Article on Insulin Resistance 2

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/89/6/2526.full

I strongly suggest anyone interested in the topic of Insulin Resistance, whether it be you're recently diagnosed, your child or a family member has it, or you're just purely interested in learning about IR; checks out this article. It's absolutely amazing.

I (surprisingly) understand most of the medical terms used. If you don't, feel free to Google them. But in all honesty, although the article is extremely long, it's completely worth reading if you want to learn about the medical side of IR (aside from the fact that you need to diet and exercise to control it). There is a lot more to it that most people don't realize.

I've been on a research kick lately, and I'm really glad I came across this.

Let me know what you think?

Alright, have a good day. (:

-Ashley.

The hospital I had my surgery at is one of the best in the country.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/07/best-childrens-hospitals-_n_1572092.html?ncid=webmail24#s=more230729

Just found this... I had my VSG at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, here in Ohio.. It's about an hour away from me. I guess it's number 3 on the list of top 12 children's hospitals in the country? That's kind of awesome.

Just thought I'd share. (:

-Ashley

mybodygallery.com

mybodygallery.com is pretty great... i found it a few months back on obesityhelp.com ... it's to help try and figure out what you'll look like when you hit your goal weight, or whatever..

basically you plug in any height/weight/size/etc.. and you have the option to select body type.. like apple, banana, pear, etc.... you can select as many things as you want.. and peoples pictures will come up that people have submitted that are at that specific size/height/weight/whatever you plugged in....

I'm 5'2 1/2" so i just plug in 5'2" and 130lbs.. because thats my goal. and i also hit hour glass.. because weight or no weight, i'm bigger boned. i have more curves. i always have. and this is what comes up:

http://www.mybodygallery.com/search.html?height=5+2&weight=130&pant=any&shirt=any&zphoto=Large&hourglass=1&new=1

which i'd be totally happy with.. haha. obviously i'll never look liek any of those girls... my skin will be sagging and nasty and i'll have scars.. then i'll get more scars when i have plastic surgery to remove the skin.. but scars aside.. i'd be totally happy with that..

just thought i'd share. (:

peace.<3

-ashley.
ashleyellen1637@aol.com
www.twitter.com/ashleyohara_ (don't forget the underscore.. for whatever reason it doesn't let me add it to the url)
www.facebook.com/justashley1637

(:

What to bring to the hospital..!!

Here are my blogs about the day of surgery, and the hospital stay (3 days total.. including day I had surgery) if anyone is interested. (:

http://ourfightnow.blogspot.com/2011/08/surgery-day.html

http://ourfightnow.blogspot.com/2011/09/hospital-stay.html

Now, on to the post....

When I went, i didn't pack obsessively or anything the day before.. I used (almost) everything I brought. and didn't really need anything that wasn't provided. So to put your mind at ease, here's a list of what the hospital had already provided for me.. (check with whatever hospital you're having surgery at.. because it may be different there..!)

• Toothbrush.
• Toothpaste.
• Blankets.
• Pillows.
• Soap.
• Towels to shower with if needed (I didn't until I got home..)
• Aquaphor (a vaseline type product.. it was a freaking life saver.. my lips got so dry. It definatley helped. a ton.)
• Drinks (you can't really eat in the hospital.. lol.)
• Medications (if needed.. i was swallowing pills while still in the hospital. But I didn't bring any of mine with me.. They had them on file and brought them to me from the pharmacy or whatever, there.
• Internet access.
• They gave me a word-search book to do pre-op while i was waiting.. i still have it.. haha.
• And a gown. they also had socks with grips on the bottom, and like.. sleep pants available. I spent most of my time in a gown, and sleep shorts that i brought from home, though.

