What a deal I got

Today I paid only 30€ for what appears to be a case of calcium. I'm used to buying those little boxes of Calcium tablets from the drugstore and all of a sudden I'm getting this bulky pack of fizzy/effervescent tablets (Brausetabletten) - I mean, there are actually only 100 of them but these things are so much bigger and are heavy enough that it felt like I was really committing myself to this way of taking calcium. So, I hope I like the taste more than I did with the Potassium ones they had me taking while in the hospital...

Why do I need so much calcium?

As part of my post-operative treatment I've been taking hydrocortisone pills as a means of cortisol substitution and am expected to be on it for the long term. Although my doctor's had me decreasing it over the months, I'm not producing enough cortisol and it's highly likely that I'll be subbing in the hydrocortisone for as long as my body and mind have any stresses to deal with. The problem is, various types of cortisol substitutes like this one are known to reduce calcium uptake and/or reduce bone mass; meaning they increase the incidence of osteoporosis. Which is why the tablets I dragged home today are loaded with 1000mg of calcium each and had to be picked up at a pharmacy.

The other major side effect? Weight gain. I didn't want to and still don't plan to turn this into a weight loss blog. But to be honest, I have gained a significant amount of weight since the operation (and most of that was probably still sometime thereafter - it's not like hospital food is that appealing or anything). Although this is part of my motivation for running quite a bit lately and going to the gym, I was also getting really fed up with how out of shape I felt (and I guess how I couldn't fit into my jeans anymore). 

I decided if I was going to get back into running, I was going to do it right. I got Johannes to register in a 10km run at the end of April with me to help my motivation a bit, then I made myself a training schedule and set to work running at least 3 times a week over the past month. Because of everything my body's been through this past year, I'm still feeling great about my decision to be in training for a 10km run for 3 months. Plus, it's the journey that really counts, isn't it?