Hello, lovely friends! I hope everyone is doing well. I thought I would give a quick update on life and the craziness of things.
I got an endocrinologist on board to hopefully help me out in the realm of the hormonal imbalances going on. The thyroid, hormones & adrenals all intersect one another, and somewhere in the midst of that is the issue. Things aren't quite right so we got a specialist in this field to see if he can get to the bottom of it all! I'm currently in the stage where I'm getting lots of tests done & will send it back to him and then go from there. Praying that he has the knowledge to be able to help move things along. My estrogen levels are lower than a post menopausal woman, and I'm 25, so I don't think that's quite ideal! It's no wonder I feel insanely fatigued all the time! So, fingers crossed!
I've also been working hard at some new eye exercises given to me by my Eye doctor. Exercises that involve tracking mostly. Adding that on to my old exercises & keeping them all going along. He also gave me a cool little machine called a Stress Buster that helps with calm breathing. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn deep relaxing breathing because this device helps you pace yourself by tracking your heart rate. Pretty neat!
I've also began Pilates & core exercises almost daily. I skip days that I'm exceptionally tired of have other issues. I have never been one to like exercise at all, but I know it's a necessary evil. I eat healthy but I have to extend that to my body & rebuild the muscle that has been lost. It's not as easy task to motivate yourself when you feel terrible from it, but I am pretty determined to get through 90 days & if I still completely detest it then I might pick another route. Overall though Pilates is great because it doesn't bother the POTS since its mostly weight training using your own body weight. It's not really any cardio, unless you chose to add that in. Which, I haven't because I don't want to lose weight. Definitely NOT wanting to do that.
And lastly I've been wanting to share some good news with my cd57 levels. They have officially made it to 71!! That's in the "normal" range so to speak, but obviously 150 or higher is ideal. Still, considering the fact that I started in the teens it is incredible! Just to know that everything I've done has payed off makes it very much worth it. Also my doctor tested me 2 years ago for some markers which show viral loads & I had lots of viruses also plaguing my immune system. That load has gotten MUCH better, my levels became more normal. Not perfect, but improved.
Overall what this has shown me is that I am headed in the right direction. So it's important now more than ever to stick with this, and look for places where I can improve more. There are days where I have lots of mental clarity & energy at heart but I have fatigue which keeps me from doing things. This fatigue is a tricky little thing to knock out. I also have days where my stomach feels horrid, and the nausea comes & goes. But I chose to look at the positives. My quality of life has improved, I'm headed in the right direction, so it's up to me to just keep fighting the good fight!
I hope that reading positive news can be uplifting for anyone who feels alone or trapped in this disease. I get a lot of questions from those going "all natural" who fear it won't get them well. I know than everyone's body is different so I can't speak for the masses, however I was very down & out, very sick during this journey. I stuck with it, I listened to my body, paced myself & I made strides. They weren't seen immediately, but reversing this kind of damage takes time & I knew that.
With the Olympics being on I want to mention that Angeli VanLaanen is a halfpipe skier for Team USA who BEAT chronic Lyme disease. She fought hard for 3 years of treatment and after she came out on the other end she began training & made the Olympic team in the first place spot to go to Sochi. How AMAZING is that testament? It just goes to show that you can be 100% again despite the circumstances. She was very very sick and utterly bedridden like many of us with Lyme. If she can do that then just think of what we can do! If you want to watch her documentary about battling Lyme called "LymeLight" you can do so HERE.
This was quite long so I will end with wishing you all a great week.
Xoxo,
Christina
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