So I didn't bring any of that (other than one towel to wash my face with that i never ended up using.) But what I did bring was..:

• The clothes I was wearing at the time.. (Grey cotton Shorts, bra/underwear, tank top, and a cardigan, and flip flops.)
• My laptop & Charger.
• My Ipod & Charger.
• My cell phone & charger.
• a notebook and pen (and a few sharpies.. i love drawing with them.. no clue why.)
• my meter to test my blood sugar.
• some hair elastics/ties and a headband.
• a retainer for my nose piercing (a plastic clear thing you put through it.. they have them for every piercing possible.. i didn't want to risk mine closing up during surgery and my anesthesiologist allowed me to keep the plastic retainer in..
• My nose stud.. to put back in when i woke up..
• Insurance cards and stuff like that.
• chapstick
• deoderant
• face wash (acne wash..)
• perfume/body spray/mist stuff.
• hair brush.
• eyeliner and mascara.
• differin (Rx acne medication)
• wallet
• a pair of pajama shorts, change of underwear, and 2 tank tops.
• (I bought a hospital t-shirt while i was there.. more of a reminder type thing. but i ended up wearing it on the way home.)
• and headphones.

I'm pretty sure I used all of it except one of the tanktops that i brought.. (It was the mid-end of August.. it was pretty hot.. and I was actually sunburnt at the time too.. They were the only thing that made sense untill i was freezing my ass off in the hospital.. haha.)

Oh. and I did manage to fit all of that into one black backpack that I used to use for school. I think my mom brought more than me in more bags.. and she was only there half the time I was.. (Thankfully.. she honestly REALLY got on my nerves.. She's a nurse.. trying to play nurse/doctor lady on me.. I was a bitch to her when I was drugged up.. It was crazy.)

So yeah.. Maybe those lists helped you figure out what you need to bring to the hospital to have surgery.. Keep in mind it all also depends on how long you're staying.. I stayed a total of 3 days.. I went in around 5am friday. went into surgery around 7:45am friday. then I left about 1pm on Sunday. Some people stay longer, others stay less.. (although all the nurses and doctors seemed surprized i was ready to leave on the 3rd day.. They were planning on me staying one more day at least.)

Alrighty then. I think that's about it. Have a great day. (:

-Ashley
ashleyellen1637@aol.com
www.twitter.com/ashleyohara_ (don't forget the underscore.. for some reason it wont let me add it into the url)
www.facebook.com/justashley1637

<3

it is possible to be born with insulin resistance

I would also like to point out I had a big question of mine answered today: "Is it possible to be born with insulin resistance...? And could I have been?" Because i showed symptoms at such a young age.. I've always assumed I was born with it.. but no one would ever confirm that for me untill today.. Where my endocrin said "Yes It's possible. and They havent identified a gene yet, but it's possible.."then she went on to ask what my birth weight was.. (8lbs 7oz i believe.. and i was like 21in long..?) and she said "yep.. that's it." my mom went on to ask about why my brothers are fine then.. they were all about the same weight/height.. But it's different for boys and girls.. Girls born that heavy.. aparently thats a tell tale sign of it. especially with such familial history.

So my questions have been answered. Thankyou thankyou thankyou.

If i find a foundation that is researching this.. or if anyone knwos of any that is checking babies for insulin resistance.. early onset obesity.. anything... Let me know.. I will donate as much money as I can to it.. And do as much as i can to support it..

They have made so mmuch progress in the past 8 years... When I was a baby everyone assumed my parents just fed me wrong so i was overweight... But that wasn't the case and everyone that knew my family knew it... And this would explain so much.

Anyone who says obesity is only a lifestyle disease or that insulin resistance isn't real can shove it up their  shut up.. they don't know what they're takling about..

I wont name any names... But a few of my family members assume type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance are the same thing... and have flat out told me when i was younger that i aws only depressed because i was fat, visa versa... and assumed that just working out would fix everything... Because aparently I was just lazy and drugs are overrated.

Yeah. Education is the only cure for ignorance.. Educate yourselves.

