It has been 21 years since I had a spinal tap. At the time, I went along with whatever the doctor suggested because we were not able to figure out what I had definitively. If I knew then what I know now I would have chosen NOT to participate. I am not saying this is the choice for everyone, but again, if I knew then what I know now there wouldn't have been any place for it because it turned out negative. The test was extremely painful because during the actual needle being inserted and pulled out a bit to relocate it struck a nerve and caused major pain. I am not upset with the doctor because I know that accidents happen. I was laying on my stomach and was looking at a screen that showed the doctor where the needle was inside my body and could see it actually happen. For months up to a year after this procedure I would experience lower back pain daily exactly where the procedure was done. When the weather would change it would be even worse. Even still to this day when the weather changes it still acts up. Over the years it seems to have lessened some but today, wow, it hurts almost as bad as the day it occurred. I woke up and when I started walking I almost hit the floor. The weather outside is very cloudy so the house inside was fairly dark. I was trying to figure out why my back hurt so badly then it struck me where the pain was coming from and the fact the house was dark the weather must be changing, so it made sense. Even though my back is really hurting I am very thankful and prayerful that the weather will stay changed and the skies will open up and God will let the rain pour down Lots of it! I can take medicine and use ice and heat to ease the pain but I can't make it rain. Should it rain, which we have a great possibility, will make it all worth while. I do not like being in pain but it does help remind me of what I need to do to be as healthy as I can be, but more than anything to be grateful for everything no matter how it comes.
Having a spinal tap should be based solely on the individual. Do your research! You need to do what is right for you and your family. My test did not come back showing that I had MS at that time. I believe that the many tests that I took early on were all negative because I was in the early stages and it isn't always detected. I have no doubt that if I were to do the usual tests of spinal tap and MRI's that they would show it and all its glory. But for me, I choose to not continue to have MRI's yearly or how ever often b/c I would change nothing in the way that I treat my MS currently. For me, all it would do is make me stress even more from knowing I have more lesions or what not. Again, this is my decision that I have made with the help of my family. What I am doing is working for me. Everyone is different and everyone needs to make decision for themselves on tests to do or medicines to take, etc. I try to keep an open mind and pray I will continue to. I hope to be able to support others in their decisions and hope you will share what you are doing on here as well. Things that work for you and things that haven't worked. We all learn from trial and error and if we can share our experiences with each other then we are better off I believe.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Living Life
I have been very busy over the past few months living life and living it to the fullest. I have been more conscientious of what I am eating and how much I am exercising. I have taken it extremely slow and been very cautious not to over do things this time which has always ended me back in a heap of unhealthiness and unhappiness. The unhappiness is due to the situation that I get myself back into by over doing it. That is why I took things extremely slow this time and it paid off in big ways.
My blogs at the end of January were about the juicing that we, as a family, decided to do in order to "cleanse" our bodies. The juicing did amazing things for me personally. It definitely got me on the right track that I had been hoping to be on, health wise. At the end of February, I joined Weight Watchers b/c I had a little success on this through their online program for a very short time about a year ago. This time I signed up and went to meetings. I know that for me personally, it helps to keep me accountable. I was doing it for myself this time. I felt in the past, I was continually letting everyone else down too when I failed...which I would ultimately do. This time my approach was different. I told both my husband and daughter how much I truly weighed. This was a huge step for me b/c I was so embarrassed and ashamed of myself. Little did I know that by doing this what a blessing it would be for me. It took away the pressure I had been putting on myself. My family was encouraging and non judgmental. I know they always had been but the added burden of shame kept me from seeing this. I lived one day at a time. I would tell myself that if I faltered, there would always be a fresh new start the next day. By telling myself this, it again took the pressure of failing off of me which in turn caused me to not faltered. I did enjoy eating and would indulge at times. If I wanted to eat something, I would. I would usually just take a bite and I was good.
I have lost about 35 pounds to date. I almost weekly attend a spinning class on Monday's only. One 45 minute class a week is more than enough for ME. I handle that class WAY better than I thought that I would and really enjoy it. I am not always doing what the instructor is doing, but that is ok with not only me but the instructor. I made sure I talked with her about my health and asked if she had a problem with me keeping a slower pace. So, I make my own pace. Stand when I can and for how long I can. I don't feel guilty when I have to sit or slow down. I listen to my body and act accordingly. If nothing else, I at least stay on the bike and spin slowly for the entire 45 minutes. I position myself under one of the many ceiling fans and have one huge wall fan blowing directly on me from the time I start the class til the time I leave AND make sure to drink water as I am riding. This has assured me of being able to stay the course. I did push too hard this past week and got too hot. It was a great reminder to me to keep MY pace. It wiped me out for the remainder of the day which really bothered me. I don't like that feeling and I don't want to put myself in that position. In addition to spinning class I will choose to walk to my husbands office then drive when I can. We live where we work, on a 13 acre area. Our house is not too far from the office but a good enough distance to get some extra exercise in. I go the gym that is on our campus as well, with my daughter, and help her by throwing volleyballs for her to hit.
I have so much more energy and feel so much better about myself. My health is improving daily for the most part. Yes, I do still have some days I don't feel great and just try to rest accordingly when I can, or as soon as I can. I still go to the pro-adjuster chiropractor at least once a month, unless I have a need to go more frequently. I am really feeling so much better b/c of what I am doing for myself. Some times we just have to be a little selfish. Just enough to not put yourself last always. My husband has always told me that if I don't take care of myself than I can't be good for anyone, including myself. It is easy to get lost in the day to day living that we neglect our health. When we do that, it is only a matter of time when we will be hit and we never know how hard that may be.
When I was still in my first few months of WW. I would check my weight frequently in anticipation of weigh in day. I would check in my little book that had my weekly weight written in it. On the top of the page that I would constantly refer to, was a note from my daughter that read, "Good job, mom, keep it up you're doing great! : ) <3 Lex" I cannot tell you enough just how special that note was to me and still is. I did cry upon reading it b/c this was not typical of her to leave me notes. She probably has no clue how much her words helped to keep me on track. In the beginning, I was doing it for myself, but it was now showing how much it meant to my family that I was doing it & being successful, b/c I was a much happier person. It showed outwardly and they too got the benefits of the happier, healthier me which caused her to want to encourage me with her kind & loving words. As Gabby Douglas, the USA Olympiad, said so eloquently recently, "I give all the glory to God. It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him, and all the blessings fall down on me." God truly blessed me with a loving husband and daughter.
My blogs at the end of January were about the juicing that we, as a family, decided to do in order to "cleanse" our bodies. The juicing did amazing things for me personally. It definitely got me on the right track that I had been hoping to be on, health wise. At the end of February, I joined Weight Watchers b/c I had a little success on this through their online program for a very short time about a year ago. This time I signed up and went to meetings. I know that for me personally, it helps to keep me accountable. I was doing it for myself this time. I felt in the past, I was continually letting everyone else down too when I failed...which I would ultimately do. This time my approach was different. I told both my husband and daughter how much I truly weighed. This was a huge step for me b/c I was so embarrassed and ashamed of myself. Little did I know that by doing this what a blessing it would be for me. It took away the pressure I had been putting on myself. My family was encouraging and non judgmental. I know they always had been but the added burden of shame kept me from seeing this. I lived one day at a time. I would tell myself that if I faltered, there would always be a fresh new start the next day. By telling myself this, it again took the pressure of failing off of me which in turn caused me to not faltered. I did enjoy eating and would indulge at times. If I wanted to eat something, I would. I would usually just take a bite and I was good.
