2014: The Year of Health & Wellness

Hi. My name is Adrianne.

I’m married to a wonderful and supportive man.

Together we have a beautiful and spunky two year old daughter. No, I’m not biased at all:)

From the outside, all appears well. From the outside, I think I look like a reasonably young, reasonably fit and healthy woman. In other words, I don’t think people see me and think I look sickly. Yet for many years, I have felt ill. All of my life I’ve struggled with gastrointestinal problems, leading to many stomach aches and lots of inexplicable nausea. In addition to that, I have bad chronic back pain resulting from a fall almost ten years ago. Most days I have extreme fatigue, random body aches,  a sore back, an extreme intolerance to cold, and poor memory and concentration. All of that contributes to a mounting sense of anxiety, a lump in my throat sensation, and pain when I take a deep breath.

I feel like a complete mess!

I thought I was headed down the road to recovery when I was diagnosed last year with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. I felt that I could attribute most of my symptoms to that condition, and assumed that once I was being treated for it, I would start feeling much better. Shortly after that, I discovered that I have a severe intolerance to gluten. I’ve now been gluten-free for around 10 months, and that has helped tremendously with the stomach issues. At this point, even crumbs can make me very sick! So staying away from gluten is imperative. Between those two things, I really thought I had pinpointed my problems.

Yet I still feel terrible. My thyroid levels are where they’re supposed to be, but I have no relief from my thyroid symptoms. And even without the gluten in my diet, I still suffer from the occasional upset stomach and debilitating nausea, and of course the back/neck/shoulder pain is always there.

So this year I’m making some big changes. This is the year that I will start to feel better and get my life back! I still believe that the primary sources of my problems are my thyroid (and perhaps associated conditions), my messed up back, and food sensitivities. Because traditional doctors have failed me thus far, I’ve taken matters into my own hands, done a lot of research, and have decided to take a more natural, “alternative” approach to healing myself.  And since I know that a goal without a plan is just a wish, I’ve planned out how I’m going to accomplish this lifestyle change.

• New doctor. I’m finally going to see an integrative medicine doctor who can (and will–most traditional doctors will not)  treat my thyroid without synthetic hormones (Synthroid) in favor of a more natural approach (Armor Thyroid). He’s also (according to reviews) well versed in nutrition and favors using a healthy diet to cure many ailments as opposed to drugs. Major plus in my book!

• Diet. This one is huge and what this blog will mostly focus on. For several years I’ve been on a natural food kick in addition to being gluten-free. But I need to do better. This year I plan to all but eliminate all refined sugars from my diet, opting instead for the occasional honey or pure stevia extract. I need to drastically reduce the amount of dairy I consume, increase vegetables, eat more organic, eliminate almost all of the caffeine (which isn’t much), and try out more completely grain-free options. When I create or come across any amazing recipes, I’ll be sure to share them here. I’ll also be sharing information about the food industry, what’s in our food, etc.

• Chiropractic care. I’m finally going to see a chiropractor (Jan. 20) to begin the long process of getting my back, neck, and shoulders situated. I’m also hopeful that she can help out with some of my other symptoms.

• Essential oils. I’m just now starting to research this as a way to help both my thyroid and my stress/anxiety. I look forward to sharing updates here as I learn more.

• Detoxifying. For the past several years, I’ve focused most of my attention on food issues. However I’ve recently begun to open my eyes to all of the other toxins surrounding me on a daily basis. All of the health and beauty products that I slather onto my skin everyday, the harsh chemicals that I use to clean my house and my clothes….it all needs to go. As a result, I’ll be making a lot of my own products (to save money), and searching for affordable, natural alternatives. I look forward to sharing recipes and information about this as I learn more!

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So as you can see, there’s a lot to be done. I’m excited about the prospect of feeling better and living my healthiest life, but I know it’s going to take a lot of work. It won’t come free and it won’t come easy, but I’m at a point now where if I don’t start feeling better, I’m afraid I’m going to have a mental breakdown. So I’ll do the work.

I……”Will Work for Wellness”

….and along the way, I’ll share as much information as I can because, as I always like to quote Maya Angelou on, “When you know better, you do better.” And I think we can all be doing better when it comes to living a more natural lifestyle, free of harmful toxins and fake “food.”

Join me!