Which reminds me. I need to find a new site to do this on, because they are far too expensive for my liking.. I may just start doing them myeslf.. but check out the 'merchandise' tab on the right side of my blogpage... i'm really trying to spread awareness about this. There are like 8 or 9 things there i think.. maybe 10.. that have a design i made on them. Spreading awareness about childhood/adolescent obesity and how it's not always a lifestyle disease. so check it out, and if you can do it, that's great. if not, thats fine. but still. let people know. don't just assume people do. because there is a good chance they don't.

Alright. I shall be researching this more now. <3

Bye. (:;

-ashley.

Update - march 2012

So I went to my wonderful Endocrinologist today.. and she confirmed I'm not diabetic anymore. Still Insulin Resistant, but not Type 2... So that kind of made my day. (: But my face has been breaking out pretty badly....

Not the most attractive picture.. But most of the pictures on this blog arent. Metabolic issues have a lot of physical side effects that arent attractive, unfortunatley. And I guarantee you the flash on my camera made my skin look better than it is... I purpously didn't wear any makeup today so my endocrin could see how bad my skin was. I guess I usually do my makeup REALLY well.. and it's even fooled some of my doctors in the past..

But yeah. What I found out today: I'm still hyperinsulinemic(is that the word.. i still over produce insulin.. my insulin levels have gone from 25 (preop) to 18 now... but they're still pretty high. my hemaglobin A1c is down.. and everything that goes along with diabetesispretty much down i guess other than the insulin piece. So.. I'm not diabetic anymore. (:  She's going to run another glucose tolerance test.. but not untill i see her again in four months.

Reason behind that being: She increased my metformin from 500 2x a day to 850 2x a day. and put me back on aldactone. a blood pressure medicine. my blood pressure isn't nearly as bad as it was in the past... my top number was a little elevated today.. (I hadn't slept... I'm assuming that's partially why.) but it's also a mild diuretic.. and the last time i was on it my skin was perfectly clear, and i lost mad weight... so we'll see what that + the higher dose of metformin does. Hopefully it helps some.

Hm. What else... Oh! she showed me a chart... of mybmi from the time i had been first diagnosed (6-7 years old..) my bmi was 26... at 7 years old... I'm at a bmi of like 36/37 now..  I should be at a bmi of around 26 right now... but I'm 16... a 7 year old with that bmi is terrible...

Doctors told my mom I wouldn't make it to my 40th birthday, when i was that little, if they didn't get it under control.... and now I am. It's amazing how things can change.

I'm going to be honest... I love my endocrinologist. She's the one who sent the referral for me to have weight loss surgery... And I think with her I would have been able to lose a lot of the weight on my own (as i did pre-op..) that i have with surgery.. And my surgeon even knew that.. (not the endocrine piece.. but that i had lost a lot of weight on my own for the first time in my life..) and asked if i was sure i wanted to still have surgery.. and why? My answer to that is it's permanent. It is a tool that will help jump start everything, and my stomach will most likely never be the size it was again... So if i ever do fall off track.. (hopefully that doesn't happen) it'll be there t ohelp me. and yeah.. the word permanent stuck out in my mind. ---- But out of allll the doctors I've seen my entire life she is the one who ran all the tests as a teenager.. once the problem got really out of hand.. she put me on higher doses of meds than I've ever been on in my life.. and in turn, i lost weight. Something I was never really capable of doing.. No matter how much I exercised and restricted my diet. So I have her to thank for all ofthis.

People always say I"m the one who did it all... I'm the one who has worked for it.. But I cuoldn't be here without the doctors... I do have them to thank. I can't write the medications for myself.. and the lifestyle changes i made when i was really little (and even since surgery) wouldn't have the effects of what they've done for me... not even just the drugs, but really getting it through my head and teaching me what's going on.. so if any of you ever see this blog, thank you.

