Ruralgurl,

I am so happy to hear about your pain relief as well! Sometimes you can wonder if you attribute too much to your diet, but I truly don't believe thats the case for us!

I do agree with you, of course, that better health is better than losing weight, but I was so encouraged with the weight loss, I wish I could have turned flips! I sure know I felt it inside.

In answer to your question.. as I said, I felt this was something of a last ditch effort. I wondered perhaps if it was a problem with the protein I was ingesting minus the fat. It was enough of a curiosity for me I just took a deep breath and dove in.

Even though I was facing the possibility of yet another hospital visit, I was banking quite a lot on the fact perhaps it was bad combination choices I had made, ie: protein with little fat and high carbs.

One rule of thumb I remember and repeat almost daily to myself is, "When they take out the fat, they add sugar to adjust the taste". In doing this, I remind myself to keep up on the fats and avoid the sugars like the plague. It helps tons in the store too, I see "low fat" or "non fat" and I steer the other direction.

I think the "low fat" dogma was perhaps well intended, but not in the least bit healthy for our gallbladders, as I have seen in numerous other posts. When the gallbladder is removed, you have a constant trickle of bile through the digestive system. Bile salts are made to digest fats, so the very thing I was avoiding was exactly the right prescription for me.

What I seriously loathe is when a Doctor sees a fat person, and they just *assume* you eat alot of fat. Instead, you can eat carbs and convert it. Instead of taking a few minutes to ask, and to believe what you tell them, they have a condescending attitude and tend to look down their noses, making obese people feel less that human.

I did approach my doctor on several occasions, telling him about the irritation and pain I had when I went to the restroom. He said there was no way it could be irritation from bile, because it is neutralized in the intestines before it even came out. I disagreed though, because food passed through me at most unhealthy speeds. Bile and stomach acid = bad for your tender areas! He just refused to *listen*.

Quite simply, I prayed, I ate, I lost! I knew I was taking a huge risk. I knew I was on my own, but I also took a leap of faith in trusting Dr. Atkins. Seems he was one of the rare gems that had been there and *cared*.

~Fantasia