I have lost about 35 pounds to date. I almost weekly attend a spinning class on Monday's only. One 45 minute class a week is more than enough for ME. I handle that class WAY better than I thought that I would and really enjoy it. I am not always doing what the instructor is doing, but that is ok with not only me but the instructor. I made sure I talked with her about my health and asked if she had a problem with me keeping a slower pace. So, I make my own pace. Stand when I can and for how long I can. I don't feel guilty when I have to sit or slow down. I listen to my body and act accordingly. If nothing else, I at least stay on the bike and spin slowly for the entire 45 minutes. I position myself under one of the many ceiling fans and have one huge wall fan blowing directly on me from the time I start the class til the time I leave AND make sure to drink water as I am riding. This has assured me of being able to stay the course. I did push too hard this past week and got too hot. It was a great reminder to me to keep MY pace. It wiped me out for the remainder of the day which really bothered me. I don't like that feeling and I don't want to put myself in that position. In addition to spinning class I will choose to walk to my husbands office then drive when I can. We live where we work, on a 13 acre area. Our house is not too far from the office but a good enough distance to get some extra exercise in. I go the gym that is on our campus as well, with my daughter, and help her by throwing volleyballs for her to hit.
I have so much more energy and feel so much better about myself. My health is improving daily for the most part. Yes, I do still have some days I don't feel great and just try to rest accordingly when I can, or as soon as I can. I still go to the pro-adjuster chiropractor at least once a month, unless I have a need to go more frequently. I am really feeling so much better b/c of what I am doing for myself. Some times we just have to be a little selfish. Just enough to not put yourself last always. My husband has always told me that if I don't take care of myself than I can't be good for anyone, including myself. It is easy to get lost in the day to day living that we neglect our health. When we do that, it is only a matter of time when we will be hit and we never know how hard that may be.
When I was still in my first few months of WW. I would check my weight frequently in anticipation of weigh in day. I would check in my little book that had my weekly weight written in it. On the top of the page that I would constantly refer to, was a note from my daughter that read, "Good job, mom, keep it up you're doing great! : ) <3 Lex" I cannot tell you enough just how special that note was to me and still is. I did cry upon reading it b/c this was not typical of her to leave me notes. She probably has no clue how much her words helped to keep me on track. In the beginning, I was doing it for myself, but it was now showing how much it meant to my family that I was doing it & being successful, b/c I was a much happier person. It showed outwardly and they too got the benefits of the happier, healthier me which caused her to want to encourage me with her kind & loving words. As Gabby Douglas, the USA Olympiad, said so eloquently recently, "I give all the glory to God. It's kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him, and all the blessings fall down on me." God truly blessed me with a loving husband and daughter.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Technologically Challenged
I wanted to apologize that I have not blogged in a while. My settings have not been correct and have not received any notices for messages of folks commenting. I deeply apologize and hope to have this remedied quickly. I have not fallen off the face of the earth... yet, I have just not been able to spend the time needed to try to figure out my "issues" on here or to even realize all of my "issues" until now. I have spent all morning making sure to write back to everyone who has written me but I do not see them on the blog. I am unsure as to where they have been sent at this time. I believe that I just answered them in email form and not as a comment back on the blog. : / My husband is the blog king and I have not wanted to bother him as of yet but he can know that as of now, I will be hitting him up soon. : ) I do plan to update my blog in the next day or two. God bless!
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sad truth, MS does affect my kid but...
Ten years ago, we were living in Texas and had moved into a great neighborhood. Cory, my husband, was doing youth ministry at a local church, a job he really loved. Every morning I would work out at a nearby gym, trying to reach my life dream of running in a 5K race. Life was moving at a face pace which was normal for us, until one day I hit a wall, so to speak. My legs began to grow heavy and tingly and turn numb, so I stopped and rested as I do when "MS" sneaks up on me. My husband was always great at insisting I rest when I needed too. But this time it didn't get better with rest. It quickly crawled up to my chest, many call it the "MS Hug" and left me unable to walk for over one month. I was pretty much helpless and laid in bed and slept most of the time.
Our daughter, Lexa. was only 5 at the time and had never really experienced my not being involved daily in her life, especially for such a long period of time. One of the blessings that directly affected Lexa was her kindergarten school teacher, Mrs. Anders. She was helping raise her grandson while taking care of her daughter due to the daughter being very ill with MS. Mrs. Anders completely understood our situation and was very willing to give Lexa that extra time and attention that she needed. God definitely placed her in our life at that particular time for a very specific reason, I fully believe this.
Lexa was very loving and understandable with me in the beginning, but after a few weeks she was ready for it to be over and for life to be "back to normal". We would play games on my bed, or read books or do homework whenever I felt up to it. She just wasn't able to understand nor was she able to express what she was feeling and it would often come across as lashing out at me. Although I understood, it was still difficult for me to not be able to help her during this time. Fortunately, Cory had a job that he was able to come and pick Lexa up most days after school and she would go and hang out with him at the church building, her second home. She really enjoyed that. We also had a great friend who had twins around her age that lived around the corner. She was gracious enough to pick Lexa up several times a week and take her to her house until Cory could pick her up. This too helped to keep Lexa busy until I was well enough to get back to my usual routine.
I just have to say that this was a very difficult time in my life as a mom. It really stinks to have such issues with my MS when it directly affects my child so much, much less my husband's life. I have had other times of being down and out but never for such a long period of time. Even today, if I have to miss out on going somewhere or doing something with my family due to my MS, it just really eats me alive. I don't want my daughter's memories to be of me being sick and missing out on doing something, or heaven forbid, it preventing her from doing something. It truly makes me cringe when that happens. I can't stand the words, "we can't because your mother / or my mother is sick". I know it is a part of life but it hurts living with that fact. Because it is part of our lives, I do my best to make sure that when I do feel good, I make the most of it. I have to admit, that I have bought my daughter more things and have done more things for her because of my guilt. This is something that I have struggled with and have even discussed this with my daughter. It is always a work in progress.
I share this because I know that other people feel the same way that I do. I want you to know that you are not alone and I feel your pain. Please don't give up because you have so much to offer your children whether you realize it or not. I know that Lexa appreciates the time I do get to spend with her and we do have many good memories.
Our daughter, Lexa. was only 5 at the time and had never really experienced my not being involved daily in her life, especially for such a long period of time. One of the blessings that directly affected Lexa was her kindergarten school teacher, Mrs. Anders. She was helping raise her grandson while taking care of her daughter due to the daughter being very ill with MS. Mrs. Anders completely understood our situation and was very willing to give Lexa that extra time and attention that she needed. God definitely placed her in our life at that particular time for a very specific reason, I fully believe this.
Lexa was very loving and understandable with me in the beginning, but after a few weeks she was ready for it to be over and for life to be "back to normal". We would play games on my bed, or read books or do homework whenever I felt up to it. She just wasn't able to understand nor was she able to express what she was feeling and it would often come across as lashing out at me. Although I understood, it was still difficult for me to not be able to help her during this time. Fortunately, Cory had a job that he was able to come and pick Lexa up most days after school and she would go and hang out with him at the church building, her second home. She really enjoyed that. We also had a great friend who had twins around her age that lived around the corner. She was gracious enough to pick Lexa up several times a week and take her to her house until Cory could pick her up. This too helped to keep Lexa busy until I was well enough to get back to my usual routine.
