psoriatic arthritis since Im 21. Ive never heard of that test. I get a Esn which is a Sed rate( amount of inflamation in your body). Did you have that test?
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I wonder if the ANA number could mean you were running and workout out a lot and your joints and muscles were doing what joints do in response to working a lot. That’s what I wonder. The weight numbers since January show that working out is working. They’re telling you what to do. I know people who exercise a lot who get really stressed when they don’t work out enough. I can’t tell you how many runners I’ve known who’d say things like an hour on a treadmill is crucial to their sanity.
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good thoughts to you, friend. Positive and wonderful thoughts. No matter what this appointment reveals, you will make it through this and you will make it through shining with the wonderful light you bring to everything. You need anything, you let me know.
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I was diagnosed with RA in 2007! Sucked really bad, mentally. I am always available, text or email me WHENEVER.
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I’ll be praying.
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*hugs* TOTALLY in my prayers. i’m with Deve, i wonder if the high number is due to the working out.
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Remember, this blood tests are only a snapshot of what is happening in the body at the moment they draw; just an “indicator” at this point. Try not to let your mind runaway. I understand your stress and feel your pain. Just try to let the logical side prevail until proven otherwise; you are strong! Think about how many times “C” word come up for me in the last 3 yrs based initial blood test. D
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