I was hospitalised
Hey
So for the past few weeks I've been having back pain and general bone pain, mainly in my ribs and legs. I was worried it could have been developing gallstones or pancreatitis, but the pain was never severe levels so I decided to monitor it.
I went back home abroad a couple weeks ago to see my family and although I didn't overeat, I was definitely eating better and more variety (Mediterranean food). Then a week after getting back (this Thursday gone), I had slept in until afternoon and had a dizzy spell in the shower. I cooked dinner and ate around 5-5.30pm, being sure to drink a big glass of water too, assuming I had been dehydrated from sleeping in longer and that.
My partner and I were due to go to a comedy show in town in evening and when I was walking from the bus stop to the venue, I suddenly felt anxious, or what anxiety feels like. My head was fuzzy and my heart and breathing felt off, my blood running cold, cold sweats etc. This just got worse even when we had gotten there and had been sitting for 10-15 mins. The show hadn't even started before I went to toilet and whilst sat, terrible pins and needles took over my legs. I wiped and got up but barely made it out before I felt weak and dizzy and had to rush back to have diarrhoea. But then the numbness and pins and needles were in my arms and legs, and even my face and head. My hands spasmed so badly, they turned in on themselves, unable to stop them and I couldn't stand or move myself. It was hard to speak too. I needed to be lift into a wheelchair by someone else to go hospital.
I was diagnosed with hypophosphatemia, which is severely low levels of phosphate to the point it can be fatal (coma and death). But it causes muscle and bone pain, spasms and can cause breathing issues etc. Because it has a lot of causes, doctors believe I had gone hypoglycemic from not having eaten enough/soon enough in the day and then the body trying to correct this then drops phosphate levels. I had to be on an IV drip for 24hrs, not including the near 10 hours I'd spent in a&e before being admitted.
My liver blood tests were fine. Nothing indicating any issues with my pancreas etc. They also didn't see any severe deficiencies in other vitamins and things, so one dr didn't suspect it was from bad diet. They need to check my bloods again in a couple weeks to see if its a chronic thing and this has been a long time coming. And malnutrition/starvation periods is a common cause of chronic hypophosphatemia, as well as vitamin D deficiency (which I think most of us in UK have).
Just posting this for anyone else who frequently fasts or forgets to eat enough calories or generally in the day. Mounjaro is really good at lowering blood sugars, it can be easy to forget it can go the other way entirely. I know I have struggled to eat enough calories most days. I have lost 60lbs since August, which isn't fast but it is still substantial loss. And weight loss generally can also be a risk factor.
Now, honestly, I'm kinda terrified to keep on with mounjaro. My hba1c came back at 34 when last checked. I struggle to eat enough without feeling too full/nauseous when I'm on a working dose. I am on 10mg and have only gone up a dose when the food noise and hunger cravings were crawling back with lower doses. My partner definitely wants me off it because she's been the one to see me in the few sorry states it has had me in, including this now with hospitalisation. She's scared of me getting worse or it ever happening again, and so am I.
Thoughts? I am wondering if I should spend the money it costs to hire a PT and get a consult with a nutritionist. I know its best to ween off, but I am not lying when I say I felt like I was going to die that night, and on a dirty toilet floor no less. I am terrified of being fat again too. Because I have PCOS and worry the hunger and cravings will demolish any progress. Just feel stuck between a rock and hard place.