Chronic Fatigue - My Story
My heart is with all of you that suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia. In the past, I, myself suffered from this condition.
This debilitating condition is unfortunately often misdiagnosed by conventional physicians.
The most difficult thing I was dealing with was not knowing what was happening to me. I was dealing with a devastating weakness that felt like it was radiating out of my chest. Doctors couldn’t address it either, because they couldn’t figure out what was actually going on. They were all puzzled by my symptoms as if they had never seen anything like this before.
It all began with high levels of stress that I was dealing with at the time.
The ongoing continuous stress weakened my immune system and I often contracted all sorts of illnesses (flu, strep throat, etc…).
I was prescribed a few rounds of strong antibiotics, yet never really felt an improvement in my health or energy levels.
Overall, I felt unwell, weak, exhausted and constantly suffered from severe flu-like muscle pain.
I dreaded the nights when my exhaustion levels were at their peek because I couldn’t fall into restorative and calm sleep.
At times, even the simplest tasks like walking or talking were excruciatingly difficult for me.
I will always remember our family’s vacation to Cancun, in the midst of this challenging period. I feared this vacation more than anything imaginable - the thought of packing, the hassle of going through security at the airport, the flight - would exhaust the little energy that I had stored in my body. I knew I didn’t physically have what it took to journey on this vacation.….
When we arrived to our destination, I was exhausted and nervous. All I could think about was the return trip home……. Where and how would I muster up the strength to go through all of this again?
After a few days of rest on the beach, healthy meals, friends and nightly entertainment, I miraculously felt a bit better (surprise). I was perfectly fine on the way back home. I felt a huge sense of relief that I was finally beginning to heal.
Unfortunately, I was mistaken – it was only temporary. Soon enough, the episodes of constant exhaustion and body aches returned. I had no idea why I was so exhausted! I was completely puzzled by the fluctuations of energy levels throughout the day. Extreme jumps from feeling good one moment and a second later feeling terribly sick.
I was running in circles, from one doctor to the next; internists, infectious disease doctors,
Acupuncture, reflexologists and more – unable to find a solution to my situation.
According to my doctors, my extensive blood work was pretty much within normal ranges meaning that there was no apparent health issue. One of the internists I was seeing had the audacity to inform me that I may never get better, as they couldn’t pinpoint a cause to treat! You can just imagine how awful and lost that made me feel. I left his office depressed and discouraged.
At a visit with another internist, the doctor suggested that I should get a psychiatric evaluation because he couldn’t find anything wrong with me physically – and immediately dismissed the possibility.
At this point, I was frustrated and fed up with conventional medicine – which seemed to have run out of answers for me. I then made the life-altering decision of taking charge of my health and providing my body with everything that it needed to heal.
I visited holistic practitioners that helped me connect the dots of my mind, body and soul – teaching me how to give my body everything that it needed. I decided to remove all possible stressors from my life and committed myself to research what comprised a healthy lifestyle. I did the food sensitivities test to remove inflammatory foods from my diet, consumed organic nutrient-dense foods, worked on my gut microbiome (which was compromised and had a significant role in the degradation of my health. I reversed my condition of chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia completely, and my body is now producing sustainable energetic health.
I found this field to be my true passion, and decided to dedicate my life to help others that are experiencing the same issues. I expanded my knowledge, moving on to official studies in the field.
Today, I am a Functional Holistic Nutritionist, FDN- Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner
And HTMAP- hair tissue mineral analysis practitioner.
Our body is designed to heal when we give it what it needs and remove the stressors that bring about the degradation of our health.
My expertise is to uncover the underlying causes that start this cascade. I do this by utilizing functional lab and lifestyle assessments that give me insight and healing clues about the Hormonal system, Immune system, Detoxification system, Digestive system and Nervous system.
Once stressors are uncovered and healing opportunities are revealed, I design an individualized customized wellness protocol that addresses all the pillars of health like Lab guided diets, proper rest, exercise, stress reduction and nutritional supplements - all according to your body’s individualized biochemistry. Once all of these pillars are properly and functionally addressed, the body has what it needs for the healing journey!
Remember that chronic fatigue is the result of severely depleted adrenal glands. It is essential to uncover the root cause of the adrenal depletion. The main causes for adrenal depletion are
Chronic infections, prolonged emotional stress, toxic relationships, toxins, heavy metals, overworking, overscheduled life…
Restoring optimal adrenal function may take time. The important thing is to be patient. Find a practitioner you believe can help you, stay completely compliant and trust the process.
I hope that my personal journey inspires anyone who is suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia or any other debilitating condition - to believe in the healing process.
Our body is amazing and can do amazing things if you give it everything that it needs.