Side note: I feel so so blessed to have so many people who want to help and who care so much about how I'm doing. We have had so many people from our ward who help out in different ways, and they are always asking how they can help more. We are also blessed with lots of family near us and many dear friends. We just don't know how to express how grateful we are.
Back to what we were discussing, here are some things I have found that help me so so much:
-Eat 6 small meals a day. I started doing this 3 days ago and it has already made a difference. It's been a little hard since my body craves meals since that's what it is used to, but I'm hoping that goes away after awhile. It has really helped my body to not have crashes so often. It has also been a lot easier for me because I don't have to cook actual meals. I just grab something small like a boiled egg with blueberries for a meal or greek yogurt with almonds. I love it.
-I have gone gluten free, sugar free, and eliminated fruits that have the most natural sugars in them. I have known that I needed to go gluten free for awhile now but I just didn't have the energy of learning how to do that. I still don't have energy for it, but I know that I really need to do it. I can do some research in the next couple weeks while I use what I do know. The sugar makes me REALLY sick. My doctor told me that my body reacts to sugar like a drug. If it gets a little taste of it, it craves more even though it makes me super weak. Then when I give it more, it gets even more sick and craves it even more! So lame. I don't know if that's how every body reacts to sugar but mine is just more dramatic or if its just me.
-Try to get as much vitamin D as possible. I haven't really tried this one out yet since it's winter, but I believe that it will help me a lot when summer does come. Last year I got sick in October when I stopped going out in the sun, and I didn't start feeling better until May when I started getting sun again. I was feeling awesome until October and got really sick again. I know that this is not my only problem because even when I did feel a lot better over the summer, I still had lots of problems I do now. It was just a lot easier when that one problem was gone. I have started taking a prescription dose of vitamin D once a week, and I'm supposed to take it for 8 weeks before I go in to get my blood tested again. I am on week three and haven't really seen a difference yet, but that could be because I've had a really rough couple weeks. This week is warmer weather so maybe I'll go to a park a few times and enjoy. I'll let you know how it goes!
-Eat more sodium and protein. I have also started this this week and I think it has helped a lot. The sodium helps a lot with my low blood pressure. It has helped me feel not near as lightheaded as I usually do!! I'm seriously so excited to continue doing this. The protein has also made me feel more stable because I used to get almost no protein.
-Avoid warm/hot water at all costs. Ohmyfreak this has helped so much! The hot water makes me SUPER weak. I have only been showering about twice a week because they would destroy my body and make me super weak for hours! When I realized that the heat was what was making me sick I started taking colder showers and I felt so much better. I still get weak after taking showers, but it isn't near as bad as it was.
-Avoid standing in one place or sitting in chairs normally. This one is a killer. Probably the most annoying thing I deal with. Because of my low blood pressure, standing or sitting normally makes the blood pool in my blood instead of making its way back up my body. This makes me super light headed since blood isn't getting to my head, and if I don't sit down or sit differently then I will faint. Supposedly walking isn't as bad because your legs are moving so it keeps the blood moving, but the same thing happens to me when walking. It just takes maybe 10 minutes longer to get really bad than standing does. When sitting, I have to keep my legs up on the couch with me and bent up close to my chest most of the time. This makes it really hard for me to sit through class or work or really anywhere you sit down. I haven't found a solution to this yet so if you think of something, let me know! I also bought a short stool for the shower so I can sit down and keep my legs up close to me. It has been AMAZING! I barely felt sick today after showering!
-Exercise for my legs is supposed to help a lot with the low blood pressure. Stronger muscles in the legs help keep the blood moving. I haven't tried this yet because I know my body is not ready for more exercise yet. If I go even a little over what my body can handle, it will destroy me, and I will have to start over at the beginning again. I hope I can start exercising my legs within the next couple weeks.
I'm getting really tired now so I'll stop here. Hope this gives you some more info on how I'm doing!
Just for laughs, here's a clip from Parks and Recreation, one of my favorite shows!!
Liz! This is awesome! So much of that is way good! I do have one idea for the sitting problem, and I have to do it sometimes as a pregnant lady so that I don't faint. I prop my legs up: on another chair, an ottoman, whatever I can get, and then I don't faint in front of my classes when I teach! For me it makes a big difference, even if it's only a few inches (like one foot on the other if I have nothing). Maybe that will help. All I know is that I could not do your diet ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for that tip! And I've been avoiding changing my diet for months so I finally decided I just need to do it. I've only been doing it for a few days and I already feel a ton better! I will never go back! But I do really miss most of my favorite foods :(
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