PTSD can cause real physical health problems

Tags

adrenal exhaustion, Anxiety, auto-immune, Ayurveda, Chronic stress, Depression, dis-ease, exhaustion, game on, gluten free, gluten intolerance, Healing, Health, himoto’s thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, leaky gut, PTSD, self-nurture, Spleen, thyroid, yang energy

It’s a little challenging sometimes to get the facts of life through this thick noggin of mine. For some reason, I’ve a tendency to not believe things are real.

So this whole: yes, my body is sicker than I was aware of thing is taking some getting used to. Of course I knew I was having bouts of exhaustion, but I hadn’t associated that with anything in particular. And thyroid issues it seems, are known to be difficult to diagnose because their symptoms often appear as other things – like depression and anxiety, for starters.

I’ve no way of knowing how long this has been going on, but based on my sketchy knowledge of Ayurveda I’d say it’s been a while. The organs and glands are not the first parts of the body to break down during dis-ease, but they’re also not the last.

What’s been really impressive has been the vast amount of information I’ve gathered from Twitter, including several excellent pieces of advice.

Three of the most important things I’ve learned in the last week are:

• Chronic stress can cause adrenal exhaustion, which in turn can trigger hypothyroidism and/or the auto-immune version of hypothyroidism, called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
• Generally associated with thyroidism is some level of gluten intolerance and/or leaky gut.
• There is PLENTY that a person can do other than take synthetic hormones to sort out this imbalance in the body.
  Here’s one woman’s story of what she did.

Bottom line #1: If you ever had any doubt about the body and mind being one and the same, seeing PTSD translate into a very real physical illness should be all the proof you require.

Bottom line #2: Never, ever, accept the standard western medical treatment without researching other options.

So far it’s been a wild learning curve and I know there’s plenty more to come.

Right now, I’m temporarily taking synthetic hormone medication for one month because it’s part of the protocol my current doctor wants me to follow. I’m not terribly happy about this! After that, I’ll have more blood tests to work out if I’ve got plain old hypothyroidism or Hashimoto’s.

In the meanwhile, I’m also taking a small army of supplements including:

• Olive leaf extract (which I’ve been taking for ages to support my immune system)
• Fish oil (another one I’ve been taking for ages – good for joints and cholesterol)
• L-Tyrosine – this made me feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. The almost ever-constant anxiety I was experiencing, that’d flare up without much cause is now gone. Yep, GONE. This is an amino acid and it’s referred to as “neuro-transmitter support”. It is incredible!
• Liquid iron (better for absorption, and doesn’t cause constipation like the tablet form. Also includes vitamin C in the blend) – related to adrenal exhaustion
• Magnesium – to support iron absorption
• Huge doses of B12 and vitamin D – which I am deficient in right now and this is also related to adrenal exhaustion

But that’s not all. I’m working with my acupuncture guy on my spleen/yang energy – which is also connected to the thyroid. He’s gonna give me some herbs and needles to see what can be done to support my body.

AND I’ve started – somewhat fitfully – eating gluten free. I can report that the first few days my body was having a little celebration at the change in my eating habits. I felt like it was literally singing to me!

But I’ve had to work out what’s okay and not okay to eat. Obviously things like bread are totally out (unless it’s gluten-free chia bread!), but other things I’d eat occasionally like dumplings, fries (cross-contamination issues), and even most potato chips are OUT. So is blue cheese (*cries*). My breakfast cereal, which I thought was okay as it was wheat-free, just isn’t. Barley and rye also have to go, you see.

The weird thing is that after even just a few days without gluten, then slipping up with stuff I wasn’t aware of… WOW, my belly hurts! That’d also be me just double checking to see if this thing is really REAL (thick noggin, remember?).

Interestingly, I noticed that I’d been having this sort of tight, bloated pain for a while. Only I hadn’t realised before now that this was a symptom of gluten intolerance. Amazing what we put up with, isn’t it?

So mostly I’m sticking to very simple meals – fish, organic chicken, rice, steamed veggies (drizzled with tahini – YUM!) and salads. Stuff like that. I’ve found a wonderful gluten free breakfast cereal and the previously mentioned chia bread. The other thing I’m meant to do is eat smaller meals more frequently.

Basically, I’m not taking any of this lying down (see bottom line #2). I’ve already got some leads on doctors that work more holistically when it comes to thyroid issues. So once I get my test results, I’ll probably switch doctors because I want someone who knows this stuff inside out and is prepared to go further than just giving me replacement hormones!

Food, exercise, proper rest, yoga and meditation – along with the appropriate supplements etc – all appear to be the way to go.

