Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi BenP, I read through your posts since last year. It’s good to see your improvements over time. I will take your B6 advice. I too noticed the fish oil making me feel “not so good”.
I realize I’ve had AF (under the surface) for years and it finally starting rearing its ugly head last May, and with occasional fight-or-flight responses even months before then. It was just in the last 3 months that I finally put everything together and all my symptoms match up. There is no help from doctors. I struggled these 3 months at work too and I don’t even know how I made it through. I’m now with family for a month to try and relax a bit. But if I don’t go back to work, I lose a lot. In the end, I know my health is more important than financial/material losses, but who wants to start over years of hard work? Anyways, I’m just wondering how often you had fight-or-flight responses during a typical day (or week). Mine were pretty much constant at their worst and now it’s here and there throughout the day. Ahhhh. Just wondering how much and when indicates a recovery process (and out of this misery) because it seems to change all the time? I want to go back to work but the panic just makes it so hard to concentrate because I’m fighting myself to act normal. And that makes it worse. I’ve always been outgoing and exuberant. I don’t recognize myself at all – this is the pits. How to survive at work???
Thanks for your reply MaryU. I’m glad you’ve seen improvements and wish you ongoing recovery.I would have loved to have had a Saliva kit a few months ago when I thought I was dying in the mornings because the hypoglycemic shakes and adrenaline output were so bad. Terrible muscle cramping too. No wonder your initial kit results were off the charts. Our chronic illnesses have definitely contributed to inflammation in our bodies. In my case several long-term social/work stressors are equally contributory, as it is for so many of us. It is definitely the worst to be told “it’s all in your head” – like that helps the overall stress on our nerves – and doctors sending people to therapy and counseling when it’s actually the adrenals. I imagine some decades from now doctors’ offices will eventually have posters warning patients of AF like they currently do for Heart Attacks and other illnesses; but the research hasn’t gotten that far yet and our generation still has to suffer without much med help. I will definitely look into the CCNM in Toronto…but it’s difficult to get out especially without the support of family members who don’t understand the need for naturopathic help. So I too feel at my whits end.
Were you able to take care of yourself at all during the worst of it? One of my biggest challenges besides adrenaline rushes, panic and irritability were not being able to eat. It’s like my digestive system just shut down last August and by December I was only drinking shakes, but barley. It’s gotten better since the holidays and while I can eat a bit of “normal” stuff with the family at dinner time, I’m basically stuck on broth with eggs and vegetables several times a day. I hear many people sticking to broth as their only option. I did read somewhere that eating lots of beta carotene is great for AF. When I starting eating carrots (as many as I could summon myself to eat) I actually saw a tiny bit of improvement in my digestive ability. I’m finding that I can’t eat anything dry (bread, white meat, boiled potatoes, etc. even though these comfort foods were always my favorites in the past). I’m waiting for the day that I will be able to eat without feeling held back by my body. I always loved eating. Now…oh no. I have to force myself every step of the way. But I’ve heard that AF does cause the stomach to shut down because the body sends the energy to more important functions as an effort to keep the body alive.
Take care of yourself and keep in touch MaryU!
Hi Mary, I’m in Ontario too. I also searched for any kind of group to find support. It doesn’t help that my GP says I’m fine as my blood work is fine. I told him how terribly I felt and how the symptoms were getting worse and worse, and still he whisked me out of his office. So, now I’m self-diagnosed and going on 8 months of pure misery. (I realize in hindsight I’ve had mild AF for years. If only AF was more well-known, it could save people from going all the way) Anyways, I could only afford a naturopath for one session – so it didn’t help much either because their treatment requires many check ups. I’m trying to help myself as much as possible – even moved in with family now, but will lose my job and home as I only have a month off. So humiliating and frustrating. Since you’re in Ontario, if you find out of any OHIP-covered practitioner who is sympathetic to treating AF, please, please let me know! Considering I have a pre-existing chronic illness and I never let that get me down but AF is now doing this to me, speaks volumes to this horrible thing.
I’m also being prompted to change my password every time I log in.
