All posts by PowerUp2Health

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About PowerUp2Health

Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, Working mother of two, married, living in Minneapolis, MN.

More Puzzle Pieces

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Another amazing summer day in Minnesota!

I went to an Endocrinologist at the U of M a couple weeks ago and had a terrific appointment. She sat with me for an hour, with my test results charted out and walked me through what the test results indicated, how it affected my health and what I can expect going forward. We also came up with a game plan for the future!

During this visit, we discussed past and current surgeries, medicines and supplements. She had such amazing insight into current liver, kidney and thyroid supplements I’m taking and advised I remove them from my diet. She also indicated the Lupron shot (which I received for 6 months in 2013 for endometriosis treatment) was a chemotherapy drug (yes its used to treat prostrate cancer) and destroys good and bad cells within the body. She said every woman who has taken the drug and has come into her office indicated it was the worst experience and has since ruined their lives (aka piece to my puzzle).

Having a couple weeks to reflect on this information, I am convinced the Lupron shot may be the villain. Its been since the shot that my health has continued to deteriorate. With more blood tests and more doctor appointments in August, I feel I am getting closer to the problem and a resolution!

Until next time…Be happy, be safe and be healthy!

Who drinks coffee?

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Happy almost 4th of July! I hope you and your families have a fun and safe holiday weekend!

First, I forgot to update everyone from my U of M appt in June. It was painless as the doctor referred me to another Endocrinologist for abnormal thyroid test (central hypothyroidism) and to a Rheumatologist for the antinuclear factor positive. I will see both in July and August, respectively.

Now, who drinks coffee? I received my food allergy test (IGG-delayed onset allergy) results back and coffee came up with the highest allergy!! Coffee? Well, its a good thing I don’t drink coffee because I’m pretty sure it would be difficult to give up! All you coffee drinkers can likely relate! Numerous other foods came up like asparagus, green beans, dairy, wheat, cod, oats, eggs, etc, etc…. the list goes on so I won’t bore you with the details.

Another interesting factor from the test shows my IGE (immediately allergy) was off the charts. The range is 0-87 and of course mine came back as 300! Wow! Doc says it means when adding all the foods they tested for into my blood at one time, that was my reaction. In his 20+ years of practice, he has only seen one other test this high. I really am unique!

What’s next? I am instructed to remove all 26 (yes, I said 26) foods that came up on the test results for 4 months. After 4 months, I can start adding them back in one-by-one to see what type of reaction, if at all, I will have. The journey continues!

Lastly, I’m so grateful to have some many wonderful friends and family on this journey with me. I remember every day just how blessed I am. I also want to thank the people who have fought for our country so we can celebrate our freedom on this beautiful 4th of July weekend!

MRI results – Great news!

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Thank you for all the phone calls, messages, and most of all prayers!  I am blessed to have such wonderful people surrounding me!

Good news…..they verified the tumor is benign. Its called a focal nodular hyperplasia.  It’s the second most common type of liver tumor and in most cases, no treatment is required!! 

What a relief!  And most of all, thank you for the prayers, good thoughts and positive energy!

 

Kidney Ultrasound Results

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Had a bit of a rough day yesterday after hearing the results of the kidney ultrasound. 

The good news is my kidneys looked normal!

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, they did find a tumor on my liver.  I have an MRI scheduled for Monday to verify what it is. 

Hoping and praying for results that its just a hemangioma (noncancerous growth that forms due to an abnormal collection of blood vessels).

 

Making progress with Urologist!

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WARNING:  I say pee and urine alot (just in case you are eating or drinking when you are about to read this)

I met with an Urologist yesterday and after completing a cysto (where they put a scope into your bladder to look inside) the Urologist confirmed I do not, in fact, have IC.  Best news I’ve heard all day!  Thank goodness I didn’t take the medicine and complete the bladder installations as prescribed back in November!  Lesson:  follow your instincts!

