Monday, April 22, 2013

Starting Over

I ended up being sick for about 10 days.  I missed work, spent an awful lot of time on the couch, and tried to eat as much as I could while still following the Clean elimination diet and just overall feeling awful.  I blew my nose 500 times a day and barely slept most nights.  I finally started feeling better last Saturday and started back on the cleanse.  Again, it wasn't as hard as I expected it to be.  I got up, had a probiotic pill and a shake around 7:00, a snack around 10:00, healthy lunch around 1:00, snack around 4:00, shake around 7:00, and tons of water and several supplements throughout the day.  The book suggests not snacking at all, but it's so hard, and all of my snacks were healthy.  I didn't do much in the way of exercise because I was worried that I would pass out since I wasn't eating much, but I did join a recreational soccer team, so there's that! 

It's just once a week on Saturdays.  A friend of mine had been asking me to join for years, and I finally said yes a few weeks ago.  The game last week ended up being cancelled because of the rain, so my first game should be this Saturday.  I am both excited and terrified.  Even though I played in high school and college, I haven't played in over 10 years.  I went to see my doctor to make sure I had her "ok" to play, and she recommended an inhaler because of my asthma and allergies.  I mentioned that I was still pretty tired most days, even in the days leading up to the cleanse, and that I had been experiencing some mental fatigue as well.  It might seem like nothing, but I try to be honest with my doctors even at the risk of being a hypochondriac.  Once you are diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, you learn to be totally honest with your doctors.  If I hadn't been completely open with my doctor when I was in my 20s, who knows how long I would have gone being misdiagnosed. 

So anyway, I told her about the ongoing fatigue, and she referred me to a neurologist.  And...yeah.  Not what I was expected, but okay.  I went on Tuesday.  He reviewed my symptoms and medical history and ordered an MRI, EEG, and sleep study.  Pretty standard so there's not reason to be concerned yet.  I go for the EEG on Friday, MRI next Tuesday, and I have to call and schedule the sleep study.  While I have a feeling they won't find anything, at least I will have a few things to cross of the list of potential reasons I feel like crap all the time.  I was really hoping it was just a gluten/dairy/casein/something intolerance, but it doesn't look like that is the case. 

Friday, April 5, 2013

Irony

I started the Clean program 10 days ago.  The first part includes a pre-cleanse diet that is pretty restrictive, but basically consists of vegetables, lean meats (chicken and turkey), nuts, and fruits (excluding bananas and strawberries).  You are not allowed to eat wheat, dairy, have caffeine, drink alcohol, or have anything with preservatives.  Everything must be fresh and/or organic.  It was pretty difficult at first, but the food wasn't so bad once I got into it.  I started the actual cleanse on Monday.  It consists of a meal shake for breakfast with supplements and a probiotic, a healthy lunch from a list of approved food, and a meal shake with supplements for dinner.  You are not supposed to eat for 12 hours after dinner, and it is recommended that you take two spoonfuls of olive oil and add garlic to most of the foods you eat.  Again, not difficult, but not easy either.   My body lasted two days on the cleanse before totally freaking out.

On Tuesday, I was at work and started to feel a little stuffy and was sneezing occasionally.  I looked on the Clean website and read that those symptoms are pretty typical, so I didn't think much about it.  On Wednesday, I couldn't breathe through my nose at all, was completely congested, and felt horrible.  I also had a fever.  I emailed one of the Clean Wellness Coaches and let her know about my symptoms, and she said it would be a good idea to stop the cleanse until I was feeling better.  Ugh. Yesterday, I could breathe most of the day but the coughing started and I could barely talk.  I was in bed most of the day.  Today, I'm better, but still not back to normal, and just really frustrated.

Just when I thought something would really help, my body decided not to cooperate.  I actually felt much better on the pre-cleanse, and was looking forward to feeling amazing after the cleanse.  I have decided to look at this as my body telling me that it was too much, and that maybe it's best to do a modified version of the cleanse so I can keep my energy up and my immune system working.  I am not giving up, though.  The second I start feeling better, I will start the program again.  I have already noticed some weight coming off.  I have more energy and I am no longer bloated.  I am hopeful.