No, I didn’t run away or hide under the covers for the past 4 or 5 days–I haven’t stopped running from appointments, to teaching class, to the school field trip (Sea World), to cleaning & beginning to decorate, to birthday parties, to taping my ‘After” video at Channel, to the myriad of ‘mom’ stuff we all do each day!!   (Well, actually I was a bum today & went back to bed for a nice leisurely nap this afternoon just because I was still kind of worn out).  But I’m very jazzed that with just a little R & R I feel great & ready to go again!  What a change from the woman I was at the beginning of this journey who hardly had the energy to function, or stay awake, on a daily basis.  Thanks again to Dr. Hedayat & Endobiogenic evaluation for unraveling the combination of thyroid, adrenal, liver, & other health factors that were causing me such trouble!  My fibromyalgia is much better too–I hardly have any muscle or joint pain now.

And, to celebrate the re-birth of my healthy life I finally got a new ‘do! My friend Sally Moreno gave me a gorgeous new hairstyle (the CH 10 video doesn’t do it justice!) & I’ve been enjoying the positive comments from friends (and the second looks from the younger guys–such an ego boo!)  I think my hubby & son are finally adjusting too.   ;-D   What with my new hairstyle & being more energetic & slim I’m really feeling like myself again! (And hopefully it will be plain when I’m out with my 8-3/4 yr son that I’m his mother, not his creaky old grandma watching him for a few hours. Yes, I really did feel like that sometimes.)

I have so much to blog about from last week but it’s almost 1:00am on Monday (I’ll post this for Sunday evening since I’m still up!) so I’ll just tell you the best thing:  During our field trip to Sea World I was playing around all day–even racing the kids up flights of stairs (one flight at a time)!!  I was just a little winded & kept just a few steps behind them–my son was shocked!  He can’t remember clearly a time when I was that energetic.  And when I told hubby his jaw fell to the floor.  He had to remind me how much trouble I was having even 5-6 months ago walking up the stairs here at home–holding onto the railing & moving slowly up, sometimes resting on each step, and having to be very cautious of my balance coming down because I was so tired.

It really has been the integrated combination of health testing & diagnosis, chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, acupuncture, & my own hard work with lifestyle change (sticking to my cleansing diet & prescribed supplement regimen, experimenting with stress-reduction techniques to find what works for me, & doing my physical therapy exercises & conditioning) that has all worked together to bring about these fabulous changes!  Thanks again to my team at Renew Integrative Health Center!

I also want to note that the poll is back up so you can Officially Vote now! There is an added step for verification of each vote, but it just takes a sec.  Thank you to all of you who vote (hopefully for me!) as my main goal for this blog has been to inspire and inform others of my personal challenges, solutions, & progress and to hopefully inspire others to create healthy changes in their own lives.  I love to get feedback from my readers so leave a comment, or if what you want to say is more private, many friends & family email me privately rather than post (or you can post comments using a ‘pen name’).

Oh, and the tree that came down in our yard during the wind storm thankfully didn’t do any damage–the way it fell it was supported by our neighbor’s waterfall & so didn’t even damage our fence! (Hubby just whipped out the chainsaw & took care of it this weekend–what a guy!)

I guess I should stop congratulating myself for being so healthy while everyone around me is sick–now I’ve got it too.  Our son got sick on Thanksgiving evening with all the classic (swine?) flu symptoms: High fever (101+), muscle/joint pain, headache, & exhaustion followed the next day by lower temp, stuffy nose & coughing. He’s recovering & feeling better every day but now I have the headache, sore joints, & fatigue.  (Hubby just got sick from eating some irresistible foods he shouldn’t–he’s lactose intolerant.)  At first I was thinking my joint pain was my fibromyalgia flaring up so I’m hoping it’s part of my flu symptoms & so will fade quickly.

So today has basically been Rory working on schoolwork–his computer reading-writing-typing program, working on spelling, reading, & other quiet stuff.  I felt a little better this afternoon & made him some of my super-healthy banana bread packed with extra protein, lots of healthy fats & grains, & very low-sugar.  So he’s been happy scarfing that down with some fresh apples while I’ve been lying in the recliner by the fire, eating fresh persimmons & nuts with yummy tea, reading some good pulp fiction (Susan Issacs’ Magic Hour).

