Karen Harries is a Denmarkian that I met in the Health Food Shop, we have connected during random meeting in town, on Facebook and via email. Karen is the first person to give me her story and her permission to publish for you to read. Thanks for getting us started Karen, over to you...
Way way back in february 2000 I had my dream job, at last, but the manager created an extremely high stress workplace. I was a nervous person, anxious to do well, so I didn't handle it well. Then I got a severe case of chicken pox. I was 30 years old. I spent 2 whole weeks at home in pain and a lot of discomfort. Not long after my return to work, I got glandular fever. I actually didn't know it at the time as diagnosis didn't happen for 6 months. By then, because I desperately wanted to keep my job I 'soldiered on' through work, crashing on the couch every night. My husband had to carry me to bed each night. I was exhausted.
Time passed and I still tried to cope, but one day I knew I couldn't go on. I quit, my husband took time off work and we went travelling. It took about 2 months of rest and sunshine before I started feeling remotely normal again.
Over the next few years, I did the best I could to hold down a job, sometimes working hard, then arriving at the same point where I crashed in a heap, quit, rested, then started job hunting again. Strangely, with such a history, I always got employment easily. But my life changed for the better when I met the staff and owner of Healthy Notions, a health shop in Eaton WA. The staff there cared, helped me, gave me great advice and support. My strength started to return. They became and still are my best friends.
As part of my search for answers, I saw a professor who specialised in chronic fatigue. He didn't actually instill much confidence in me but suggested I try having B12 injections. My levels weren't particularly low but he had seen good results in similar cases. There didn't seem to be much chance of harm so why not hey? Well, just 24hrs after my first injection, I said yes to a casual job offer, from my lovely friend, owner of Healthy Notions.
Fast forward another 6 years, and I am doing OK. I have days of complete exhaustion still but not too often. I have great balance with work and life.
Discovering paleo only a few months ago has been the next 'big thing' for me. Removing grains has removed most of my inflammation problems. I get puffy hands shortly after eating any grain based foods and if I continue to eat grains, muscles and joints become inflamed, stiff, painful and also hot. It's very uncomfortable and is at it's worse in the morning and in the mid to late afternoon, especially if I have pushed myself too hard through the main part of the day. Also, it disrupts my sleep. Cutting out grains has changed my sleep patterns to deep, peaceful and almost always refreshing, quite an achievement for a long time chronic fatigue sufferer. Heavy grain consumption sees my sleep becoming hot, uncomfortable, lots of tossing andturning, waking several times per night and getting up early, achy and unrefreshed. At my worst I got up 6 times a night, each time needing to drink water and go to the toilet. I never stayed asleep long enough to feel any benefit the next morning.
Just 2 weeks ago I started to drink chicken bone broth. It tastes amazing and I crave it, a sign that my body needs it. It has helped heaps already and I have noticed when I do stretch the rules with my diet and eat something I shouldn't, the resulting inflammation isn't as bad, a sure sign my gut is healing. My energy is improving, the foggy brain often associated with chronic fatigue isn't such a big problem any more. Things are changing quite quickly and I am excited to see what happens next.
Other benefits I have noticed are that I feel a sense of calm. I have always been quite highly strung, much of that quite possibly due to trying to compensate for lack of energy so this new feeling was a surprising bonus. Also, the food is just so satisfying. For the first time in years I don't despise food and the pain it has caused me. Now I finally know which foods cause the pain and inflammation, and am happy to leave them out and eat more grass fed meats, fermented foods and lots of good quality, delicious, satisfying fats.
If I could give one piece of advice, it would be not to try and make all the changes at once. We are creatures of habit and it is much kinder and easier on the body if we get used to one change, then move on the the next. You want to be healing well, not healing quickly only to find you fall back in to old ways just a quickly.
Take care and give yourself permission to be well again.
Karen Harries
Thanks so much Karen, I know it is hard work to sit down and write as you have from the heart, open and honest.
Do you have a story that you are willing to share? Maybe someone will read it and resonate with you and you will inspire them? Send me your story to primalsoapbox@gmail.com and thanks for listening!
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