Unpredictable... yet Hopeful

The one thing that bugs me the most about Adrenal Fatigue is that it is an unpredictable bedfellow. Just when I think that I am finally better, I get hit again with overwhelming fatigue. Right now, I feel like the MAC truck came back to visit me... and he hit me hard! No matter how many times this happens, I am surprised... I really thought this was it - I am better, I won't ever be "that" tired or "that" sick again. Sigh. Well, my consolation, as always, is that this too shall pass and I will feel good again one day, hopefully soon. I also remember my doctor telling me on my last visit that it is much too soon for me to really feel great. He said those immortal words, "Look how long you've been sick..." I know, I know. Go ahead and say it - DUH. I should not expect it, right?

But, I do and I suspect I will continue to expect it, which is a good thing, because it is HOPE that keeps me going.

I have to guard my every thought process during these down times because pessimism is longing to be my best friend. However, I must continue to deny him my time or energy because he only makes me feel worse. Feeling tired is bad enough; feeling sorry for myself makes things worse, much worse.

Oh, I will probably have a good cry, but I will feel better for it. I will also do some "tall time" praying, reminding the Lord that I am here... yoo hoo... over here, Lord... knowing all along, of course, that He has never left me. If you are having a down time, be encouraged. There ARE better days ahead and although things are not perfect, I am thankful to be alive, have a wonderful family who loves me, and a God who is my kind, understanding Father. I truly am blessed.~

You'll Have Them...

...bad days, that is. No matter how hard you try to do everything right... you're gonna have those bad days. I have struggled with poor sleep all of my life. I mean... even as a teenager, I would spend hours awake in bed and I literally hated going to bed. My parents had very normal sleep habits and so did my sister. But, alas, I have struggled with insomnia for so long that it isn't even funny. My mom used to stay up later, sewing and whatnot, but she still had a pretty normal sleep life. I don't remember her ever being up all night long.

Well, my lack of sleep has really been hindering my life lately. So, I decided to try to get more sleep. Sounds good, right? Be not deceived. Saturday night, I went to bed around 1:30 AM - I had taken a nap and wanted to be good and sleepy before hitting the hay. I went right to sleep and woke up on Sunday morning, sleepy, but not exhausted. Sunday afternoon, I always take a nap - ALWAYS. So, I became a little concerned that if I did take my usual nap, I might not go to sleep that night. I couldn't resist though. It was quiet in the house, I got sleepy... and I took a nap - about 1.5 hours (a relatively short Sunday afternoon nap for me!). Here is where the problems start. I stayed up until about 2 AM, but then slept all night.

When I woke up at about 8 AM this morning, I felt like death warmed over. I was sleepy, developed a massive headache and could not think straight all day! My head hurt so bad, that I finally took some Advil at about 3:30 PM and then had to lie down and close my eyes because my eyes would not stay open! This evening, it has continued.

I finally took a hot bath, took two more Advil's and yes, the pain is finally subsiding. And I am finally coming out of this heaviness.

New problem: It's 11:57 PM. I have to get up early in the morning to go out of town to a doctor's appt. for my daughter.

So, there you have it. I told my husband I would rather go on NO sleep than live like I did today. I was irritable, listless and unhappy. Sometimes, it just seems that it is impossible to correct the problems in our lives. You would think that with tired adrenals and a fatty liver, my body would like the extra rest, right? Nada...nope... don't even think so.

My only consolation this entire day is that tomorrow, this will have passed and I will feel normal again - whatever that is!

Detox Anyone?

My new naturopathic doctor has been doing amazing things with my body through supplements, diet, etc. The newest thing he would like for me to try is a detox that will help cleanse my body. This program is manufactured by Standard Process.  I have (so far) shown excellent progress on their supplements.  Their ingredients are all organic, natural and made from whole foods.  I will admit, however, detoxing makes me nervouse and I have alot of questions. If you have had a personal experience with detox, please help me out!


(1) I am wondering if anyone has actually done any time of detoxing?

(2) What kind of detox did you use?

(3) What was your reason for detoxing?

(4) What type of side effects, if any, did you have?

(5) Are you thankful you did detox?

(6) What were your long-term effects?

(7) Do you plan to detox again in your future?

(8) What advice would you give to someone who was considering detox - things to be aware of beforehand and expect?

THANK YOU! ;-)

Another GOOD Doctor Visit... Wow...

Back to the naturopathic doctor today. He was so happy when he re-tested me that he said, "Hallelujah!" ;-) He said that my improvement is absolutely phenomenal... more than he ever hoped for! All I can say is, "Thank you, Jesus!" I know that there are changes going on... but I wasn't feeling absolutely fantastic, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I didn't know rather I would see any improvement at all... and I was very interested in seeing how things turned out today. I also took my daughter today to get tested. She is about 80 pounds overweight and only 12 years old. We have tried everything. He told us today that it really is not her fault because she is not able to digest the foods she is eating. He wants both of us to do a cleanse to help us get rid of the toxins in our body and help us lose weight. I would like to lose about 40 pounds.