I just have to say that this was a very difficult time in my life as a mom. It really stinks to have such issues with my MS when it directly affects my child so much, much less my husband's life. I have had other times of being down and out but never for such a long period of time. Even today, if I have to miss out on going somewhere or doing something with my family due to my MS, it just really eats me alive. I don't want my daughter's memories to be of me being sick and missing out on doing something, or heaven forbid, it preventing her from doing something. It truly makes me cringe when that happens. I can't stand the words, "we can't because your mother / or my mother is sick". I know it is a part of life but it hurts living with that fact. Because it is part of our lives, I do my best to make sure that when I do feel good, I make the most of it. I have to admit, that I have bought my daughter more things and have done more things for her because of my guilt. This is something that I have struggled with and have even discussed this with my daughter. It is always a work in progress.
I share this because I know that other people feel the same way that I do. I want you to know that you are not alone and I feel your pain. Please don't give up because you have so much to offer your children whether you realize it or not. I know that Lexa appreciates the time I do get to spend with her and we do have many good memories.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Weeks after juicing
Other than just getting over bronchitis, I feel so much better after our juicing experience. I TRY to juice at least once if not twice daily. I am not always great at getting that done but I will continue to try. I am, however, choosing to eat better over all. The times we have gone out to eat, I have chosen a salad or even a small sandwich and no fries or chips mainly because I am just not as hungry any more. I eat wheat bread when I do eat bread. At this time I am not strictly on Dr Swanks MS diet but I am well on my way to eating right. I drank a small Dr. Pepper one day which has always been my down fall, but after I drank it, I was up until 3 in the morning. It was so not worth that and I finally realized it. I have taken another sip, ok, I am hard headed, since then, but I put it down immediately. It wasn't that same great taste I remembered. If you knew me, you would know that this was and still is somewhat a big shock for me. I don't know if my tastes have changed due to the juicing or my just really wanting to stay focused on eating/drinking better, or possibly the combination of both. I guess it doesn't really matter but it is nice to know it doesn't control me any more. My husband and I have cooked more together, which I really enjoy, and cooked healthier meals with fresh ingredients. I have used the juicer for many of our recipes now. It is not always feasible for us every day, but again, we will do our best. When I make mistakes, I will no longer just stop doing what needs to be done and give up on myself. I am learning to just try again. I am an all or nothing kind of person and when I am in, I want to do it right. Not always necessarily a good thing because things aren't always going to turn out perfect.
Friday, February 3, 2012
MS Diagnosis
I was 20 years old when I had my first "symptom" in my life that made me have to stop and take notice. I was living in Dallas, TX, and was going to school to become a paralegal and I was having to learn shorthand and typing skills to help aid in this. I woke up one Sunday morning and my fingertips on my right hand were all tingling like they were asleep. I didn't think anything about this at first because I have had different parts of my body "go to sleep" from time to time. But, it didn't go away like the times before. By the time I got to church it had crawled down my fingers and then by the time church was over, my entire hand was "asleep", or so I called it at that time. I was sitting and visiting with my friend who was going to school to become a nurse. She just happened to be studying about multiple sclerosis and just mentioned right before church something about, "that's can happen to people have MS". Who'd a thunk that almost a year later that friend would be correct with her innocent comment????
The sleeping or tingling feeling eventually crawled all the way to my shoulder and in a matter of a day, turned numb and I had no control of my arm at that point. With my being right handed, I was no longer able to write or type. I went to a doctor in the Dallas area, by myself, five hours away from any family. By the end of the visit, he was describing in detail to an intern who was observing our appointment, that many times people who do drugs pass out on their arm and it could cause this. As naive as I was at that time, I didn't catch until later that day that he was basically calling me a drugee. I was crushed! What also never dawned on me was that where I was going to college a year before, I would go and donate plasma for money, sometimes as often as twice a week. Parents weren't too excited about that one. Anyway, I had one little scar on the inside of each of my arms where they would draw the blood from each time. I even had a donor card with me. He never asked me about it, just assumed, and I never thought to say anything either. Needless to say, I didn't go back to him. My parents made an appointment for me back home, so off I went to San Angelo where the doctors were unable to figure out what was the cause. I had MRI's and other tests but eventually they just labeled it carpel tunnel because they didn't know what to call it. I went back to school and after about a month my arm was back to normal.
The day after Thanksgiving, six months later, I woke up with "fuzzy" vision in my left eye. I was driving from Austin back to San Angelo on a two lane highway and my oldest brother was jokingly razzing me about not passing the slow pokes in front of me. Although I had mentioned my vision when I first woke up, I hadn't said anything again until this point. I told him that I couldn't really see well enough to feel comfortable about passing someone. He said, "Well, goofball, pull over and let me drive". By the time we got home my eye seemed to worsen a little and I told my folks. I went to bed and woke up the next morning and that one eye was completely blind. My parents called my eye doctor and he met us up at his office even though it was Thanksgiving weekend. My dad went with me and in the conversation with the doctor he mentioned something about MS. The doctor said he was thinking that but didn't want to say anything because he was just not sure. The fact that my dad brought it up, it was then talked about more.
My dad filled the doctor in on the fact that over the past few months, my biological mother had contacted me to let me know why she put me up for adoption, right after I was born, was due to the fact that she has MS. I really didn't know much about MS so it never crossed my mind that my vision could have had anything to do with it. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my parents were beginning to put pieces of the puzzle together.
My left eye was solid blackness for a week but VERY slowly the vision began to come back from the outside first, then to the middle. Almost exactly one month later, a few days after Christmas, I woke up and I was blind in my right eye this time and with no warning. It lasted about as long as the left eye. I wasn't seeing well at all at this point because my vision was still not completely back in my left eye when this occurred in my right eye.
I flew back to Dallas where friends picked me up and a few days later I went to another doctor who then put me in the hospital for further testing for a week, over New Year's. My parents came and took turns staying with me during my stay. Long story short, absolutely NO test results confirmed my having MS. I did more MRI's (no lesions), bone-scan, blood work galore and even a spinal tap which I would NEVER do again. I still have lower back issues 20 years later due to them dragging the needle and striking a nerve. Just not a good experience for me.
Over the next few months, from my waste down went all tingly and caused me to slow down but never went completely numb at this time. Then some time later I went blind, yet again, after what we guessed was due to the strenuous work out I got after rock climbing with my oldest brother and his wife. This time my vision was damaged somewhat. In my right eye, it is as though the lights are always dim. I can see though and in color, even though it is skewed a tad. Just very blessed to still have vision. I missed a lot of work yet my boss never fired me. I think it was because his daughter had just gone off to college and he had a soft spot for me because of her. BUT, he did call my dad and told him what was going on and my parents decided to move me back to San Angelo with them.
Right before I moved back home, my mom went to a concert to hear a pianist, Yanni, who shared with everyone the news that his daughter, who has MS, had just had a baby. After the concert, my mom went to ask him about his daughter and he pulled her aside and told her about Dr. Swank in Portland, OR. My parents immediately started researching about Dr. Swank and called to make an appointment. The waiting list took months usually, but fortunately for me, someone had just cancelled and he gave me their slot. The appointment was just weeks after my moving home. My mothers co-workers were gracious and loving enough to come up with airfare for both my dad and I. I still tear up thinking about how unselfish they were to have done this for us.
We spent the entire day with Dr Swank and his nurse, Barbara Dugan. After we had given him ALL the my medical history from the past year, he did his own testing and I as diagnosed with MS. I started his protocol of vitamins & most importantly the MS Diet he and Barbara came up with. Barbara was also a nutritionist. This was when my MS story began.
