Back in early August I went to a naturopath to try and figure out why I was feeling increasingly “off.” Food intolerances, brain fog, mood swings, irritability, and many other issues. At the time of the appointment, we figured out a few things, but still had many questions about the larger picture.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the recap, let’s move on to the next bit…
At the first appointment, the naturopath gave me several supplements to help manage several of my symptoms. Now, those who know me know that I despise taking pills. I’m not good at it. I have a very sensitive gag reflex. As I looked at all of the pills, my first thought was “Well, at least now I’ll get some practice.” (P.S. – It’s been getting a little easier, but I still don’t like it).
The largest part of my between-visits homework was to eat everything. And when I say “everything,” I mean all of the food groups and certain foods I had been avoiding due to suspected intolerances. I was torn between thinking “This is gonna be awesome – I have to eat dairy again!” and “This is gonna be awful – I have to eat dairy again!”
You see, in order for the food allergy blood test to show anything (oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, I had to come back later for blood tests), I had to have the suspected allergens in my system. It had been quite a while since I had eaten some things, especially dairy. So after the appointment, I promptly went home and ate all the things. Gluten, dairy, corn, soy, peanuts, sugar… you get the idea. Like a kid let loose in a candy store, I enjoyed myself for a couple of days, but then I remembered that eating massive amounts of whatever probably wasn’t a good idea. *Sigh*
As I suspected, eating all the things began to take its toll on my body. Many of my symptoms got worse, and I ended up gaining 8 pounds in a month. I wasn’t doing anything crazy with my diet (after the first couple of days), I just added certain food groups back in. Something was definitely going to need to change.
The next time I saw the doctor was when she drew the bloodwork for the allergy panel. We chatted as she worked, and we were both thrilled when I told her that some of my symptoms had improved since our last visit about a month prior. There were still issues, but things were improving. There was hope. (Sensing a “hope” theme, here?)
I was told that it might take a week or two for the results to come in, at which point we would schedule another appointment to discuss results and make more plans, if necessary. Yeah… it wasn’t two weeks. I got a call about a week later saying that my results were in, and to make an appointment at my earliest convenience. Oddly enough, I didn’t know what I felt when it came time for the appointment. Equal parts anticipation and fear, I guess.
With the appointment made, there was nothing more to do but wait.
I hate waiting.
A Special Strength 