Comments on: Standing naked before you

By: gerhard

gerhard — Sun, 10 May 2009 08:13:49 +0000

sounds like thyroideal dysfunction – DD: Morbus Hashimoto ??

By: Lisa Brewster

Lisa Brewster — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:37:11 +0000

Ack, you caught me! Dammit, hahahahaha….I blame barcamp!

I’m going home now…really…Real Soon Now! Promise! *chuckles on her way out of the office*

By: William H. Harle Jr.

William H. Harle Jr. — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:19:21 +0000

I thought we agreed late nights and extra hours weren’t worth it. And yet I check your feed to see this new ipod storage drawer, and what do you know, you are still at work and its past 1am. Tsk tsk. (Just cause I’m up past 4 workin on the east coast doesn’t justify it either) Haha, will us web geeks ever learn?

By: Lisa Brewster

Lisa Brewster — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:21:19 +0000

I actually wrote something about you in my moleskine today. It’s cryptic, but I’ll post it.

By: Personalife

Personalife — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:44:50 +0000

I’m glad to hear that things are slowly working out for you, and I’m really sorry that I’ve forgotten about you the past few months. I’ve been neglecting a lot of people due to school and work, and I’m working hard on changing that. Continue to remain healthy! You can do it!

By: Edward O'Connor

Edward O'Connor — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:19:33 +0000

*hugs*

Very glad to hear you’re feeling better.

Erin and I are always down for a good meal at any of the several uptown vegetarian/vegan/friendly places, such as Jyoti Bihanga (which we affectionately refer to as the crazy cult place), Cilantro, Rancho’s, Mama’s Lebanese, etc.

By: Seth Caldwell

Seth Caldwell — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:50:29 +0000

Vegan places in San Diego – I’d be interested to find some. Right now the only places I go out to eat are unhealthy and if I want to be healthy I cook for myself. There’s an awesome place in santa barbara called the Sojourner – I would love to find something in SD like that. However, I still find my weird fruit for breakfast/lunch meat+veggies for dinner diet to be the most energizing and ‘make me feel great’ diet I’ve tried.

By: Andres

Andres — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:58:15 +0000

Hi Lisa, glad to know that you take care of your body, that´s a wise choice. I my case of stress/executive work/daily workaholic marathon I got the sugar as a main suspect on my digestive problems. I found that obliterating the sugar on my coffee was a great improvement on my health. I learn that hot carbohydrate are a nightmare for the normal functions of hormones from pancreas+liver+Adrenal Cortex. Kuddos

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:12:00 +0000

I’m compelled to chime in here, after reading your daring confessional. Taking heart meds at a young age is not really incongruous. I know someone with a condition called Mitral Valve Prolapse. It’s target demographic is an adult female under the age of 32. I don’t imagine that’s what you have; it’s a condition that’s rather easily diagnosed. But here’s where you dovetail with my friend: The condition seems to self-perpetuate due to stress. Panic attack/anxiety causes a lot of cardiac-like symptoms. The friend was ultimately put on Halcyon to deal with the panic attacks. I had a time of panic attacks as well (break ups can be devastating to deal with, I concur). Instead of happy drugs, I opted to fall back on my martial arts training. I’d throw out as a suggestion-a softer martial art like tai chi, aikido or even yoga (hell, even taiko drumming). One where you learn that great proficiency needs to be preceded by a fair amount of inner calm. FWIW and good luck.

By: Ian

Ian — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:21:40 +0000

Glad you are feeling better. As an alternative to your current fiber supplement, I was going to suggest http://helpforibs.com

I don’t work for them, but I have been going here for the last 3 years for my fiber supplement. Its called Acacia (i think) anyway its completely tasteless and dissolves in water completely. Its cheap and works awesome. The website also has good information on IBS in general. Anyway, good luck.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:26:35 +0000

While I’m not a doctor, quite a few of your symptoms sound quite similar to those I had when I came down with diabetes. Type II Diabetes Mellitus tends to sneak up on people. There’s an increasing chance of it as your age goes up, but it’s not unheard of for even people in their 20s (I was in my mid 30s when it hit me.). Stress tends to aggravate it, and high carbohydrate meals also do. The good news is that, as far as major illnesses go, it’s one of the best to have, since it’s pretty easy to control. The bad news is that it’s often misdiagnosed, and, if left untreated, the complications are extremely scary (e.g., Things start falling off that shouldn’t, such as hearts, eyes, kidneys, feet, legs, etc.!). The best part is that a quick finger prick will give you an idea, or an HbA1C test will tell your doctor for sure (ask him about it).