The sleeping or tingling feeling eventually crawled all the way to my shoulder and in a matter of a day, turned numb and I had no control of my arm at that point. With my being right handed, I was no longer able to write or type. I went to a doctor in the Dallas area, by myself, five hours away from any family. By the end of the visit, he was describing in detail to an intern who was observing our appointment, that many times people who do drugs pass out on their arm and it could cause this. As naive as I was at that time, I didn't catch until later that day that he was basically calling me a drugee. I was crushed! What also never dawned on me was that where I was going to college a year before, I would go and donate plasma for money, sometimes as often as twice a week. Parents weren't too excited about that one. Anyway, I had one little scar on the inside of each of my arms where they would draw the blood from each time. I even had a donor card with me. He never asked me about it, just assumed, and I never thought to say anything either. Needless to say, I didn't go back to him. My parents made an appointment for me back home, so off I went to San Angelo where the doctors were unable to figure out what was the cause. I had MRI's and other tests but eventually they just labeled it carpel tunnel because they didn't know what to call it. I went back to school and after about a month my arm was back to normal.
The day after Thanksgiving, six months later, I woke up with "fuzzy" vision in my left eye. I was driving from Austin back to San Angelo on a two lane highway and my oldest brother was jokingly razzing me about not passing the slow pokes in front of me. Although I had mentioned my vision when I first woke up, I hadn't said anything again until this point. I told him that I couldn't really see well enough to feel comfortable about passing someone. He said, "Well, goofball, pull over and let me drive". By the time we got home my eye seemed to worsen a little and I told my folks. I went to bed and woke up the next morning and that one eye was completely blind. My parents called my eye doctor and he met us up at his office even though it was Thanksgiving weekend. My dad went with me and in the conversation with the doctor he mentioned something about MS. The doctor said he was thinking that but didn't want to say anything because he was just not sure. The fact that my dad brought it up, it was then talked about more.
My dad filled the doctor in on the fact that over the past few months, my biological mother had contacted me to let me know why she put me up for adoption, right after I was born, was due to the fact that she has MS. I really didn't know much about MS so it never crossed my mind that my vision could have had anything to do with it. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my parents were beginning to put pieces of the puzzle together.
My left eye was solid blackness for a week but VERY slowly the vision began to come back from the outside first, then to the middle. Almost exactly one month later, a few days after Christmas, I woke up and I was blind in my right eye this time and with no warning. It lasted about as long as the left eye. I wasn't seeing well at all at this point because my vision was still not completely back in my left eye when this occurred in my right eye.
I flew back to Dallas where friends picked me up and a few days later I went to another doctor who then put me in the hospital for further testing for a week, over New Year's. My parents came and took turns staying with me during my stay. Long story short, absolutely NO test results confirmed my having MS. I did more MRI's (no lesions), bone-scan, blood work galore and even a spinal tap which I would NEVER do again. I still have lower back issues 20 years later due to them dragging the needle and striking a nerve. Just not a good experience for me.
Over the next few months, from my waste down went all tingly and caused me to slow down but never went completely numb at this time. Then some time later I went blind, yet again, after what we guessed was due to the strenuous work out I got after rock climbing with my oldest brother and his wife. This time my vision was damaged somewhat. In my right eye, it is as though the lights are always dim. I can see though and in color, even though it is skewed a tad. Just very blessed to still have vision. I missed a lot of work yet my boss never fired me. I think it was because his daughter had just gone off to college and he had a soft spot for me because of her. BUT, he did call my dad and told him what was going on and my parents decided to move me back to San Angelo with them.
Right before I moved back home, my mom went to a concert to hear a pianist, Yanni, who shared with everyone the news that his daughter, who has MS, had just had a baby. After the concert, my mom went to ask him about his daughter and he pulled her aside and told her about Dr. Swank in Portland, OR. My parents immediately started researching about Dr. Swank and called to make an appointment. The waiting list took months usually, but fortunately for me, someone had just cancelled and he gave me their slot. The appointment was just weeks after my moving home. My mothers co-workers were gracious and loving enough to come up with airfare for both my dad and I. I still tear up thinking about how unselfish they were to have done this for us.
We spent the entire day with Dr Swank and his nurse, Barbara Dugan. After we had given him ALL the my medical history from the past year, he did his own testing and I as diagnosed with MS. I started his protocol of vitamins & most importantly the MS Diet he and Barbara came up with. Barbara was also a nutritionist. This was when my MS story began.
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 6
I had an incredible nights sleep after such a yucky Day 5. I woke up feeling good and started on my blogging first thing because I had to catch up. My nose ran and ran and ran. I could hardly catch it that morning. No sneezing just running.
Wasn't sure if I was going to only drink juice or not today. But I knew I was going to continue to drink juice each day for breakfast through at least lunch each day for a while still. I was planning on listening to what my body is telling me. I drank juice most of the day but I added in a snack of celery sticks & peanut butter. I went out on a limb and had three celery sticks instead of two like yesterday :) I juiced some more and then for supper I ate a small bowl of mixed spring lettuce, a few craisons, few pieces of grilled chicken with a very light drizzle of Fat-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. Oh, my goodness, heaven in my mouth. The only side effect to this was I couldn't go to sleep that night til 3 in the morning. Loooong night yet I was thankful I was up due to the fact that a young man from a previous children's home was texting me then called. That was a very good surprise and I was so glad I was available to talk to him. I might really pay for it on Day 7 so we will see.
Recap of Day 6: Lost .4 lb again. I had fairly good energy all through the day. Nothing terribly exciting today. I am wanting to start incorporating exercise this next week. I didn't do it this week mainly because I wasn't sure how my body would do with juicing and I didn't need the added stress of throwing that on top of it all. I didn't want to set myself up to fail. Little by little, day by day. Made up my own juices today. Added sweet potato & pineapple. Left me feeling hungry quickly. Probably was due to the pineapple helping aid in digestion and felt hungry quickly. I will be sure to make a more hearty juice that will stick with us longer. That is important.
I won't being making daily blogs because really the "cleansing" part is over. I will, however, continue for at least another week of mainly juicing and eating of mainly fruits and vegetables with a little kick added at times. I want to slowly get my body back into eating more foods that are healthier in choice. I will write an update later in the week I suppose. I would call this cleansing a success. I didn't cheat and I didn't die from it :) My body is feeling SO much better. I want to continue and just add to the great feelings that I am having.
Wasn't sure if I was going to only drink juice or not today. But I knew I was going to continue to drink juice each day for breakfast through at least lunch each day for a while still. I was planning on listening to what my body is telling me. I drank juice most of the day but I added in a snack of celery sticks & peanut butter. I went out on a limb and had three celery sticks instead of two like yesterday :) I juiced some more and then for supper I ate a small bowl of mixed spring lettuce, a few craisons, few pieces of grilled chicken with a very light drizzle of Fat-Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. Oh, my goodness, heaven in my mouth. The only side effect to this was I couldn't go to sleep that night til 3 in the morning. Loooong night yet I was thankful I was up due to the fact that a young man from a previous children's home was texting me then called. That was a very good surprise and I was so glad I was available to talk to him. I might really pay for it on Day 7 so we will see.
