"Simple" steps

I talk with people here and there who have some degree of adrenal fatigue/low thyroid function, and I try to boil down what I did in simple steps they can take right now. It's hard. So many compounded stresses, untruthful mindsets, and daily lifestyle decisions factor into the end result...crash! It happens very slowly over time. So it takes a long time to climb back out of the pit. But you CAN and MUST do it, one step at a time.

And God really will lead you, with light and guidance for each step, as you take them, as He did for me. One symptom of adrenal fatigue is feeling overwhelmed, so pick one of these steps (or others found in good books on the subject) to focus on first, and ask God to guide you to the next one.

Here's my attempt at a "boiled down" list of the steps that helped me the most. Every time I need to take a new step, I have this overwhelmed feeling that I just can't do anything more than what I'm already doing. It's too hard, it's too much. But when I become convinced (or often "forced," ie backed into a corner) to take it, it opens up a whole new world of wellness and learning and opportunity! I pray that happens for you as well.

1. Ask God for help. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." Matt 11:28-30 "...He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no strength He increases might..." Isaiah 40:28-30

2. Rest. All you want to do is sleep? Don't get excited about the things you used to because daily functioning is already overwhelming? Your body is crying out for rest, and enabling you to get it...ennui can be a gift if it forces me to get the sleep my body so desperately needs. Sleep, rest, recreation, light exercise, reading a good book, restful vacation, getting away, "5 minutes peace," an edifying Bible study group, laughter and edifying amusement, possibly journaling/an outlet, art, God's creation, and quiet time with the Lord...these are things your body and soul need extra much right now. (And yes, I'm talking to ME here. ; ) Sometimes it's easier to get more rest when you've all-out crashed, than when you're feeling well enough to do lots of things but probably too many.)

3. Get the book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by Dr. James Wilson, read it to learn about adrenal fatigue and figure out if those are your symptom, and work on making the attitude, lifestyle, and dietary changes he recommends. This book was huge for me early on.

4. Find a alternative/natural/holistic/integrative doctor who specializes in adrenal/thyroid/hormonal imbalances and/or "mysterious" illness. I love Dr. Jennifer Rabenhorst and her team at Integrative Family Medicine off Shaker Drive in Columbia, MD.

5. Food allergy/sensitivity testing (IgG) revealed allergens in my blood to gobs of healthy food I was eating daily that my food was spending precious energy fighting, and which were also causing leaky gut. I went off those short term and that helped. At the recommendation of Dr. R, I went gluten free two years ago (!), and had much more energy/wellness from day 1! (after resisting the idea for years...yes, you can do it!) Going GF is the single biggest dietary change you can make for adrenal/thyroid issues.

5. Essential oils bring balance to the body and support the body both physically and emotionally. I've used a boatload of natural herbs and supplements, and Young Living essential oils are by far the most powerful and effective "natural supplement" out there. Ask me and I'm happy to tell you more! ; )

6. Cleansing...yes, we clean out all our appliances, cars, and vacuum cleaners, but never stop to think our bodies need cleansing. Once I started learning about all the toxins and chemicals in our air, water, food, household cleaners, personal care products, plastic, etc etc and how they were building up in my body and causing scary imbalances, it was all the motivation I need to start cleansing my body systems and organs as explained in the book Inner Transformations by Leann Dearduff (ask me about this one before you spend too much on amazon ; )).

How's that for a "start"?! I'll try to elaborate on these and add some links etc when I can. May the Lord bless your journey to energy and wellness!!

Essential oils!

Hi friend, I know this blog is grossly un-updated. (Having twins 2.5 years ago didn't help.
; )) I'm working to fix that (when I can), but the latest and greatest help that God has led me to for supporting my energy level and strengthening my body is essential oils. I'm so grateful to my friend Bronwyn Deiter, who has also struggled with adrenal/thyroid deficiency for about as long as I have, who introduced me to oils. Here's some of my oily story and I'll try to write more soon!

Thank God for good doctors (and good mothers who find them)!

My Mom continues to be one of the greatest forces for good in my life, and this has certainly proved true in the health arena. As I mentioned below, she helped me locate Mary Shomon's doctor in McLean, VA, which isn't toooo far from Columbia. One has to navigate the infamous Washington beltway to get there, but even with the beltway traffic it was worth it to find a good doctor who speaks my language and whom I can trust to restore my energy level and...well-being!

Dr. Adrienne Clamp at Well Being - Being Well has been wonderful. My first appointment was 2 hours long, and much of that was spent with her, explaining my health history in a variety of areas and getting her feedback.