The house is, of course, pretty scary right now but I’m getting much better at not stressing out about things that are out of my control at the moment.  I choose to rest & get better quickly, then to clean, do laundry, etc.  In the past I would have worked until I dropped, become worse from over-working, & stressed out the whole time I was sick by beating myself up for not performing the way I thought I should.  Whew!  At least I’m over that self-imposed drama, & I feel much better for it!

I did have a *great* day yesterday at Renew; it almost goes without saying.  I always feel better after some laser work on my back & a great PT session & chiropractic adjustment!  But I could tell by the early afternoon that I was rapidly losing my energy & by the end of the day I was absolutely wiped out–not my usual state now (yay!).  So I guess I’ll just do the R & R thing until we’re back to normal again, which should be in a day or so.  (The house will always be there–I mean the faeries aren’t going to come & clean it for me!  Rats!!)

As I get up this Thanksgiving morning I do as I’ve done every morning since I began ABC10’s Half-Year Resolution Challenge:  I stop to say a prayer of thanks for being part of this fantastic, life-changing event. Clichéd?  Yes, but I honestly mean it from the bottom of my heart.

This opportunity has meant everything to me, and to my family! Being chosen, and partnered with Renew Integrative Health Center, was exactly what I needed, and what I had been praying for. Renew’s  fabulous team of doctors and health practitioners  have given me the tools to:

Overcome my fibromyalgia. Dietary changes coupled with chiropractic, acupuncture, and the correct supplements and exercises, including yoga, have virtually eliminated my symptoms.  It certainly didn’t happen overnight, and I still have mild twinges in my elbows and wrists at times, but for all intents and purposes I consider myself cured.  Super-Yay for me!!

Regain a significant portion of my stamina and strength, and I’m still building! I’m not almost blacking out anymore when trying to exercise and I’m getting stronger and can do more each week.  Last week I went to Julian (in the mountains) and was able to easily walk up and down small hills with no problems!  And the elevation is 4000 feet!! My body is stronger and I carry myself with correct posture again because I have the energy to do so, and my spine is aligned properly.  My pain is 80% less!

Have energy again, with a clear and calm mind. After undergoing the Biology of Function, including in-depth blood tests, exam, & history, the dietary changes and correct supplements prescribed by Dr. Hedayat combined with the pain relief from Dr. Buchel’s chiropractic adjustments and Dr. Jackson & Dr. Pansky’s physical therapy  have virtually eliminated my symptoms! Discovering my issues with thyroid and adrenal function, my over-worked liver from too many prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and my unhealthy coping mechanisms (sugar + caffeine) have been crucial.  Changing this dynamic has been the key! (In fact, my 8 year-old son just woke up and came in to see what I’m doing.  When he saw my blog he said, “I”m thankful for you getting better!  You’re a much better mommy now because you have more energy to play with me and do all sorts of things!”)  Not much I can add to that except that I’m doing it all caffeine-free and with healthy sweeteners!  Whooda thunk?   ;-D

Discover and address my current risk for cancer. Pre-cancerous levels of abnormal cells were also found as part of my blood tests for the Biology of Function. (I wrote about this and my previous removals of pre-cancerous lesions in my October post, Test Results, or I Want Another 50 Years.) The diet and supplements prescribed by Dr. Hedayat address this issue as well. Hopefully I’ll be here for many years to come to see my family grow and change.  (Maybe I’ll even see grandchildren!)

Have the bonus benefits of dropping excess weight and improving my skin and hair. I’ve dropped 24 pounds, most of it before I was able to exercise very much, and I get daily complements on how healthy my skin looks–no more black circles under my eyes either!  My hair continues to grow back and a significant portion of it is coming back brown, not grey as it did at first.  (Weird, but true!)  Less weight has also helped increase my energy level–I’m not toting it around all day (and my joints thank me too).

Help my family and friends make their own healthy changes. My husband and several of my friends have seen the progress I’ve made and have been inspired to improve their health, beginning with healthier diet and exercise.  My husband is now willing to change his eating habits in ways he wasn’t before (poor cholesterol tests continue to haunt him) so I feel our son will also benefit from a healthier dad!  Yay!  My goal for this next year is to improve my family’s dietary patterns and for us to spend more time outdoors together like we love, but have been unable to do with mom in such poor health.

