A Surely Unpopular Whine

[alwaysamy]

I have Type II diabetes. I take medication for it. Two years ago, my prescription changed from one medication to another, and since then I've been losing weight. Steadily. Despite the fact that I eat (and yeah, I know, I have diabetes, I have no self-control, sue me) plenty of ice cream, and I have a problem with cake, and I generally don't manage my carbs as well as I should. (It's all carbs, people -- at least, that's the new theory behind a diabetic diet. A donut is no worse than a piece of bread, really -- it's just *more carbs,* which you have to take into account. The days of diabetics being denied all refined sugar are over, as long as said sugar is tracked and comsumed in moderation.)

I heard on the news a few months back that the drug I'm on is actually being abused off-market for weight loss. (Apparently, it works especially well in decreasing weight around the middle, although I have no idea how a drug targets that, intentionally or not. It does seem to be true for me, though.)

So, you're thinking, well, yeah, why is she complaining? Weight loss is not bad, for most of us! Weight loss is hard for most of us! All true. The problem is, I can't afford it.

I bought all new shorts and pants last summer because the stuff I had was literally slipping off my hips. And belts only worked to the extent that they bunched up the waistbands and thereby created less than attractive bulgy action in back. (Also, I hate belts. Especially in the summer.)

I didn't splurge, either. We're talking KMart and Target stuff here. And this summer ... it's all too big again. Big like in some cases I'm actually sticking my stomach out to hold the damn things up. Buying new clothes is a lot less fun when it's not really in the budget. It also sort of sucks when you bought stuff you really liked last time around, cheap or not, and you don't really want to give it up.

Comments

[amy37.livejournal.com]

I'm not losing scary amounts. At least I don't think so. I don't think if you're wearing an 8 or a 10 at 5'4", you're anywhere near dangerously thin. I'm 140 right now -- it's just that I haven't been 140 since, probably, right after Ben was born. (Taking insulin during pregnancy made pregnancy another time when I was thinner than usual, weirdly. With each baby, it was all baby weight, and often losing weight in the early months. I think with Sara I gained only twenty pounds.)

My doctor ... hasn't said anything. We still don't have insurance. He refills my scrips when I call, and that's it. It's my fault -- I need to scrape up the money to see him more regularly, and to get labs drawn once in a while, but I just haven't. I can be criminally negligient about my health and my body when I'm *not* responsible for another person growing in there.

Still, I'm not scared about the weight loss at this point. Just sort of annoyed that I need to keep buying new clothes.

Also, Prozac? Really? I'd never heard of that as a side effect.