Hair and Poundage

I've gained about 25 pounds in the last year. This is a combination of several factors. In New York, I was drinking a lot of water a day, and was somewhat active at work, despite it being a mostly sit-down kind of job. I wasn't working out at the time. Then I moved to Michigan. My partner, Nikki, was the only one working, so I couldn't afford my medication. (Too bad I didn't know about Macomb Care Connect at the time, which is a state-funded program which pays for prescriptions and primary care doctor visits.) I was off my hormone meds for almost a year. I got a lot of my strength and energy back. I started working out four to five times a week, for 40 minutes a day.

In May of 2008, I discovered Macomb Care Connect and went back on my meds for a copay of $5 each. I lost my energy again and then starting having pain in my back. I stopped exercising. When the pain in my back went away, I was lazy and stuck in a rut of no exercise. Just the other day, I made the mistake of standing on the bathroom scale. I am now 165 pounds. Ugh. It's distributed throughout my body, so it really isn't that bad, but I wanted to lose weight, not gain it!

The good news is that I went up a cupsize. I was originally a large A cup, or maybe a small B. Now I'm firmly (pun intended) entrenched into B territory. They get in the way sometimes, and I have trouble sleeping on my stomach, and I love it. I went to have a mammogram about a month ago, because I felt a lump in my right breast. It was sore, and I was pretty worried. The clinic told me that I just have lumpy breasts. They're still pretty sensitive.

One of the negative effects I had from being off my hormones, was that some of my hair follicles were reawakened. Before my 50 or so hours of electrolysis, I went for six sessions of laser (actually, MultiLight) treatments. Now these hairs have grown back. The follicles must have been lying dormant, and the testosterone flooding through my system again rejuvenated them. Since starting the hormones again, I can say that some of them have once again gone dormant.

So I found some new personal evidence in the "hormones and facial hair" debate. What I've noticed affected by the hormones is the cheek and "sideburn area." Now back on hormones, I'd say that 1/3 of the hair in those two areas is gone. I still need a lot of work though. I wasn't done with electrolysis, and now I need more than ever! I thank God that all the hairs haven't grown back! The electrolysis seems to be pretty permanent, no matter what hormonal changes have occurred in my body.

Yesterday, I pushed Skylar in the stroller for about four miles. We went to the store to get crickets for our tree frogs, then came back home. I was exhausted, but I was glad to get the exercise, get Skylar out of the house, and give my sweetie a break from our lil' terror. My arms, shoulders and legs got nice and tan too. I would love to get back to the weight that I was at. I can only fit in 25% of my clothes at this point, and I don't have any money to buy more. I don't want my breasts to get smaller though. I really love them at this size, and they really help me to feel feminine.

I want to get a job and start on electrolysis again. I want that so badly. I'm still looking. No giving up here!