WORSENING SYMPTOMS
My health started declining gradually about three years ago after we moved from the west coast to the east coast.
I began experiencing more and more frequent symptoms of "nervousness" that didn't seem to be connected with any mental anxiety. I became more and more fatigued. I began noticing outbreaks of acne on my back where I had once had perfect skin. I had continual itchiness to my back and upper arms, and my skin developed hives at the mildest provocation. I developed urinary frequency and urgency. I gradually ate more and more and became less and less satisfied by my food. I felt hungry and a little weak all the time. I began waking up in the middle of the night to pee every night. This gradually turned into two, three, or four times every night. I began to have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and being refreshed by sleep. I experienced tremors. I noticed that small wounds (like a mosquito bite to the leg) took longer to heal than they used to, and left scars. I bruised easily. My brain felt more and more "foggy" and "muddled." I noticed my memory wasn't what it used to be. I would forget simple vocabulary or nursing knowledge that I used to know well. I couldn't articulate myself as well as I used to, even if I could form the thoughts in my mind - they wouldn't come out. I developed some mild dyslexia - for instance, I would invert letters or numbers when writing, even though I was thinking them in the correct order in my head. I developed worsening chronic dark circles under my eyes, and my face began to look more sallow and my complexion pasty. I had some acid reflux after meals - something I had never experienced at all before. Eventually, I developed generalized discomfort in my abdomen and intermittent pains in my ileocecal area. I developed a large mass on my thyroid - something I had had as a child, but that had been gone for over 15 years.
SEARCH FOR MEDICAL CARE
After a year or two, my symptoms got to the point that I felt I needed to seriously seek medical care. I had always been healthy, and disliked going to doctors, but it got to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore. I went to my primary doctor at the time, a D.O (Doc #1). He was kind, and spent some time listening to me describe my symptoms and the strange feelings of "nervousness." I asked him about checking me for adrenal problems. He ran a few labs, checked my AM serum cortisol, and my IgE. The cortisol came back normal, the IgE was slightly elevated, but he said he wasn't concerned (this was allergy country after all). He asked if I was an "anxious" person. I said, "No." I asked him about doing saliva testing for my adrenal hormones. He didn't do it in his office, but thankfully, he had heard about it and referred me to a chiropractor who could do the test.
I went to the chiropractor (Doc #2), who also incorporated some other alternative medicine principles into her practice. Via neuromuscular stress testing, she told me I had adrenal stress, blood sugar handling problems, parasites, bacteria, and viruses. We did the adrenal panel saliva test, and it confirmed her diagnosis. My cortisol was off the charts high in the morning, explaining why I was waking up with the "jitters" and "nervous energy." It bottomed out during the day, explaining why I felt so fatigued from about 11am onward. It began increasing again in the evening, explaining why I was having difficulty sleeping. So far so good. I decided to try her treatment plan and made the dietary changes and took the supplements she recommended to me. After about 4-5 months, she assured me my adrenals and pancreas were improving and my parasites and bacterial infections were gone, but I was still feeling lousy. About this time, we made a move to another city, so I said goodbye to her and looked for another alternative doctor.
I went to another chiropractor (Doc #3) who ran a bunch of bloodwork and found some more problems for me: my protein was low, I had vitamin D insufficiency, and I was functionally hypoglycemic. His protocol: take some more supplements, take all carbs and sugars out of your diet, and keep coming to him for chiropractic adjustments. I agreed with taking something for my vitamin D and made the dietary changes he recommended for my blood sugar control, but I was feeling much worse after three weeks on my meat-and-veggies-only diet, and I was skeptical that my mildly low fasting blood glucose was really the root of all my problems... So I went in search of another doctor.
This time I went to an integrationist (Doc #4). She was very kind, took two hours to listen to my story at my first visit, and affirmed the diet changes I had made. However, since I was feeling so badly, she suggested I gradually add some foods back into my diet, such as brown rice, almonds and apples. I asked her if we could check for heavy metal poisoning, and she agreed. We also checked my stool for routine parasites. I found out I had some mild lead poisoning and began chelation therapy for that. After a couple months of the chelation, I was sleeping a little better (meaning, I only woke up 1-2 times per night instead of 3-4). I continued dietary changes and began feeling slightly less weak and chronically hypoglycemic, although I was still having to eat about 5 meals per day to keep up.
A couple months later, some good friends recommended their alternative doctor whom they felt had helped them a lot (Doc #5). At my first visit, he diagnosed me with leaky gut, adrenal stress, parasites, black mold, mild mercury poisoning, Lyme's, and candida. We began nutritional, supplemental, and detoxification treatments for these problems.
At about this time, we got some bad news about my husband's health: he had a colonoscopy for rectal bleeding and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The GI doctor who did his colonoscopy told him there was no cure for this disease, and that they still don't know for sure what causes it. He said no dietary measures could cure or help. He said the only treatment for it was Asacol, an anti-inflammatory drug that my husband was recommended to take for the rest of his life. As I nurse, I knew that this was not an answer to the problem. I had seen people who's oral anti-inflammatory meds were no longer effective and who had to be regularly hospitalized for their colitis. I knew that the next step was Remicade, a very strong anti-inflammatory drug that has many negative side effects, including suppression of the immune system (of which, 80% is located in the gut wall!!). When all else fails, these people have their whole colon removed and, eventually, they die. This was definitely not the route my husband and I wanted him to take. We discussed the problem with my alternative doc (Doc #5), and he told us that the assertion that there are no dietary or nutritional measures that can help is not true. He claims he has cured many patients with ulcerative colitis throughout the 30+ years of his practice. He recommended immediately removing all dairy, grains, and sugars from my husband's diet. He also diagnosed him with parasites as well (not a surprise, since spouses tend to share these critters) and started him on a parasite cleanse with me.
Meanwhile, I went back to my integrationist (Doc #4) for some further testing, and she did a Western Blot test (for Lyme's) and checked some other bloodwork. The Western Blot came back negative; however, it is not always accurate, and has been known to have false negatives. The jury is still out on that one. My vitamin D levels were improving, but not yet normal. The biggest "discovery" was my IgA, which was quite low. She diagnosed me with protein-losing gastroenteropathy, or severe leaky gut. This confirmed the primary diagnosis and treatment plan of my alternative doctor (Doc #5).
About this time, I also discovered the GAPS diet and began reading and researching it for the treatment of both my husband's ulcerative colitis and my protein-losing gastroenteropathy. I was amazed at the medical evidence for nutritional treatment of GI-related health problems, and the connections between gut health and so many other physical and mental health problems. Research, scientific studies, and published work was available on the topic, and yet it was completely absent from my traditional healthcare training as a nurse. I was hooked and have been voraciously eating up all the info I can get on the topic.
My husband and I both started the GAPS protocol about three weeks ago now, and we continue to see our alternative doctor (Doc #5) for nutritional, supplemental, and detoxification guidance. We have already noticed some small improvements. But, we know we have a long way to go. There will be no quick fix if we want to fully recover our health. It will take time, discipline, and patience. But the alternative is continually declining health and the prospect of serious medical limitations before we are even in our forties.
So here we go! Pass me more of the soup, please!
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