[Wannabehealthy]

Wt is still 187 but I had the potty issues again yesterday. I'm skipping my Metformin to see what happens. I seem to get the issues after I eat the first meal.

I bought some lotion that has Melatonin and other ingredients said to help sleep. Dr Teal's. Fitbit gave me a sleep score of 84. I don't know if the lotion did it. I have dry skin and its itchy. I was not itchy last night. Some lotions make me MORE itchy. I might be sensitive to ingredients. I have several bottles half used. Maybe this Dr Teal's is the answer. Only time will tell. Not itching at night would be worth it. The itching could be caused by laundry soap or fabric softener. I don't use the same laundry soap all the time but I never tried the ones that are formulated hypo allergenic.

We are having light snow flurries this morning. I have to check the weather forecast to see where this is headed.

Ann, my husband's name is on all my accounts and vice versa. Step son has all information. There isn't much, actually.

[fatmad]

Carol Sue: I am glad you are below 190, even with hydration etc. you are below 190 again, and that's great for you.
SO grateful things are ok for your step son. It sounds like there are still some health issues though, and I hope that those work out at least.
I too will be trying going off metformin next week to see if that helps my low abdomen/pelvic pain. I don't want to do that now, because of going away and I will be eating all kinds of yummy stuff and don't want my sugars to be wonky.
Speaking of wonky sugars, mine 6.9 this am. I had fish and chips on Friday and the leftovers last night. It was battered (GF) fish. Lovely and crispy and yummy, but I guess those carbs were too much for me. I hardly ate any fries last night though, they didn't reheat as nicely as the fish, so did not feel worth the calories and carbs.
Today is a fasting day, so I will plan to weigh again tomorrow. I expect it to be high with the two meals with fish and chips. Meal is planned for Monday, and fasting Tuesday before going away.
Have a good Sunday friends.

[Wannabehealthy]

Mad, I am still taking my Metformin but waiting until I eat to take it. I was in a habit of taking it first thing with other meds on an empty stomach. I often skip one dose when I'm only eating 2 meals in a shorter window.

I don't think step son has any other health issues other than recovery from the surgery.

[pattygirl63]

Kept the 181, but up .6 to 181.8 so very thankful for that. Don't know how long I can hang on this but hope I can. I have started drinking green tea now that it is going to warm up, so I think that has helped me with the weight loss. I read it can help you lose weight if you drink it for 12 weeks. I know that and coffee are Baby sisters main drinks.

Busy getting paper ready for DH to get our taxes filed. I had put it all in a box but had to get it organized.

Ann, before DH and I married, I told him that I was tired of having to worry with paying bills etc because I had done it in my 1st two marriages and even when my aunt moved in with me. So for about 5 yrs he took care of it. I don't know how or when it became my job but I think it started when he got sick and had to go on disability. He could do it, but now we both are used to me doing it. I don't mind doing it now because I don't have to struggle with it. In fact. I have made it into a fun thing to do. The big thing I love is knowing I can pay a bill the day it comes in. I'm sure DH could pick it up again if he wanted too.

Carol Sue, I need to check that lotion out because DH skin always itches. I had to stop using strong soap to wash clothes, but nothing really helps him.

It is nice to see that we all seem to have the scales moving in the right direction. My 5 to 6 hr eating window seems to be working great for me most days.

Hope a nice day everybody.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, there are quite a few different Dr Teal's lotions. This one is Sleep Lotion with Melatonin and Essential Oils. I will have to see if it relieves the itch again tonight. I only put it on my arms and legs but not my torso and I was still itchy on my torso. I don't itch as much during the day or maybe I'm too busy to notice. It also contains magnesium stearate and that is supposed to relieve itch. Lots of ingredients I can't pronounce. I got it from Walmart.com and its very inexpensive. I will only put it on at night because of the melatonin making me sleepy.

When DH and I married I just took over the finances. Now that my money is involved I want to be in control. He is too loose with money. One thing we differ on is he only pays the minimum on credit cards. I pay off the total every month. He argued with me at first but now he realizes we don't pay interest and its paid in full.

I am amazed that you are almost in the 170s. That's great!

Do you drink hot green tea or cold? I never had it cold. I just have caffeine free green tea bags. Some times I mix it with black tea. One green tea bag and one black tea bag.

