Memory Lane
October 6th, marked 3 years since I was told I have Multiple Sclerosis.
More emotional than I thought I'd be. Probably because this whole "flare/new lesions" thing happened.
It has resurfaced a lot of feelings/decisions about starting medication.
Back to 2016...... (enter Wayne's World music to go back in time).....
When I saw Dr. Parke for the first time, she talked with me about Dr. Terry Wahls, gave me her book (The Wahls Protocol) (click links to check out both doctors and the book) and was the FIRST doctor I'd seen who was even the slightest bit optimistic about the diagnosis. Seriously, people, go see her (even if you don't live in AZ)!
I watched Dr. Wahls TedX video and finally felt like a weight had been lifted off me. That there was some hope (likely to discuss this more in future blog posts).
I am not going to lie and say I was able to change overnight. I did follow through with Dr. Parke's exclusion diet and start the Wahls Protocol.
But then one afternoon, I was at a conference lecture and I had to leave (immediately) because I thought I was going to throw up.
Whoa, that was weird....
The next afternoon, I was in an important meeting and had to leave again!
Ok (hold the judgement), some of you might be thinking, "you're pregnant!" But I had taken a pregnancy test not too long before this and it was NEGATIVE.
The following day, I went for lunch at Flower Child ordered my "approved" lunch and couldn't. eat. one. bite. I went IMMEDIATELY to buy pregnancy test(s).
Sure enough, 3 tests later, preggo.
Since I wasn't sure HOW pregnant (yes, I know, you can't be "a little" pregnant), I went back to Dr. Parke for a blood test to get an idea of how far a long I might be.
9-12 weeks (insert your choice of words [and judgement] here) 😁
Well, now all bets were off.
Bottom line, I felt HORRIBLE for another 1-2months!
I only wanted to eat McDonalds Sausage-Egg McMuffins (3 for $3.33!! don't even get me started)
I want to throw up just typing this.
DISCLAIMER: I should not blame pregnancy for TOTALLY derailing my healing diet, but, I am.
Back to the present.
After Sasha was born, I would say I spent a year trying different things out.
Plant Based- Forks Over Knives and kid friendly version. Paleo-ish. Whole-30-ish. Also tried, what I called the "Candida Killer" diet (will write more on this in another post).
BUT I slipped up often enough, didn't eliminate a few things (mostly EtOH [alcohol for normal people]) and need to really understand what works for MY body.
I learned I have a VERY strong emotional attachment to food/eating.
Switching gears, then I'm done.
As I eluded to in my first blog post.
January 2017, I had brain, cervical and thoracic spine MRIs (more than 2 years after my initial ones). They showed NO progression and the lesion in my brain was actually smaller. So I thought this is going great!
A little Chick-Fil-A here, a little In 'N Out there, a beer here, a glass of wine there and BAM!
8 months later (or maybe even sooner since I have new lesions in my brain that weren't active on the most recent MRI) I have 3 new lesions and I had to use a wheelchair/cane in the last 6 weeks.
I'm not going to TOTALLY blame some of my (former) favorite foods for my recent decline.
Sadly, I had even purchased The Wahls Protocol Cookbook after Sasha was born, but we didn't really cook from it.
For anyone who doesn't click on any of the links I've made in this post, the basic story about Dr. Wahls is this:
The Wahls Protocol (excerpt from her website)
An integrative approach to healing chronic auto-immune conditions by a doctor, researcher, and sufferer of progressive multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Wahls began studying the latest research on autoimmune disease and brain biology, and decided to get her vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids from the food she ate rather than pills and supplements. Dr. Wahls adopted the nutrient-rich paleo diet, gradually refining and integrating it into a regimen of neuromuscular stimulation. First, she walked slowly, then steadily, and then she biked eighteen miles in a single day. In November 2011, Dr. Wahls shared her remarkable recovery in a TEDx talk that immediately went viral. Now, in The Wahls Protocol, she shares the details of the protocol that allowed her to reverse many of her symptoms, get back to her life, and embark on a new mission: to share the Wahls Protocol with others suffering from the ravages of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions.
Bottom line for me at this moment, TRUST (in God who made my body, in my body to be able to heal (or even stay where it's at), and in people [with the same disease] who have spent countless hours trying to understand what is going on inside our bodies at a cellular level). Nerd alert 😉
Thanks for stopping by.
