The most important blog I've ever written

It's been a year... A year of recovery of coming back of gaining my strength again and learning to live without limits - FINALLY!!!

You might be thinking "what happened?" some terrible accident, and incident I wasn't aware had happened. But it had gone on for 10 years. My immediate family knew all too well, but most had no clue. So what was it??

This is why this is the most important blog I've ever written because I want to get the information out there and I don't want anyone to have to experience and go through what I did for such a simple thing that no one caught.

Approximately 10+ years ago my doctor put me on a birth control named "Yasmin". It was new to the market and was suppose to have huge benefits in controlling PMS. Something I had struggled with since my teen years. My period has always hated my body and wreaked havoc with me. I switched to it and felt much better PMS wise. The silent killer was that it began to cause Adrenal Fatigue in my body.

I have always been very active and been a runner most of my life. But as the fatigue began to strike me, my runs got harder and harder. I thought I was out of shape and tried to push even harder to "get back in shape". All the while running down my adrenals even more.

Your adrenal gland produce adrenaline in your body. Not just a heavy boost of adrenaline when you have a fight or flight moment, but enough steady adrenaline to get your through each day and give you energy when needed.

I went to several doctors (5 to be exact) they all told me to slow down, take it easy and don't try to do so much and that I probably had some depression and put me on various forms of anti-depressants. I knew in my heart that was not the problem, but no one seemed to know what it might be. Adrenal fatigue was not tested for in Western medicine just 10 years ago. And I'm sorry but hey, if they don't have a pill to prescribe to you to make it all better, then it must not exist!

My health was deteriorating. My fatigue kept getting worse and I kept pushing. It made it hard to get out of bed at times. I could sleep for hours and there were times I was hard to roust. It scared my husband and scared me to death. At times I could hear in my sleep and know I had to get up but couldn't wake my body. It was like I was trapped in a sleeping body unable to move. On one particular day I had went for a run and came home and in the middle of stretching fell asleep... for 5 hours. I woke with one leg stretched out in front of me and one folded behind me just like I had been in the middle of that stretch. It freaked me out. I remember running a 5K, which I did many of, and the medical personal came along in a cart wanting to pick me up because I didn't look well. I shook them off and told them I was fun, but really I was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other and couldn't believe how hard it was. It was a stinking 5K for peat's sake!

I began to look pale all the time and literally cut off all of my hair in a pixie cut because to have to fix it exhausted me and I'd have to lay down. The simplest things took great effort and just trying to get though my day was a challenge. And most days I had to take at least one nap if not two. Many times I'd wear myself down so much I'd be in bed for days at a time. Working was crazy. I'd work so hard to set up appointments and then sometimes just have to cancel them because there was no way I would have the energy to get ready and go. I was driving to work one day and literally didn't feel like I could even make it there. I pulled over and called in sick and then fell asleep in my car.
The mental effects of not knowing what was going on with me and feeling like I was failing because I couldn't keep up with normal life was tough! But I kept trusting my gut and KNEW there was something really wrong with me. I kept researching and looking for answers until one day I stumbled upon a doctor's page on the Internet about adrenal fatigue and all my symptoms lined up. The weight gain, exhaustion, mental fogginess, suppressed immune system, the feeling like I was constantly coming down with the flu. So I started searching for a doctor who could help. The last Western medical doctor I saw told me I had chronic fatigue and that I should sign up for disability and learn to deal with it. I was in SHOCK! And I refused to take that as an answer. But I started taking any supplement the website had recommended and following the adrenal diet they had listed. Some relief started to come from that.

I found my doctor through a clinic in Maine who couldn't see me for 3 months. They suggested I see Doctor Brunschwig at Helios Clinic in Boulder that is only 22 miles from my home! The very first thing we did was test my adrenal function. It came back nearly non existent. Well below normal levels. We began an aggressive treatment of supplements and lifestyle to follow and I got some relief. But over and over again I'd start really feeling the fatigue again, we'd re-test and my levels would still be low. We'd get more aggressive and even did IV cocktails on a regular basis to try to support my body enough so it would begin to make more adrenaline on it's own. Everything would work somewhat for a little while, but I never felt normal and never felt like I had "my energy" back. I so longed for the days when I could accomplish so much in a day and be productive and feel good about myself.

Finally the answer came 10 years later. The doctors from the clinic in Maine, Women to Women clinic, whom I had telephone appointments with from time to time, recognized that I was still taking Yasmin birth control and they said that they had found that it caused adrenal fatigue in some women. They advised that I should go off of it and that I might have withdrawal symptoms. Yikes!! After two tough weeks of withdrawals I was finally off of it and within a few short weeks I was already feeling better. Even though they had warned it might take 6 months to a year to get back to normal, within 3 months I was feeling good and had my adrenals re-tested. NORMAL - perfectly normal range, that I had not fallen into in 10 years. I cannot even express to you how good those words felt to hear! It was like a sentence had been lifted and I began to really have some hope that it was finally turning around. My doctor chalked up my speedy recovery to the fact that I was doing everything in my power to give supportive care to my adrenals and once the Yasmin was gone that kept blocking the production of adrenaline in my body and shutting down the body's production of Pregnonolone (a hormone that tells the body to produce adrenaline) I was able to bounce back!

So bouncing back I am. I am able to get up in the morning without having to force myself. I am able to stay up past 10:30 p.m. and not have it put me in bed for 2 days. I am up all day!! No need for naps anymore. I don't catch every cold that comes along and my immune system is recovered. I am able to function. My mind is clear and I feel like I can think all day. I can keep up with the house, my work and a social life and no longer have to make excuses for why I can't do something, because I can. My running has returned to normal and it doesn't make my body feel like all the blood is draining out of it later in the day. I'm able to push myself as hard as I want to in the gym and not die because of it. It all sounds so minimal and simple, but believe me when those things are taken from you it is HUGE to have them all back after 10 years!! I feel like I have my life back again. I am "me" again and I am free to live my life to the fullest with no restrictions!

I share this with you for a few reasons and the first is if you know anyone who is taking Yasmin birth control or a relative of it such as "Yaz" or generic forms such as Ocella, share my story with them. I have connected with so many others who have had issues, but we just didn't know that is what was causing it. There are other ways to treat the symptoms that Yasmin helped me with and they are all holistic. I am now off all medications, and supportive supplements and completely back to normal!

Second I want to share this because I believe that women know their bodies and if we are in tune to them and listen to what our body is telling us, we know when something is wrong. Doctors can be WRONG!!! Those 5 doctors I saw who couldn't figure it out almost had me convinced that I was depressed and needed medication. But I knew my body and I listened and I kept diligently searching to find the right answers and the right treatment. Had I not, I can't imagine where I would be today. I know I wouldn't be experiencing a rich and full life like I am now. Take charge of your health care! You are the only one who has your best interest at heart!

We were at an event this weekend where they run that same 5K they tried to pull me out of back then and my husband said "it brings back the worst feeling he ever had". He remembers that day like it was yesterday. I did serious damage that day and I went down hill fast after that race. And not only was the 10 years hard on me, but on my family also. My husband hated not being able to help me. He just wanted me to feel well and he just wanted "his wife" back. I think I will run that race again next year, just so I can replace a good memory for a really bad one.

I want to thank the staff and doctors at Helios Integrated Medicine in Boulder. Special thanks to Dr. Brunschwig who never made me feel like I was losing my mind, and always encouraged me that we would find a way to make things "better than this!" And the caring and educating staff at Women to Women clinic (womentowomen.com). Amazing people looking beyond what Western medicine tells them. I am eternally grateful!