Why the blog name change?

I felt that I was at a point where my blog needed some sprucing up and I was concerned that "Rebecca's Blog" wasn't going to get the traffic I desired. So I posted on Facebook that I needed help with coming up with a new name for my blog. The two options that I liked the best out of the suggestions were "Rebecca Rebuilt" and "Becky Brings It". I was most drawn to "Rebecca Rebuilt" but I commented that I am not done with my weight loss journey so I am not completely "rebuilt". The final suggestion was "Rebuilding Rebecca" and there was the new name of my blog.

I felt that this name was absolutely perfect not just because of my weight loss journey. I began my journey because of medical conditions. I wouldn't say that I was necessarily "broken" but I was in need of "fixing". In November 2008, I was diagnosed with IgA Nephropathy (IgAN), a rare autoimmune-like disease in which immunoglobin A is deposited in the kidneys and eventually damages the glomeruli or the filters in the kidneys. I had no symptoms for years up until that previous March when I was racked with horrible flank pain on my right side and constant and persistent nausea (we later discovered that this last symptom was due to a gluten sensitivity and have been gluten free now for 16 months). It took my doctors 8 months to figure it out after seeing numerous specialists and enduring multiple tests including CAT scans, urological tests, and finally a renal biopsy. Some individuals with IgAN have a more aggressive form of the disease and progress through the stages of chronic kidney disease to end stage renal disease requiring dialysis and/or transplant. Others, like me, have a nonaggressive form that may never progress to chronic kidney disease.  However, my nephrologist (a kidney specialist that I now see on a regular basis) has warned me that my disease could turn aggressive at any point and often times without warning. I am determined to keep it nonaggressive.

I remember being very angry when I was first diagnosed. How could this be happening to me and more importantly why was it happening now. I had just begun my first semester of my first year in the PhD program. I was on the road to becoming the future academic at a Tier I university and I was scared about how this new "development" was going to interfere with our plans.

My nephrologist began my treatment with ACE inhibitors, medication that lowers blood pressure and has been shown to slow the progression of damage to the kidneys. However, I wasn't reacting to this medication very well and even on the lowest dose possible I was constantly dizzy and couldn't think clearly which didn't help with school or work. She subsequently took me off this medication. The pain, however, never subsided and with the constant stress of the PhD program, it only made things worse.

For two years while I was busy completing my coursework I endured the constant pain, nausea, muscle weakness, exhaustion, confusion, and inability to concentrate. This was not like me, I was not one to let something control me or my future path. The final straw came after the second round of prednisone treatment I was prescribed to deal with the pain. The first time I was prescribed prednisone, I didn't have many bad reactions. My appetite was increased but that was about it. The second time, however, was dramatically different. Instead of gradually stepping up the doses as in the first time, the second time I was given the pack where you start out with the highest dose on the first day and gradually decrease the doses. This time the side effects were ridiculous. I was constantly hungry, restless, and angry. I was a bitch on this medication!! I also couldn't sleep at all. Normally, I would have been excited about insomnia so that I could get some work done, especially at the end of my coursework. This insomnia was unproductive. I couldn't concentrate at all and my mind was racing. I had enough. I made the decision at this point that I was done with letting this disease control me. I was going to control it. I was in charge of my destiny and my future and I wasn't going to let this disease take away all that I had worked so hard to accomplish.

So, that following month after my courses were complete and I had time to decompress from the semester, I went on a gluten free diet and joined the BAC with a friend. It took time, but the weight started coming off and gradually I felt better. The pain subsided as did the nausea and I was beginning to transform before my very eyes.

Now, I am 53 pounds lighter, running again (Yay!), completed 4 5K races, and am a Zumba instructor at the Eastern Hills BAC. I never thought when I joined the gym that I would be employee of the gym. I am so much healthier now and I eat better than I ever have before. I concentrate on getting at least 8 glasses of water in a day and 6 servings of fruits and vegetables. I rarely eat fried foods since I need to be concerned about cross contamination and also because fried foods contain acrylamide, something I do not want in my body. I work out 5-6 days a week doing various activities such as strength training, TRX, boxing, running, spinning, and Zumba. Sometimes I'm at the gym for hours or make multiple trips. I have found a new passion with health and fitness and I want to learn everything I can about living a healthy lifestyle and am working to incorporate more of that into my future plans. I am constantly thinking about and searching for our next 5K and considering additional fitness certifications. Three years ago, when I was extremely overweight and unhealthy I never thought I would be thinking about training for a 10K or half marathon.

So I am on my way to being "rebuilt". I may never be whole again because of my disease but I can at least make myself 99% rebuilt. The point is that I feel like I am in control and I know the warning signs of a flare up. And even if that 1% is missing, I still feel stronger than I ever have before.