So, for all these reasons I’m thankful to be chosen as part of ABC10’s Half-Year Resolution Challenge and for my Challenge partners, my team at Renew Integrative Health Center.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime gift I’ve received and I decided on Day One I wasn’t going to waste this God-given opportunity.  I feel I’ve pretty much achieved all my goals (except for the swimming the mile part-brrrrr!!) and  I’m well on my way to going on all-day hikes in the mountains.  I’ll have some maintenance and fine-tuning visits with my team at Renew to continue to stabilize my health and I will continue to cement my permanent life-style changes at home.

I’ve gained all I dreamed I possibly could and for all these things my family and I are truly grateful.  Thank you all for giving me my life back!

I’m feeling so much better now (just a little back pain) that I finally pushed past my limit, even though I’ve been so careful to take my exercise & physical therapy in easy steps.   I’ve been through this countless times before & really didn’t want to do this again.

We went with some of the families from our  homeschool charter, Greater San Diego Academy, to a robotics lab workshop at Legoland & then had the afternoon to play in the park.  I love rollercoasters & all sorts of crazy rides so I took every opportunity to play with the kids & ride, ride, ride!  Fridays are pretty quiet there now that school’s back in session so many times we could get right back on the ride with little or no wait.  So I ended up going on about 6 or 8 coaster rides (Dragon & Technic), then went on the Knight’s Tournament, which is one of my favorites.  It’s a giant robot-arm, the kind they use in large manufacturing facilities to weld, move car frames, & do all sorts of intricate work.  Here, they’ve programmed 5 different levels of twists, turns, & excitement so you can choose your own level of thrill.  I took the kids on lots of Level 1 & Level two rides before I took one last ride just for myself–on Level 5!  Boy did I have fun!  The kids were laughing at me flying around, spinning while whirling upside-down, with my arms up in the air & my long hair flying out above me like a flag!  I was laughing & whooping it up the whole time.

But when I was walking away after my wild ride, uh-oh!  I knew right then I’d made a big mistake.  It hadn’t even crossed my mind that I’d hurt myself because I’ve been ignoring the warning signs on these kind of rides all my life–I never even thought twice about it.  But I’ve been feeling so much better, & my back is getting in so much better shape,  that now I actually notice when I’m pretty racked up–it’s not merely an increase in my already high pain level.

I have a chiropractic appointment with Dr. Buchel on Monday, along with Dr. Kevin in Physical Therapy, but I’m going to stretch, work out gently, have my mom give me some massage (she’s a Licensed Massage Therapist), and try to mitigate the damage until then.   ;-D

At least I had fun while messing myself up, but now I know I’ll have to take these warnings more seriously, at least until my spine has been stable & healthy for a good while–probably a year or so.  So I’ll chalk this one up to experience & now I’m off to go sit in my mother-in-law’s jacuzzi!

Well, I used to have this job, see, where I traveled more than six months out of the year.  I got very good at it, especially since I would be on the road for sometimes 2 weeks or more at a time, going from one extreme climate to another (e.g., Colorado Rockies in winter to Hawaii).  I know what to pack & how to go light.

But I’m getting ready for my son, mother & myself to take a 6-day trip to visit my Grandmother in Seattle-area, & it’s taken me forever to pack my stuff!!  I’m not used to packing supplements (pills) for 4 times a day, 4 different plant tinctures (liquid), plus whey protein, coconut oil, & such!  Once I got a weekly,  4x-a-day pill organizer, computed dosages & measured tinctures, & put everything into travel-sized containers, I was fine.  It’s all nice & organized, & totally manageable.  But next time I’ll know to allow for the extra time I’ll need to get everything ready!

One thing I’ll also take with me  is my knowledge of drop-in yoga classes.  I hope to hit one while I’m there to help me jump-start my at-home exercise/meditation practice.  (It’s only $15)  So even though I’ll be visiting family, I’m trying to build-in some ‘me’ time so I can be sure to relax.  I’ll also bring my exercise notes from Dr. Vanessa & make sure I get my daily exercise in whether I’m at the hotel, or someone’s house.  I hope it won’t rain the whole time (ha ha–this is the Pacific Northwest!) so I can get out & do some walking but I’m not going to bring my ‘walking sticks’ as they’re too much trouble to take on the airplane.  If it rains, I guess I’ll just have to figure out some other way of getting some cardio work–I guess I’ll just have to go with the flow!

