An Overview

I decided to do a health reflection for a friend.  Some of this has already been said in my other recent posts, but this is a more complete overview.

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I have always suffered from rhinitis since I could ever remember.  I've also had strange issues with my joints getting very stiff to where I've had to physically move them to pop them (mostly in my elbows). 

I moved overseas to Austria and Germany when I was 19 and started eating mostly organic whole foods and walking walking pretty much everywhere.  My hay fever symptoms were virtually non existent during this time.  

When I returned to the US 8 years ago, my health drastically plummeted.  I was required to purchase a meal plan at my university and had to eat there for 15 meals per week.  They have a salad bar and some healthy options, but I was still getting sick.  Horrible IBS (IBS-C and IBS-D), abdominal pain that would keep me in bed for hours, pain level so high that I would be crying.  I had brain fog, fatigue (sleeping 12 hours per night), irritability, depression, mood swings, and OCD-like paranoia.  

I started to try to research what to change.  I moved off campus my second year.  I went soy free, gluten free, and pretty much became vegan.  I tried corn free but didn't notice a change.  Eliminating soy from my diet pretty much took care of the IBS.  Gluten was a minor issue, so I thought, so I ate it from time to time.

I moved back in with my parents 3 years ago.  I started eating their food which is not even close to as bad as the standard American diet, but is still not as strict as my own diet.  My health problems started to trickle back in one by one. 

I've always been prone to colds, coughs, and generally have a weak immune system.

After doing a fast with my church this past Nativity (I am Orthodox, so fasting means going vegan for 30 days leading up to Christmas), I noticed everything started returning back to normal.

Last fall, I had been doing a lot of research on MTHFR because so much of what I read seemed to fit my symptoms.  I decided to do a saliva test of my own accord.  I don't have MTHFR, but I have other methylation issues with other SNPs.  I started to take Trimethyglycine (TMG) every day.  I started to feel even better.  

In January, I paid out of pocket to see a naturopath.  He told me to keep the vegan diet up since it seemed to be working really well for me.  I committed to it with a vengeance.  My mom and I have been doing it side by side (she has lost almost 40 lbs thus far).  We did a 7 day smoothie challenge in January.  I detoxed from that like crazy.  

The naturopath also told me about some supplements to take which I tried out for a while (over a month) and noticed no significant results.  If you would like, I can send you the list that he recommended.  He also told me to stop taking the TMG because according to my SNPs, in his opinion, he couldn't see why I needed it...

My health was finally taking a turn for the better.  Brain fog- gone.  IBS- gone. Joint pain- gone.  

A typical day for me meal wise is oatmeal for breakfast, green smoothie for snack (includes hemp and chia seeds, turmeric, greens, almond milk and banana) salad and leftovers for lunch, and some kind of cooked vegan dinner (usually gluten free).  Dinners are things like spaghetti squash with marinara (usually completely homemade), rice and vegetables, coconut curries, quinoa and veggies, vegan vegetable soups, spiralized zucchini, etc.  I am an artisan bread baker, so I avoid store bought bread and make sourdough myself.  It doesn't seem to give me IBS problems (I buy organic high quality flour).  We eat virtually no processed foods in the house.  Once in a while, I will buy an Amy's dinner if I'm in a hurry for lunch.

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Ok, now let's talk about this joint issue.  Last November, I woke up one morning and my foot was swollen.  This had never happened before.  It was on the left side of my foot where my cuboid bone is.  I didn't think anything of it assuming that I must have hit it on something at work and didn't notice.  The pain and swelling became pretty mild after a while and I kind of forgot about it.

In, I think, February, the foot swelled up massively and was very painful, so I went to my nurse practitioner.  She had X-rays taken.  Nothing was broken or irregular.  As I went full- force vegan, I've only had one other flare up with the foot, but it woke me up.  I soaked the foot in epsom salts in the middle of the night and went back to bed.  It felt fine by morning. 

I went on an international trip to Serbia in June for 2 1/2 weeks.  While I was there, I stayed vegan, but ate a lot of bread and due to the language barrier, did not realize that this spread I had been using for my bread contained soy and dairy.  I had no way to make my smoothies since there was no blender.  I started to feel weird.  

My knee started to ache.  It was kind of minor.  It gave out on me a couple of times and felt like it needed to pop but it wouldn't.  I returned back to the US and had a layover in Chicago which due to inclement weather lasted 24 hours.  I walked on my leg for several hours.  It got massively swollen.  The pain and swelling did not subside so I went to the doctor.

We had x-rays done on the foot and knee again.  Nothing significant was shown on the x-rays.  I was referred to an orthopedic surgeon.  They basically acted like the foot was not in the equation since it wasn't swollen and had an MRI done on just my knee.  I even mentioned in my appointment that I have had strange joint issues for years and that my foot was flaring up off and on.  They looked at my foot, but said it "wasn't connected."

The MRI showed nothing.  No tears in any muscles or ligaments.  The only thing it showed was excess synovial fluid (duh!!!).  

This week, the pain and swelling started to subside as I went cold turkey gluten free again on Monday.  Since returning from my trip overseas, I was lazy and didn't make any bread... I had been eating the family's store bought organic bread.  

The pain is now in three places: the left side of my left foot, my left ankle, and my left knee.  I am afraid that it will continue to travel around my body.