I retook the saliva test, and went to Labcorps to have blood drawn for an array of indicators, including iron, B vitamins, vitamin D, cortisol, thyroid antibodies, etc. As it turns out, my thyroid supplement needs a little tweaking because my T4 is low, and I was low in vitamin D, iron, and selenium. I do have Hashimoto's or thyroid antibodies, meaning my immune system is producing cells that could attack my thyroid, as I understand it. However, my number is relatively low and Dr. Clamp didn't seem worried. Furthermore, it seems that everyone who is hypothyroid has thyroid antibodies. One of my friends has brought her numbers down through a gluten-free diet, but I pray to God I don't have to do that! (I tried it for a week and it's hard!)

Also, my saliva test revealed that my adrenal glands are no longer depressed...they're stressed. [Wry smile] My cortisol levels are slightly elevated, but at least this means my adrenals are back to normal and functioning properly, just overly so. Why am I so stressed I ask myself? Dr. Clamp and I agreed that I'm a busy mom and that's why. "Well I do get uptight about every little thing that happens," I said to my husband that night at dinner. He laughed at this self-revelation.

Dr. Clamp put me on 5,000 IU/day of vitamin D, more selenium, an adaptogen (herbs that help your body deal with stress) mix, and iron with "liver fractions" for absorbability. She also tweaked my thyroid prescription to receive only T3 in compounded form and T4 in synthetic form, I believe. And I only take it once in the morning vs. twice a day, which is so much nicer. Gone is the 3:00 pm alarm on my phone! I was most sluggish in the morning, and the T4 I was formerly taking was slow release, which you really don't need anyway since T4 stays in your system for days. Now I get a T4 "shot in the arm" first thing in the morning and that should help. I just started on it today, so we'll see how the next few weeks go.

I think I'm starting to feel better after four days on the supplements, but time will tell. You can be sure I'll keep you posted!

Some new doc recs

My Mom has had mysterious, painful, debilitating symptoms that resemble allergies for over 30 years off and on, and might finally have found a doctor who understands, her fourteenth doctor to visit I believe. He thinks my dear persevering Mother's symptoms, based on her round of lab tests, are due primarily to thyroid and adrenal causes. Amazing. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? (Ten points if you can tell me what 80s chickster movie that line comes from. Would adding "Marilla" to the end of it help?)

How did my Mom find this excellent doctor, you ask. Through Mary Shomon who wrote a book she found extremely helpful, Living Well with Hypothyroidism, which you should be able to get at your local library. Mary keeps a running tally of extremely good thyroid- and possibly adrenally-minded doctors listed by state.

As soon as I have weaned my daughter, I hope to visit Mary's own doctor who practices in the McLean, VA, area and see where on the charts my adrenals and thyroid are, and what I can do about it if they're still low. Thank God for these doctors!

The most important meal of the day

Somewhere in the last nine months I think I've made a discovery. Before our little bambino arrived (would that be bambina since she is a girl?), I would sleep in the morning until my body woke me up, which was always at least 10:00 AM or later. I hated missing so much of the day and not really getting my game on til noon, but I knew I needed the sleep and having no job besides wifing, I could, especially since my wonderful hubs encouraged me to get the rest I needed.

I would have a substantial breakfast of eggs, toast, hot tea, and usually also yogurt/banana/flaxseed meal while pregnant. But I would still hit a slump about an hour after breakfast, even after all that sleep, and it was so frustrating. However, for the last nine months I've been getting up between 7 and 8:00, eating breakfast (same as above minus the yogurt), and going back to bed during the baby's first nap. Granted, I might be in bed during my after-breakfast slump, but I seem to be more energetic overall and wonder if my blood sugar got too low sleeping in so long and the extra sleep backfired.

Just a thought for any others out there with the luxury of sleeping in or blood sugar issues that might require a little bit of night-time noshing perhaps. I always hated getting up to find something to eat in the night when pregnant and an empty stomach prevented sleep, because you get so woken up and you have to brush your teeth afterward (which requires turning on a bright light) and what you ate might give you too much energy when trying to fall back to sleep. But...if it gives you more energy overall, it might be worth it.

Energy for a challenging year

I have not forgotten your comment, dear "ayarella," at the end of the last blog about how I am doing now. In fact, it has haunted me for months. It seems mommy-brain is getting the best of me these days (how handy to transition from fatigue-fog to mommy-brain as an excuse for anything), and even when I have two seconds to sit at my laptop, the tyranny of the urgent email is all my mind has room for.

I just reread my last post, now almost a year ago (oh dear), and found it encouraging to look back and remember. I had no idea what the coming months would bring. Let me just say that this year has been fraught with physical limitation and weakness (along with the immeasurable joy of the cutest and sweetest baby imaginable!), and I'm pleased to say my mostly-recovered adrenals and God's grace has seen me through so far.

I did in fact have enough energy for 18 hours of labor that started at 1:00 AM and a natural birth...at the hospital down the street...in the biggest snowstorm in Maryland history: the birthing center was too far away and, incidentally, closed. I had enough energy for the newborn night wakings which lasted a little too long since 2:00 AM somehow meant party time to our little stinker. But thankfully she started sleeping through the night at 7 weeks after we got her on a schedule. I had enough energy to endure four months plus of postpartum healing complications that I won't go into here.

