Hello, first off im a low carber and have had my ups and downs. My problem is the water retention. I drink water as much as possible and even at one time was drinking too much. Ok so I check with my doctor who has been treating my obesity with meds for the past two years to no avail. First they tell me ok you drink too much water...back off. So I go to the doctor advised 8-10 glasses a day...no luck. So they put me on diuretic (sp) meds to help. Im thirsty so I increase my water intake to about 128 oz. a day. I am to say the least in the bathroom all day and night, and I drop a few pounds. Im happy and all with the results, and by the way the meds are also with synthroid since i am hypothyroid and on the synthroid rollercoaster for the past year. I get my synthroid levels rechecked and they lower the dosage and tell me to continue to take my 1/2 tablet "as needed" of diurectics. In three weeks time, I gain a total of 28 pounds, which my only low carb (re-induction) cheat was snap peas as a snack. I call my physician, frantic over this problem and they tell me to come back in. I go in and the practicioner (couldnt get in with dr.) asks me repeatedly if I am cheating on Atkins, (she herself and others in the office are also on Atkins). I tell her about the peas, and say you know, I dont think I ate 28 pounds of peas in the last two-three weeks to gain this, and with the edema I have, there is obviously a water retention problem. So she ups the diuretics to one full tablet a day. This works for a bit, in fact I lose 10 pounds in 48 hrs, which yes is nice, but has me wondering healthwise how good this is for my system. After doing this for a week or so, the weight loss stops, and the edema restarts to the point of shopping for boots and not being able to zip up ankle boots over my swollen legs, having ankle socks bruise my legs, etc. So I return to the practioner, who is completely baffled as to why I am retaining so much water, and "hmmm Im really not sure why". I am so completely frustrated at this point that I do not know what to do. I have an appointment with my regular Dr. next week, and I intend to lay it on the line, that obviously gaining and losing that much weight in such a short period of time is not healthy, and either refer me to someone who knows what the heck is going on, or help me now.
Ok that is my weight rant for now, just wondering if anyone at all has had any of these same issues. Thanks for listening!!

Imallset,

Ok, first of all, your body will not typically *hold on* to water if you are drinking adequate water and (IMHO) 128 oz. is not too much. The body typically tends to retain water when it is not getting enough water EXCEPT ***and this is very important*** when there is another problem going on.

Has your doctor done any tests to try and figure out what is going on??? It sounds (from what you wrote) that he has only tried to alleviate the problem (with diuretics) without finding out the underlying cause.
Such edema is usually an indication of a much more serious medical condition and I would not let this go until you get some answers.
Seek a second opinion if you must, but do keep pursuing this.
I hope you get to the bottom of this and I hope you'll keep us posted.

Summer


www.herstorygirl.com

One more thing:
You say that they have been treating your obesity with meds for the past 2 years... what meds are those?
Several of the meds once thought *safe* by most physicians turned out to cause serious heart problems... I would ask about going off of the weight loss drugs and letting Atkins work it's magic on its own. It could be your body is trying to signal you to stop using them in conjunction with this way of eating. Just a thought...

Summer

Reading your post brought tears to my eyes. I am so sorry this is happening. I dont have any advice to give you except to lay it all down with the doc. I myself have a doc that wont look to see whats going on with me so I think I may understand your frustration.

Please, please keep us posted on your outcome when you see your doc. I hope they find out the problem. Huggs

Blessings,

Carol

**** Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
(NKJV)****

Imallset, you need to see an endocrinologist, an expert in glandular issues. I don't know what's going on but I can toss a couple of possible ideas around.

You might have a problem with your cortisol levels. An endocrinologist would do a full work-up on you and find out if that's what's going on.

You might be eating something that has more carbs than you think. Flipping in and out of ketosis can cause exactly what you're describing, with the sudden water weight gains alternating with whooshes.

Are you eating any low-carb specialty items?

You might want to start testing your ketone levels to see what's happening there.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

You mentioned that you have a thyroid condition. My mother has a goyder.(sp) and the other thyroid is over active. When she was first put on meds, she had the same exact problem. It took several tries before they got her meds right. She also lives a low carb wol and now she takes Levithroid and it is the only med that keeps her fluid retention under control. I would incourage you to go see a specialist. It is very important to find out what is causing it, not just how to treat it!

