Kicking & Screaming My Way to Health: symptoms

Showing posts with label symptoms. Show all posts

I never thought I’d do this

I never thought I’d do this.

I have to say… I was not this person.

When I heard people say, “Oh Equal is poison, you really shouldn’t use it!” I thought, “Yeah, whatever! If there is a problem with this stuff it will happen to me because I use so much of it.” And went haughtily on my merry way. Because honestly, if I listen to everything everyone says I would live in a bubble on air. The one issue with the internet is that there is so much information and much of it is contradictory. We need to learn to find information that resonates as true and be willing to vet the sources to confirm our facts. Remember the old warning “Anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.” (try teaching that to kids who start using the internet and are viewing these clever marketing ads tempting them to give information to win a non-existent prize.

I am going off on a tangent there.

I was saying that I’m not this person. I was the “I will eat what I want, when I want and as much as I want person. “ I didn’t ration myself or try to limit food. I tried to eat protein with sugar so I didn’t get a headache, but still.

I don’t exercise, I eat what I want, I have poor sleep habits.

It does catch up with you.

Perhaps pain and discomfort are the only thing some of us will listen to. I joke that God often needs a 2x4 to get my attention. Not because He needs to yell at me but because I force Him to that point. I keep pushing back and God cares enough to ride it out with me. (Thank you God!)

So… why am I changing?

I had headaches every single day.
I was on 2 asthma medications that were giving me bad side effects. (Including a 25lb weight gain and thrush. If you don’t know what thrush is; count yourself fortunate.)
I have no actual energy but I am hyper all the time.
I can’t focus.
I’m fat. I was OK with this for a long time, but my weight hit a point where I was now physically uncomfortable. Sitting in a restaurant, just being… I was aware of the weight and I was uncomfortable. So that got my attention.
Ultimately, this systemic candida outbreak was the clincher for me. As I read about it, I am overwhelmed by the information and the steps necessary to kill this tiny replicating demon. It is subversive and evil. However, the symptoms are bad enough that I was finally willing to make some of the bigger changes.

SUGAR

I’ve talked about what I’m giving up. Some of the changes I’ve made.

· Less sugar, lowering the amount in my coffee.

· Drinking more water.

· Going on supplements.

· Stopping soda.

· No longer drinking sugary drinks.

· No dessert and candy.

My life that sounds miserable when I look back.

I don’t feel miserable though! I feel excited.

I’ve made these changes slowly over a year. Taking on one thing at a time (sometimes several things, but I find that leads to failure pretty quickly). It’s been a one step forward, half a step back, 2 steps forward, 2 steps back… and so on. But at the end of this past year, I’m in a better place than I was and I’m only counting the progress.

The Bloodwork

Over Christmas I had a blood work panel done by my acupuncturist/nutritionist (Kaci).

I've seen "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" and I'm not that guy. (Though I do want a juicer even with no strong belief that I could/would drink the concoctions they come up. I am way less motivated and way more stuck. Still...I've been mentally preparing myself for this for probably a year. I guess it's time.

I have a condition/disease whatever you want to call it, called PCOS or Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. (If you are interested in what that means, click the link.)

This PCOS I have had from teen hood. I stopped having a normal cycle by Jr High and things never really improved.

It took me a long time to get pregnant (years) and I had 1 miscarriage (that I know of) before being blessed with a pregnancy that I almost miscarried (another story), but because I was seeing a fertility specialist I went full term with some extra hormones to keep my body going.

PCOS, left untreated (which mine has been for years) can lead to some pretty significant and life altering health problems.

Weight gain, insulin resistance, thyroid issues, and heart disease being among the top.
Not to mention mood disorders, skin issues, lethargy.

If you read more on PCOS you learn that it is being understood far more in the past 10 years than in previous generations. As we learn more about the human body and, I believe, step away from only focusing on specialization and moving towards understanding the body as a whole; we will gain more control of our health.

OK, this really isn't about PCOS, but it is a big part of my medical condition. Do bad habits play a large part in my current health? YES!! I am the first (OK, maybe the second) to admit that I don't eat well, eat wrong, starve myself all morning and don't eat until lunch and want sugar constantly! None of this helps me avert disaster.

I am here. On the precipice of change.

My blood work came back and I have thyroid issues. It's still technically working OK, but behind the scenes there has been a massive layoff in workers. Given time, my thyroid will give in to the imbalance.

I'm deficient in many things, including iron, Vitamin D and a bunch of other things. (I'm too lazy currently to go look them up. Perhaps I'll offer my lab work in another post).
Triglycerides are high as is my cholesterol.
I am now insulin resistant and apparently having adrenal exhaustion. (poor little guys)

How do I feel?
I don't feel good honestly.
I'm tired and cranky all the time.
The medication I need to maintain some level of health and sanity interferes with my ability to think as quickly as I used to.
I ache.
I get chronic yeast and bladder infections.
I'm hot all the time. (I don't like being hot!)
There is probably more.

The biggest deal for me is the impact it's having on my family and my marriage. I've become increasingly more sedentary and unwilling to participate in activities. This has put a strain on my marriage especially and I want to have this great marriage!!! I've tried so many other things and feel strongly that God has been working on me for a long time to make these changes. I am a slow learner apparently (or just plain stubborn!).

So, here I go!