My Health Journey

Why am I always sharing stuff?
Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself the same thing. It seems I've always got something new to write about or tell others about, or do classes about.  What compels me to do this?

Most of you know my spiritual journey.  If you don't, you can read about it in previous posts.  I used to be a not so great person.  I wasn't even close to living to my potential.  I didn't know God or the Savior.

Yet, they saw fit to intervene on my behalf.  Through the Savior I've grown, I've overcome lots of yucky things, but most importantly I've enjoyed and am enjoying happiness and blessings beyond comprehension.

I have to thank Them.  I have to give back.  I have given myself over to them, and I want to follow the Spirit in all things.  Its just that simple.  And the more I do that, the bigger the blessings and the more profound the joy.  It's a never ending circle of indebtedness that I'm grateful to be a part of.

So on to my physical health journey.
This is for me.
I have to actually write it all down to keep track of everything, but am also choosing to share in the hopes someone else might find their own inspiration through my trials.

I had gestational diabetes with Carter, my third child.  He was almost 10 lbs at birth, and the pregnancy was really hard on me.  Carrying around such a big kid and being a mother to two other little ones was hard on my body and it started to fall apart.

I had gallbladder "sludge" and attacks during and after my pregnancy with Carter and so it was recommended that I have my gallbladder removed.

At the same time, I started having back "episodes".  I would be doing something simple and then end up flat on my back unable to move.  The solution was always muscle relaxers which made me loopy and large doses of ibuprofen until it went away.
My doctor gave me xrays and determined that I had a bulging disk and said I should try physical therapy.

My first day of physical therapy was excrutiating.  The stretched me out on a machine and then snapped me back together and when I did, my legs went numb.  I have no idea what happened but I went out of that office in worse shape than when I went in.  I gradually gained mobility, but I could never move the way I wanted, and  every night my legs would go numb and I couldn't sleep.  Sometimes just my right leg, sometimes both.  I started to become desperate to find some relief.

First chiropractor:  Dr. S.
Confirmed that I was in bad shape.  Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs.  Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that.  So I got a second opinion.

Second chiropractor:  Dr. W
Confirmed that I was in bad shape.  Said I could have permanent nerve damage in my legs.  Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that.  So I got a third opinion.

Third chiropractor:  Dr. D.  Confirmed that I was in bad shape.  Said I needed to come in three times a week, but insurance didn't cover most of it and as a young couple putting the husband through school, we couldn't afford that.

All chiropractor visits would provide temporary relief, but nothing permanent and it was expensive. So I decided to take the dr. route.   My doctor ordered an MRI and confirmed that I had a bulging disk in my back and recommended physical therapy.  (ha...ha...hahaha) I told her about some of my other emerging symptoms:
I couldn't think!  It was like I was trying to think through sludge.  She said this is called brain fog.
I had random buzzing in the muscles inside my body, like a cell phone was going off inside of me.
I would have chest pain and think I was having a heart attack, the first time this happened I went to the emergency clinic and they told me it was a panic attack.  The panic attacks were terrible...like a living hell.
I had pain all over, especially when it was cold.  My joints would hurt immensely.  But consistently I felt like hot pokers were on my legs.
I had intestinal issues, bouts of diarrhea and then constipation.  She said it was IBS.
I would get a sinus headache over my right eye every afternoon.  If I didn't take ibuprofen then it would turn into a migraine and I'd be down for the rest of the day.

My doctor gave me more muscle relaxers and 800 mg ibuprofen and referred me to a neruologist.

Neurologist:  Dr. S.
Listened to my symptoms, did a bunch of tests and then told me he was certain I had symptoms.  I fit the profile perfectly as a white female in her early 30's.  My back problems were something he usually only saw in obese people, not someone with my small frame.

He ordered a brain scan. I prepared myself for a life of battling MS and dying in a wheelchair.  The brain scan came back clean.  No lesions.  He was stumped.

With the leg numbness, he needed to determine if I had any nerve damage so I had an EMG.  If you've never had an EMG, it's a special kind of torture where they stick a long needle into different muscles and shock you with electricity, then record how your muscles react.  PAIN PAIN PAIN.

No nerve damage.  He said when people like me have symptoms that can't be explained, they have no choice but to call it fibromyalgia.  He told me to try an orthopedist for my back.

Orthopedist:  Dr. V
Gave me a bunch of exercises and told me to try a decompression table every day where you hang upside down.  I said they were too expensive so he said to try hanging from the monkey bars every day.  I did those exercises religiously and they actually did help some, but not enough so I then tried...

Physiologist:  Dr. H
He recommended cortizone shots in my spine.  So I had the procedure done where they numb up your back and then do basically an epidural and inject cortizone.  I had high hopes that it would work, but it didn't.  Frustrated, I asked the physiologist what I should try next.
He said I should try a chiropractor.

