November 11, 2006 at 9:10 am
Earlier this week I got as low as 200.4. So close, yet the 100′s still taunt me, sticking their tongue out at me chanting “Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah!” and then leaning over and shaking their butt at me. Oh, I will get you 100′s, just you wait and see. Red rover, red rover, send PastaQueen on over.
I took two Excedrin yesterday for menstrual cramps and unexplainably felt kind of high for the rest of the day. I think I’m just a freak and it was all in my head since there’s nothing in Excedrin that should make you loopy. However, I went online to see if it could at all be related to the fact that I’m slowly going off my headache medicine again. Last year I tried going off of it during Christmas and ended up with a migraine during midnight mass, which was far beyond any headache midnight mass has ever given me before. I’m down another 50 pounds since then, so I thought it would be worth another try before the Thanksgiving and Christmas rush which can be headache inducing for their own reasons. I don’t want to be taking medication unnecessarily, but mostly I’d love to save $40 a month on meds.
In my research I discovered that the medication I’m on can actually make you gain weight, typically between 0-10 pounds. (Damn! Can’t blame them for the 100 or so pounds I gained since starting them.) It evidently causes “decrease in your metabolic rate of ten percent.” Huh. Didn’t know that. It also lowers your heart rate, which explains why my resting heart rate has been an almost unnaturally low 50 beats per minute and I’ve been finding it hard to get above 150 beats per minute when running. It’s the pills! I’ve been sure to wear my heart monitor while exercising this week and my heart rate is definitely going up about 10-20 beats per minute more than it has previously. Which is good because I’m working my heart out more and it means the pills’ affects are indeed wearing off and I still haven’t gotten a headache! Crossing my fingers and toes and my cats toes (or whatever the feline equivalent is) that this continues and I can stay off the medication.
Chocolate & Vicodin: My Quest for Relief from the Headache that Wouldn't Go Away
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18 Comments
blubbah • November 11, 2006 at 11:24 am
There’s caffeine in some Excedrin varieties.
And the numeric teasing is EVIL.
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Marly • November 11, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Every Saturday it’s a ritual for me to come see what Pastaqueen weighs. If you break 200 next week we should have a little online party, lol.
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Laura • November 11, 2006 at 12:50 pm
You are doing terrific with the weight loss. You are a real inspiration to me and I love your creative writing skills (ok , enough of the flattery).
Are you having any “withdrawl symptoms” after going off your meds? If you do , hang in there, because usually it is completely out of your system in a couple of weeks and your body should adapt.
Also, I agree with Marly. An online party for breaking into the 100s! I will bring the virtual beer and chips, no calories in that I hope.
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Mymsie • November 11, 2006 at 1:04 pm
DEFINITELY need to have a “Bye Bye 200s/Hello 100s” par-tay! You can auction off all your clothes that are too big, pass out samples of the medicine you’re going off of, and test your newly-upped heart rate with a spirited round of Twister. I’m there as long as you serve 97% fat-free beef jerky and sugar-free Jello shots. It’ll be a riot!
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Kala • November 11, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Hoping you can quit the meds and we all see 1## next week!
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Haystacks • November 11, 2006 at 3:29 pm
You are full of Awesome.
The Hundreds are waiting for you, dahhhling.
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yo • November 11, 2006 at 9:17 pm
hmm, well, I wonder if your meds could play more of a role than you think. It might be only a couple lbs on average, but you are taller than average.
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scone • November 12, 2006 at 1:44 pm
I just got out of a deep migraine med rebound cycle, and learned a lot the hard way. Evidently, caffeine has a big enhancing effect on Excedrin, especially Excedrin migraine, which already has some caffeine in it. I was “using” 6 cups of coffee plus 6-8 Excedrin migraine per day– definitely a speedy high– but also causing lot of rebound migraines. Not fun at all.
So I’m off EM, and on Imitrex, with plain aspirin for the smaller migraines. That’s helped a lot, and I’m getting far fewer migraines now. My PCP wants to put me on Topomax, and I’m told this can lead to some weight loss, mostly because Topomax makes a lot of things taste odd, especially soda and other sweets.
BTW, I’ve started taking a magnesium supplement along with the calcium, and I do think that helps. Evidently, caffeine overuse and dieting, along with calcium supps that don’t contain magnesium, can lead to a slight overall magnesium deficiency.
There’s a lot of excellent migraine info at about.com, with Teri Robert. She’s a leading expert in the field. HTH, and best of luck!
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Monica • November 12, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Re: taunting numbers: Had you updated the sidebar, you would’ve noticed that your BMI is under 30 now. Happy dance?? And that makes you only overweight, as opposed to obese. Happy dance?? Hmm … probably not…
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Julia • November 12, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I used to have weekly migraines. Then I totally went OFF caffeine. No coffee, no diet drinks. They went away! Now I still get them like twice a year, but that I can live with.
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this • November 12, 2006 at 8:44 pm
this is off-topic, but have any of you ever read the AWFUL “fat chick-lit” book “Jemima J”? YOu will die laughing at this: http://www.poundy.com/2003_09_01_blogarchives.html
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Janice Bridge • November 12, 2006 at 8:53 pm
Yo! Pasta Queen . . . .just how badly do you want next Saturday’s weight to be in the 100′s?
Do you want suggestions . . .or shall we all just wait with our fingers crossed?
Jan
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PastaQueen • November 12, 2006 at 9:12 pm
Janice – Just cross your fingers. It’ll happen when it happens, and even if it does happen next week I’m pretty sure Thanksgiving will undo some of my progress anyway.
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Janice Bridge • November 12, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Okay! This has been a week. . .flew east on Tuesday. Picked up a new car on Wednesday and drove to MD for my nephew’s wedding – a fully catered Roast on Friday and the wedding yesterday. . . AMAZING FOOD. . . and I am a week away from my scale (either body weight OR for weighing my portions) . . .and then there will be Thanksgiving!!
Jan
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Nice Girl • November 12, 2006 at 10:34 pm
My mom knows that I have lost about 15 lbs and I’m back in my 8s, and fitting into some 6s. I’m going home for Thanksgiving and she asked, “Are you going to eat Thanksgiving dinner?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t…or just eat a little…I wouldn’t want you to gain all that weight back.” She’s part of the reason I started losing weight. Now I feel compelled to lose even MORE before I go home :(
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Patty • November 13, 2006 at 1:25 pm
Congrats on the weight loss this week! 200′s are so close for you and for me though I know it is slowing down for me but I will get there by the end of the year. Good luck on getting off the meds, that is awesome.
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help • November 14, 2006 at 12:35 pm
Pastaqueen, i am superconfused by your weigh ins. Can you explain — am guessing you weigh self everyday, but your “official weight” is whatever the scale says on Saturday mornings?
Help a sister out. And keep on truckin!
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PastaQueen • November 14, 2006 at 12:42 pm
help – When I started I just did a weekly Saturday weigh=in and made that my “official” weight. Now as my weight loss has slowed I do daily weigh-ins to get a better sense of how my weight is fluctuating, but I still stick to the Saturday weight as the “official” weight. To confuse you more, I also only update my weight in the sidebar on the right once a month or two, partly because I’m lazy and partly because I hate having to bounce it up again to a higher number.
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