Recap of Day 6: Lost .4 lb again. I had fairly good energy all through the day. Nothing terribly exciting today. I am wanting to start incorporating exercise this next week. I didn't do it this week mainly because I wasn't sure how my body would do with juicing and I didn't need the added stress of throwing that on top of it all. I didn't want to set myself up to fail. Little by little, day by day. Made up my own juices today. Added sweet potato & pineapple. Left me feeling hungry quickly. Probably was due to the pineapple helping aid in digestion and felt hungry quickly. I will be sure to make a more hearty juice that will stick with us longer. That is important.
I won't being making daily blogs because really the "cleansing" part is over. I will, however, continue for at least another week of mainly juicing and eating of mainly fruits and vegetables with a little kick added at times. I want to slowly get my body back into eating more foods that are healthier in choice. I will write an update later in the week I suppose. I would call this cleansing a success. I didn't cheat and I didn't die from it :) My body is feeling SO much better. I want to continue and just add to the great feelings that I am having.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 5
Day 5 was a bad day for me all together. I didn't sleep well the night before and I woke up just not feeling well. Thank goodness on the evening of the Day 4 I had juiced like a mad woman and made about 3-4 gallons of juice, maybe more. I used a new juice and it made a gallon all by itself. I didn't juice anything today fresh due to my not feeling well. I believe that God was indeed helping me by my doing all that juicing. :)
My daughter has co-op on Wednesday's & my husband usually takes her so this allowed me to not have to get out of bed so early. Thank you, honey! I rested (some included sleep) and drank juice pretty much the entire day. I drank about 12 oz of our homemade Almond milk about lunch time which almost immediately my stomach was churning. I could feel it moving its way all through my intestinal tract even. It finally dawned on me that I hadn't eliminated anything in days. On a personal note, this has always been an issue for me, all of my life. Since working with the naturalpath in San Angelo, we have worked hard to remedy this due to all the toxins staying in your body otherwise. Since moving to Wichita, I have done much better about drinking water regularly and that in itself has helped tremendously. All that being said, here we are juicing to detox/clean out and if I am not eliminating then I am just holding on to the toxic waste which is staying in my system still doing its damage. Today I felt the damage. Drinking the Almond milk did help me some. I never realized until at that point that I should be drinking the milk several times a day. That was the only protein I was getting.
Towards the afternoon I was still feeling so badly that I was beginning to wonder if four days of only juicing was enough for my MS body. I was really trying hard to listen to what my body was saying. I skipped church because of how badly I was feeling and then around 6:30 pm I ended up eating 2 celery sticks and a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. I felt very full and my mouth enjoyed the treat. By the time my husband made it home from church, I was beginning to get a little energy, a LITTLE. We recapped briefly the events of my day and he headed back out to go to the grocery store to get me something to help with the elimination process, an enema. I was not excited about that but I after my day, I was willing to try anything. I talked to my dad earlier that day about what was going on and he suggested doing an enema,my dad is a pharmacist by the way, but I laughed it off and said that I don't want to ever have to do that again. By the evening time, and my husband and I had the same conversation, I decided that maybe they were on to something. & I was just being stubborn. Shock, not me! I do realize how blessed I am to have family who listen and give advice, even if I don't want to listen to their advice :) Needless to say, I did the dreaded enema and it was successful :) Yea, me, then I went back to bed for the night.
Recap of Day 5: Lost .4 lbs & didn't feel good all day. The new juice that was added, Grapefruit, was by far the nastiest juice yet and I have to say that we won't be making that particular recipe again. In order for us to even get it down, we had to mix it half and half with the Pear Juice. The fact that it made so much juice was great, but why did it have to taste so bad? Way too bitter. We love grapefruit, it was just the combination in the juice, I suppose. I had issues with not eliminating in days so I finally hit the wall. Understandable. Praying that all my efforts at the end of the day pay off and tomorrow I will feel much better. Some of my not so obvious blessing for the day, my daughter had co-op so I was able to rest, didn't need to teach. My dad and husband suggesting an enema. Ugh!
Grapefruit Juice:
1 lime
1/2 cucumber
4 stalks of celery
head of Kale
1 green apple
1 grapefruit
(I just realized that I put in a whole cucumber per recipe I made. My cucumbers were huge too. That makes sense why it made SO much. But I can't imagine how much more bitter it would have tasted if I hadn't.)
My daughter has co-op on Wednesday's & my husband usually takes her so this allowed me to not have to get out of bed so early. Thank you, honey! I rested (some included sleep) and drank juice pretty much the entire day. I drank about 12 oz of our homemade Almond milk about lunch time which almost immediately my stomach was churning. I could feel it moving its way all through my intestinal tract even. It finally dawned on me that I hadn't eliminated anything in days. On a personal note, this has always been an issue for me, all of my life. Since working with the naturalpath in San Angelo, we have worked hard to remedy this due to all the toxins staying in your body otherwise. Since moving to Wichita, I have done much better about drinking water regularly and that in itself has helped tremendously. All that being said, here we are juicing to detox/clean out and if I am not eliminating then I am just holding on to the toxic waste which is staying in my system still doing its damage. Today I felt the damage. Drinking the Almond milk did help me some. I never realized until at that point that I should be drinking the milk several times a day. That was the only protein I was getting.
Towards the afternoon I was still feeling so badly that I was beginning to wonder if four days of only juicing was enough for my MS body. I was really trying hard to listen to what my body was saying. I skipped church because of how badly I was feeling and then around 6:30 pm I ended up eating 2 celery sticks and a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter. I felt very full and my mouth enjoyed the treat. By the time my husband made it home from church, I was beginning to get a little energy, a LITTLE. We recapped briefly the events of my day and he headed back out to go to the grocery store to get me something to help with the elimination process, an enema. I was not excited about that but I after my day, I was willing to try anything. I talked to my dad earlier that day about what was going on and he suggested doing an enema,my dad is a pharmacist by the way, but I laughed it off and said that I don't want to ever have to do that again. By the evening time, and my husband and I had the same conversation, I decided that maybe they were on to something. & I was just being stubborn. Shock, not me! I do realize how blessed I am to have family who listen and give advice, even if I don't want to listen to their advice :) Needless to say, I did the dreaded enema and it was successful :) Yea, me, then I went back to bed for the night.
Recap of Day 5: Lost .4 lbs & didn't feel good all day. The new juice that was added, Grapefruit, was by far the nastiest juice yet and I have to say that we won't be making that particular recipe again. In order for us to even get it down, we had to mix it half and half with the Pear Juice. The fact that it made so much juice was great, but why did it have to taste so bad? Way too bitter. We love grapefruit, it was just the combination in the juice, I suppose. I had issues with not eliminating in days so I finally hit the wall. Understandable. Praying that all my efforts at the end of the day pay off and tomorrow I will feel much better. Some of my not so obvious blessing for the day, my daughter had co-op so I was able to rest, didn't need to teach. My dad and husband suggesting an enema. Ugh!
Grapefruit Juice:
1 lime
1/2 cucumber
4 stalks of celery
head of Kale
1 green apple
1 grapefruit
(I just realized that I put in a whole cucumber per recipe I made. My cucumbers were huge too. That makes sense why it made SO much. But I can't imagine how much more bitter it would have tasted if I hadn't.)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 4
As I mentioned in my previous post, I woke up on Day 4 with an Advil PM hangover - BUT there were no traces of pain left in my legs. I was so grateful. Cory and I were just guessing that it must be the toxins building up in certain areas that I usually have difficulty with. While working with a natural pathic doctor when we once lived in San Angelo, TX. He put folks on cleansing diets that cleaned their blood & used CatsClaw and they experienced this quite often as they were detoxing. Not fun, but sadly it is something that I have to experience as part of the cleansing.