In any case, I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling better, but don’t stop looking for the cause until you’re sure you’ve correctly identified it.

Dave

By: Lisa Brewster

Lisa Brewster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:50:26 +0000

I’ve had a really warm reception from sharing all this, and it’s definitely good to get off my chest. I’d only told two or three people what’s going on so far, which feels like I’m protecting myself and not creating drama, but it also felt flat out wrong from time to time. Not like telling a lie, but I definitely found myself dealing with the guilt of not telling the whole truth.

This conversation will definitely continue for me at barcamp, because I’ve learned so much about the shortcomings (and overindulgences) of the standard American diet that I’m just itching to share my new knowledge with the world. I’ll also be using the food planning as a platform to help promote the importance of nutrition information and alternate diet choices. I’m pretty damn excited. =]

By: Lisa Brewster

Lisa Brewster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:43:39 +0000

I’m a workaholic for sure, but how many late nights will I have to work now to make up for being out almost the entire month of December? The extra hours just aren’t worth it.

By: Lisa Brewster

Lisa Brewster — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:39:24 +0000

287, how in the crap…?! I thought I was going to fall over and DIE at 190. But yeah, we’ve all heard the same story about moderation, but it really does take a swift kick in the ass to make you realize just how fragile we are.

By: renee

renee — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 23:29:43 +0000

Thanks for being vulnerable and posting this update. As a fellow survivor of deep stress, I can sympathize with the damage that it brings. it’s cool that you were able to finally start eating again, not only things you enjoy, but things that don’t make you sick. It’s so fantastic to hear that you are feeling (and getting) better, and I hope that things continue to progress in a positive manner. looking forward to seeing you @ barcampsd3. Take good care, and remember to b r e a t h e ! :)

By: William H. Harle Jr.

William H. Harle Jr. — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:41:53 +0000

So glad to hear that things look to be on the up slope for you, Lisa. Stress is a horrible thing, and dealing with bad breakups straight sucks. I think it’s very cool of you to post this little synopsis of your health issues, because even tho it seems a great deal of your recovery can be related to your diet switch, I think it’s important for everyone to know how important it is to take notice of our own bodies and take action when we should. It’s so easy to get caught up in web work and not allow ourselves to spend time noticing how our lives are affected by the day to day. All too often we let our bodies simply serve as the means to code, and thus we cram fast food and energy drinks down, ignore sleep, forego exercise, and overload on everything. I know I wear these attributes like badges of honor. But those programmers who can relate, we’re killing ourselves. *applause* to Lisa for taking notice, seeking diagnosis, and making changes. I hope things continue to get better for you so you can continue to live the smiley, open, oft semi-nude life we all enjoy.

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:36:39 +0000

Good to hear you’re seemlingly on the mend! I went through a very similar health situation in the last 1.5 years. I hit the big 30 and was experiencing the odd dizzy spell and chest pain. I voluntarily visited my GP one day (apparently the “man exam” starts around the ripe ol’ age of 30) and before I knew it, I was laid up in the hospital with about 14 hoses and electrodes plugged into me. Turns out I had Atrial Fibrilation (irratic heart beat). They put me on Atenolol and blood thinners, gave me about 7 echos and a stress test on the treadmill that got my heart rate up to 287 BPM if you can believe it. Anyway, I’m a bit of a workaholic so the GP told me to slow down a bit, get away from the office more and keep healthy. That was 1.5 years ago and on many levels, I feel better for having done so. Everything in moderation… work, tech, junkfood, etc. I spend more time with those I love and less stressing over the mundane things I won’t care about when my time is up!