Here I Am

I have been feeling super optimistic and motivated lately. I know this time of year always does that to me but man, I just feel excited. For lack of anything else to blog about (I keep starting posts and deleting them because they just tend to ramble) I thought I'd share that.

I think it may just be getting healthier in general--which is ironic because I have a nasty cold right now. A little over a year ago I was so fed up with feeling "off" all the time. I could cry if someone looked at me wrong, I felt kind of "blah" all the time, had no motivation whatsoever, was tired all the time, and I felt attacked all the time due to anxiety. I figured it must be a hormone imbalance. I went to see a wellness consultant that I had heard about in Marquette. I had just started searching online for a cause for all the symptoms I had. I came up with adrenal fatigue which I had never heard of before but I had nearly every single symptom. And there a lot. In fact, I had symptoms that I didn't even know were symptoms--freezing cold or claustrophobically hot when other people were comfortable, very dry skin, weak muscles in my hands and feet. Anyways, I got to the appointment and I was crazy anxious even though I really wanted to be there and as soon as I was alone in the room with Valerie, I just started bawling. Partially from anxiety, partially from relief that I was finally getting help with something that I've dealt with for literally, as long as I can remember. Before saying anything about my research, she immediately recognized adrenal fatigue. After a very long appointment, I left with many tips for eating better, which supplements and vitamins I needed to take, and the fact that I most likely had low thryoid as well. After plenty of research regarding the thryroid, I'm quite confident that that was a big part of my problem as well. Also, from what I've learned, the adrenal and thryoid are very closely affected by one another so it was important to get both of them in balance.

Side note: I did see a medical doctor after my visit with Valerie and after waiting 2 hours for her to see me, she was ready to write me a prescription for an anti-depressant. I'm glad that I didn't listen.

I followed her advice and sloooowly started feeling normal. For the first time in my life. My anxiety was way better, I actually cared about things that I should care about. Like seeing family and friends, going out, doing stuff, living, yeah, that's important yet, it wasn't something that meant very much to me because I just felt so "blah" all the time. I just didn't really care about anything. It took a lot to get me excited but not much to make me feel down.

Fast forward a few months, I got pregnant with sweet little Isaac, fast forward a few more months, I started seeing our current chiropractor. (I can't remember if I mentioned it before but chiropractic plays a big role in preventing breach babies.) Ever since I started getting adjusted regularly (3 times a week at first, then twice, then once, and now every other week) I have been feeling even better. Like a hundred times better that when I thought I was feeling better. I actually plan stuff now! Amazing! I mean really, that sounds so simple, everybody plans stuff right? But I didn't. If someone invited me to go somewhere I usually went but not before I thought really hard about an excuse to stay home. And I never initiated anything. It's not that I didn't want to hang out, it just felt like such a hassle and I was totally content to stay home. Nowadays, I'm always up for doing something with my friends. I'm also super motivated to get projects, cleaning, cooking, etc done at home--something I used to drag my feet over. I feel so much happier. It's so unusual for me to feel down or "blah" now that I can usually step back and figure out what caused it. (Sugar is usually the culprit there.)

While I give most of the credit to getting adjusted, I've made other changes as well. We switched over to natural personal care products (for me, the shorter the list, the better) we're eating more fruits and vegetable than I've ever eaten in my life--mostly organic. We eat a low-grain diet with plenty of protein and most recently, we cut out wheat and dairy. I mean, we have it every once in a while but it's not a regular thing anymore. If you would have told me even 3 years ago that we would make changes like this, I wouldn't have believed you. It has been so worth it. Most of the symptoms of low thyroid and adrenal fatigue are gone and every.single.symptom. has improved. No medication needed.

I still have a ways to go as far as my health is concerned, but sometimes when I stop to think about it, I am just blown away with how crappy I felt for so long, all the while thinking that it was normal and there was nothing I could do about it. Example: when Isaac was born I had more energy than I had pre-motherhood. I never needed naps and I felt so awake even with waking up several times a night to nurse.

I've wanted to share this for quite a while now and today I just decided to start typing. There are a lot of gaps in my story but feel free to ask any questions. I know this isn't an uncommon malady but I do know that a lot of people live with it, many, like me, not even realizing that they can feel any different.

Like I said at the beginning, I feel so much more optimistic these days. Jeff just mentioned the other day that I'm so much happier than I used to be. I think he likes me better this way. ;)