Had many errands to run today and so by my juicing so much last night enabled me to stay on the cleansing diet and manage to get everything done. I didn't; however, take extra juice to my daughter's out of town game like I thought that I would. My day just got away from me but I did manage to bring some for both my husband and I to drink on the way to her game which helped tie ME over til we got home 3 almost 4 hours later, Cory not so much :)
When I got home I drank another glass of juice and darted off to get a few items that we had run out of. Who in their right mind would spend $18 on pears? On this day, that would be me! Why did we start this juicing when fruits are out of season and so expensive? Oh, well, it is our favorite juice and it is so much better than going and buying fast food. I seriously believe and feel that way. I am actually looking forward to drinking the juice and the feelings I get from it. I not only feel full but I feel very energetic. And to boot, at night time I feel tired and ready for bed, instead of tired but my mind and body are racing and I end up not being able to go to sleep for hours.
I have to say that I ONLY SNEEZED TWICE, MAYBE THRICE :) TODAY!!! I was so excited. Was it because of the cleansing? I would like to think so. We will see how another day goes. Yes, that means that I will venture on to yet another day of full juicing and no actual eating of food.
I didn't add any new juices on Day 4. I just alternated the same kind that I have from Day 1 - 3. Cory and I did make up a big batch of Almond milk and I must say that we make a pretty good team. We are figuring out better means of straining it and that helped so much. The first time we made it, we joked that the little chunks were good because it was like eating food almost. Well, that got not so good quickly. Yuck!
Day 4 Recap - Lost 1 lb.(I always weigh myself in the mornings around 9 each morning) I had a very busy and active day and still managed to get my juicing in and had a lot of energy. Allergies were almost non-existing - Yea!!! Still anxious to keep on going with the juicing cleanse.
Had many errands to run today and so by my juicing so much last night enabled me to stay on the cleansing diet and manage to get everything done. I didn't; however, take extra juice to my daughter's out of town game like I thought that I would. My day just got away from me but I did manage to bring some for both my husband and I to drink on the way to her game which helped tie ME over til we got home 3 almost 4 hours later, Cory not so much :)
When I got home I drank another glass of juice and darted off to get a few items that we had run out of. Who in their right mind would spend $18 on pears? On this day, that would be me! Why did we start this juicing when fruits are out of season and so expensive? Oh, well, it is our favorite juice and it is so much better than going and buying fast food. I seriously believe and feel that way. I am actually looking forward to drinking the juice and the feelings I get from it. I not only feel full but I feel very energetic. And to boot, at night time I feel tired and ready for bed, instead of tired but my mind and body are racing and I end up not being able to go to sleep for hours.
I have to say that I ONLY SNEEZED TWICE, MAYBE THRICE :) TODAY!!! I was so excited. Was it because of the cleansing? I would like to think so. We will see how another day goes. Yes, that means that I will venture on to yet another day of full juicing and no actual eating of food.
I didn't add any new juices on Day 4. I just alternated the same kind that I have from Day 1 - 3. Cory and I did make up a big batch of Almond milk and I must say that we make a pretty good team. We are figuring out better means of straining it and that helped so much. The first time we made it, we joked that the little chunks were good because it was like eating food almost. Well, that got not so good quickly. Yuck!
Day 4 Recap - Lost 1 lb.(I always weigh myself in the mornings around 9 each morning) I had a very busy and active day and still managed to get my juicing in and had a lot of energy. Allergies were almost non-existing - Yea!!! Still anxious to keep on going with the juicing cleanse.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 3
Woke up refreshed & ready for the day. Cory had to go to work and I had to plan for another grocery run. I needed to take Cory some juice to keep up at the office so he could drink on it through the day. Between homeschooling our daughter & all the planning & actual juicing, my day was pretty consumed.
My allergies were still going full throttle throughout my morning and afternoon.. Still praying for relief. I did have one kind of strange spell while helping my daughter with literature. I felt dizzy after reading a few paragraphs. Maybe that is just the idea of doing literature that made me dizzy :) It hit me so hard that I had to lay down for a short time. My daughter too back over the reading while I rested. It eventually did go away,
I just really mixed up the kinds of juices that we had already been making because I wanted to be sure to use the ingredients that we had already purchased. In my opinion, this was the best day of juicing because I really like the variety. Note to self!
Drank another juice before going to my daughters basketball game later that day. Brought water to drink on during the game which was a good choice. We didn't stay for the other games b/c we were not wanting to reach the hungry stage, well, Cory was already there :), and needed to go home and juice before we were tempted by the "junk" they were selling. Trying to make it seem less appealing by calling it "junk" : ) Kind of works.
About 8:30 pm, we got settled in and began to watch a movie together as a family and I began to just feel yucky. I was unsure as to what I was feeling and opted to skip out and go ahead and lay in bed. About 9 pm the front part of both of my thighs began to really ache and soon went down past my knees. It was pretty painful that I went ahead and took an Advil PM. I don't really remember too much because it knocked me plum out. I slept well but woke up with an Advil PM hangover the next morning - but you will have to read the next post to see if I was still hurting the next day :)
Recap of Day 3:
Lost 1.2 lbs. after two days of juicing.. Any weight is good with me right now. Doing it for cleansing purposes more than weight loss at this time. Don't get me wrong, I want to lose weight and I want to lose a lot, but I also want to keep it off so I am TRYING to be smart about it. Still felt mostly energetic throughout the day. I did think about actually eating food but I am wanting better health more at this point. Yea, me! I have surprised myself that I have been so strong. My husband doing it with me has helped me more than he probably realizes. Although I am still feeling pretty good with myself. Very thankful that it hasn't been unbearable. I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to at least juice, only juice, for 3 days and then maybe incorporate a salad or other fruits and vegetables. but I am thinking that I can do it for another day at least. Lexa has an out of town basketball game on Day 4 so not sure what we will be able to do. I am thinking that I will juice several different juices and put them in a cooler and just take it with us. Yea, that is the plan I will go with.
My allergies were still going full throttle throughout my morning and afternoon.. Still praying for relief. I did have one kind of strange spell while helping my daughter with literature. I felt dizzy after reading a few paragraphs. Maybe that is just the idea of doing literature that made me dizzy :) It hit me so hard that I had to lay down for a short time. My daughter too back over the reading while I rested. It eventually did go away,
I just really mixed up the kinds of juices that we had already been making because I wanted to be sure to use the ingredients that we had already purchased. In my opinion, this was the best day of juicing because I really like the variety. Note to self!
Drank another juice before going to my daughters basketball game later that day. Brought water to drink on during the game which was a good choice. We didn't stay for the other games b/c we were not wanting to reach the hungry stage, well, Cory was already there :), and needed to go home and juice before we were tempted by the "junk" they were selling. Trying to make it seem less appealing by calling it "junk" : ) Kind of works.