Fourth chiropractor:  Dr. R.
Gave me some new insight.  He said that I actually had arthritis in my spine, and that my other symptoms may be inflammatory related.

Around this time,  in addition to my other physical struggles I began to lose mobility in my hips, and had extreme pain in my hip sockets.  I couldn't sit indian style at preschool....I mean physically could not do it.  It was really scary for me...what was happening to me?  My body seemed to be breaking down and I couldn't do anything to help it or stop it.

Orthopedic Specialist:  Dr. B.
Another MRI of my hip showed that I had femoral acetabular impingement.  My femur was deformed in how it fit into my hip socket, causing pain and inflammation and probably will eventually result in needing a hip replacement.

More ibuprofen.  At this point, I had been taking so much ibuprofen that I got an ulcer.  The doctor prescribed me omneprazole, an acid blocker to help the ulcer heal.  I would later battle another ulcer after that one.

Physically, I was a mess.  Since I really couldn't move or do anything...I spent a lot of time working on strengthening myself physically and growing closer to the Lord.  I felt at that point that I had done all I could possibly do within my ability to get better, and that I had the faith that the Lord would heal me.  So I asked my husband for a priesthood blessing, fully expecting to be healed after doing all I could do.

This is what the Lord told me in the blessing:
-My Heavenly Father is aware of me
- I will be guided to the foods I should and should not eat, diet changes, to the vitamins, minerals that my body needs to heal itself.
-It may take more time, but I will be healed.

What????  That was not what I wanted to hear!  I didn't want to change my diet!   That was going to be even more WORK and I was already burned out from trying to get better. Why can't you just heal me???

After I had my temper tantrum, I prayerfully began to read, research, talk to people, and let the Spirit guide me as to what to do.

Craniosacral therapy - Glenna at my chiropractors clinic introduced me to energy work and natural healing techniques.  It started me on the right path.

Naturopath - I found an inexpensive naturopath and was re-introduced to muscle testing.  I had known all of this stuff before, but because we were on a budget I had stuck to things that insurance would cover.  By this point, John had graduated and we had the money for me to start spending more on natural health.

We began to tackle my symptoms one by one, and my body would tell me what supplements it needed for the symptoms I had.

I also got into essential oils because I could no longer take pain pills, my stomach was wrecked.  And I was also now allergic to antibiotics because of all of the sinus infections I was getting.  I tried using essential oils to tackle one of my biggest and most painful problems:  varicose veins.  Particularly those in my groin area which were impossibly painful.  I tried trace minerals...all kinds of supplements but nothing ever worked.

I was beginning to manage a lot of my mystery symptoms and still had ups and downs.  After a routine checkup my care provider suggested I try antidepressants to help with my IBS symptoms and also my panic attacks and anxiety symptoms.  She prescribed me fluoxetine (generic for prozac) and my naturopath confirmed through muscle testing that my body needs it.  That completely took away my anxiety issues, and allowed my body to calm down.  It was a huge step forward.

I began taking supplements and eating foods that decreased inflammation, which helped a lot with the fibromyalgia symptoms.  I began eating the Dr. Oz diet.  All whole grains, limiting the processed foods.  The weirdest thing happened, once I switched over to all whole wheat, I got even sicker.

After waking up one morning with vertigo, I went to see an:
Ear Nose and Throat Specialist - Dr. M

He said my sinuses were totally inflamed and that was causing the vertigo.  I told him about my headaches and he did some allergy testing.  I can't even tell you my surprise when I got the call from the nurse:  You are allergic to wheat.  It's not uncommon for a wheat allergy to cause sinus issues.
What???
"Do you have digestive issues as well?"
It was now all beginning to make sense.

I remember driving by the gluten free store in Layton all the time and thinking "Sucks to be them!"  I could never live without bread!  Giving up gluten was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.  I think Heavenly Father knew how stupid I am and that I would have to be so very desperate and sick and burned out that I would try ANYTHING to get better.

SO many symptoms improved after going gluten free.  Now that my pain was under control, I began to exercise again.  After I gave up the gluten, the extra weight melted off of me.

As I continued to seek the Lord's will for me and my little family, I began to have many promptings that we had another little spirit in heaven that was waiting to be a part of our family.  So believing the blessing that I would eventually be healed, and with a lot of my issues getting better we went off of birth control, leaving it to the Lord.    It actually took me a long time to get pregnant, but as soon as the stick turned pink, I miscarried.

Meanwhile I started having painful stomach spasms, and felt like I had a bladder infection.  I went in to the clinic three times thinking I had a UTI and finally was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis.  Basically, the lining of the bladder gets irritated and you feel burning and like you have to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME.  I was having muscle buzzing again and random muscle twitching that left me exhausted.

