Adrenal Fatigue? Rightly So!

I remember life getting pretty hectic starting in Junior High School. I woke up at 5:30am to deliver the papers from 2 paper routes. I then went to school, did homework, coached soccer, and did chores. I tried to get as much time with my friends as well. On weekends I usually had 3 babysitting gigs lined up, I was in such high demand (I was the oldest girl of 9 kids so parents loved the experience I had) sometimes families would throw their kids together and I would be watching 5-8 kids at a time.

I didn't have much down time.

Then high school came and my first class started at 6am, and I went to school until 2:45pm, then from 3-5 I had either band practice, soccer (I played varsity from my underclass years) or track. From 5-9pm I worked at a local 5 and dime store. Then I went home and did whatever homework and chores I had, and then went to bed.

And then college came. I ended up working full time (I was the marketing coordinator for a computer company in the Silicon Valley and had to travel a lot to do trade shows) while going to school full time (and by full time I mean 18 units a semester). I really didn't have much time for myself.

Now, in my late 30s I start work at 6:30am, and work 8 hours. I also have the commitments of my side business, www.purifyyourbody.com, and that takes about 2 hours a day.

Not to mention caring for my dogs, one of which is elderly and needs special meds and attention for his seizures. Oh, and I have a husband, too, and we all know husbands need a lot of care. And taking care of the household, errands to run, home cooked meals, and my garden.

Oh, and did I mention that I help take care of my stepmom, who has dementia? Us kids all chip in during the week to help my dad out. I take her Tuesday afternoons, and I feed my parents 2-3 times a week, to make sure they get home cooked healthy meals.

And, I make all my laundry detergent, toothpaste, lotion, cleansers, etc etc. And because my friends like it, they always ask me to make lotion for them, too.

And, I have 3 different callings at church, which take up my time as well.

Suffice to say, I am exhausted ALL THE TIME.

I have cut out all sugars in my diet (I did this last September and have been true to it). I have cut out most gluten as well. So I am healthier, but the energy is still not there.

I finally went to a naturopathic doctor and bingo: ADRENAL FATIGUE. The symptoms perfectly match what I am feeling.

And so this makes me feel a bit like a loser, and this is where I have to be a bit more kind to myself. I do everything I can think of to be healthy, and yet, I get diagnosed with something as a result of all the responsibilities I put on myself, knowing I can't handle all that stress and sometimes feel so overwhelmed.

I realize I try to fit so much in my schedule. I stress and worry a LOT. I don't sleep well. But all the things I do GOOD for myself: eat REAL whole foods, following mainly the Nourishing Traditions protocols, well, none of that matters if I am running on adrenaline EVERY DAY. My adrenals are shot.

I will know more when I get the rest of my bloodwork back next week. But this has to end. I can't keep up with it.

So... I am going to be treated for this, and I WILL OVERCOME IT. Then, I will have so much energy I am so excited to even think about it! :)

I also am going to start saying no more often. I have tried it a couple times and it FELT GREAT!

I am going to try to meditate more often, too. I have some awesome CDs from www.immrama.org that help elevate you to the theta state of relaxation. Can I do it? I don't know, but I sure am going to try. If nothing else, I am a very determined woman!

And, I will continue to use and promote my detox foot pads.

In fact, here are my detox foot pads from last night: I haven't been good at wearing them for a while, so I need to start up every day again...

They should have only a little bit of dark around the edges, which lets me know that my body is clean of toxins... but the accumulated toxins from the last time I wore them really are showing themselves!

I will continue to post and follow up about my adrenal fatigue battle. Mainly to document my experience, not that I think it is interesting to anyone else... :)