Anyway, I’m still feeling good energy-wise but I’ve been having some nasty low-back pain this week. Dr. Buchel gave me a wonderful chiropractic adjustment on Monday, after Dr. Vanessa worked & worked on me.  I was so stiff she used heat, electro-stimulation, & lots of massage.  She said the joint capsule of my left hip was extremely tight & the ligament there was pulling my muscles tight & making them cramp.  So lots of stretching, working on the joint capsule, aligning my hips, ab exercises, & more to help loosen me up before my adjustment with Dr. B.

I hope I feel better tomorrow because I was still very stiff today, but in a good way, if that makes sense.  I’ll have to be ruthless about taking time for myself on this trip so I can maintain this new set of exercises because I’m sure I’ll tighten up like strings on a tennis racquet if I don’t really work on staying limber–especially with all the sitting I’ll be doing in the plane & car.

So this is one of my first trials–I’ll be going outside my normal routine so I can either continue the way I’ve been going at home, really mess up & eat lots of things that won’t be good for me or not exercise, or I can stretch myself a little bit & try to go beyond what I do at home since I’ll be in a new environment.  I know the path to true lifestyle change is little baby steps, so I hope I can toddle a step or two farther down the path that’s taking me to better health.  Wish me luck!

I’ve had energy all week!! AMAZING!! I feel pretty darn good & even have been waking in the morning feeling happy & reasonably well-rested!  (I’m still having some trouble falling asleep, but not more than a couple of hours.)  This is just fantastic!! I do still get tired if I try to do too much without taking a real break, but if I’m conscious of how my body is feeling & respect that I can have a 20 or 30 minute break, & then continue with my day with no huge drop in energy.

Part of this new feeling of health, I believe, is I’m being very conscious of eating my prescribed meals & healthy snacks on more of a schedule–I think I was right in that I really can’t wait to eat until I get hungry because my energy level falls too low & I never really regain it that day.  So the ’scheduling’ thing seems to be working pretty well.  (And I’ve lost almost 10 pounds!)

Dr. Hedayat ordered the blood panels for my Endobiogenic testing & I have a follow up appointment in 2 weeks so it will be interesting to see what the results show.  I’m very aware that my newly-found feelings of mental clarity, less muscle & joint pain, & greater energy are just beginning, & so are still quite fragile.  I will  have to be quite vigilant of my daily structure & actions–to continue to protect myself from myself –& not delude myself that I’m instantly better & can now go back to my old, destructive habits.  I’m in this for the long haul!!  I want to treat the root causes of my health issues, not merely trim a few symptoms here & there, so I’m very interested in what the test results will show & what my next steps are.

But I think the greatest impact my higher, more consistent energy level is having is on my physical therapy/pain relief conditioning. Now (2-3 days per week) I’m able to ride the stationary bike for 45 minutes, throw in some intense interval training (e.g., 30 seconds as fast as I can possibly go, then 45 seconds slow for rest, 30 sec on/45 sec off for 3  or 4 sets) & still not be dizzy when I finish!! (But of course I’m sweating like crazy!)  I’m finding it easier to do the core-strength building exercises & have begun to do some gentle yoga moves along with my prescribed exercises.  And I’m using some of those specific exercises as pain-relievers when my back hurts so I’m still not popping pain pills!! Sure I still hurt–sometimes quite a lot– but I’m working hard to retrain myself to use the exercises as my first-line of defense.  And you know what?  They’re helping me to have less pain in the long run!  < DUH!! >  I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to find exercises that really work!  (Or to learn to use them as ‘medicine’ instead of just part of physical conditioning.)

My biggest challenge this week has been really painful sciatica.  Dr. Buchel has been giving me really great chiropractic adjustments & Dr. Vanessa (& Dr. Kevin) have been doing lots of mobilization & mucle therapies on my hips & low back–including my favorite, the cold laser!–so between the adjustments & the soft-tissue thaerapies I’ve felt tremendous relief!  (I’m actually sitting here typing & only have a minimal amount of pain instead of it being torture, or not doing computer work at all!)   Dr. Vanessa even had me out this week waling around the block with these crazy walking poles (they’re sort of like cross-country ski poles) that totally kicked my butt, or should I say abs & core body!!  Then I got to ‘play’ (read: sweat!) on the Wii Fit doing soccer, cross-country skiing, hula-hooping (go ahead & laugh–I dare you to do it too!), & yoga.  Normally I would have taken a week to recover but I actually felt more of a normal tiredness & just slept for about 12-1/2 hours that night & felt a good energy in the morning!