About 8:30 pm, we got settled in and began to watch a movie together as a family and I began to just feel yucky. I was unsure as to what I was feeling and opted to skip out and go ahead and lay in bed. About 9 pm the front part of both of my thighs began to really ache and soon went down past my knees. It was pretty painful that I went ahead and took an Advil PM. I don't really remember too much because it knocked me plum out. I slept well but woke up with an Advil PM hangover the next morning - but you will have to read the next post to see if I was still hurting the next day :)
Recap of Day 3:
Lost 1.2 lbs. after two days of juicing.. Any weight is good with me right now. Doing it for cleansing purposes more than weight loss at this time. Don't get me wrong, I want to lose weight and I want to lose a lot, but I also want to keep it off so I am TRYING to be smart about it. Still felt mostly energetic throughout the day. I did think about actually eating food but I am wanting better health more at this point. Yea, me! I have surprised myself that I have been so strong. My husband doing it with me has helped me more than he probably realizes. Although I am still feeling pretty good with myself. Very thankful that it hasn't been unbearable. I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to at least juice, only juice, for 3 days and then maybe incorporate a salad or other fruits and vegetables. but I am thinking that I can do it for another day at least. Lexa has an out of town basketball game on Day 4 so not sure what we will be able to do. I am thinking that I will juice several different juices and put them in a cooler and just take it with us. Yea, that is the plan I will go with.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 2
I woke up well rested. Fortunately, I juiced a little extra the night before in order to have some ready for us as soon as we woke up. It tastes better freshly juiced but the ease was worth it to me. The entire process of juicing is very time consuming and I thoroughly clean my machine each and every time I use it. I can already tell you that I will be making extra juice every time due to the time it takes. This will be worth it to me so I won't get burned out.
I have to admit that my stomach was talking some during church. I was looking forward to going home for my next "meal". I only juiced two times during the day and made the extra each time as I mentioned. I didn't make any almond milk on Day 2 because I didn't have any more Vanilla Bean. I bought some from the health store the first time and I spent way too much money, in my opinion, on only two beans. I will do more searching for somewhere else who sells vanilla beans. I drank a little in the morning from the previous day but didn't have enough for any more. It sure helps fill you up so I will definitely be making more.
My allergies went crazy all throughout the day & even night, NOT FUN. Way more than normal. I am guessing the reason is because I am detoxing and my body doesn't know what is going on so it is lashing out. Praying it gets better and quickly. I felt pretty decent, other than the allergies, in the morning and part of the afternoon. But due to my allergies, I began to get headache. I thought about taking an Advil but decided to try to live through it. Bad choice. I was beginning to get a migraine. By the time I got back from the grocery store I was about to throw up due to the pain & I didn't want to do that. So I buckled and took an Advil and laid down for about an hour. Very thankful that when I got up, I felt decent. It took the edge off of the headache & that made it manageable, so I went and juiced for the second time - a new and tasty juice. Helped fill the sweet tooth that my husband and I both had.
About 9 pm my stomach was doing a little rumbling. I drank my detox tea and and it managed to tie me over and I went to bed a little early. Didn't go to sleep right away, but I wasn't really hungry. Sure I thought about food but my mind is in the right place to deal with it. I didn't have to go to the restroom as often as I did yesterday but still went a lot. During the night I only woke up once to go.
To recap, I felt ok most of the day, other than the headache which did eventually go away. I haven't been grouchy either and this really surprises me & what a nice surprise. I just knew that was going to be a struggle. Oh, I failed to mention that I weighed myself the morning of Day 1 and did so again the morning of Day 2, to find out I lost 3.2 lbs. Wow, that was not expected, but I was very thankful. I am hoping that tomorrow my allergies will tone down - a lot too!. We shall see.
Day 2's added Recipes:
Pear Juice
sm pc ginger
c basil
4 c spinich
1 orange
2 pears
I have to admit that my stomach was talking some during church. I was looking forward to going home for my next "meal". I only juiced two times during the day and made the extra each time as I mentioned. I didn't make any almond milk on Day 2 because I didn't have any more Vanilla Bean. I bought some from the health store the first time and I spent way too much money, in my opinion, on only two beans. I will do more searching for somewhere else who sells vanilla beans. I drank a little in the morning from the previous day but didn't have enough for any more. It sure helps fill you up so I will definitely be making more.
My allergies went crazy all throughout the day & even night, NOT FUN. Way more than normal. I am guessing the reason is because I am detoxing and my body doesn't know what is going on so it is lashing out. Praying it gets better and quickly. I felt pretty decent, other than the allergies, in the morning and part of the afternoon. But due to my allergies, I began to get headache. I thought about taking an Advil but decided to try to live through it. Bad choice. I was beginning to get a migraine. By the time I got back from the grocery store I was about to throw up due to the pain & I didn't want to do that. So I buckled and took an Advil and laid down for about an hour. Very thankful that when I got up, I felt decent. It took the edge off of the headache & that made it manageable, so I went and juiced for the second time - a new and tasty juice. Helped fill the sweet tooth that my husband and I both had.
About 9 pm my stomach was doing a little rumbling. I drank my detox tea and and it managed to tie me over and I went to bed a little early. Didn't go to sleep right away, but I wasn't really hungry. Sure I thought about food but my mind is in the right place to deal with it. I didn't have to go to the restroom as often as I did yesterday but still went a lot. During the night I only woke up once to go.
To recap, I felt ok most of the day, other than the headache which did eventually go away. I haven't been grouchy either and this really surprises me & what a nice surprise. I just knew that was going to be a struggle. Oh, I failed to mention that I weighed myself the morning of Day 1 and did so again the morning of Day 2, to find out I lost 3.2 lbs. Wow, that was not expected, but I was very thankful. I am hoping that tomorrow my allergies will tone down - a lot too!. We shall see.
Day 2's added Recipes:
Pear Juice
sm pc ginger
c basil
4 c spinich
1 orange
2 pears
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Cleanse - Day 1
My husband and I have been discussing detoxing our bodies for some time now. We have done something similar in the past but we are looking into doing it more seriously this time. We decided to detox our bodies and have done a lot of research on this. Well, my husband has more than me, but he showed me what he finds of interest and passes that information onto me & then I went back and did my research : ) He found a documentary, "Sick, Fat & Nearly Dead". That is where I found myself lately and I am so ready to try to gain control again.
First, I want to explain why I feel it to be important for me to detox. I have been off of the Dr Swank & Barbara Dugan's MS Diet for 10 years due to my allowing myself the excuse that while being a houseparent at a children's home and having to cook two separate meals, one for me (my family) and then the 7 kids in our care, as being too hard. Yes, that is the excuse I went with : )
Even though I know the right things to do, I continually 'allow' myself to take the easy route. My goal is to change that this year. My body is in complete shock from all the junk that I have been putting in it for years now. It took me 10 years to get my body "back" in this sick state and I know the struggles I will face in order to get it back to a healthier one, but I DO want to accomplish this! I am an all or nothing kind of girl. Sadly, this isn't always in my favor. The only way I knew to do this was to jump in with both feet & that is just what I did. So we are doing a juicing cleanse diet. At this time I am unsure as to how many days I will do this, so I am taking it one day at a time.
We officially started yesterday and I am going to blog each day about how the previous day went. In preparation, I went to the grocery store and purchased 3 days worth of veggies and fruits to be ready for Day 1. (You would be surprised how much room that takes up in your frig. Be sure to make room if you decide to ever to a juicing cleanse.)
I don't normally eat breakfast because because it usually makes me nauseous, but I managed to drink down a "Green Juice" concoction and had no adverse affect from it. It was pretty decent tasting even. Throughout the day we juiced several more times as well as drinking detox tea, coconut water and at bedtime, we drank homemade almond milk. So no solid food was consumed my first day.
I didn't feel hungry at all the entire day. I do have to admit that the "idea" of eating something sounded wonderful, but I was never actually hungry. I was full of energy the entire day. I am unsure as to the exact reasoning, because my husband was the quite the opposite, but none-the-less, I was high energy. I had a good nights sleep & one without using any sleeping aid. I did, however, go the the restroom at least once if not twice every hour all day long. I just kept reminding myself each time that I am detoxing and this is what is supposed to happen. During the night I had to get up twice, but went right back to sleep both times with no problems.
