Whoo, I’m in a lot of pain today. That whole sentence has different meaning
this year than in the past 13 or so years.
Historically, when seasons change, that puts me in a wheelchair
for a bit. I’ve been so sensitive to the
barometric pressure fluctuation and temperature changes that I just sort of
shut down. I suffered, truly, when there
was a thunderstorm. I thought it was just par for the
course. I was wrong about that. I’m hurting today as a result of the
weather but, today, I can function. I’m
in pain, yes. No wheelchair though, and
not even a cane. Just aches, pains. I did take the day off from my long morning
walk due to my pain and the rain combo.
And I’m in full compression. But,
I’m not in tears. I’m not pulling my
hair out. I’m not praying for
relief. It’s not bad. It’s annoying, and I don’t want it to get
worse. But I can live with it.
It’s remarkable how I have changed the internal makeup of my
body with a few therapeutic interventions that I stumbled onto. I more than doubled my salt intake. That allows me to be active. I was exercise intolerant before, and it was
because I couldn’t retain salt and wasn’t replenishing enough of it. Of
course, I didn’t know that. I’d get dizzy, my vision would grey, I’d get
wobbly, brain-foggy, weak. All due to a
too low blood-pressure, due to the fact that my cells don’t retain salt. How can my brain work correctly if there’s
not enough blood pumping to it? Well
now, I’ve got perfect blood pressure on a minimum of 9g of salt a day. Every half hour, after the first hour, of
sweaty exercise, I take another gram. It’s
THE recipe. I can tolerate hours of
sweaty exercise like this. Because of
this.
Also, I have fully integrated my walking exercise into my
life. My personal distance record is 7
miles. I reached that record in just 2
months of work. I was tired at the end
of it, but not unduly worn out. I wouldn’t
have wanted to continue. I’m keeping
joints stable while I walk. Both knees
are braced, and both feet have compression.
The sweat-wicking pants are compression too, and that’s great for
circulation. I’m detoxing in my sweat,
which I hadn’t done for so many years.
I have confidence in my body again.
I can rely upon it. It is more
predictable, and stronger. And my
dedication to my exercise screams of self-love. I’m devoted to having as good a life as I
can have.
Another big reason I’m feeling only annoyed by pain today is
all the detoxing. Some is happening
through sweat, but most is happening through coffee enema. This does sound fairly wacky, and it did to
me too, the first time I heard about it.
It took me another year after that first hearing to consider actually doing it. But, now I am absolutely convinced that it
relieves my pain. And the removal of so
many toxins has lowered my sensitivity level.
Exposure to most stimuli that would’ve caused me pain before is now
innocent at best, and annoying at worst.
I tolerate odors, though I do put on my peppermint mask when I’m in a
car with a scent. I tolerate sunshine
and light bulbs, though I do usually wear my sunglasses. I tolerate touch without pulling away. I tolerate sound without feeling like I’m
going to explode. The suddenness of some
loud dog barking at the front door doesn’t make me feel like I’m going to
vomit. A bumpy car ride is not something
to be endured anymore. The temperature
in my home can be normal instead of cold. I don’t use my weighted blanket to sleep
anymore. It feels too heavy now. I can
no longer hear buzzing of electricity in the walls. I can sit in a busy, loud restaurant, and
have a conversation with a friend. All
of this because I brought my sensitivity down. I did this with coffee enemas. They detoxed me. I live without fear of migraine happening
because I have a reliable treatment for headache pain in them. This opens up my whole world. I can socialize longer than I used to. I can eat different things. I can stay up a bit later. I can walk in the daylight. Anxiety-free. Because I have an effective tool if my head
starts to hurt. And since my sensitivity
is lowered, I don’t get migraines anymore that onset in 5 minutes or less. Headaches begin small and build slowly over
time. Headaches are reasonable so that
my migraine medicine works for me if I’m out of the house. (I usually do carry an ice hat with me when I
leave the house, just to stay comfortable, when one comes on.) This has changed my life. I’m not afraid to live because living might
give me a migraine. That’s a real
fear. I don’t have it anymore because of
this treatment. So, however wacky it
seems, look at all it’s given me. More
than any medicine any physician ever prescribed. Inflammation is down. Keeping it down. Some folks do this detoxing via sauna. For me, this works beautifully. I’m sticking with what works.
Continued chiropractic care is vital as well. If I’m ever to be free of headaches, my neck
curve must be eliminated, if not re-curved correctly. Daily exercises to encourage this are
ongoing. It was this care that started
me feeling well enough to introduce the other things I’m doing. It was this care that began the snowball
effect I’m loving right now.
I reflect now upon the last 13 years or so and I understand
that the only reason I feel so well now is that I have the correct diagnoses
for my conditions. For years, I couldn’t
exercise because I felt like I’d pass out.
Well, that problem is eliminated knowing I need to take salt. When pain occurs, I now understand what is
most likely causing it. This takes all
the emotional reaction out of the picture.
I can just problem-solve. The
other day, I got up from a table at lunch with a friend, and I felt my left hip
sublux. That’s like a soft
dislocation. For a person with healthy
ligaments and tendons, a dislocation would only happen after a blunt-force
trauma because their joints are held together so tightly. My connective tissue is too loose. So, my joints can slip. This is subluxation. In the past, when I didn’t know what the hip
pain was, I coddled it. I used a
wheelchair so I wouldn’t disturb it more.
I took the weight off it for many days. Sudden events like this have left me on the
floor of shops before. But the other
day, I felt it happen and I recognized it for what it was. And I worked it back in most of the way. I didn’t have a cane with me to help me walk,
so I hobbled out of the place. Ten
minutes later, walking through Target, I felt like the joint was 90% stable
again. I was walking ok. I had some pain in my hip and down my leg,
but I was strong and could put weight on it just fine. The next morning, I walked comfortably 5
miles. You see, all the extra muscle I’ve
built kept the joint from slipping as far out as it might have in the
past. And my confidence about my ability
to handle the situation was also high.
And my pain tolerance is high because I’ve brought my inflammation and
sensitivity down. So, I handled something easily that previously
would have floored me. I was sore the
next day but nothing more. I know what
happened. I handled it. No problems.
Every human body is unique from every other in the details
of its chemical balance, its strengths and weaknesses, its ability to express
what it needs. The key is to
listen. And a knowledge of what to
listen for. After I understood how much
salt I needed if I intended to try to exercise, it was doable. Now that I understand my knees are wobbly by
their very nature, I support them so they can comfortably tolerate my
activity. An open mind is key. If I’d been too small-minded to try detoxing
via coffee enemas, I’d still be highly-sensitive.
What I have, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome isn’t curable. But, I am living a quality of life now that I
didn’t think was possible for me. In
fact, I never even hoped to drive again.
But last week, I drove myself to my nail salon and home. That little nugget of independence regained,
HUGE. Now, I’m not out on big roads or
interstates, and I may not regain confidence on that level ever, but, to be
able to drive myself anywhere is a very big step.
All my medical doctors I have been to since my improvement
have said “keep doing what you’re doing”.
So, I will at least follow that “medical advice”, knowing that was what
I’d intended to do anyway.
UPDATE: New personal
distance record is 8 miles. Done
yesterday, 9/30/18. All miles in daylight. No sunglasses or hat. Just me and the blissful sunshine. My chiropractor had
teary eyes when I told him and we celebrated it this morning. “Your testimony makes me love my job” he
said.