I really feel like the co-ordination of the different therapies, diet, & medicines are beginning to show their synergistic effect. And Jonathon has been giving me awesome acupuncture sessions that not only help my sciatica, but even more importantly, have the effect of bringing everything together. No, that’s not a very good description.  More like, confirming the placement of and & ‘comforting’ the newly re-aligned parts of my body–physically, functionally, & mentally.  I feel like the acupuncture helps in re-integrating the disparate parts of my being that have been long divorced,  & in the reconnection of  normal function & communication. Or I can just say it makes me feel terriffic & leave it at that.   ;-D

Yes!!  I’m so happy!

Friday at Renew I had my Physical Therapy & chiropractic, then Jonathon gave me an awesome acupuncture session, after I told of my sciatica & on-going insomnia.  (Not only have I been having trouble falling asleep but when I finally do, I sleep very lightly, not deep enough for REM sleep where we do our dreaming.)   Well, not only did I fall sound asleep on the acupuncture table & start dreaming right then, I had the most wonderful night’s sleep that night!    I just got into bed & fell asleep right away, & I dreamt all night, non-stop. It was like an 12 hour movie marathon in there!  (I’m making up for lost time?)  I felt sooo good when I woke up, very happy & rested.

In fact it felt so comfy & good I decided to take a short nap Saturday afternoon just so I could have more, blissful sleep &  then fell right to sleep again Saturday night!  Oh, I thank you for that Jonathon!

Dr. Kevin sure worked me over in PT on Friday though.  My sciatica is slowly getting better but the muscles across my hips, rump, & outer thighs are still very tight (even causing some bones to be pulled out of alignment, especially my SI joint).   So I had another ‘tenderizing’ session–ooch!  But afterwords I really felt better, even though I was pretty stiff until I stretched & worked out Saturday.  I’m sure glad he’s working the cramps & muscle adhesions out as the sciatica is very painful & really limits what I can do.  (I’m limited to about 10 minutes of sitting or standing, & can lie down only on one side.)  So I can actually say I’m so happy that Dr. Kevin really kicked my butt!

In fact I felt soooo much better between Dr. Buchel’s chiro adjustment, the acupuncture, PT, & a good night’s sleep that I was able to do more on the bike Saturday (40 minutes!!) & do almost all of my exercises!  Boy, it’s amazing what you can do when you’re without much pain, & with a good night’s sleep!

Today I was only a little tired, but the heat sure took everything I had.  Our son had his Cub Scout ‘Box-Car’ Derby & picnic today & even under the shade pavilions it was HOT!!  So I’ve rested most of the afternoon & I’m trying to convince myself that I can get up & do some stretches & light exercise.  I think I’ll go make a power smoothie & do my exercises half an hour after I finish it–that usually helps!

I was so excited to be making progress on Friday (previous post) & then (duh-duh-DUH) I really overworked Saturday, Sunday, & Tuesday—what a mistake! My hubby,  mom,  MIL (mother-in-law) & Uncle-in-Law all came up & we worked to finish off the upstairs ‘renovaton,’ cleanup, & do major reorganization of the 4 upstairs bedrooms.  (Talk about an exhausting game of musical furniture!   Whew! )  It does feel good to finish this seemingly never-ending project but man, I’m still whipped!  Even though I tried so hard to pace myself I had folks calling me all day long from all over the house for help, direction, decisions, blah, blah, blah.

Bottom line:  Now I’ve gone back to the extreme exhaustion, dizziness spells, & muscle fatigue.  I’ve barely had enough energy to follow my food plan (it would be soooo much easier to make an organic PB&J instead of cooking &/or slicing & dicing) but I’m being good, even though it’s very tempting to go back to my old stop-gaps.    And I know that I have to fight myself to take it easy when I’m  recovering! How could I have thought I was being careful?  What was I thinking?? (My pattern has been:  I begin to feel good then–bam!  I don’t have the patience to wait for the real recovery to be complete so I plunge forward, then end up back at square one, or worse.)   This time though, I simply felt guilty that everyone else was working so hard & I thought I looked like a slug whenever I put my feet up for a five or ten minutes.  I really try hard not to let what others think of me drive my behavior, but after a while the big sighs & eye-rolling made it hard to be firm with myself & rest.