At six months our little darling hit a growth spurt that had her waking up at night again, sometimes several times, for the next two months, and I somehow had the energy for that, though I blame getting strep throat in July on my being thus run down. But I was able to recover in less than 3 days without antibiotics, which I attribute to my many natural "remedies." After sleeping through the night for another month and a half, she hit teething/sickness/teething again, which become a weeks-long family sickness saga. I think I am finally over that virus, maybe. Perhaps my adrenals are reaching their limit.

Breastfeeding takes alot out of you, I'm realizing, though what an honor to pour your life into another so literally, and such a darling other at that. But I have had an over-abundance of milk all these months actually, and plan to keep nursing her until she is a year old.

In addition to often-interrupted nighttime sleep, every day I have gone right back to bed during our daughter's first nap. Most of the time I am able to sleep, and this is probably what has gotten me through. It's a little more challenging now that she's down to two naps and her first nap is two hours after waking in the morning, as opposed to an hour and 15 minutes (ie, it's harder to go right back to sleep). But I'm hoping that as she starts sleeping through the night again and thus I do, I won't need that morning nap. If I can go to bed early. Which I'm flagrantly violating at this moment. Uh, good-night!

Addy and pregnancy

Friends ask from time to time how my health is doing and where I am in my recovery. Others of you may wonder, especially if you have adrenal fatigue and are considering getting pregnant, how recovering-fatigue and pregnancy mix.

I have to admit I thought I would see more significant progress in my energy level during our first year of marriage, since I was not working, was sleeping in, was out of the city with its pollution and fast pace, and was living a peaceful low-stress life. As I have said, Ageless Xtra had significantly accelerated my progress in the fall of 2008, but time hadn't like I'd thought, since I still needed about 10 hours of sleep a night to function well and not get sick.

Just before we got pregnant in May, I was starting to get up around 9:00 instead of 10:00 AM. This seemed like definite progress, and I think it was. Then at about six weeks pregs, I got slammed with nausea and fatigue. Morning-noon-and-night sickness was a special kind of torture and was pretty debilitating, although I never actually threw up. The fatigue would land me back in bed many days after having breakfast (which was after sleeping in til 10:00), and around 2:00 I had enough energy to get some stuff done. Then around 5:00 I would get tired again and sometimes napped.

However, the acclaimed Second Trimester was a whole new story, as my previously-preggy friends promised. Around 12 weeks the nausea and fatigue started to diminish and disappear completely over a couple of weeks. I didn't have the "superhuman energy" that many women get during the second trimester ("more energy than you've ever had in your life!" said one friend), which I confess I was looking forward to, though not banking on. Nevertheless, I had way more energy than in the first trimester and felt "normal" or "new normal," i.e. how I felt before getting pregnant, which is significant because I wasn't taking all the supplements I had been then, simply my prenatal vitamin. I started taking Juice Plus again (I had been off it for about a year) as my only other supplement, and have seen studies and anecdotal evidence of exceptionally healthy babies born to "JP+ moms" and greatly decreased chance of pre-eclampsia after prenatal use.

I am now 32 weeks and pretty far into the third trimester. I do get tired more easily, but nothing dramatic. Brisk walking (and in the now 30- and 40-degree weather, it is brisk) energizes me and banishes much of the fatigue. But I'm also trying to listen to my body, not overdo it, and lie down when necessary. I have also been able to splurge on sweets during my pregnancy without it affecting me too drastically. I was eating so healthy for the two years previous, that even though I'm eating very healthy now, I'm splurging more so I feel like I'm really indulging, which is of course one of the privileges of pregnancy.

So that's where I am now, and according to our midwives and sonograms, both Peanut and I are quite healthy and on track. I'm curious what my energy level will be during labor and what kind of adrenaline reserves I have. From what I've learned so far, much of labor is staying relaxed and letting your body do the work, though stamina is obviously key, and the most energy is needed at the end to push. My doula suggested an energy drink, and I have one of my own I can try (Univera's Essentials), and we are using a birthing center where they let you eat and drink as needed for this "athletic event."

Something I am finding helpful lately is asking God for the strength and energy for this day, every day (or when I remember). A friend challenged me to do this (thanks Wendy!), and though it seems so obvious, I think it's a new thing for me since the days almost three years ago when I was very weak. The Bible is clear that any strength we have comes from the Lord anyway, and I do want to look to Him primarily for this basic need, over vitamins, diet, advice, doctors, or the elusive magic bullet. If every breath is from Him, how much more the energy to accomplish the things He's given me to do today and be the person He's called me to be. And amazingly enough, when I ask, He answers!

(...Like how I just read this verse the morning after I wrote the above!) "When I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me the strength I need." Psalm 138:3 NLT