Alright. I’ve got good news and bad news:
First the good news:
Life’s been a crazy roller coaster for the last several weeks, and it’s about it get even more roller coaster-y.
I’ve been trying to find a little bit more time for #lifespo and less time for letting an internet full of triggers depress me, so I’ve been going out and doing things that give me time to think about things besides body image and food:
- I’ve been “swimming” (read: “not drowning”) nearly every day. I’ve almost made it all the way across the pool without having to stop because I can’t breathe. Winner (?)
- In less than one month, I graduate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition—and I was chosen to speak during our graduation!
- I had the opportunity to give a talk on why “Health Conscious” (read: “vegan”) eating might cause your health to fail, and what to do if it does at the Conscious Eating Fair in Santa Clara. Shout out to Nathalie from Yawp Bars for letting me share my story on the stage!
- I have started taking voice over classes in San Francisco. Not only have I been able to face my fears of going back to the street where I was hit by a car, but I’ve also had the chance to meet some really cool people and do something that absolutely thrills me. Anyone need me to narrate their forthcoming audiobook?
- I’ve signed up for an intro to psychology class at the local community college. It’s been four years since I left school, and I think that this is the kick in the butt that I need to reinvigorate me.
All good things, although that does mean that I may be blogging a little less regularly over the next few weeks as I settle into my new pool-work-school schedule.
Now the bad news, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, right?
My health has been not-so-good for the last month or two. I’ve been getting my period regularly (thank you, acupuncture!!!), so that’s been lovely (ish), but everything else has been going downhill.
For some reason, I’ve been having horrific stomach aches, reflux, and bloating—all when I eat “real food.” The only thing that I can eat without feeling completely crummy is fruit. It’s pretty awful, and over the last few weeks I’ve been eating mostly broth and fruit, but even the broth makes my stomach hurt.
Even worse, the acne has reared its ugly head, my ankle has been hurting like you wouldn’t believe, and I’ve been getting fevers out of the blue.
I had a call with my doctor a few weeks ago to go over my blood tests, and it turns out that I’m not digesting anything—including my supplements—so my thyroid, et. all have not been getting any support despite the fact that I’ve been swallowing pills for a month.
My circulating thyroid and magnesium are really low (my free T3 is even lower than it was before I started taking the liothyronine), although my B12 and Vitamin D are up and my homocysteine is down. Since B12 is absorbed under the tongue, and I’ve been out in the sun soaking up Vitamin D every day, whereas I’ve been taking thyroid and magnesium in pill form, that makes a lot of sense.
For the last two weeks, I’ve been taking the thyroid sublingually, and I’ve switched my magnesium to a powder…but things don’t seem to be getting much better.
I’ve also started going to cognitive behavioral therapy, in addition to the acupuncture, to help me continue to reduce stress, and I’ve been using crutches to take some of the strain off of my ankle.
Overall, it’s been a really tough couple of weeks…and the next several are going to be jam-packed with all sorts of new challenges and changes in addition to everything else.
The moral of the story is this: good things can happen concurrently with bad things. Life is not perfect, and health is not a one-way deal. Stress matters—both distress and eustress—and sometimes you can handle it on your own (but sometimes you need a little help from a coach or therapist to manage).
So…for now, I’m going to take the good with the bad and keep on rolling along, because that’s all I can do. I’m going to give Betaine HCL & digestive enzymes the ol’ college try, while I’m also giving Intro to Psych the literal college try.
With that…happy Monday, friends. Wish me luck.
Stay hungry,
The post Health Update: The Good News and the Bad News appeared first on In My Skinny Genes.