Anyway, I am feeling better after lots of rest yesterday & today & I’m looking forward to my appointments tomorrow at Renew Health.  I’m seeing everyone tomorrow, except Tina Mears, so it’ll be a long morning but I know I’ll feel better when I’m done–I always do!

I did feel much better on Monday after Dr. Vanessa worked me over (she even used this new cold laser I’d never seen before to help breakup old adhesions in my muscles & reduce pain).  I did have to really take it easy during my workout though as I felt, literally, like I was an empty shell.  (I did finally get to meet Crystal though!  I knew she’s at Renew also but we’d never connected until then.  She’s so nice & she’s really working hard–just watching her workout kicked my be-hind!)  ;-D

After my body work with Dr. Vanessa & workout with Adam in PT, Dr. Buchel gave another awsome chiropractic adjustment, then I was back to see Dr. Vanessa to get more kiniseo-tape to help put me back together.  I did feel much better after I left on Monday, & I did rest when I got home, but I didn’t rest enough & then it was back to work on Tuesday to finish the house.  Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Hmmm, let’s see, what have I learned?  Anything???  (Darn, I sure hope so!)

First:  Don’t let others’ expectations, or my presumption of their expectations, goad me into behaviors that I know are unhealthy for me at the time.  I am strong enough in my resolve to guard my health & if some folks don’t understand my situation then I’ll just have to live with their diminished opinion of me.

Second:  I have to watch myself more closely than I thought as I continue to recover my health. I’ve been advised in the past to look at what I think I should be able to do at each stage of physical recovery (after knee surgery, etc) & cut that expectation in half.  Then, cut it in half again.  I guess I’ll have to go back to this mindset when I’m tempted to ‘break out’ on the days when I’m feeling really good.  Even though boring, I know that slow & steady is my best plan for now.  Rats!  ;-D

I had a great morning at Renew on Thursday! Physical therapy really kicked my butt (ba-a-a-d butt, ba-a-a-d!)   I’m still having a problem doing aerobic exercise, where my breathing & heart rate are elevated, as I get dizzy & feel as though I’m about to pass out before I’ve even gone a minute or two.  So Adam has been putting me through my paces doing balance & strength-training exercises.  He kept me going until he had the ultimate proof of my wimpiness & I actually tipped over onto my butt–thanks Adam.!  ;-P   (Not really; we were done & I tipped over while trying to get up for my session with Dr. Vanessa.  It just sounds better that Adam’s such a slave driver.)  ;-D

Then I had more acupuncture with Jonathon while I took a nap.  (I always seem to take a nap while I’m having a session–it’s very relaxing!)  And Jonathon also made an interesting comment after I updated him on my ongoing dizziness: He wanted to know if I was exercising inside the house, outside, or both.  When I admitted I’m only working out at home he encouraged me to do some outside, as long as I take it easy & watch for dizziness.  Hmmmm . . .

After a chiropractic adjustment with Dr. Hummel, who’s subbing while Dr. Buchel takes a few days off, I felt really good!  I felt very balanced & to my amazement I found myself trotting up & down the short flight of stairs down to PT so Dr. Vanessa could work her ‘magic’ again with the Kinesio-Tape (sp?).  (See previous  ’Mummy’ post.)

She got me all taped up & once again my spine was so darn straight I was amazed.  I felt so good that on the way home I stopped by Buddy Todd Park & took a walk around the park’s walking path.  I only walked about 10 minutes but I can truly say I haven’t felt that good while walking for years!!  Usually my sciatica hurts & makes it extremely painful to hold my pelvis & lower back in a balanced position, which causes more back & knee pain.  But I just kept walking along at a nice pace & felt great!  Yay!!  Progress!

