Ten Months In - What Has Medical Medium Done for me Lately?: Part 1: The Diseases

Oh right, remember how back on May 31, 2016, I posted about starting this 28 day Medical Medium cleanse? And how I decided to document it around Day 3, because miracles were happening, and I wanted to document so I wouldn't forget? And then occasionally here and there I'd make a sort of offhand reference to what had been happening, but really for the most part I haven't said much about it since? Yeah, me too.

I've been painfully aware of how much I HAVEN'T been posting about all of the amazing healing happening in my life as I've gone through this process.  I wanted to be, because my life is so completely different now to May 31st, 2016.  Not just because we live in an RV and travel around the country. Because of my healing! I am slowly becoming a part of the world again, and that, my friends, is a HUGE miracle.

Let us recap. When I started this journey, my diagnosis list and symptoms were long. If you want the refresher, the list is:
~ Mast Cell Activation Disorder (MCAD) which included red rashes on face/chest/body when exposed to allergens: petrochemicals, perfumes, exhaust fumes, gasoline, mold, pollens, grasses, smoke, strong emotions, hot sun, foods I am intolerant to, fluorescent lights. There is the possibility of anaphylaxis every time one of these exposures happens. I became homebound partially because of reactions I had every time I left the house.

~ Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which is a connective tissue disorder causing many subluxations in my body when sitting, standing, lying down, bending over, existing. Also caused hyperflexibility for a time. Caused weak ankles and a few fractures and a break, both ankles at different times. EDS can cause heart and brain issues and the need for surgeries. I cannot hold myself upright on my own when sitting or standing. It causes SO much pain. I began to need a wheelchair to go anywhere because of my inability to hold myself up to stand or walk. EDS requires a lot of PT to help manage the symptoms and function.

~ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) (now renamed Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disorder (SEID)) which has the lovely effect of no energy to do anything ever, even shower, make food, or do dishes or a load of laundry. I “run out of gas” ridiculously easily. I can push myself to do “a thing” but then will pay for days afterward with flare of symptoms (exhaustion, pain, brain fog, need for wheelchair but too tired to be able to go out and make use of it), so am often homebound.

~ Fibromyalgia  which causes pain in random spots all over my body, fatigue, and brain fog. As a result, I am very sensitive to touch, which also makes me irritable and angry. Again, because of the pain I have need for a wheelchair to get around.

~ Obstructive Sleep Apnea which is multiple bouts of stopping breathing throughout the night, causing multiple sleep disruptions and inability to sleep, insomnia, and the need for CPAP machine to essentially breathe for me as I sleep.

~ Bursitis which is pain in my hips not alleviated by sitting, standing, lying down. I cannot lie on my side at all anymore from pain.

~ Arthritis in my neck and lower back. It causes pain and tightness and contributes to my need for a wheelchair.

~ Dysautonomia / Post Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) which is the inability of my body to properly regulate blood pressure. My BP jumps too high to too low when going from standing to sitting and vice-versa. POTS can cause fainting, dizziness, light-headedness, heart palpitations, racing heart, and exercise intolerance. It also causes third spacing, which is edema in my feet and ankles, sometimes so bad my ankles would look like grapefruit, necessitating the need for compression socks all the time. My doctor actually wanted me to wear compression clothing, but they don’t make it in my size.

~ Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which in my case is another part of not being able to leave my home. It also manifests in an inability to make phone calls or decisions or speak to strangers, including doctors. It interferes with my ability to self-advocate, causes fears that no one likes me or wants me around, causes other random fear, doomsday thinking, and spiraling dark thoughts.

~ Depression which for me looks like apathy, no desire to do anything, no joy, no hope.

~ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (see Anxiety, because which is Anxiety and which is PTSD - they have a lot of the same symptoms). I become easily triggered and so easily sent back into replaying things that haunt me, like the death of my first son and other things I'm not going to go into.

~ Hypothyroid which basically manifests as my being really fat and unable to lose weight no matter what I do - which because of the huge fatigue isn’t much in the way of exercise, but no matter what I eat. I also react to every medication they’ve prescribed me for it. Hair loss is also an issue.

~ Degenerative Disc Disorder (DDD) which is pain in my lower back 24/7. It’s not alleviated by drugs, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, etc. Just all pain all the time, since I was in my 20s.

~ Migraines which are caused by exposure to: gluten, dairy, fluorescent lights, LEDs, CFLs, flashing lights, strong scents, refined sugar or other artificial sweeteners, processed foods, nitrates, alcohol, corn, soy, MSG, food dyes, exhaust, smoke, lack of sleep, strong emotions, hot sun, physical activity, hormones, weather changes, hunger, bright lights, food additives, perfume, petrochemicals, mold, etc.

~ Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or Post Concussive Syndrome which includes but is not limited to brain fog, short-term memory loss, inability to think on my feet, lack of recall of simple words, inability to multitask, inability to process things immediately, mood swings, irritability, difficulty concentrating, difficulty or inability to read books, inability to recreate what I just read or saw. Also great difficulty putting faces with names or even remembering the names of people I know well.

~ Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) which can cause cycts and pain in my ovaries, weight gain, fatigue, headaches, and sleep issues.

~ Tinnitus which is that my ears are always ringing. I can also hear store alarms and sometimes even other radio frequencies or EMFs.  

~ Rosacea, which is just a lovely way of saying my face always looks like someone punched me and then colored me in with blotchy red marker. It would itch and sometimes even hurt and look terrible, adding to my high level of social anxiety.

Then there's the stuff I don't know where to put like hazy vision, flaky eyebrows, and random itching all over my body.  Honestly there are probably symptoms I am forgetting. When the list is that long, there always are. But we'll call this the basics.

I had prescriptions for over a dozen medications, which I had to have compounded because of reactions to fillers, but still I reacted to all but one of them. I have braces for my hand and my hips, a wheelchair and compression socks. I was supposed to wear compression everything, but they don't make anything but the socks in my size. I need my husband to push my wheelchair when I go out because I am not strong enough, plus the POTS, CFS, and EDS make it pretty impossible to propel myself.

And that, friends, is my list of what has happened to my body over time.

If you're interested in reading the Medical Medium book, it can be purchased here. 

Continue reading Ten Months In - What Has Medical Medium Done for me Lately?: Part 2: The Cleanse