The Superbowl is over. I'm going to bed. Zzzzzzzzz

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue, I don't think the Melatonin would make DH sleepy. He needs it mostly on his back. I will check it out and let him try it.

I drink the green tea hot and cold. I accidently got bigger tea bag the last time I bought it so I make a pitcher of it and heat a cup of it in the morning. I only drink the caffeine because Babysister told me that it was the decaf that was giving me potty issues. She said for me to keep the decaf and use it whenever I need it. She had the same problem with it.

We have to go to the store tomorrow to get DH meds so I will get a few groceries. I've been taking Benadryl to help me sleep at night and help my allergies. While this gives me really good sleep I really don't want to take it every night. Will try not taking it tonight.

[fatmad]

HI all: 155 today. I am happy with that, since I had the two days having battered fish and chips, it takes a while to readjust.
BS was 5.3 today (97 I think) fasting this morning. Overall good, but work early again with the abdominal pain. This is a very different place than the discomfort I had when I was adjusting to metformin, but maybe it IS metformin. I will go off it on Friday after our meals our for our holiday and I am fasting again and stay off for the weekend and see if there is improvement.
This is much more painful than my original pain after Dad died that led me to the celiac diagnosis. Many with CD (celiac disease) have IBS and Crohn's, so there are those possibilities as well. I may also need to try to elimination diet again to see if food is an issue. Ugh. Hate having to be my own detective.

In the meantime: I am so delighted that others are also losing some weight. I think we are turning the corner of the year. I suspect there is a natural tendency to gain and then hold on to weight in the early winter, to protect us from famine, evolutionarily speaking. Now that we are heading into spring and the days are noticeably longer, that can program the body to give up some of its weight. I have always thought the dieting as a New Year's resolution was doomed to failure as a result. Now is the best time to lose, going into spring. Lenten fasts are another way people adapted to this idea. Less food available at the end of winter and before spring greens were available made it necessary too. In terms of our own weight loss, the time is ideal in so many ways.

Trish: if you find the Benadryl helpful, you might find you can break a caplet in two and take a lower dose. I avoid the gel caps for this reason. I also get that odd reaction to the "normal" dose and get twitchy, and sometimes even agitated by 50 mg. I avoid cold medicines for this reason, as that is the usual dose in those as well. In general, I'm in favour of sleep, at almost any cost, LOL after all my difficulties getting sleep. I can't wait to see you in the 170's.

Carol: Interesting that the timing of metformin matters so much. It took a while for me to adjust to taking it while fasting, and is one of the reasons I continue to do the "dirty fasting" and having cream in my morning tea. I was getting digestive issues when I tried going off it, and still want a bit of caffeine in the mornings. I hope this is an answer for you.

Have a good Monday friends.

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, the lotion did NOT stop the itching last night. It did help with sleep, though. My legs are the worst for itching. My,arms,don't itch but it helped with the appearance of dry xkin.

I buy the decaf tea because I like to drink hot tea at night. Since I have so much trouble with sleep I don't take caffeine at night. I get lots of caffeine in my black coffee during the day. I know that caffeine helps with weight loss but don't want to disrupt sleep. I had some that was not decaf but I must have used it all.

I have Benadryl but am afraid to take it for sleep.

Freezing cold here today with more snow overnight.

Happy Valentines Day!

[pattygirl63]

Happy Valentine's Day Everybody.

Fatmad Thanks for the suggestion of breaking the Benadryl in half. I will try that. I hope you find what is causing you problems. I know I have gotten to the place that I won't eat anything or drink my special teas when going somewhere because they seem to act like natural laxative. I think they detox me. The last time Baby sister came over, asked me "When did your eyes turn blue?" The Health Food Store owner we knew years ago told us that if people detox long enough their eyes will become blue. My eyes were normally green but seem to be more bluish now. I remember the day we were having breakfast with Daddy at Waterburger and he asked me, "When did your eyes turn blue?" I don't know if that is true or not but it has worked for me. LOL

Carol Sue Thanks for telling me about the lotion. I was going to look for it but won't now. I itch around my waist, but lotion seems to help it most of the time. We use Walmart brand version of Gold Bond.

Weight today was 182.2 and since I set new WI days according to 1st day of month, tomorrow will be WI day. I'm fasting till dinner since we are going to the store to get meds and DH decided he wants McDs hoping I can at least keep the 182.2 which will mean that I didn't lose anything this week. I hope you are right Fatmad and I will start losing weight more steadily in the spring time.

