This is a picture of desperation.
For over two years I have felt lame. No energy. Brain fog. Pins and needles in my hands. I don’t sleep well. Anxiety has surfaced. An overall general feeling of malaise. Things haven’t been quite right.
I’ve been to half a dozen doctors…general practitioners, hormone doctors, sleep doctors, energy healers…I’ve tried just about everything short of fire walking.
Last summer, I got to a point where I couldn’t work out without a three-hour nap afterward. So I canceled my gym membership, and I took the fall off from hard physical exercise.
By the time the new year came around, I was feeling much better, so I renewed the gym membership and found myself back in boot camp filled with determination to make 2019 a better year. I was determined to feel good again.
I eased myself into exercise, and I decided to eat the Mediterranean way…whole foods with lots of veggies. I was off to a good start. I set the framework of success for health but didn’t give it my entire attention during January. I had bigger fish to fry catching up with work stuff.
Then two weeks ago, I was finishing up boot camp one morning, and we were supposed to finish with a mile run.
I haven’t been on a run for six months, but I pumped out a mile. As I neared the end of the mile, I decided to go for three miles. I used to run three-four miles five days a week, and I wanted to see if all that muscle memory talk was true.
I did it. It was hard, but I felt delighted to crank it out.
I skipped boot camp the next morning and opted for another 3-mile run.
It was MUCH harder than the day before.
And when I got home, I crawled into bed…and spent the next four days there. It took all day resting to have enough energy to be a mom when my boys got home in the late afternoon. By the next morning, I was back in bed.
I felt SO deflated. And frustrated. And irritated. I have so many things I want and need to do. What is wrong with me? Do I have cancer? Chronic fatigue? MS? Fibromyalgia?
I have spent HUNDREDS of hours in the last few years google the same symptoms:
Easily Fatigued
Extreme Lethargy
Pins and Needles
Anxiety
Brain Fog
It turns out these symptoms have about a bazillion causes from failing livers to under active thyroids to low kidney disease to depression and Multiple Sclerosis.
But I didn’t fit all of the other symptoms accompanying these conditions.
As I searched again last week, I found what I feel fit me perfectly.
Adrenal Fatigue.
I’ve carried too much stress for far too long. I’ve spent fifteen years bringing home the bacon, making ends meet, nurturing kids and friendships and creating a great home life.
And now my body is TIRED. At a soul and cell level. I need to put down my burdens and rest.
This is a highly inconvenient time to rest and relax. It’s difficult to make the stress go away if you aren’t busy checking the stressful things off of your to-do list.
I’ve read about Adrenal Fatigue before and ordered supplements in the past, but I can’t really just make the stress disappear. Life keeps serving up things that need my attention.
I spent a lot of time last week lying in bed reading about Adrenal Fatigue. I am ready to do WHATEVER it takes to feel well again. To have pep in my step again. To feel energetic again.
In this case, it looks like it will take some serious simplifying and stress management as well as a VERY nutrition based diet.
I am on it.
Here’s a list of all the information I could gather to help support my body in the recovery process. I pulled out the supplement basket from the last two years and took out every useful thing.
I ordered a half a dozen additional supplements last week, but everything else in my kitchen has been there….from the coconut oil to the juicer to the spirulina…telltale signs of a woman desperate to feel better.
GUT HEALTH
Apple Cider Vinegar
Sauerkraut
Kefir (Milk/Water)
Fermented Foods
Pre/Probiotics
OMEGAS
Olive Oil
Avocado Oil
Fish Oil
Coconut Oil
Flaxseed Oil
SUPERFOODS
Blackstrap Molasses
Barley Grass
Hawaiian Spirulina
Chia Seed
Kelp
Turmeric
BLOOD SUGAR STABILIZERS
Benfotiamine
Berberine
Ceylon Cinnamon
Cayenne
ADAPTOGENS FOR HORMONES AND ADRENALS
Ashwagandha
Holy Basil
Licorice Root
Siberian Ginseng
Rhodiola
DHEA
Other Important Vitamins and Minerals
B-1……………….………Nerves and Blood
B-6…………………..…..Stress Management
B-12………………..…….Nerves and Blood
Magnesium Glycinate….Nerves and Blood
Vitamin C………………..Iron Absorption
Chromium……………….Blood Sugar
Calcium………………….Bones and
Vitamin D…………….….Strong Bones
Zinc………………………Immune System
Potassium Chelate…….Kidneys and Nerves
Milk Thistle……………..Good for Liver
Iron………………………Blood and Energy
Selenium………………..Thyroid
Pink Sea Salt
CONTAINS LOADS OF NUTRIENTS
Beef Spleen
Beef Liver
Beef Kidney
Beef Thymus
ESSENTIAL OILS
Lemon in water
And a Bazillion Others
THINGS TO DO DAILY
Grounding to Alleviate Inflammation
7-9 hours of Restful Sleep
Plenty of Water
Moderate Exercise
Journal Out Thoughts
Meditation
Spend Time with People You Love
Laugh
Intermittent Fasting to Control Insulin Levels
Whole foods, lots of veggies, low dairy
Lots of salad, lean protein, and good fats
This is obviously a stress-inducing and comprehensive list of things … finding beef organs alone was enough to make me need a nap. I was imagining getting up the nerve to go to the local slaughterhouse to buy some beef spleen and then figure out an effective way to make my inner two year old actually eat it.
But then Amazon stepped in and offered a freeze-dried option allowing me to reserve my energy for the shoulder shudder needed at the end of swallowing apple cider vinegar.
For the record, I threw out the opinion of the doctor that suggested I add a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar to my water for a “delicious afternoon pick me up.”
Cheesecake is delicious. I even agree that cherries are delicious. Dates and walnuts are delicious. Apple cider vinegar is NOT delicious.
If you have ANY suggestions or experience with Adrenal Fatigue, I would love your input.
If you see that I missed something healthy I should add to my list, please let me know so I can compile THE most complete list of health and vitality.
Onward and upward! Here’s to feeling better!
Deb