I am very hopeful that this is just what my body needs and that good habits will form. My mind was actually pretty clear in my thoughts and I was on top of things. Stay tuned to hear how Day 2 goes.
I am going to add the recipes that we used to for juicing on Day 1, should you be curious.
Green Juice
1" ginger root
bunch of Kale
1 cucumber
4 stalks of celery
1/2 lemon
2 Granny Smith apples
Carrot Juice
sm pc of ginger root
1/2 lemon
2 Apples
3 Carrots
Almond Milk
1 t cinnamon
2 Dates
1 vanilla bean
1 c raw almonds
(soak almonds in 3 cups of water 7 hrs. Put water & almonds in a blender and add dates & the seeds of the vanilla bean. Mix well and then strain mild through cheese cloth. Makes about 15 - 20 oz)
Cilantro Juice
1 c coconut water
1 lime
bunch cilantro
2 lg cucumbers
We also drank Yogi Detox tea, water as well as coconut water throughout the day
First, I want to explain why I feel it to be important for me to detox. I have been off of the Dr Swank & Barbara Dugan's MS Diet for 10 years due to my allowing myself the excuse that while being a houseparent at a children's home and having to cook two separate meals, one for me (my family) and then the 7 kids in our care, as being too hard. Yes, that is the excuse I went with : )
Even though I know the right things to do, I continually 'allow' myself to take the easy route. My goal is to change that this year. My body is in complete shock from all the junk that I have been putting in it for years now. It took me 10 years to get my body "back" in this sick state and I know the struggles I will face in order to get it back to a healthier one, but I DO want to accomplish this! I am an all or nothing kind of girl. Sadly, this isn't always in my favor. The only way I knew to do this was to jump in with both feet & that is just what I did. So we are doing a juicing cleanse diet. At this time I am unsure as to how many days I will do this, so I am taking it one day at a time.
We officially started yesterday and I am going to blog each day about how the previous day went. In preparation, I went to the grocery store and purchased 3 days worth of veggies and fruits to be ready for Day 1. (You would be surprised how much room that takes up in your frig. Be sure to make room if you decide to ever to a juicing cleanse.)
I don't normally eat breakfast because because it usually makes me nauseous, but I managed to drink down a "Green Juice" concoction and had no adverse affect from it. It was pretty decent tasting even. Throughout the day we juiced several more times as well as drinking detox tea, coconut water and at bedtime, we drank homemade almond milk. So no solid food was consumed my first day.
I didn't feel hungry at all the entire day. I do have to admit that the "idea" of eating something sounded wonderful, but I was never actually hungry. I was full of energy the entire day. I am unsure as to the exact reasoning, because my husband was the quite the opposite, but none-the-less, I was high energy. I had a good nights sleep & one without using any sleeping aid. I did, however, go the the restroom at least once if not twice every hour all day long. I just kept reminding myself each time that I am detoxing and this is what is supposed to happen. During the night I had to get up twice, but went right back to sleep both times with no problems.
I am very hopeful that this is just what my body needs and that good habits will form. My mind was actually pretty clear in my thoughts and I was on top of things. Stay tuned to hear how Day 2 goes.
I am going to add the recipes that we used to for juicing on Day 1, should you be curious.
Green Juice
1" ginger root
bunch of Kale
1 cucumber
4 stalks of celery
1/2 lemon
2 Granny Smith apples
Carrot Juice
sm pc of ginger root
1/2 lemon
2 Apples
3 Carrots
Almond Milk
1 t cinnamon
2 Dates
1 vanilla bean
1 c raw almonds
(soak almonds in 3 cups of water 7 hrs. Put water & almonds in a blender and add dates & the seeds of the vanilla bean. Mix well and then strain mild through cheese cloth. Makes about 15 - 20 oz)
Cilantro Juice
1 c coconut water
1 lime
bunch cilantro
2 lg cucumbers
We also drank Yogi Detox tea, water as well as coconut water throughout the day
Monday, January 16, 2012
Hello, I am Michelle...
I have been living with MS going on 21 years now. Although the history of my story may be a little complicated to follow, it is one that has been full of blessings every step of the way. The purpose of my blog is to be able to share with others my MS journey both past and present. I am praying that blogging will help hold me accountable in my daily "MS Walk". I hope to be able to encourage others who may have just been diagnosed or others who have been on the path for some time.
I know that when I was first diagnosed, I reached out to certain groups but I found that I was in need of something that they were not able to provide. I was only 20 and just really beginning to live my adult life. I really was in search of hope in the midst of this blow. My life just seemed to have come to a complete halt. I was living in Dallas, five hours away from my family when I was first "blessed" by MS. I have to think of it this way because otherwise I would be in total state of depression all of the time. This just allotted for my life to be changed in ways that I would have never known. Not necessarily good or bad, just different. I found that the MS groups I first found, yes, there were many, ended up just being a big pity party session more than encouragement. I just kept thinking, "This is what I have to look forward to?" I quickly decided that was just not for me. I knew that folks needed somewhere to voice their opinions and to share their struggles, but that was all that they did. There was no hope, no one who jumped in and shared something good that came out of it. Just one depressed situation after another. I was playing the "Poor me" card well enough on my own.
I want this blog to be one where people can share such concerns or struggles, but I do not want it to be one that others come to and it just leaves them feeling drained, empty and hopeless. That is not doing anyone any good. Let's try to shine light on the good that can come out of it, and lets share ideas that might help in difficult situations. Let's pray for each other & with each other. Life is full of ups and downs. Hey, these last few months of my MS Walk, I have had my fair share of "downs". Lol! I have hugged the ground more times then I care to mention. But, boy, has it gotten my attention and I am ready to start fighting once again. I have sat back long enough, just getting by. I need your encouragement in my "walk" and I hope to encourage you in yours. Let's take this first step together...
I know that when I was first diagnosed, I reached out to certain groups but I found that I was in need of something that they were not able to provide. I was only 20 and just really beginning to live my adult life. I really was in search of hope in the midst of this blow. My life just seemed to have come to a complete halt. I was living in Dallas, five hours away from my family when I was first "blessed" by MS. I have to think of it this way because otherwise I would be in total state of depression all of the time. This just allotted for my life to be changed in ways that I would have never known. Not necessarily good or bad, just different. I found that the MS groups I first found, yes, there were many, ended up just being a big pity party session more than encouragement. I just kept thinking, "This is what I have to look forward to?" I quickly decided that was just not for me. I knew that folks needed somewhere to voice their opinions and to share their struggles, but that was all that they did. There was no hope, no one who jumped in and shared something good that came out of it. Just one depressed situation after another. I was playing the "Poor me" card well enough on my own.
I want this blog to be one where people can share such concerns or struggles, but I do not want it to be one that others come to and it just leaves them feeling drained, empty and hopeless. That is not doing anyone any good. Let's try to shine light on the good that can come out of it, and lets share ideas that might help in difficult situations. Let's pray for each other & with each other. Life is full of ups and downs. Hey, these last few months of my MS Walk, I have had my fair share of "downs". Lol! I have hugged the ground more times then I care to mention. But, boy, has it gotten my attention and I am ready to start fighting once again. I have sat back long enough, just getting by. I need your encouragement in my "walk" and I hope to encourage you in yours. Let's take this first step together...
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