I have been doing castor oil packs every couple of days.  I did one on my foot for an hour with a heating pad this afternoon and I had a metallic tasted in my mouth soon after.  I also have a mild fever right now and cold-like symptoms.  Caveat: my father said he had a little cold last week and on Friday had a temp of 101 at his annual check-up at the doctor, so it could just be a cold.  Thought it would be worth mentioning anyway... covering my basis.

I've been waking up every morning around 3 AM with intense pain.  If I weren't already in contact with doctors about the matter, I would have gone to the ER on several occasions.  The pain is horrible!  I have been limping around and have been having trouble dressing and showering.  I've been getting a bit depressed thinking about the possibility of disability.  I'm 28 years old...

I'm also going to mention that I had a tick bite three years ago when visiting Europe.  I've been researching Lyme's and similar diseases as well as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ehler's Danlos.

I don't know what to do at this point!  I need to change primary care doctors due to my insurance changing.  I am looking for someone who has a holistic mindset.  I also think I need to see a rheumatologist.  

Looking to Christ in Seasons of Difficulty

I'm struggling with the weight of all of these things.  I need to reflect.

• My insurance is changing due to my new job. It looks like I might be eligible for free healthcare in the marketplace due to my low income, but I am not sure if this is a viable option yet or not.  I'm waiting on some phone calls.
• With the knee "crisis," I have many appointments still in the works which might be happening in the middle of all of this insurance switching. 
• The anxiety behind wading through social healthcare is making my head spin.  
• My MRI results say that there is nothing wrong with my knee except for swelling of the synovial fluid.  This is leading me to pursue seeing a rheumatologist and to try to rule out autoimmune issues.  It could also just be bad bursitis. 
• I've been seeing a really sweet nurse practitioner at a convenient health clinic for my primary care needs, but now I'm thinking that I need to go to a doctor.  I'm looking for someone who is open minded to a holistic approach (while I'm not opposed to medicines, I am willing to change diet and lifestyle).  I also need to find someone within the new network of whatever insurance I get.
• My 16 year old vehicle has a leak and the parts to fix it have been discontinued.  I have no money to buy a new car, so now I'm just going to have to save while I wait for the vehicle to die and pray that I will have enough money for a good 4-wheel-drive vehicle when the time arrises.  
• My new job training started yesterday and I like the school heaps, but it's all day every day and high energy.  I'm nervous about how the knee is going to hold up with all of the standing that the job requires.
• My god-sister who is also one of my dearest friends just left for a long road trip with her new husband and will eventually land in her new home across the country. It's hard to lose what Montgomery would call a bosom buddy.

On Wednesday, I went into the little mobile chapel that our parish has.  I saw that the stars had been freshly painted on the cupola.  I was reminded of Psalm 19:1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." The sky is always over us, leading us to the author and perfecter of our faith.  I know that amid what seems like chaos, Christ reigns on high and HE is unwavering.  He doesn't change in His love for me.  He knows what I'm going through better than anyone.  He will be there with me in every circumstance that I'm facing.

These Ole' Aching Knees

For years, my body has been giving me pains.  My bones have been cracking and popping for as long as I can remember.  I've also struggled with IBS for about 8 years now which I've mostly gotten under control by becoming vegan and eating a very strict diet.  About three weeks ago, I woke up and my left knee was like this:

Swollen.  Pretty painful.  Aching.  There was no explanation or injury that I could remember.  I had X-Rays which showed bone spurs, mild osteoarthritis, and the doctor is also suspecting a torn meniscus.  

I've also had an odd unexplained nodule on my foot since November.  It has been so painful that I have been awake for hours at night with it a few times. The doctor hasn't been able to pinpoint WHY it's there.  It just appeared and the pain comes and goes.  

My body has felt inflamed for some time.  There is a fuzziness around my joints.  I've also suffered from extreme fatigue, sometimes sleeping for 10 hours at night and still taking naps.  All of this comes and goes.  

Diet has massively helped my joint issues.  I eat very minimal sourdough wheat products.  I try hard not to consume soy products.  I eat a ton of raw fruits and vegetables and nuts, legumes, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and roasted veggies.  Pretty much all of my food is homemade.  

I recently travelled with a group to Serbia, and while I was able to stay vegan, I didn't have a blender for my green smoothies, ate too much bread, and had some unexpected dairy and eggs due to the language barrier.  While I was there, the knee started getting painful.  The week after returning is when the swelling got horrible.  

I'm going to start doing physical therapy for the knee, and I'm waiting to hear back about getting an MRI to see if the knee really has a torn meniscus.  From there, I'm looking into finding a caring and compassionate primary care physician who will help me to problem solve everything.  I've only been seeing a clinic PA for the last year since I moved to a new city.  I think it's time that I see a rheumatologist as well.  

I'm praying and hoping for answers so that I can begin to truly heal.  My body has been like a boomerang.  I'm finally back to a healthy eating schedule.  I'm hoping that the healthy eating will at least get me back to where I was before Serbia.  

Just keep swimming!

Writing Again!

I need to write again.  I need a landing place for all of the thoughts in my head.  This blog was once a place for my reflections on literature when I was in college.  Now, I want to write about my health issues, books I'm reading, music I'm listening to, my travels, and my hikes.  I want to be able to write freely without clogging up my Facebook profile.  I guess this will be more of a journal than an informational-type blog.  Maybe someone will find it inspiring, but I'm doing it as a therapeutic measure in many ways.  Here I go!