What 25 lbs and prednisone looks like

A lot of people who have seen me recently have commented how I've lost a lot of weight. I know that the number on the scale has gone down quite a bit, but being in my body means that sometimes I'm not aware of inches lost, etc. I was documenting my weight loss with some pictures and I sent them to a friend today:

Taken beginning of April. At this point I'd managed to lose the 5 lbs that prednisone that caused, but was still on 30 mgs a day. The prednisone caused my kangaroo belly, buffalo hump and some swelling in my face. My left boob looks funny because it's packed with gauze.

Taken last week. 25 lbs lost on top of the 5 lbs previous, 15 of which have been since September. I'd weaned down to 10 mgs by August, 5 mgs soon after, and then 2.5 for a couple of weeks. I have been weaned completely off for a month (prednisone usually stays in the blood for about 3 months afterwards, so I probably am still having some effects from it. I don't know what's up with my facial expression; maybe I was sneezing.

When I first saw my breast surgeon at the end of August, he recommended that I try to get back to my ideal weight range because it makes recovery so much easier. I'm proud to announce that I'm one lb over. The other good news is clothes that I haven't worn for three years all of sudden fit again and my wardrobe doubled.

The rapid weight loss was caused by four things. One was getting off the damn @$%^ prednisone. Two was starting metformin and finally finding the right dosage. Three was watching what I eat (which was mostly just less, see prednisone). Four was my favourite (sarcasm) diet plan: depression. I stop eating whenever I get depressed. One week about a month ago, I got massively depressed and didn't eat for four days and lost 5 lbs, only 2 of which came back. I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but it is effective.

I will probably make my New Year's resolution for my weight this year, but the last 5 lbs are going to be breast tissue. Does that count? Probably not, but I'll take it anyway. When I consulted with the plastic surgeon about my weight and my plans to lose more weight, he actually recommended not to lose too much more because then I might not have much to move later. Not the usual doctor's recommendation, and like most others, I might ignore it.

How am I doing? I'm falling to pieces. I'm anxious, scatterbrained, and easily distracted. I ran a stop sign the other day and accidentally got into the express lane at the grocery store with a cartful of groceries. I was extremely embarrassed and apologized profusely to the cashier and people behind me and then ran to my car in my shame. My sister suggested that I should be allowed to wear a sign declaring my upcoming mastectomy and should be excused for all my lamebrain moves. I also fell down my stairs a week ago and sprained my wrist and it STILL hurts. I think this week, month, and year just need to end.

On a more positive note, thank you to all the people for the lovely emails and facebook comments.