-----

So yep... drugs i'm on now:

Zantac 150mg 2x  a day.
Altavera birth controll 1x a day.
Metformin 850mg 2x a day.
Aldactone 50mg 2x a day.
Synthroid 50mg 2x a day.
Multivitamin 2x a day.
Calcium Citrate 250mg 4x a day (or 500 2x a day)
Vitamin D 1000ui 1x a day
B12 shot 1x a month.

It seems like a lot.. but it could be a hell of a lot worse.

I'm exercising about 1 hour a day.. sometimes a little less.. sometimes i miss a day.. but it's been pretty consistent.. now that it's warmer i'm actually enjoying it a lot more. (:

alright. well i'm gonna go now. have a great day!

-Ashley.
www.facebook.com/justashley1637
www.twitter.com/justashley1637
ashleyellen1637@aol.com

Oh, and here is the paper I got at the appt. (:



I would just like to point out that...

The absolute best form of exersize that I've found since surgery (aside from swimming which I don't have the chance to do very often..) is playing with little kids.

There are a lot of kids in my neighborhood. They always used to want me to play soccer with them, because (not to be cocky or anything but...) i was pretty good when i played..t hen the weight got too much and blood prsesure and depression and i just quit. Well i'm about at the weight i was when i quit.

The other day I was outside taking pictures and they asked me to play.. So i actually did.. o.O it's been getting nice out.. so i figured hell, why not.

I played for a good 45 minutes to an hour straight. Street soccer. not a ton of start and stopping... and i've done that every day this week so far... today I played 'knockout' (a basketball game..) that i havent played since elementry school. and actually won once... and that went on for about 40 minutes straight then i quit because i wanted to take pictures.. not because i couldn't play anymore..

This is honestly like.. amazing.

If you have the privelege of having a bunch of obnoxious little kids in your neighborhood, or little siblings or cousins or anything, that liek to play outside... go for it! you may feel stupid playing with little kids (i know i do) but then when people ask just say your good with kids. they begged you to play. it doesn't even seem like exersize untill you realize your sweating and y our face is red and your heart is pounding in your chest, haha.

Alright. That will be all. <3 (:

have a great day!

-ashley.

www.twitter.com/justashley1637
www.facebook.com/justashley1637
ashleyellen1637@aol.com

Today is National Self Harm Awareness Day.

I just want to talk about this for a few minutes... I'm not sure where to begin.

People have their own reasons to be upset... Everyone has reasons. Their significance to anyone else is irrelevant. All that matters ishow it makes them feel. That could be something like breaking up with your girlfriend/boyfriend, or something like your grandmother just died of cancer... Either way, depending on the person, it could seem like the end of the world. You never know what is just enough to push someone over the edge.. You never know what reasoning someone may come up with to defend their actions or how they deal with grief or depression..

The mind is a really powerful thing... Ever heard of the phrase "Mind over matter"..? or "Psychosomatic"..?  basically meaning.. your mind controlls all. It can even create physical symptoms to show something, that physically doesn't exist..  Example: a woman who really wants to have a baby, can eventuallyd evlope symptoms of a baby.. morning sickness, bloating, a hard stomach, even to the point of feeling little kicks... and doctors cuold believe it is that she's pregnant.. untill they do an ultrasound, and there is no baby there.

Mental illnesses, are real illnesses. Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, Skitzophrenia, Anorexica, Bullimia, and anything inbetween.. And no matter the persons past, present, or the unknown future.. a person can develop feelings of hopelessness, helplesness, apathy, depression, anxiousness, anything.. and then it just goes from there...

Now, obviously not everyone has a diagnosis that needs treatment.. But if itgoes on too long? It definatley can progressivley get worse..

What does this have to do with my blog?

It all ties in together... Kids and Teenagers aren't immune to this... Have you seen the news lately? There are shootings. Kids who get bullied, shooting the people who bullied them.. It is a SERIOUS issue, that really needs tobe addressed..

