As you can see from the title of this blog, my name is
Paige. I am a 27 year old Canadian prairie girl. During the 2ish years of this blogs life, it has seen me through
some very tough times and some pretty great ones. I have written about my battles with health,
friendships, travel experiences and even some political events that I felt
needed talking about. Though my posts are far and fewer between, I still love
knowing that it is there should I need to write down what I am thinking.
At the beginning of
this blog I had just started a journey to trying to lose weight. I wasn't
unhappy with myself; I was just craving freedom to do things that my size
prevented. In the process I was referred to a clinic in Edmonton that
specialized in adult obesity and in turn, Bariatric Surgery. I have been going
for almost three years and they have managed to discover that I suffer from two diseases
that made it really easy for me to put on weight and nearly impossible to lose
it. In March 2015 I was diagnosed with Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and
in March 2016 I was diagnosed with Iron Refractory Iron Deficient Anaemia
(IRIDA).
PCOS is not what you think it is. It is not always just
having cysts on your ovaries, though they are an inevitability. The disease
most commonly starts out with a rapid weight gain for no apparent reason and
issues with irregularity in your periods. I always suffered from irregular lady
problems and even though my weight seemed like it was gradual, I ballooned
around puberty and had another balloon around 18, which the doctors classified
as “rapid”. Another part of PCOS is your body’s inability to process your insulin.
Unlike diabetes, where your body can’t produce insulin, PCOS people can make a
bunch of insulin; their body just doesn't know how to use it causing chemical
and hormonal imbalances. I have been on Metformin, which seems to help correct
this issue.
IRIDA is a genetic
mutation in my DNA that prevents me from orally absorbing Iron; I can only
absorb it parenterally (through an IV directly into my blood stream). There is
no cure for this because it is hard wired into me. It was such a relief to get
the diagnosis, because it is easily managed and not life threatening. After
years of severe anaemia, it was great to finally have an answer. This is an extremely
rare disorder and not much research has been done on management, aside from the
IV treatment. IRIDA also comes with issues like low oxygen levels, which makes
it harder for my body to rebound after exertion and fatigue, both of which make
exercise a challenge.
After all this, I decided that with such a high risk of not
losing weight on my own, I was going to have Bariatric Surgery. My surgery was on January 10th, 2017 and it has been the hardest and best thing I have ever done in my life. I am hoping to keep you as informed and updated on my post-op life through this blog.
In June 2015, I started a YouTube channel with my bestie
Laura. I didn't realize when I started how much time it takes to make a video
and that has kept me from writing on here as much as I would like. Though we
haven’t gotten the “fame” we hoped for, I love our little channel and can’t
wait to see where it takes us. Be sure to check it out on YouTube – Lipstick & Liquor.
Thanks for reading this far and if any of this interests
you, make sure to read some posts. If you like sage words of wisdom check out my
Motivational Monday entries. If you like cooking and food; I have a backlog of
Tasty Tuesday posts. There is something for everyone and I hope that there is a
lot more to come. I have yet to write extensively about my high end makeup addiction and my "closeted" love of fashion and even in depth about my health. My hope is that my struggles and successes help you with yours!! Cheersies.
For Business Inquires / Sponsorship / Advertsing: PaigeDalgliesh@GMAIL.COM
For Business Inquires / Sponsorship / Advertsing: PaigeDalgliesh@GMAIL.COM