Have a great day!

[Wannabehealthy]

Trish, I read about Gold Bond lotion today. After I use up what I bought I will try that or the Wal-Mart brand.

I never heard of eyes changing colors. Mine are green but look different depending on what I'm wearing.

I slept thru half of my soaps. We are going to Bob Evans to eat and then Walmart. I also have to go to Kohls to pick up an online order. I would prefer to stay in because of the cold but we need some things.

Mad, I hope you find the cause of your abdominal pain. When I had diverticulitis I had left lower pain, descending colon, it would come and go, then got severe. I hope its not that or anything else serious.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue, I never put much thought into the eyes changing color until my Daddy and sister saw it. However, I have hazel eyes and I've always heard that meant my eyes could change color depending on what color I am wearing. So I always figured that was all it was. I've never bothered to consistently check it to see if that was true. I read on line that some say you can change the color by detoxing and others say no.

I ended up with a 4 hr eating window between 2:30 pm and 6:30 pm. Weather was in the 70s today and will be tomorrow and Wednesday and then it will be cold for a few days.

[Wannabehealthy]

For some reason I now have an itchy rash on my neck. I put some Benadryl cream on to. I don't know what its from. I didn't put the new cream on my neck so it shouldn't be from that but now I'm afraid to use the new cream. Or it was from something I ate. Its always something.

It was 22 degrees when we were out today. So cold! It is a going to warm up the rest of the week, in the 40s and 50s.

[pattygirl63]

Carol Sue, I'm so sorry you have the rash. I don't get them as much anymore but when I do, I have no idea what causes them. I often wonder if it is a diabetes thing or if it is due to dry skin as we get older. Hope it goes away quickly.

[Wannabehealthy]

I have dry skin which I think is from Diabetes. I may have psoriasis as my PCP said just by looking at it. I've never had it biopsied so it could be something else. But this on my neck is different. In one spot it it looks like a burn then there's little bumps. I was scratching it which made it worse. The Benadryl cream stopped the itch but its still visable

I was only a little bit itchy overnight. The cream I bought which is supposed to help sleep is not helping sleep. But it is keeping my arms from being dry. I didn't put it on my legs last night. My skin is terrible. I'm just glad the skin on my face is not affected.

I woke up at 5 and couldn't go back to sleep. Today I will pay bills and I have laundry to do, so I will be busy all day.

Step son called and is still having pain. I didn't think he would have that much pain with laparoscopic surgery.

I will check in later.

_____________________________

Step son is having a complication. Called the doctor and he told hIm to go to the ER. Luckily his wife was working from home. So we wait to hear.

[fatmad]

Hi gang: 154.5 today after eating yesterday, so that was awesome, I kept carefully keto even with our nice St. Valentine's Day supper. Could not be more pleased. Will fast today, and remind myself that tomorrow we get the reward for two days of eating out. We have a mini-fridge in our room, so will take yogurt and such for breakfasts so we don't have to pay for that. DH figures if he wants lunch he would have a burger or sandwich only, so no biggie there. Going out for suppers will be a bit pricey but we have hardly eaten out or had take out even for two years, compared to how much restaurant dining we used to do. Especially before I was celiac. SO its really just two suppers out in a row, we just are not used to that anymore. And yes, I plan for trying out my low FODMAP diet next week again.

Carol Sue, its one thing to be itchy, that happens a lot with dry skin, post shaving or waxing etc. But if you have an actual rash, that may be some kind of dermatitis in reaction to something, or an allergy to something you ate, or a new supplement etc. Hope you figure it out. Benedryl is generally safe (or it would not be sold over the counter) when used as directed. But because it makes people sleepy usually, keep it for night time or nap time. Its also ok to use non-drowsy things like Reactine or Claritin. They are not as specific for rashes and hives, but do help if you need it and think its appropriate. You have good judgement for those things. I just hope you feel better.

Trish: you are doing great, and I am sure you will soon be in the 170's. I don't think anything will make my brown eyes blue, but I think its interesting. I think DH's blue eyes are a different blue now, and I think the same for my father as he got older, the blue got lighter and clearer over time.

Hope Ann is enjoying having her BF with her and we hear from her and Adrienne soon again. May we all have a good week.