If only my weight gain issues were just about vanity and aesthetics, I might indulge in daily scoops of dolce de leche ice-cream and bi-weekly binges on chips.
But sadly, the steroid-induced weight gain brings baggage beyond a more generous bra-size – I now have significantly raised cholesterol levels and my blood pressure which used, pre-surgery to be very low, hovers on the borders of worryingly high. As my surgeon observed soon after the op, procedures bring unexpected side-effects. Er, yes, in spades and with bells and whistles.
As I mentioned in my earlier blog, I have gone back to a healthy diet and some weight gain has gone and when I feel stronger and steadier, I will doubtless again be the healthy food fanatic I was for the past three decades.
In the meantime, I am trying to reduce my cholesterol via eating cholesterol-reducing foods rather than by taking Statins. For the first time in my adult life, I purchased Benecol cholesterol-reducing spread. The problem is that to get enough of the cholesterol-busting plant stanols, however, you need to eat at least 12 grams (1.5 teaspoons) of Benecol spread daily. Now that would increase my weight very rapidly even if it did reduce my cholesterol – what a paradox!
Tiredness remains a problem, and I still need more naps than a newborn just to get through the day. In fact, I am discovering I have a great deal in common with the average baby, including waking several times in the night and having very little control over my limbs.
My eyes are also an issue, now prone to regular infections which, ironically, never occurred when, pre-op, I was applying daily layers of icky-sticky eye-shadow, liner and mascara. I have discovered eye-lid wipes, which now seem to be doing a reasonable job of keeping infections at bay.
My husband asked me the other day if I had used my eye-pads that morning. Confusion followed for several minutes…
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