What???? My body was falling apart again.  I thought the Lord said I would be healed?  Why am I not getting better?  If I'm supposed to have another baby, why can't I get pregnant?

The stomach spasms were so painful, I couldn't take any medicine and could hardly eat anything.  I was referred to a gastroenterologist.

Gastroenterologist:  suggested a stomach scope.  It was done by Dr. P at McKay Dee.
They couldn't find anything except irritation and scar tissue damage in my stomach but nothing that would be causing the spasms.  One of the nurses said that she thought I had biliary diskinesia, which basically is a backflow of the bile that should be coming from your gallbladder but when it's taken out, it gets stuck in your liver.  No cure except surgery, and Dr. P told me that surgery was invasive, and often caused even more problems.  That it would be something I'd have to live with.

Dr. P. is also a D.O. so I could talk to him about natural health things.  I told him about all of my symptoms, my back, interstitial cystitis, in addition to the stomach things.  He said they were all symptoms of Central Nervous System issues.  My central nervous system was freaking out. If I could figure out how to support my CNS then it might help my symptoms improve.

Back to the naturopath.  I also have amazing chiropractors:  Dr. B and Dr. L.  They do muscle testing and know a lot about natural health.  Dr. L. taught me about my ileo secal valve in my intestines.  When I eat foods such as caffeine or chocolate, it opens when it's supposed to stay closed.  When it opens, waste from the large intestines backs up into the small intestines, causing inflammation.  Particularly to the back....in the exact spot where my back hurt.  He showed me how to close it myself.  I stayed away from chocolate (SO HARD!) and caffeine and began managing my back and stomach pain after 9 years.

I got pregnant again, but immediately lost it.  My naturopath helped me figure out that my thyroid was shot.  I began taking thyroid natural supplements and my other symptoms disappeared.  I was finally managing my health and feeling pretty good, but still had brain fog and low energy.

It was around this time that Chloe got sick, and a friend brought over a can of zeal because she had been able to get off of her anti-depressants.  Chloe couldn't handle the taste, so I decided to try it.  I was intrigued by the 30 day challenge money-back guarantee, and also noticed that a lot of the ingredients were not only things I was trying to put into my diet every day, but also a lot of the supplements, and it was gluten free.

At first, I got a cold.  My friend told me about detoxing and I knew it was true.  In the past, anytime I have done a juice cleanse, gone off sugar,  processed foods, or done a detox I always get a cold.  It's my body's way of detoxing.  That was actually a good sign to me.  I kept drinking it every day but was busy with Chloe's treatment and didn't pay much attention to whether or not it was working.  I didn't notice that I was gaining almost super-human strength in order to homeschool my kids, and also get Chloe through that difficult time, plus still teach piano, preschool and run a household.

We went out of town for the weekend and I was so tired!  I felt horrible and couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.  When I got home I thought, "I forgot to take my Zeal when I was out of town.  Could it be that the zeal makes me feel better?"  So I experimented and sure enough, when I took the zeal, I had a clear mind, energy, no pain, no digestive issues, my varicose veins don't hurt anymore, no aches and pains in joints, normal periods, no interstitial cystitis, no stomach spasms, no sinus headaches or migraines.  I finally began to maintain a healthy weight.  And I didn't get tired in the afternoon like I usually did.

When I didn't take the zeal, the symptoms came back.  I looked at all of the supplements and medications I was taking that sporadically worked and added up the monthly costs, then compared it to the monthly cost of zeal.  It was a no brainer!  I can take all of that stuff and spend all of that money and have it work sometimes, or I can drink one zeal a day and that takes care of ALL of my symptoms.  I feel good all the time.

Sometimes when I am hiking or swimming with my kids, or doing things I could not do over these past 10 years because of my health problems, I want to cry just thinking about how grateful I am that Heavenly Father kept his promise in the blessing and did guide me to the things that would help my body heal itself.  I feel like I have a second chance at life.

I remember a bunch of ladies asking me to join their walking group and I had to turn them down because of my health problems.  I felt so sorry for myself, like I was handicapped.  I resigned that I should just be grateful to be alive but also mourned the loss of really LIVING life and the loss of a once very active lifestyle.

Now, I can do anything I want to do.  I exercise every day.  I walked 25+ miles on Pioneer trek and turned around to do Girls Camp for a week and I felt great, had lots of energy.  I believe that I have been guided to Zeal, that the creators are inspired, and it has changed my life.

PLEASE try it.  Give the 30 day challenge a try.  If it doesn't work, you have nothing to lose but if it can help just one person like it helped me, then I have done my job.

I wish for everyone to feel as good as I do.  I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who has helped me, guided me, and loved me and I'm determined to pay it forward.