Thanks for hanging in there with me for the second part of my story. If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
After 2 years of normal blood work, feeling rundown, and dealing with a myriad of symptoms I was desperate but did not know where to turn. On her way to work, a sweet friend noticed a billboard for a physician who specialized in holistic medicine and hormones. Passing the information on to me, she encouraged me to call. I had nothing left to lose, so I made an appointment.
Surprising and relieving is the best way I can describe the appointment. I finally found a medical doctor who sat down and spoke with me face to face without rushing to the next patient. She requested I fill out a packet of information on my history, symptoms, physical and spiritual wellness. She went through every word with me asking questions and actively listening.
Mentioning some suspicions she had she first addressed some lifestyle changes I needed to make regardless of any diagnosis she might make. Then she began to address my symptoms. The doctor prescribed a regimen of natural supplements to address some small vitamin deficiencies most people have. Then over the course of several appointments she administered tests.
Some of the results were no surprise to me. I had suspected for a long time that I had adrenal fatigue. I am the type of person that pushes my mind and my body to the uttermost limits of its ability. I go, go, go, all of the time, functioning on very little sleep, taking on way too many responsibilities, and regretfully rarely saying no.
I also suspected I might have hypothyroidism connected to the adrenal dysfunction. The thyroid controls hormones. Hormonal imbalances can affect heart rate and rhythm, weight loss, ability sleep, handle stress, and multiple other functions.
What I didn’t know was that I have the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene mutation, which affects the body’s ability to absorb B12 and folate. It causes one to be more likely to have anxiety and increases risk of diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and prohibits the body from being able to detox from toxins in food and the environment.
In a nutshell, all this time I had these weird sensations of something filling up to the brim and then pouring over into anxiety or even a tachycardic episode. Foods that never bothered me before began to give me all sorts of digestive problems and give me an anxious feeling in my stomach. All of the symptoms I was having are connected. The thyroid is connected to the adrenals which are connected to hormones which affect every system in the body.
Feeling relieved, I finally had answers to so many questions and prayers. However, that was just the beginning of my journey. I had a long road of lifestyle changes ahead of me.
- I still spend time in prayer and reading my Bible each morning, but now I incorporate more praise, worship, and Christian meditation focusing on connecting to and listening to God while I take time to do deep breathing to de-stress.
- I take about a dozen herbs, vitamins, and natural supplements each day, and I have always hated taking anything resembling medicine.
- I no longer eat cheat meals or foods. I rarely did anyway, but those few times when I ate gluten or sugar before resulted in anxiety, illness, fatigue, and a buildup of toxins in my system.
- I take a detox bath at least twice a week to rid my body of toxins.
- I drink more water to flush out toxins.
- I am much more intentional about how I spend my time. I have learned I cannot do everything everyone expects or asks of me. I prioritized and removed some tasks from my busy schedule. I’ve learned to say no.
- I am much more in tune with my body and how it responds to certain foods or stress.
- I’ve learned how detrimental it can be to tax your body with high impact exercise. I still exercise 3-4 times a week, but it’s in a gentle form. I go for a low impact walk or do Christian yoga, spending that time concentrating more on my relationship with God than my physical body.
- I’ve come to realize how I react to things affects my health. Instead of reacting negatively, I purpose to react positively and to not allow my stress level explode as it did before.
- I’ve learned that many of the cleaning products and beauty products I was using contain toxins that are dangerous for everyone, but especially for those who do not naturally detox. I have begun slowly, but surely changing from conventional products to natural ones.
- Most importantly, I’ve begun teaching my children these techniques so they can avoid becoming victims of their genetics.
- I began studying healing in the Bible and books by Christian authors, and learned how physical healing is connected to your spirit. One book I highly recommend is Switch On Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf.
This is not the end of my battle story or my journey. Every day is a choice to choose to live better spiritually and physically so I can serve my Heavenly Father, my family, my community, and myself better. I’m grateful The Lord has helped me with the opportunity to share this journey with all of you. After researching, I realized I am not alone. There are so many of you out there with the same or similar experiences.
My prayer is that my journey will encourage you. No one wants to go through these struggles, but if I’m going to endure something I want it to count. I want it to be an encouragement or even help with prevention in some way.
The enemy would love nothing better than to see us discouraged and debilitated. I’m not going to let that happen in my life. I want my children to have a better example. Let’s rally together, encourage one another, and heal our bodies and spirits.