Then after I returned home I took my son & a friend to the pool (small, homeowner’s association pool but hey, it’s wet!).  After stretching & playing with them for a while finding diving rings & such, I decided to try Jonathon’s advice & did some gentle mini-lap swimming.  (I did say the pool is small, right?)  But I swam 10 or 12 laps, resting when I felt any dizziness coming on until I had caught my breath, then continuing.  It felt great to do a variety of strokes so after I did some crawl, underwater across the pool, modified frog, kickboard, etc, my muscles & body felt great.  I think the swimming feels good because I don’t have so much weight, & what weight I have is distributed differently so my joints rest,’ if that makes sense.

The only problem I had was my K-tape started to come off! EEK!  Dr. Vanessa said it should last 3-5 days & it was OK to swim & shower as long as I don’t rub it when drying off.  The only thing I can think of is the first time she applied it, she reinforced it with some spray adhesive.  But when I came back in Thursday it was solidly in place so I guess she thought it wasn’t necessary.  I guess I’ll have to make sure she uses some heavy-duty super-glue–I’m going to be doing lots of swimming until it cools down this Fall!

Fridays I don’t have much time to blog (teaching workshops, then napping) or on the weekend (napping, doing chores, napping) but I felt more rested.  And, instead of sleeping 12 to 14 hours a night & taking 2-4 hour naps, I’ve been sleeping between 9-11 hours at night with only an hour or so for a nap!!  Again, more progress!!  Huzzah!!

Now it’s time for shower & beddie-bye ’cause I’ve got to be up early tomorrow (Monday) for my 9:00 with Dr. Vanessa, & so Adam can once again kick my butt!

I’ve had so many changes going on with my body over the past week it’s been hard to take time to post an update!!  (Or to sit for very long–my lower back has had me in knots at times.  Fortunately I feel much better now!)  So, where to begin?  I’ve had a very busy six days at Renew Integrative Health Center . . .

First, I had recommendations last week from Jonathon Dodds, L.Ac on eating lots of red foods to boost my intake of fresh antioxidants and other natural nutritional factors, along with changing my iron supplement.  I immediately did both that afternoon and this week I’ve already felt some difference in my energy level and was able to reduce both the allergy and antacid medications I’m taking. Yay!!  Thanks Jonathan!

I also had a meeting last Saturday with Tina Mears, MFT on the obstacles standing in my way of meeting my goals & how to overcome them.  She helped me strengthen my resolve to put time for myself at the top of my daily to-do list. As a wife, mother, educator, and back-up for my husband’s business I end up at the bottom of my list unless I hold my ground and insist on time to do my exercises & prepare healthy meals (sometimes two–one for me & one for them), as well as time for my various treatments at Renew.  I had already begun to carve time for myself but Tina really reinforced how necessary this is for my health–and the health of my family.

Then on Monday and Tuesday I attended two seminars at Renew: One given by Dr. Kamyar M. Hedayat, M.D. on the biological (endocrine) interactions between my mood, the foods I eat, and how these profoundly effect my overall health; The other, given by  Dr. Robert Buchel, D.C. was on the importance of ridding my body of accumulated toxins from my years of over-the-counter pain medications (which I take in high doses), various prescription drugs, and (like Dr. Hedayat’s lecture) the constant cravings for sugar and simple carbs (read: pastry, cakes, bread, chocolate).

These seminars really helped me understand the chains of  biological reactions that are happening within my body and gave me tremendous encouragement! Now I understand why I’ve been feeling such profound exhaustion, light-headedness, fuzzy thinking, and muscle/joint pain.  But even more importantly, this knowledge has expanded my understanding of the interactions between my liver, pancreas, gall bladder, digestive system, brain/mood, hormonal/chemical reactions that drive and serve these structures & their individual processes, & much more.   And this knowledge is extremely helpful in my understanding the approach of the doctors here at Renew.   (I guess I need to understand the scientific basis for everything–even treatments like acupuncture have scientific language that can be accurately applied.)

So, I began my physical therapy Wednesday with Dr. Vanessa Jackson, D.P.T and Adam in the PT suite & boy, did they get my body moving!  Not to say I was running & sweating–they were working hard to unlock my stiff muscles & joints, work on my posture, & go through a stretching & limbering routine for me to do daily at home.  I’m sure glad they have this awesome whirlpool table (trough-shaped table filled with a warm ‘waterbed’ that has whirlpool jets pulsing underneath)–aahh!  Pure heaven for the stiff body!  All this helped me tremendously.

