autoimmune Disease
Has anyone else experienced an autoimmune disease? It is interesting to note that there are over 100 of them, and you can find the list here. They range anywhere from fibromyalgia to rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease and a host of many more. It’s important to know I am not a medical professional and everything in this post is my own opinion. Or from personal experience.
My own experience
Many years ago I was continuously fatigued and could never get enough sleep. I walked around like a zombie constantly. My normal weight should have been around 170 pounds, but I was 240 pounds. Wish I could show you some photos, but I was so disgusted with my body, I threw them all out. I can’t tell you what year I was diagnosed, simply because my brain was in such a fog. But here’s how it all happened.
I felt horrible every single day. It was extremely difficult to get out of bed each morning to go to work. I could never get warm enough. My hands and feet were always numb and tingly. My periods lasted for up to 2 weeks long in some instances and just drained me. (Literally.) I had a puffy face, and was losing my hair at a fast pace. I had severe constipation which eventually led to surgery for a chronic anal fissure. (That’s a whole other story. But if any of you ever had one, you know how horrifically painful they are, right?)
My wake up call
Then my wake up call came. It was a very cold and wet November afternoon. I caught the bus home from work that day. The bus stop was 1/2 block from where I lived. I made it as far as my front steps. I was so exhausted, I literally laid down on the icy sidewalk in front of my house and fell asleep. One of my neighbors eventually came along and helped me into my residence. The very next day I went to the doctor and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I was also diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. HT is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune thyroid disease. It’s the disease where the immune system attacks and destroys the thyroid gland.
If you are a regular reader of mine, you know that I am now vegan. And it’s because I don’t want to relive those horrible symptoms again. I saw an inspiring video by Dr. Terry Wahls from Iowa that you can find here. I truly believe most of my sickness came from the foods I was eating. I am still taking pills to this day, but hopefully on my new journey, I will be able to stop.
In conclusion, I can say this with confidence from personal experience. I know many of the things you are going through, and I feel for you. I know the pain and suffering you are experiencing. Once you begin eating more plant based food, even once a week, you’ll slowly start feeling better. Therefore, this……I promise you.
Hope everyone has a safe and healthy week!