Personal Health Reset Restart: Update No. 1

An image of a woman looking ill and with her hand to her forehead with the words Personal Health Reset Restart Update No. 1

I have been struggling--mentally and physically.

As I mentioned in my last post, my doctor had me trial a specific gastrointestinal health diet that did NOT work for me. I'm still feeling the negative effects and still will not be sharing the diet details--not only do I not want you to embark on that diet without your healthcare provider's advice, but nothing in this or any of my posts should ever be taken as healthcare or medical advice or input. This is exclusively about my experience. If anything I write feels like it might apply to you, please discuss it with your own healthcare team before trying anything I mention.

Read all of my Personal Health Reset posts HERE.

Ever since starting that diet, my wellbeing has been crashing. I initially thought maybe my iron reserves and my body's ability to use them was impaired--the last time I felt this way, my body had enough iron, but was not able to access and utilize it. My doctor and I checked my iron related labs, and all were within normal range. 

In some ways, I'm rebounding and feeling a little better, but in other ways, I'm feeling worse. 

Next week, I have a gastric emptying radiology exam and then an appointment with my doctor to review my results. I plan to ask my doctor to order labs related to inflammation, in addition to checking some routine labwork. 

Head to toe, I just ache deep in my body--not just my bones, but my whole body. I'm extremely sensitive to touch, and ALL of my senses feel intolerably heightened. 

PLEASE, NO ADVICE.
I AM WORKING CAREFULLY WITH MY OWN HEALTHCARE TEAM TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.

I've been going to weekly acupuncture for several weeks, and the hours after my appointments, I often have a burst of focus and energy. Then, I typically sleep extremely well overnight (I am a life long insomnia sufferer!), and often sleep quite a bit the next day. I'll feel better for the next couple of days and then slide back into this head-to-toe crash, and my mental health declines as my bodily wellness seems to decline. Then, I have another acupuncture session and the process starts again.

I am convinced my body pain, heightened sensitivity, and mental health crash are all related to that awful diet as these symptoms started a week into the diet and just accelerated the longer I stayed on the plan. 

I have since stopped the diet and gone back to my normal diet with some modifications. I'm eating the same foods I normally enjoy, but also:
  • eating much smaller amounts at any one time,
  • eating much more frequently,
  • chewing until my food can't be chewed further,
  • sipping small amounts of water all day instead of drinking full glasses at any one time.

Overall, I'm tolerating my normal foods better this way and finding joy in daily life again. With the horrible diet, my enjoyment of life was rapidly erroding. 

By making these changes, my mental health is improving, but I still have a long way to go to be at my baseline. I am enjoying life here and there, but my overall life satisfication is much lower than usual. My tummy pain is also much more manageable with these shifts. 

As I write this, I'm sitting in one of my favorite cafes, just 30 minutes after an acupuncture appointment. As mentioned, I feel like all of my senses are heightened. During my appointment, noises that are normally faint (people in the common areas of the clinic, sounds from the next door exam rooms, etc) were loud and clear as if they were all in the treatment room with me. I kept opening my eyes because I thought my acupuncturist had maybe come into the room!

Even sensations of the needles being placed, the acupuncturist feeling my pulses, the treatment table surface, and so on felt heightened. 

Now, at the cafe, my iced matcha latte tastes brighter and stronger than usual. My cinnamon muffin smells stronger than ever, and every noise of the other patrons, the espresso machine, and so on are all incredibly amplified--even with my headphones on and favorite music playing through them at my normal "drown everything out" volume, I can hear it all. 

And, my body feels like its vibrating even though I'm quite still--even if I hold my hands out in front of me, they are still despite feeling like strong vibrations are going through my body. 

It's wild!

Despite the challenges, lately, I've had some good days amid the bad. Monday was kind of terrible and I just stayed in bed, but on Tuesday, I was incredibly productive and got a lot of projects done. Wednesday, I had a rough day at work (but I love my job and enjoy my coworkers) due to worse than usual insomnia. Today, I had a good, but slow morning with my dog and worked on my patio garden a little bit before my appointment (check out my patio garden tours on YouTube HERE). I also stopped at a different favorite cafe and a cute gift shop before my appointment. 

While I'm experiencing my post-acupuncture burst of energy, I plan to work on my blogs and projects for a few hours and then head home. You can check out my other blogs and projects here:
Thanks for reading and I'll post another update next Thursday. Turns out that daily posts are just too much for me!
My name, Malea, superimposed on a background of trees amid fog


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