Insulin Resistance

A few years back I was walking around 5 miles a day 6 days a week and gaining about 10 lbs a month. Sure I had been through some murder thought producing events, but I was still functioning. Going to work every day, still exercising, being a mom, attending church.



Scared by the weight gain I went to my OBGYN. He didn't think I was depressed but did prescribe Prozac because in high doses one of the side effects was weight loss. I was thrilled at the prospect of losing the weight. So I said sure let's give it a try.



The next month I had put on another 10lbs. Let's increase the dose he said. By this time I was terrified to go off it. This continued for several months, each time he would increase the dose. If I was gaining weight on this what would happen if I stopped. By the time I was up to 4 pills a day, enough to put a horse to sleep, he suggested I go to his friend who was prescribing Phentermine. I lost 10 lbs. Unfortunately, I wasn't like the other stepford wifes who wasted away to nothing. 10 lbs was the limit even though I stayed on it for over two years. In fact, I'd probably still be on it today if they hadn't taken it off the market. Only then, did the Dr. admit that he didn't know what was wrong with me and perhaps I should see a specialist.



I walked into the endocrinologists office and within less than 5 minutes he had a diagnoses. Insulin Resistance! He said it wouldn't have mattered how many pills I'd taken or how much I'd exercised. If I was consuming more than 20 grams of carbs a day, I'd continue to gain weight! By this time I weighed over 200 lbs(up from 118) had damage to my heart valve and my cholesterol had gone from 137 to 270! I was a mess.