Also, after she reviewed the records from my bladder surgery (remember back in May 2012….yes it was several posts ago), she indicated the hole (which the records indicated it was a rupture of a diverticulum (basically an outpouching of the bladder)) could have been caused by 1. Dysfunctional voiding (I’m not peeing properly) or 2. Chronic Holding of urine (I’m not going often enough) or 3. Endometriosis.  The Urologist indicated I was much to young to have a diverticulum on my bladder so that is very suspect (hence the reason for the cysto).  From the cysto, she could tell my bladder is very strong, healthy and very large (maybe the reason for chronic holding). Good news alert:   The cysto also showed no sign of IC, no sign of endometriosis on the bladder (double Yippee) and no diverticulitis (triple Yippee)!

However, (there’s always a “but”), she does suspect my long history of bladder infections and UTIs may have caused me to hold my urine to long which in turn could cause diverticulitis (or vice versa – holding urine to long causes UTIs and bladder infections- but that’s the old age question of what came first, the chicken or the egg!!)  She prescribed an oral antibiotic for 90 days to see if the medicine would help my symptoms, ordered me to pee at least every three hours, ordered a kidney ultrasound and finally come back in 90 days to see how the medicine is working!

Finally, the reason for the kidney ultrasound is to review why I have proteins in my urine (that should never happen I guess) and to ensure the kidneys are functioning properly.  Baby steps… but at least we are eliminating (or solving) one more theory! 

Kidney Ultrasound scheduled for June 10th (today)! 

 

Food Allergy Testing

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Well, who knew?  Found out I have an immediate onset reaction (IGE allergy) to almonds, egg yolks, peanuts and blueberries!  Seriously?  Who’s allergic to blueberries?  I am, I am!   Now that I know this, I can make adjustments to my food list (its getting shortly yet)!  

Since going gluten free, the primary substitute is almonds.  Are you thinking the same thing I am?  Ok, probably not, but wanted to throw it out there!  I’ve been eating almond butter, almond milk, almond flour and trial mix with almonds so this could be a good thing to eliminate from my already limited diet!  Yippee!

The testing was limited to 18 of 87 foods so am planning a more extensive test soon!  My Chiropractor said this could be a cause to a few of my increasing health issues! 

More to come…

Test Results from U of M

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Great morning!  Its sunny and warm…perfect day for a smile!

I was notified this week that all but one of my blood test came back normal.  The ANA test came back positive which could be a marker for Lupus or Sjogren Syndrome.  Thinking this is at least a step in the right direction for finding a diagnosis, although (honestly), its not the news I was hoping to hear.  I will go back in June to have more tests completed.  In the meantime, I am having food allergy testing completed Monday.  Hoping for some answers with those tests as well!

Staying positive and grateful for wonderful friends and family!

 

Thank you then Update

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Since starting this blog and making it public, I have received (and absolutely love) the stories, the messages, the calls, the words of advice, the words of wisdom and the words of courage!  Thank you – Thank you – Thank you!   This journey hasn’t been easy and its difficult to be positive, but I am so hopeful after all the support and positive reinforcement I’ve received!  Again, Thank you!!

Now, update from Dr. appt yesterday!  First, they took enough blood to fill a small outdoor pool so they should be able to figure out something.  Second, the doctor ultimately wants to review my medical history and see what the new blood tests show before indicating what she believes is going on.  However, she’s thinking its likely related to my thyroid (diagnosed me with thyroid disease), autoimmune disease (diagnosed me with malaise and myalgia- both could be caused by autoimmune) and recurrent infection.

Please pray the blood tests bring answers and possible solutions!

What other things could it be? May 2014

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Since I’ve made the appointment with the U of M, I’ve had medical professionals tell me to seek out an Immunologist and Infectious Disease doctors. In addition, I’ve been told to request testing for issues like Celiac, Lyme’s Disease, kidney disease, lupus and food sensitiveness.

In Search of Doctors April 2014

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Disappointingly, I found out the clinic would not refer me so I called the Mayo myself. After several questions, they said they could not offer me an appointment because they could not do anything else for me then what has already been done. Lots of tears shed!

I informed my OB/GYN so he gave me a list of doctors to call for internal medicine.   After 10 doctors called (all from referrals of other clinics), the doctors were either not accepting new patients, were retired or did not accept insurance. More tears!

My sister then suggested (thanks Shelly) I call the U of M. I took her advice and managed to find a doctor to take my case. My first appointment is May 23, 2014.