Keep us informed please.

Jen

Atkins since 11/11/03

140/135/115

"Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we will reap a harvest if we faint not." Gal. 6:9

Allset...

I agree with Lawbooks. Your physician needs to perform some testing to determine the underlying cause of the symptoms, not just treat the symptoms.

Aside from thyroid or endocrine dysfunction, an underlying cardiac or renal problem can cause the increasing edema.

You are right, you need to get with the physician, not the CRNP (nurse practitioner). (Not that I believe the CRNP is not qualified to help you, but you need further testing.) If your physician will not order further testing on endocrine, thyroid, cardiac, and renal function, then you need to get a second opinion, or get another doctor!

Good luck, and PLEASE keep us posted!

start 09.01.03 @225
current 200
goal 130ish

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Tara, I was thinking the same thing. Edema could be signaling a heart or kidney problem too. Get those checked!!!! Sounds like you may need to see a specialist or switch doctors.

Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

Thank you all for your input, comments and suggestions. I will go into my appointment next week with all of the suggestions, mainly I think it is time for a second opinion. As far as what diet meds she had me on which I am no longer on, I took pretty much all of them, like xenical (yuck), and was on Meridia for about a year with no luck. I had hoped that this physician could help me, because after years I had finally found a physician who took the time to listen to me, and that was so important. Now I guess it is time for someone to find the root of the problem and not put me on Prozac (as this one did, but I went off it after a period of time) thinking it was just a depression problem. Thanks again and I will post what I find out

oh my god... prozac...

That might have been the source of some of your problems right there.

If you have to take anti-depressants (as I do), that's one thing. But they can really mess with your appetite and weight. Prozac had a reputation for a brief while, many years ago, as a possible diet aid. And then they found out that it made things worse. Most SSRI class anti-depressants, and Prozac is in that group, are similar in this respect. If you have to take them, you can still lose weight, but they generally won't help you lose faster.

I think you might do better to have your doctor be LESS involved in your weight loss. Have her run regular blood tests on you, which is the most important thing a doctor can do for you on a diet. Just do the low-carb diet. Things like Xenical and Meridia... I don't think they'll help with a low-carb diet. Xenical in particular. That one is a fat blocker, which won't help you at all if you're doing a low-carb diet. The Xenical website will tell you that it's best when combined with a low-fat diet. Meridia, I don't know much about, at this point, but the history of weight loss drugs is a very, very poor one. You're better off doing it au naturel.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."

Ok went for my visit with the doc. She listened as I went in there angry over all this, and she said "we will go from head to toe to find out why this keeps happening". Ok so first thing was a recheck on the thyroid, now I am going in for an adrenal gland test to see if it may be cortisol problems. From there she said she will call and get me in with an endocrinologist, so hopefully the answers are coming soon. Thanks for the advice of everyone, and Ive got my fingers crossed Oh ya she said to keep the water going and was angry that the nurses told me to back down on it! She knows I am sticking to this woe and said to just hang in and she promises results.

Good for you!!! Sounds like she's willing to work with you. Have you done a basal temp reading? What does your temp usually run? A thyroid test can show normal ranges, but yet if your temp runs on the low side, that can be a low thyroid indicator. You might want to get copies of Dr. Diana Schwarzbein's books, The Schwarzbein Principle and Schwarzbein Principle II. Dr. Schwarzbein is an endocrinologist and has written these 2 books. In book II she states that if you are insulin resistant, water retention can be an indicator. Have you been checked for diabetes???????

BTW, how much weight do you need to lose???

Barb
Atkins-3/14/03
174/146/135 5'2"
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."
Knowledge is POWER

[This message was edited by Barb Keith on 12-11-03 at 05:14 AM.]

Yes I do run a low temp usually. They havent tested me for diabetes yet, and I have sheet upon sheet for different blood works coming up. I need to lose about 65 pounds. A note that I forgot to add from the doctor, she told me she had one other patient with the same problems being thyroid, water retention and obesity. She did this cortisol test for adrenal glands and found this was exactly the problem and lost a huge amount of water weight and other weight (40 lbs.) after treatment of this problem.