I must digress and share a concern here... I am scared silly about detoxing at all. I have done chelation and thought I would die. I got a fever, rash and my entire body hurt so much that I had to just lie in bed and cry. I did that twice! So, say the word "detox" and I freak! Please help me pray that God will give me wisdom and peace about this. I told the doctor my concerns and he was sympathetic, but assured me that I have nothing to fear. He said that unlike chelation (which forces your body to detox), the Standard Process cleanse will give my body opportunity to cleanse, but will not force it to cleanse. In other words, it will be able to cleanse at its own pace. I know that should make me feel better... sigh...

So, I'm off to take a nap after a long, but good day. I am thankful for the privilege and opportunity to have this experience. I love sharing these things with all of you too! Have a wonderful week!

Guidance for Fibromyalgia Patients who are having Elective Surgery

Although this is not anything that relates to me right now, I feel that I should share it for anyone who has fibro, CFS, or adrenal fatigue and is contemplating surgery. I had surgery 2 1/2 months ago and it really did knock my socks off. I hope this helps someone.
If you are having a major surgical procedure there are some issues that you may wish to discuss with your surgeon and anesthesiologist that could reduce the "fibro-flare" that often occurs after surgery in fibromyalgia patients. Pain after surgery is inevitable because nearly all surgeries result in trauma to the skin and muscles. This post-surgical pain is usually accentuated in fibromyalgia patients due to their enhanced pain processing (see central sensitization). Request that you wear a soft neck collar to reduce neck hyperextension (if an endotracheal tube is anticipated). This will help minimize inadvertent stretching of your neck muscles during positioning while your are unconscious. Request that your arm with the intravenous line be kept near your body, not away from your body or over your head. This will help minimize inadvertent stretching of your arm and shoulder muscles during positioning while your are unconscious. Sometimes "postoperative myalgia" is due to the use of a muscle relaxant drug called succinylcholine. If you have experienced this in previous surgery, I suggest you mention this to your anesthesiologist. Request that you be given a pre-operative opioid pain medication – about 90 mins. prior to surgery. Opioids are morphine or morphine related drugs. The rationale for the pre-operative use of opioids is to minimize “central sensitization” - as this inevitably worsens the widespread body pain that you are already experiencing. Ask to have a long-acting local anesthetic infiltrated into your incision - even though you will be asleep during the procedure. The rationale for this is to minimize pain impulses reaching the spinal cord and brain, which in turn drive central sensitization. As a fibromyalgia patient you will need more, and usually longer duration, of post-operative pain medication. In most cases opioids should be regularly administered or self administered with a PCA pump (patient controlled analgesia). Most fibromyalgia patients require a longer duration of post-operative convalescence, including physical therapy in many cases. Gentle stretching and reconditioning of muscles should start soon after the incision is well healed.

Update on my doctor visit...

Well, I wanted to update here.When I went back to the doctor on Tuesday, he reviewed all of my information - my symptoms, blood test results, and the testing results. From these, he came up with a protocol for me based on taking Standard Process supplements. He explained that these supplements are WHOLE FOOD supplements - no additives, chemicals, or junk... actual food. For example, the multi-vitamin is made of carrots and other vegetables, with just the fiber and water removed. Please understand that I am not one to like alot of supplements, vitamins, pills, etc. In fact, I was rather skeptical about this whole deal when I found out that the supplements were a part of it.

However, I will say that the supplements were VERY inexpensive ($11 for 90 pills for the multi-vitamin) AND the doctor informed me that at my one month visit, he would see if I still need to continue taking all of the supplements that I need right now! Wow... that is amazing! He actually wants me to get OFF the supplements. I have never heard of such a thing... and I've been to alot of doctors, naturopaths, D.O.'s, M.D.'s... you name it!! 8-)

I will say that I feel better...but I am being cautious...which I have learned to do after about 10 years of dealing with this. I am very hopeful, however. The biomeridian testing showed the exact same things I already knew were issues. However, it also showed some the main underlying problem - my digestive problems. What I learned (he didn't tell me this - I figured it out!) is that my adrenal problems are likely a result of my congested liver and gallbladder (or lack thereof - since I had my surgery!). So, the liver is making my adrenals work harder, they are not able to keep up and therefore, my hormone levels (like blood sugar, estrogen, etc) are messed up!

I know this is alot... hope you're following me. The NUMBER ONE problem in my body is not my adrenals, but my liver. That was a big breakthrough to me... and one that makes sense. SO, I am taking some very low-strength detox herbs, whole food supplements to help my digestive system and adrenals. I am very sensitive to any kind of detox... in fact, I already had to stop one supplement because it was too much for me. Live and learn!

I will see the doctor again in two weeks. He told me that he wants to make sure I am "BETTER"....better???? Did he say better??? I said, " You honestly think I will feel better in just two weeks???" He said, "You had better feel better in two weeks or we are doing something wrong!" Again, I'm skeptical, but hopeful... and believing the Lord to give me wisdom and a positive attitude.

One more quick thing - I was telling my husband about how I am having trouble being hopeful right now... I am just tired and have tried so many things, only to be disappointed. My husband said, "You don't need to even think about it right now. Just DO what he is telling you. You don't need to feel anything; just follow the orders of the doctor." That was so wise of my hubby. 8-)