I’m also doing some work on my self-nurture abilities: today I had an awesome “me” day! Post-yoga class, I had myself a lovely time – getting my eyebrows waxed, a massage, going to a movie, buying some lovely fruit tea, a new light for my push bike, and wandering at a leisurely pace back towards my part of the world.

Game on, people. It’s game-freakin’-on.

~Svasti

Stagnation aint pretty

Tags

Acupuncture, Jobless, Spleen, Stagnation, TCM, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Virus

Earlier this week I got jacked off that I’ve been sick since I came home from Thailand. Actually I was sick in Thailand too, on and off and just a little bit. I think coming from that very warm and relaxed environment to the cold and chilly environs of Melbourne made things 100x times worse.

Today I took myself to see my acupuncturist. I haven’t been to see him before now, because at first I thought this was just an ordinary cold. Also money is tight, and I don’t have a car now so getting around isn’t as easy. But once I got my second and more disgusting ear infection, and I realised I was STILL sick, I’d had enough.

So, braving the chilly day here (what is it with Melbourne weather anyway, bloody sunshiny and gorgeous one day and fucking freezing the next!!??!!) I took a bus, then a train. Then realised I got off the train a stop too soon and walked the rest of the way. And finally arrived at my acupuncturist’s offices.

He’s a funny guy my acupuncture dude. He couldn’t look less like a practitioner of Chinese Medicine if he tried, but he’s incredibly good. Think Greek and very woggy looking and sounding and you have it. Thick gold jewellery, hair with a minor oil slick. That’s my man.

But he’s very knowledgeable and talented. Most TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) doctors will take your pulse, look at your tongue and your eyes. But my dude, he also reads palms. And in ways not discernable to my eyes, he uses my palms to tell me things about myself. Accurate things. So I like my Greek TCM guy.

Today he says oh you’ve got a lot of cold in your body created by wind. But its also creating some heat in your spleen. Not good. We’ve gotta draw that out. Well otherwise you’re looking good. I can see you’ve lost weight. Your emotions are doing much better too. Don’t worry, we’ll sort this out. Those doctors don’t know what they’re on about, pumping you full of antibiotics and hoping for the best. You’ve gotta get to the cause of the problem. There’s damp in your guts and a virus has taken up residence. We have to kick him out. Its causing stagnation and that’s why you’re not getting any better. Don’t worry, we’ll get him.

He uses the cups first, these funny little bubble shaped glass contraptions which are heated and placed strategically all over my back. Then I flip over and he attacks my abdomen with the cups, sticks a needle in my left leg near my knee, in my right leg near my ankle, in my right hand near my thumb and two in my ear.

Apparently the needles are to support the spleen, help clear the way for more nutrients from my food to get into my system and… I’m not sure what the rest were now.

He talks to me about the tattoo I got in Thailand (must post about that here!), and is excited to hear about the process. And Thailand. He must like places like Thailand because his rooms are like a furnace, so warm I have to strip my outer layers off the moment I get in there. And little beads of sweat form on my upper lip.

At least it’s cosy when I take half my clothes off for this treatment.

He prescribes some herbs. You’re all run down he says. We have to get this ear sorted out and then in a few weeks we need to build you up again. Get your immune system functional.

Right on!

As I’m leaving, he’s busy telling me to rug up, approving of my huge scarf but where’s my beanie, I should have a beanie. Chat chat chat like a little old lady.

Heading to the station I think of that word – stagnation – and that’s a pretty good summary of life since I came back here. Thing is, I’m not sure what to do about it.

I didn’t get that job I really wanted. Oh, it was a tough decision, you’re really great, got lots of experience and our shortlist was longer than we expected. We’d like to keep you in the loop as we keep growing… yeah sure, except that you and I both know that aint gonna happen.

So whilst I do have enough money at the moment to keep me going, I’m getting a little worried now. Usually, when I’m following the flow I’m meant to be following, things happen easily. Like when I originally moved from Sydney back to Melbourne and it was jobs galore on offer and I got the one I wanted lickety split.

And when I was deciding to quit that job and pack everything in, it all seemed to be the right thing to do. Jobs in Melbourne for the line of work I’m in seemed to be plentiful. But not now.

Now, I’m stuck living in one of the most out of the way places, with my parents who don’t really want me here messing up their routine lives, with no car, no job and a dwindling bank balance. And ofcourse, I’ve pretty much been sick in one way or another for five weeks now.

I just don’t get it. I mean, I’m learning alot about myself and what I want, what makes me happy. But I’m limited in what I can do because of my current circumstances. I’m working real hard to get a job and good lord – anyone should be delighted to have me. I’m a geek/new media junkie/creative type etc. I’m passionate about my work and damn it, I’m good.

But still, it seems it’s all stagnated. And I don’t know what the key is to unlock this current stasis…

~Svasti