A returning oldtimer.
This is a reintroduction of sorts. I have been a member on this site since 2002. I have been through many ups and downs while being a member here that range from having a baby to finding out I suffer from a rare, untreatable disease.
I have not been posting for a long time and thought it was time to catch up. Since being diagnosed with Dercum's Disease in 2006, it has been an uphill battle. Weight loss is believed to be next to impossible while suffering from DD and through the years it has proven itself to be just that. Also I avoided doctors, because of how badly they treated me before my diagnosis, for years. I was just floundering around without anyone keeping an eye on me.
I got slapped into the hospital in November 2015 due having very swollen legs, sores, front and back of lower legs, infections, low function of liver and kidneys, something going on with my heart and lungs, losing protein through my urine, rapid pulse, high blood pressure (180/110), low thyroid, and diabetes (450). I only knew about Dercum's and the sores. The evening of the day I did the tests, I was called at home and told the hospital was waiting on me to come, so they could admit me. Terrifying.
While in the hospital they treated my legs, diabetes, and thyroid. They did tests and there was nothing wrong with my heart and lungs. My high blood pressure, fast pulse rate, kidney and liver problems resolved themselves. I spent two weeks in the hospital and didn't feel I was ready to come home. I was so sick and weak. I had nurses coming to our home to treat my legs for a couple of months as I recovered and tried to regain my strength. I got my diabetes under good control within 2.5 months and it's still doing well.
Right now I am in such a better place than I was before. It had been years since I had been shopping in any store and had great difficulty going to family functions. I missed so much. Don't get me wrong. I am still very ill, but now I can cook some nights a week. I have an electric scooter for transportation and I can actually go shop, do things with my children, visit friends. I also walk about 10 minutes a day and I have exercises I do while laying in bed and sitting down to help with flexibility and lymph flow. My life has really improved.
Now that most amazing thing is that I have lost weight. Not just a little weight, but one big chunk over the last year. I lost 42 kg (92 lbs.). Now those who pushed for me to lose weight wonder how I did it, because really obese people cannot lose weight on their own (according to them) and the ones that understand DD think I am a bit of a miracle.
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