This could have absolutely nothing to do with bullying. It could have absolutely nothing to do with anything, and the person just lacks endorphins. or 'happy chemicals'...

People need to be more understanding... Look at this: http://news.yahoo.com/disneys-epcot-retooling-childhood-obesity-exhibit-critics-insensitive-190811575.html 

"ORLANDO, Fla. - Walt Disney World is retooling an Epcot exhibit on childhood obesity after critics complained it was insensitive to obese kids and reinforced stereotypes.

The interactive exhibit, Habit Heroes, featured animated fitness superheros Will Power and Callie Stenics and super-sized villains Snacker and Lead Bottom, who eat junk food and watch too much television. Critics said the exhibit reinforces stereotypes that obese children are lazy and have poor eating habits.

Doctors say obesity can sometimes be attributed to genetics and certain medications, and food can be used as a coping mechanism.

"We're appalled to learn that Disney, a traditional hallmark of childhood happiness and joy, has fallen under the shadow of negativity and discrimination," the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance said in a statement.

"I was really disturbed to see the most negative habits were attached to really fat bodies," Peggy Howell, a spokeswoman for the group, said after viewing a companion website. "These pictures further the stigma against people of higher body weight." ------

This is absolutely appauling to me...  I applaud the doctors who stepped up and enlightened these ignorant people, with the knowledge that they have.

Eating disorders don't only affect skinny people. Depression doesn't only affect people who wear dark clothes and makeup. Anxiety doesn't only affect the kids who sit in the corner of the class room alone. Skitzophrenia doesn't only affect the people that are fascinated with art and zone out a lot.. People who self harm don't always wear tons of bracelets and long sleeves.. They don't always want attention. People battling bipolar, you don't always see the mood swings.. --- none of that means the people have it either! there are people who are skinny that arent anroexic, there are people who wear dark clothes that arent depressed. There are kids who sit alone int he corner who don't have anxiety issues, and there are people who are really into art and zone out a lot, that don't have skitzophrenia.

You can NEVER know a persons story... ever!

Would you guess by looking at me that I battled depression and anxiety, I cut myself, and starved myself? Most likely not.. Yes. I wear dark clothes a lot of the time and sit alone a lot of the time... but i'm also overweight and typically  back when i did harm myself, i hid it pretty well.. it wasn't obvious i was trying to hide anything.

I'm ten months self harm free, now. I havent skipped a meal (on purpous) since before I started planning to have weight loss surgery... I have been off of anti depressants since August, and I still have some issues with Anxiety.... But not nearly as bad as it was... I don't think that will ever completely go away, though.

Some peopel assume because I don't have a good relationship with my mother, and whenever it's brought up i get super quiet and zone out a little, that i'm really depressed.. When I don't feel that I am. Everyone has off days.. mine just happen to happen when i'm in nerve-wracking situations... Where it makes me look bad.

Other than those days? I'm doing absolutely fantastic.. I'm getting out more. I went toget information on registering for classes at a community college yesteryda, and i'm gonig to drivers ed... I'm looking for a job, volunteering, blogging, getting out more... After four years of being ridiculously depressed and feelign helpless... Isuddenly don't feel helpless anymore... What do I contribute that to?

Things are getting better: Family issues that have presented themselves inthe past are (slowly) working their way over... things will never be what they were.. but they're easier to deal with now..

I don't feel sick... When I had my bmi closer to 50... I would get panic attacks even just taking a shower.. Because I felt so confined in my own skin.. I took u pso much space and i would just freak out and get sick... feeling like I was going to pass out.. my blood pressure and blood sugars were all messed up... and now since i've lost weight? my bmi is closer to 35? i don't feel that way anymore.. my blood pressure and blood sugars are normal.. I don't feel claustraphobic anymore..

Witht he weight loss, you lose fat.. fat holds extra hormognes that can really mess with your head... losing that i'm assuming has a lot to do with it..