More emotional than I thought I'd be. Probably because this whole "flare/new lesions" thing happened.
It has resurfaced a lot of feelings/decisions about starting medication.
Back to 2016...... (enter Wayne's World music to go back in time).....
When I saw Dr. Parke for the first time, she talked with me about Dr. Terry Wahls, gave me her book (The Wahls Protocol) (click links to check out both doctors and the book) and was the FIRST doctor I'd seen who was even the slightest bit optimistic about the diagnosis. Seriously, people, go see her (even if you don't live in AZ)!
I watched Dr. Wahls TedX video and finally felt like a weight had been lifted off me. That there was some hope (likely to discuss this more in future blog posts).
I am not going to lie and say I was able to change overnight. I did follow through with Dr. Parke's exclusion diet and start the Wahls Protocol.
But then one afternoon, I was at a conference lecture and I had to leave (immediately) because I thought I was going to throw up.
Whoa, that was weird....
The next afternoon, I was in an important meeting and had to leave again!
Ok (hold the judgement), some of you might be thinking, "you're pregnant!" But I had taken a pregnancy test not too long before this and it was NEGATIVE.
The following day, I went for lunch at Flower Child ordered my "approved" lunch and couldn't. eat. one. bite. I went IMMEDIATELY to buy pregnancy test(s).
Sure enough, 3 tests later, preggo.
Since I wasn't sure HOW pregnant (yes, I know, you can't be "a little" pregnant), I went back to Dr. Parke for a blood test to get an idea of how far a long I might be.
9-12 weeks (insert your choice of words [and judgement] here) 😁
Well, now all bets were off.
Bottom line, I felt HORRIBLE for another 1-2months!
I only wanted to eat McDonalds Sausage-Egg McMuffins (3 for $3.33!! don't even get me started)
I want to throw up just typing this.
DISCLAIMER: I should not blame pregnancy for TOTALLY derailing my healing diet, but, I am.
Back to the present.
After Sasha was born, I would say I spent a year trying different things out.
Plant Based- Forks Over Knives and kid friendly version. Paleo-ish. Whole-30-ish. Also tried, what I called the "Candida Killer" diet (will write more on this in another post).
BUT I slipped up often enough, didn't eliminate a few things (mostly EtOH [alcohol for normal people]) and need to really understand what works for MY body.
I learned I have a VERY strong emotional attachment to food/eating.
Switching gears, then I'm done.
As I eluded to in my first blog post.
January 2017, I had brain, cervical and thoracic spine MRIs (more than 2 years after my initial ones). They showed NO progression and the lesion in my brain was actually smaller. So I thought this is going great!
A little Chick-Fil-A here, a little In 'N Out there, a beer here, a glass of wine there and BAM!
8 months later (or maybe even sooner since I have new lesions in my brain that weren't active on the most recent MRI) I have 3 new lesions and I had to use a wheelchair/cane in the last 6 weeks.
I'm not going to TOTALLY blame some of my (former) favorite foods for my recent decline.
Sadly, I had even purchased The Wahls Protocol Cookbook after Sasha was born, but we didn't really cook from it.
For anyone who doesn't click on any of the links I've made in this post, the basic story about Dr. Wahls is this:
The Wahls Protocol (excerpt from her website)
An integrative approach to healing chronic auto-immune conditions by a doctor, researcher, and sufferer of progressive multiple sclerosis.
Dr. Wahls began studying the latest research on autoimmune disease and brain biology, and decided to get her vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids from the food she ate rather than pills and supplements. Dr. Wahls adopted the nutrient-rich paleo diet, gradually refining and integrating it into a regimen of neuromuscular stimulation. First, she walked slowly, then steadily, and then she biked eighteen miles in a single day. In November 2011, Dr. Wahls shared her remarkable recovery in a TEDx talk that immediately went viral. Now, in The Wahls Protocol, she shares the details of the protocol that allowed her to reverse many of her symptoms, get back to her life, and embark on a new mission: to share the Wahls Protocol with others suffering from the ravages of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune conditions.
Bottom line for me at this moment, TRUST (in God who made my body, in my body to be able to heal (or even stay where it's at), and in people [with the same disease] who have spent countless hours trying to understand what is going on inside our bodies at a cellular level). Nerd alert 😉
Thanks for stopping by.
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