Wednesday I also had my second chiropractic adjustment with Dr. Buchel and he really worked, adjusting my joints from the base of my skull all the way down to my feet!  My spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, pelvis, hips, knees, & ankles were checked & adjusted if needed.  Now I was walking much better, although my body wasn’t quite sure what to do!  I actually had to be conscious of my movements as my normal pattern of walking had changed & if I wasn’t careful I felt I might stagger sideways.  Fortunately, my body acclimated quickly & the awkwardness passed in a few minutes.

Finally on Wednesday, I had a full history & examination with Dr. Hedayat. When finished I was so gratified & relieved when he explained that many of the destructive cycles he had spoken of (in his seminar on Monday) were ongoing in my body & causing much of my ill-health.  After being told my HMO they couldn’t find what was wrong with me & I would ‘just have to live with it’, I was excited to have an actual diagnosis & to start a course of action to begin healing!  The most important thing Dr. Hedayat told me was I need to rest my liver, gall bladder, & pancreas right now.

So for the next month or so I will avoid all starchy carbs like pastry, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, & sugar.  (Waa!  Bye-bye chocolate!)  Along with the dietary changes recommended by Jonathan & a few detoxifying supplements, I will eat animal protein with each meal, have lots of vegetables, & before I eat any fruit I will eat 3-4 almonds or walnuts to aid the digestive process.  I will also snack on whole eggs (I like hard-boiled) & of course, drink plenty of water.  I will miss my bread & rice especially but I can do this for a month, or even two if needed.  I understand why I need to do this so I’m not seriously tempted cheat. (But I’ll be glad when I can have some Arroz con Pollo or fresh, whole-grain bread again!)

Then on Thursday I was able to get up in the morning and actually stand up straight & walk without shuffling about!  I look in the mirrior–GASP! My shoulders are back, my pelvis tilted correctly–I look like I just lost 10 pounds overnight!  Thanks Dr. Vanessa, Adam, & Dr. B!!

I’m so grateful–and motivated!!  I’ve never before had all these issues brought together by one person, or group of people working together. Now, having concrete knowledge and a plan for action is the key to my new-found determination.  Before, I was always aware that each practitioner was separate and many times their individual recommendations were incompatible in varying degrees.  The lack of coordination between each modality left me with many doubts.  I would have difficulty trying to pick and choose what parts of which programs to do, and my guesswork was never very useful or satisfying.  Now I have a terrific group of people who are extremely well-trained, have a wealth of experience in their fields, and truly want me to succeed.  Their good humor & grace has already shone through & I know they will be of tremendous help when I hit those stumbling blocks, as surely I will.

Unfortunately, on Thursday I was exhausted all day after my action-packed Wednesday (including 1-1/2 hour traffic each way!).  Then, as I was feeling better, I  had some sort of stomach/digestive crisis that night.  Whether it was food poisoning, a 6 hour flu, or the grocery store rotisserie chicken was too greasy, I don’t know.  But I ended up on the floor for 3-4 hours with pains in my right side like I’ve never felt before.  After ridding myself of that which offended my body, the pain slowly subsided & I was finally able to go to bed about 3 am.

Friday I had to cancel teaching workshops after being up all night but I finally felt well enough to head down to Renew again where Jonathan gave me acupuncture which really helped soothe & calm the last feelings of pain & nausea.  Then Dr. Buchel gave me another comprehensive chiropractic adjustment after a soothing heat treatment.  Then, some gentle stretching on the traction table & I felt pretty good!  (I did cancel my Physical Therapy session though.)  But I headed over to The Broken Yolk & had a terrific 4-egg omelet with tons of veggies & herbal tea (no honey!).  I did look wistfully at the yummy blueberry muffin, but I was good & took it home for my son.  Then I came home & slept like the proverbial log all afternoon, night,  & late this morning (Saturday, I’m just up really late–yikes! It’s 12:59 am on Sunday morning!)

But I do feel much better today.  My muscles are a bit sore but nothing major.  My right side is still tender inside, but I’m fine with eating from my approved list.  I’m standing straighter & I did some stretches; tomorrow I’ll do my full PT routine of assigned stretches & limbering exercises.   Boy, it feels great to start feeling good again!!  Thanks everyone at Renew!