Opera Nut

I know all of you were horrified that I was on 500 calories a day and vitamins/supplements.

I didn't lose any appreciable weight for 3 months on this regimen. I lost about 5 pounds which was probably water. That was far less than most people would lose. My thyroid is completely dead and I take 2 grains a day of Armour Thyroid.

I was given an HGH stimulation test which consisted of a baseline blood draw and an IV of arginine which is a vasodilator/pituitary stimulant. I was also given GHRF, releasing factor. Blood was sampled every thirty minutes over a period of 2.5 hours for a total of five samples, baseline + four.

I had a severe reaction to the arginine. I nearly passed out and got the dry heaves from low blood sugar. The doctor said he had never seen such a severe vasovagal reaction. He had to give me a shot of phenergan so I would stop barfing saliva. I slept on an examining table for two hours after the test was over, due to the phenergan injection. The doctor wrote a letter of medical necessity so my insurance would pay for the blood test and the growth hormone for the rest of my life. The diagnoses he listed on the letter were hypothyroidism, osteopenia, fatigue, lipid disorder, & low IGF-1.

I also began using testosterone skin gel, 4 mg/1 cc of cream/day. This gave me a lot of energy after a week of use.

I lost 7 pounds last week, which is the first time I have ever lost any appreciable amount of weight in my life. This is because the doctor put me on phentrimetrazine. I have about 30 pounds left to go.

I am currently injecting 1 IU of HGH per day. And I'm waiting for a testosterone pellet implant.

The testosterone has lowered my BP greatly, which is a good thing, and given me a lot more energy.

I have been sick the past week due to allergies. We have had a lot of rain from the remnants of tropical storm Grace and the mold and mildew has been awful.

I'm getting there, even though many of you think what I am doing is just horrible. I know that resorting to diet pills is extreme but I apparently have severe hormonal/metabolic problems including severe deficiences of testosterone and growth hormone.

I am walking at the mall for exercise because it is still too hot, humid and polluted out there to breathe the air. I was given strict instructions to wear sunscreen and stay out of the heat and humidity and sun.

abe smith

Wow, Opera, your recent news here is scairy as hell! Is the "doctor" you refer to a real MD? Is (they) competent to be having you do all this weird stuff?
None of us here (unless Dr Rick) is competent to hear your problem, much less to give you advice.
My Impression Izz that you need to put yourself into the care of someone competent, whom you can trust. Before you get yourself into REAL trouble!

Opera Nut

There are two doctors in this practice; they are husband and wife. The wife has an M.D., is a Board Certified Internist and she also has a Ph.D. in Cardiology. She earned these degrees in Russia and passed her boards to practice over here. She also holds several patents in Russia for cardiology devices.

The husband is an M.D. and board certified in Pediatrics and he has also done a lot of general surgery. He does the laser skin treatment stuff and he is the one who administered the growth hormone test.

Both of these people are M.D.s and she is a Ph.D. as well. I don't know what you mean by qualified if these people are NOT qualified.

I believe they are treating me with pretty solid science; it's just that the rest of the medical establishment does not think bariatrics and anti-aging are respectable medical fields. There is no board certification in bariatrics or anti aging yet.

This is not "vibes", energy healing, homeopathy, or any of that woo-woo new age stuff.

Do you consider them to be not qualified? They are making progress on two fronts -- I am losing weight for the first time in my life and getting my hormones balanced so that I am starting to have a normal healthy person's energy level for the first time in my life. Other MD's have not tested all my hormones or done anything other than write scrips for pills, really.

People who responded to the first thread just KNEW I would dry up and blow away and starve to death on 500 calories a day. I didn't. I didn't lose any weight either, which tells you my metabolism is profoundly messed up and needed some serious detective work in the form of lab tests.

I am saying that overweight is a complex problem. In my case, eating right and exercising vigorously, according to the standard advice, didn't do anything to help me lose weight. It's more complex than that, and it's not overeating. It's a bunch of hormonal problems causing a very very slow metabolism. I am NOT one of these people who weighs over 300 pounds and waddles, it's not that severe, but it's severe enough to cause health problems that concern me.

Low thyroid is just the tip of the iceberg.

HelenM

Actually, some of them predicted what you've just told us happened - they said that you wouldn't lose any weight on 500 calories a day because it would put your body into 'starvation/conserve energy' mode.

Anyway, thanks for the update and I hope you find a method that enables you to lose the weight you want to lose and which helps you with your other health problems.

Helen