Getting Healthier in 2011 – My Health in September

"Take 60 mg of Prozac daily, and call me in 6 weeks." not a direct quote from my doctor, but pretty damn close.-- Image via Wikipedia

Sooo…last month I was lazy.  I did my August health goal wrap-up, but never came up with September health goals.

Blame the start of school, plus stomach bugs followed by nasty colds…oh, and I was just too tired to think about it.

Oddly enough, I got healthier without any goals.  I lost 5 lbs., and my belly is flatter than it was.  SCORE!

I managed to cut back on mocha frappuccinos and brew my own mocha coffee at home.  If I was out of the house and desperate, I would take a quick trip to Starbucks.  I wouldn’t apologize for it, and I wouldn’t beat myself up about it.

At the end of the month, I went to the doctor and upped my dosage of Prozac for my mood and energy.  My dysthymia is probably my biggest health concern as it keeps me from having the energy to eat healthier and exercise, both things that will give me over-all health and well-being.

Anyone who tells you that mental health is not part of whole body health needs to be slapped and called stupid.  Just sayin’.  I’ve heard some insurance companies don’t cover mental health.  Basically, they’re screwing themselves because a good number of health issues could be resolved or treated much more easily if the patient is able to seek mental health care.

I’m getting down off of my high horse, and I will cover this issue in a later article.  I have a running list of what to talk about in later articles.

At the appointment where the doctor told me to up my dose of Prozac (by the way, this is my general practitioner, not a mental health professional, just so you’re fully informed here), he also told me that he believes I’m getting arthritis in my right shoulder.

I immediately had a friggin break-down.  As I waited for my new prescription for Prozac (also known as Fluoxetine), I was on my cell phone facebooking and tweeting “FML” messages about how my body is broken and life sucks.

Helpful, right? Not so much…

And then I proceeded to come home and have a public nervous breakdown via Twitter about the medical establishment, western medicine, Big Pharm (pharmaceutical companies), etc…  My tweets resembled that of a conspiracy theorist going off about how vaccines cause autism, cancer, and mental retardation (thank you, Michele Bachmann).

Okay, maybe it wasn’t that bad…but I was definitely going off.  It was therapeutic, at least a bit.  I basically let it all out.  That’s a good thing. A good venting session can be very helpful.  And thankfully, I am anonymous…no one knows who I am.  That’s also a good thing.

After all the craziness subsided, I had a little panic attack and then calmed down…finally.

And earlier in the week, I just went off gluten completely.

Okay…let me back up.  That was sudden.  I can already hear you. “What?  Where did that come from?”

I used to be on a gluten free diet.  At that time, I was healthier all around.  Not 100%, but definitely better than I was before and after the gluten free diet.  I’ve avoided going back to it because of convenience and because I’m worried about looking like a crazy person who falls for fad diets.  I also rely on fast food way too much.  But I decided it’s just time.  With my depression deepening, my anxiety levels rising, my fatigue becoming worse and the inflammation in my body increasing to painful proportions, I decided that I need to do this and go all out, or I’m just going to get worse…not better.

I also attempted to go gluten free for about 2 weeks in August.  When I went back to gluten, wheat and processed garbage food, I had trouble with my acid reflux again…something that hasn’t bothered me in about a year.

So, gluten free it is!  No noticeable changes as of yet, but it hasn’t even been a week, so I’m going to give it time.

Question: Have you ever tried a gluten free lifestyle?

*Note: If this article seems a bit scatter-brained, it’s because I am scatter-brained.  Maybe it’s the coffee.  Maybe it’s the increase in my Prozac dosage.   Maybe it’s just one of those things.  I don’t know.  But I hope you’ve enjoyed a peek inside of my wired mind.

Related articles

• Getting Healthier in 2011 – August Health Goals (alwayssick.com)
• Gluten-Free Challenge: May 22 and 23 (fitsugar.com)
• Warning: Antidepressants might make you WORSE – signed: the FDA (alwayssick.com)