If you had asked if I thought I would stop drinking coffee and be eating mostly vegetarian and no grains a few years ago, I would have said, "yeah, no." If you had told me that at the age of 48, I would be stronger and healthier than I ever had been in my life, I would have laughed. An incredible chain of events changed that.
"It is amazing how sometimes in our lives, when we pay attention to certain signals given to us, one event after another can gently lead us to life changing and lasting alterations."
Down to a cup of honey ginseng tea. Better wrap up.
Let's have a chat over breakfast.
In 2019 I had enough of the lifetime of daily debilitating migraines that kept getting worse. The neurologist found a solution with a new medicine that literally changed my life. I truly had no idea what it was like to live headache and migraine free, to talk without worry of stuttering, to drive and hope that a sudden change in a migraine wouldn't make me super confused and unable to find a familiar place, to not see rainbow crystals in my vision that if I did not attend to right away would blind me for the day and land me in the hospital. Emgality is a CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) antibody treatment. Basically, it binds to the CGRP in the brain and blocks its binding to the receptor preventing migraines. I am very grateful that it has worked so well for me.
With a new migraine free life with very few breakthrough headaches, everything changed. Suddenly, things I never though were possible for me, became possible. I cruised on this new lease on life for a bit.
Both January 2020 and 2021, landed me in bed and unable to walk without extreme difficulty and pain. Psoas muscle time. After many therapists and at home exercises, I have mobility I never experienced before. As I child, I would get in trouble at school because I couldn't sit cross legged. Now I can. My flexibility, mobility, and balance have greatly improved. Now to get upper body and core strength up to par!
May 2021 ran me over, in 1 week I gained 20 pounds. That frightened me as in 2013, in one month's time, I gained 65 pounds. Both sudden weight changes remain mysterious to both myself and the doctors. In 2013, it was decided that an extreme set of circumstances caused my body to shut down due to stress. But in May 2021, life was good. So what was going on?
I ran to the doctor and demanded that we get to the bottom of this. That we have. A radical diet overhaul followed. With tests galore behind me and new knowledge of what this 48 year old body needs, I am down 40 pounds and feeling even better than I could have imagined.
Was it worth losing coffee, dairy, and eating mostly fresh vegetarian foods? Definitely. I still struggle with wanting a bit of sweets or a random piece of bread or cheese. I pay a toll when I give in to them. I'll never be fully vegetarian. For some reason this body needs a bit of meat products a few times a month and then is good to go. Too much and I don't feel so good.
It is amazing how sometimes in our lives, when we pay attention to certain signals given to us, one event after another can gently lead us to life changing and lasting alterations. Quick, on a whim decisions seem too often to fly past and not last as long. For myself, I am very grateful that the hurdles I encountered became launching points to reach heights I never dreamed possible. There's still a way to go. But isn't that part of being human? We always have something new we can learn and grow from.
Embrace the opportunities that challenges bring. Time to take on another beautiful day!
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