M has been encouraging me to share my health journey here. I joke that I am the healthiest unhealthy person (or maybe it's the unhealthiest healthy person?), because all my basics are good...blood pressure, cholesterol, fitness, mindfulness and care of my emotional and mental health, etc.
Yet I am a highly sensitive person who has to be careful with fatigue and overwhelm and I have struggled with eczema for my entire life. It comes and it goes, some of the triggers are very obvious, some are no longer triggers, and some are new triggers that I am trying to figure out. It primarily presents on my face and neck and in the past 6-12 months, my eczema has been so inflamed, uncomfortable, and embarrassing, that I knew it was time to make some more changes.
My eczema story begins from the time I was very little. I would toddle out to the family garden, pick green beans, and munch like they were candy. Every parent's dream...until I would break out in a rash. Through my childhood, I was allergic to legumes.
By the time I was about 12, I was having some other symptoms, as well. I found I was tired a lot. I got thoroughly checked and learned I had hypothyroidism. Not long after that, I struggled with a host of issues that, at the time, was uncertainly diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I was also put on a diet for Candida. Around the same time, I became deeply affected by caring for animals at a beloved ranch camp and decided to become vegetarian. (My poor parents!)
As I write all of this, I realize that some of the changes I have made in the last decade are ones I should have made many, many years prior, or I had made (with parental guidance and support) and then eventually lapsed from. And looking back, my mom and I have puzzled over some of my symptoms and struggles and I now think that anxiety and high sensitivity played a mental role in my struggles, which unknowingly (but now obviously) mingled with my body's health struggles.
About 8 years ago, my eczema flared badly and kept becoming infected. I had already discovered more allergies (cats, grasses, dust, certain scents, etc.). I really struggled during this time because I was a full time mamma to two young ones and I was feeling very poorly, but it wasn't the type of illness I wanted to share about broadly. I saw all sorts of specialists, pursued a variety of possibilities, and I tested positive for Lyme disease. I was on multiple rounds of strong antibiotics and my body was not happy with me.
When a blogging friend (Renee) told me her husband's eczema cleared when he went on a gluten free diet, I began really pushing my doctors to check me for Celiac Disease. They pushed back, but eventually, I was tested. A blood test and then an endoscopy showed that I was in the early stages of damage from Celiac Disease. As an amateur DIY baker, this was crushing, but I cleared out the kitchen, began exploring gluten-free recipes, and have been gluten-free ever since. It took nearly 9 months of being gluten-free for my body to begin to feel better.
For the following 7 years, I still struggled with eczema, but not to the degree that I had been, and not with the infections. Then, about a year ago, my eczema started getting worse again.During this time I added certain supplements to my diet, including vitamin D, multi-vitamin, probiotic, etc.
A couple of months ago, I went in to see my regular doctor for a well check. She was quite thorough with me and I walked away being told I needed to begin an anti-inflammatory diet, especially cutting out dairy. If I thought cutting gluten was hard, dairy was going to be harder for me, because I was still vegetarian for the most part. (I ate seafood.) My doctor sent me for a thorough set of blood tests and this time, it showed that my eosinophils (markers of inflammation) were off the charts high.
Our family went on a backpacking trip and then I began an anti-inflammatory diet the day after we got home. No dairy, no grains (to start, then small amounts of gluten free grains), no alcohol, no sugar, no caffeine, and no legumes (because, remember, I was allergic to those as a kid? And that includes no peanuts). I needed to start eating some poultry to get enough protein and feel fuller.
I read and followed Aviva Romm's Adrenal Thyroid Revolution, focusing on my overall health and a diet and general health reset, rather than an elimination diet. By the end of week 2, my skin was looking and feeling much better and my brain fog was clearing. I felt like I could think again! (I had had a joke that "I need to think about thinking about" things. When the fog started lifting, all of a sudden I had opinions and thoughts about the kitchen remodel that has been years overdue!)
The reset was a month long, it is over, and while I am maintaining some of the things I have cleared from my diet (dairy, alcohol, most sugar), my skin is a little stressed again and I have been feeling a little anxious and fuzzy headed again. I am on a waiting list for patch testing to determine if and what might be contributing to my inflammation topically. I know the self-care and mental health components of our whole being health cannot be underestimated, and as the parent of a high needs child, I know I am under a steady amount of stress.
I was tested again late last week for Lyme and a re-check of my eosinophil levels. This time, my Lyme came back negative and my eosinophils markers have dropped substantially, resting barely above the max of the normal range. I am thrilled! I have noticed that I have dropped a little bit of weight in addition to feeling a better. Feeling better has made me realize how poorly I had been feeling and that I have been functioning low steam for awhile now, without realizing it.
M joined me for the reset and we are committed to stay on track together. While we ate many of these things before, we are eating tons more fruits and veggies, fish, poultry, seeds, nuts, gluten-free noodles, potatoes, quinoa, rice, and millet. The couple of times I have had sugary foods, I have gotten a stomach ache, so I think my body is adjusting, and I am not having cravings like I was the first week. I am still tired, so I continue to work on getting enough sleep.
From a financial perspective, we save money by keeping meals simple, making foods in batches and freezing some, buying in bulk when possible (we have a chest freezer), planning so food isn't wasted (and I keep my food plans simple), not eating prepared foods, and buying foods when they are reduced price.
Health is one part of this life journey, so what I share here is more of a snapshot of 'right now' than anything else. Do you have challenges or successes with your health in an ongoing way?
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