Journeying....

Well, it has been almost exactly 1 year since I blogged. What a crazy, great, challenging, enlightening year! I have run into so many people lately who have asked me if I am still blogging. Then, I had another group of people reach out to me after a couple of Facebook posts. So, the blog is reborn...at least for this post!

One year later where am I? Still on the journey. I guess that was part of the reason I stopped blogging. Everything I was doing stopped working for awhile with my health so I became completely frustrated. The more I researched, the more overwhelmed I got, the more frustrated I became and the more my body got cranky! Fast forward a few months and a couple of very upsetting experiences put me over the edge. Enough was enough. I was keeping my anxiety at a tolerable level but not good. I had randomly gained 10 pounds in 1 week that could not be explained as more than inflammation. BUT WHY???? I kept trying to find the person that could help me figure it out. My diet was sound, how in the world does a person just puff up? And, without knowing the reason, it took away my knowledge of how to get rid of it. Don't even get me started on GI unhappiness. So, I decided to try a different approach. But first, let me warn you...the ugly truth is coming so be kind.

The time leading up to this we got hit with one financial stress after another. If it wasn't braces, it was the car, or the garage door, or ....you name it and we probably had to cough up the coin to pay for it. We had to laugh but deep down this was very stressful on both Brad and I. Throw money stress on top of challenging experiences on top of health issues and you get one really ugly recipe for disaster. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely some blessings that came from this. One thing that was a big blessing was that Brad and I ended up on the same page with so many things. We partnered together in the stress instead of dividing. Side note....we both listen to KLOVE all the time and it is a huge source of comfort for us both. It is also a great connection Brad and I have throughout the day. I know he is hearing some of the same things that I am and we can talk about it. Anyway . .. just a little nugget in the journey!

As many of you know, I was already going to acupuncture so I continued that fairly regularly. Of course I worked hard at the gym and focused on my diet. Once I hit the "enough is enough" moment, I found a counselor. It was time to talk through some of this craziness and put it in a nice neat package. She has been a huge benefit to me. Though I believe my boundaries as a parent are strong, my personal boundaries were not. So we did a lot of work on boundaries. Figuring out what is and is not ok in my life. It has been so helpful in our house to have more clarity with this. It has also been very helpful to have an unbiased party to either call me on the carpet or help me understand why I do not have to be tolerant of certain behaviors from others and how to handle it. Huge blessing for sure!

My doctor had thrown out adrenal fatigue as a contributing factor to what I was dealing with but that was all she did. Just mentioned it and did not go father with a plan to heal it. So I researched on my own and started tackling some of the things suggested. One huge one is to eliminate stressors in life. Are you kidding me? How does a mom with 2 jobs, 3 kids, a husband and friends as well as activities eliminate stressors?? As much as I love my life, it is crazy and stressful! So, I started chipping away slowly. I took a hiatus from book club (not back yet but hopefully someday!), we cut down on social engagements, we eliminated activities on weeknights beyond those the kids are involved in, we planned many more family nights, Brad and I talked more about who does what in the house, etc. I had to really look at the things I wanted to do vs the things I felt I had to do. Golf . . . my family loves to golf. I suck at it. I started looking at the time it would take for me to become decent and it became a stress. I really had to work through it and realize that it is ok for me to put it aside for now. I can still walk with my family while they play and right now I prefer that! I approached a few things this way. It has been liberating to remove the guilt and just accept where I am. It has also helped me be less resentful of the things I have to do.

Anxiety was still on my radar and wreaking havoc on my body. Finally I gave in and started taking medication for it. After all of the natural approaches and work I had been doing, here I had to add a chemical. UGH! But, I have to say, getting the anxiety under wraps is HUGE. I don't feel like I am sitting on the edge of an active volcano at every moment. Big big big relief.

With all of this I still continued to believe everything was tied together . .. .thyroid, hormones, adrenals, migraines, anxiety. I 100% believe there is a connect but what is it? I finally was so fed up with the whole thing I just ignored it all. I kept up my healthy eating, exercising, calmer schedule, etc but I really tried to stop obsessing about it all.

As we moved into fall I was starting to hit a wall. I kept pushing through it but it got harder and harder. My workouts became really challenging, my back started acting up again, my migraines started picking up, I was exhausted all the time, and on and on. It just continued to get worse. By December my doctor ordered blood work to check my thyroid and so begins my current installment of the journey. I don't share all of this to complain and gripe about my issues. If anything that is what has kept me from sharing all this time. Who wants to listen to this? What I do know and others have encouraged, it that many of us are on this or similar journeys. If my struggles, research and learning can help somebody else, it truly is worth it to me. Sometimes it is just nice to know that you are not alone!

Back to December....old doctor retired so met with the gal that took over for her to go over my blood work and the doctor is floored. My T4 is in the tank, my reverse T3 is bad, my testosterone is almost non existent, vitamin D scary low, etc. Nothing we were doing was working. My body simply was not absorbing anything. Hashimoto's was fighting back with a vengeance. So we switched my thyroid meds to see if that would help, we revisited supplements and my diet. Then she had me do a SIBO test. That came back negative. The next test is a GI effects test. Let me back up for just a minute. One very crucial element is Gut Health. I am a firm believer the the gut is our second brain. Thankfully my doctor is a believer as well. So the SIBO test looks at the upper intestines and the GI effects looks at the lower. I will have those results in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, she took me off everything and we are starting from scratch. At the same time she tested my adrenal glands. The results were full blown crashed adrenals. Severe adrenal fatigue. FINALLY something to explain all of this. Completely makes sense so how do we fix it? Well . . .there is the challenge. It is a long road to recovery.

So here is where I am today.... 3 weeks ago I started eating a very strict diet of Meat, Veggies (minus night shades) and fruit. Grapefruit is my best friend right now. You can see the list of ok foods but looking up www.whole30.com and click on the shopping lists. I am following the autoimmune shopping list. I can honestly say that those people who try to tell you that 21 days is enough to get over a sugar addiction are smoking crack! I want chocolate so badly right now...grrr. But, I am sticking to it. I drink a glass of salt water every morning to support my adrenals, have liquid licorice also for adrenal support, vitamin d in liquid form, testosterone, DHEA and added apple cider vinegar yesterday. That, along with my thyroid meds is it. I also have added chiropractor and massage. I am only allowed to walk and stretch, no other exercise. And I am supposed to rest as much as possible. Her comment to me was that my body is very sick and I need to treat it as such. So, we are. We are spending a lot of time as a family. We have really quiet weekends (this is nice!). I take naps when I can. Brad is a rock star and stepping up even more than normal. Do I feel good? No. Am I feeling better than a month ago? Yes. Do I have a long way to go . . .yup. But, I feel like I am on the right track. One perk .. .I lost 7 pounds in 3 weeks. Obviously some food was part of the issue with the inflammation. Sugar, alcohol and other allergens are huge stressors to the adrenals. It is interesting and I am learning a lot. A couple of great books that I have read are The Root Cause of Hashimotos and The Adrenal Fatigue Reset Diet.

I know so many of you are trying to put your puzzle together as well. It is hard! Stick with it and find the right support. I have been so blessed by some good friends and family support. I can't wait to be on the other side of this to know what is really going to work. But, for now, I have to have faith that I am doing the right things. Wow . . cliff notes for the year! I could go on and on but this is enough for now. Not very exciting and not incredibly articulate ....we will blame brain fog. But, hopefully you get the basics. For those who have reached out, I am truly honored that you want to share in my research. I am so glad it is going to good use! Cheers to each of you as we journey to wellness together!