I stopped cutting myself when I started going to doctors about weight loss surgery.. I knew i wouldn't be approved, if they saw cuts on my arm.. I remember one of the first consultations i went to, i had makeup and bracelets on my wrist.. desperate for no one to see it.. I remeber the last time I did.. it was like a week  before my initial consultation.. after that went well... and I found out insurance aws going along with everything... I saw hope... Nothing was going to be able to fix my familys problems... but if i could get healthier? lose weight? something i have never been able to do? i wanted to take advantage of it... So on the 27th on february, i was officially 10 months SH free... and I now have a tattoo covering where i harmed myself... of a quotei have always believed in.

I stopped starving myself, when I realized I was only gaining weight.. I was goinginto staravation mode, and my body didn't lose anything.. it retained everything.. I got to my highest weight ever (285lbs) that way... i lost it pretty quickly, when doctors ajusted my meds and i started eating smaller meals more frequently... before I went to look into WLS.... My reasoning behind the starving myself was a last resort.. i was tired of diets not working and exersize failing... i thought maybe it'd work... it just made everything worse...

I've learned a lot over the past few years... I've been to a lot of counselors and psychiatrists.. I've been to schools, speccifically for people with mental illnesses.. (everything from skitzophrenia to autism..) and met a lot of those people.. talked tothem.. But why do those schools exist? Because regular schools arent equiped to deal with it.. as sad asthat is.. so theyd ecide to make the kids feel more like outsiders, by creating extra 'special' schools for us to go to.

You don't know a person just by looking at them. You don't know what they're battling. How they're feeling.. anything about them, really. unless they decide to open up to you.. you will never know.

Today is alsso Justin biebers 18th birthday.. its sad that that is getting more attention than self harm aawareness. You can see what society prioritizes, right?

*sigh*

Bullying shouldn't happen. Schools should educate themselves on how to deal with peopel with mental illnesses, rather than making the children feel even more like outsiders..

Self harm isn't a joke. Its serious. Some of the people who seem the happiest to you, could be fighting this. Depression isn't a joke. Anxiety isn't a joke. no mental illness is a joke. they are all real illnesses, and if you think otherwise, you are ignorant..

Instead of building EXHIBITS focusing on stereotypes of childhood obesity, disney should put the money towards educating about childhood obesity and not just the lifestyle factors.. what the genecits role plays in it all, and medications, and coping mechanisms... Same goes for everything else.. Education is the only cure for ignorance.

I'm not saying that in a negative way.. Its the truth. Education is the only way to get through to people..

Educate yourselves, so youcan look out for the people you love and care about. And if peopel were smart, there wouldn't just be one day for heart disease, one day for veterans day, one day for breast cacner, one day for self harm awareness..

Spreading awareness for things you are passionate about, should be daily. Not just once a year when all the attention is drawn to it on social networking sites. Or else people will never get the message.

Get the picture?

Let your loved ones know you love them. Life is too short.

Note to anyone battling any form of mental illness:  It gets better.. If i've been able to overcome what I have, you can too. Anyone can. You  just need to find the right motivation.. Everything will work itself out eventually.. I believe everything happens for a reason.. Although we may never know what that reason may be.. I believe it's there. I know it's hard to live life with no regrets, but it can't hurt to try.. Because the past isthe past, and you can't change it. but you're in controll of your own future. Find motivation. Wether it be art, or you want to continue fighting it all because you want to have a family one ady and make sure the children never have to go through what you do... because you want to be there for your little siblings... because you have goals you want to accomnplish... you want to help other people, you want to be a musician, a writer... you want to create your own business one day.. think about your dreams and what you wuold accomplish if you knew you couldn't fail.. and focus on that.. let that be your motivation... nothing is impossible. andnothing is 100%guaranteed. Don't wasite your life being depressed. create memories for yourself that you'll be able to look back on and smile at. It's worth it, I promise.

Have a Great day. <3

-Ashley
www.twitter.com/justashley1637