Arm Shrinkage

I know where some of the weight loss I experienced in the past few months occurred. My left arm. I did notice that both arms seem skinnier than before but just now, I realized there was a huge difference between the two arms. There is much more flabby skin near the left armpit, and the circumference of the left arm at various points is smaller than the right arm. That’s kind of weird since I’ve been trying to not use the right arm as much due to the fistula. During cardiac rehabilitation, I didn’t notice the left arm being weaker than the right arm. I’m not sure how this discrepancy came to be.

Trying to find a tape measure…

Hmm, it’s actually difficult to measure your arm circumference by yourself. I didn’t measure myself previously but I think my biceps were >12 inches in circumference. The left arm is definitely smaller than the right arm. It’s kind of weird that the right arm gets a bit smaller above the elbow. I’m going to blame the fistula for swelling my arm and veins in the lower arm but 1.5 inch difference mid-bicep is strange.

I feel kind of stuck in limbo. I can’t eat well so I may not be getting enough protein and nutrients. This is leading to a continued gradual weight loss. Even with my dry weight down a few kgs, my ankles are still swollen so maybe there’s excess fluids somewhere? Even if I exercised more, will I pick up muscle mass even if I’m not eating enough? More protein shakes (they suck)? More Nepro? Feels like I’m going in circles with no way to break out other than a kidney transplant and we know how well that’s coming along.

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Heh! I can’t believe I got out of bed to measure my arms and blog about it at midnight. I was kind of busy with work today so didn’t nap very much, probably only from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. I’m really tired and hungry (skipped breakfast and lunch, and had 1/2 of dinner due to chipped tooth) and need to get up in 4.5 hours.