Some News

Hello World!

We (my younger sibs and I ) recently started swimming lessons.

Recently as in the start of July.

I am great at keeping you all up "to date" aren't I?

 It has definitely been a bit of a struggle for me.

I have been working hard at getting that "perfect beach bod" of late. 

You know the one

Well...

That is my next set of "news".

I posted once on some great gluten free brands of lipstick and shared some of my health story there
So this is a bit of an update.
Plus since I have decided to post more on life,

I'd thought I'd give some insight about me.

To start things off, I'll catch all of you up.

For pretty much most of my life,

I haven't ever felt well.

The list of symptoms that I have struggled with is lengthy and not all that pleasant.

But I thought that I was completely normal, and so never complained or really spoke of it.

( At least I hope I never complained! )


In 2010:
One of my health problems is having pretty bad eczema on my face/cheeks and arms.
So in 2010, my mom had me food allergy tested to see if that could be a reason for flare-ups.
Turns out I was allergic to Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, and Peanuts.
Okay so first off
Yeah, I was allergic to those foods
But when you are 12 and offered a choice between a donut or an apple
You choose the donut!
*duh! people sometimes*


Fast forward to Summer of 2015:
I had started working out about 2 years prier,
But I never saw any sort of change,
So why eat the food I am supposed to and take working out seriously?
After seeing a picture taken of me at a concert though
I was shocked and annoyed
I looked really out of shape.
So I made a resolution to workout 5 days a week,
To not eat the foods I was allergic to
(Yep, I had to learn how to say no to the donuts. )
And to not eat any refined sugars.
My older brother decided he wanted a change as well
So we kept each other accountable.
AND WE LOOKED PRETTY DARN HAWT BY THE END OF THE SUMMER JUS' SAYING!
But during it all, I only ever felt worse physically.
Which was crazy!
I mean, I was working out,
Not eating junk food or refined sugars,
and I was not eating, gluten, dairy, eggs, or peanuts!
Shouldn't I feel amazing?


Fast forward to 2016:
I got pretty discouraged about how crappy I felt all the time
So by winter I was eating gluten, dairy, and eggs again.
Honestly, I was just getting worse.
I'm not sure where I would be if it wasn't for a bestie's mom actually.

She happened to hear of an add for a medical center in Seattle

I (Internal) B (Bowel) S (Syndrome) Treatment Center.
The symptoms of people with IBS sounded exactly like what I deal with on a day to day basis.
So one cold blustery day in March, my mom and I made our way down to the center.

I met the doctor

We talked stuff over
And they took my blood for new allergy testing.
That's when I found out I was now allergic to;
Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Nuts, Beans, Beef, Mushrooms, and Pineapples.
After hearing that news, I went on a strict diet to cut all of those foods out.
Two months later and I saw no change, if not felt a little worse.
I did more testing
And the results came back telling me three things.

1.) I have BAD bacteria.

2.) I have close to no GOOD bacteria, and the very small amount I do have is absolutely useless.

3.) I have a fungal overgrowth.

Since then I have been taking pro-biotics to build up good bacteria
And Grapefruit Seed Extract capsules to kill the fungal and bad bacteria.
How do I feel now?
Honestly?
I don't see a difference.
This month has been especially hard.
Probably the worst I have ever felt.
Which has been hard for so many different reasons.
One of them being the start of swim lessons.
I am a pretty self conscious person.
And wearing a swim suit isn't my favorite thing to do, by far!
So you can imagine my frustration when I feel like a beached whale,
and the scale confirms it.
There are definitely life lessons that I am learning through all of these health issues that's for sure!

1.) I am very slowly learning to lean on God's strength and not my own.

2.) I need to learn how to love my body in every way. Not just on my "thin" days.

  3.) I am really prideful.....

4.) I am more than a number on a scale



The thing about fungal overgrowths
They can take up to 6 months before some people have seen any sort of small improvement.
I may be one of those cases.
But when you start the Die Off process, you WILL FEEL WORSE BEFORE YOU FEEL BETTER!
I have to remind myself of that when I get down, and take a step back to look at the big picture.
Suggestions/next steps for me are to

1.) Drink lemon water.

Lemons are full of enzymes which my body isn't receiving currently.

2.) Limit my sugar.

My goal: Just fruit.

3.) Do Yoga every night.

Stretching my limbs helps to both relax and destress me.

4.) Workout every morning for 5/7 days.

It doesn't have to be long, just something to help get my blood going.

5.) Tea.

Both Green and Peppermint are life right now.
Well...after coffee that is. ;)

6.) Eating.

If I am hungry, HANNAH EAT!

If not, it's okay to say no.

7.) Veggies are a better choice for me, than eating corn chips with salsa.

Sadly.



Through all of this all I can say is

I have really, REALLY, amazing parents!

They haven't ever thought twice about anything,

They want me to be healed as much as I do.

And I can't thank them enough for the sacrifices they have done for me!

My mom is so wonderful.

When I write up encouraging quotes

Or print out motivational pictures

She will compliment me on my "cute collage"

But will also be quick to encourage and

to remind me that my body needs time to heal.

My body has been unwell for at least 12 years of my life!

It isn't going to be happy, and be perfect like a Pinterest picture in just a day!

So I need to take things slow.

Make good decisions today

that will benefit me for tomorrow.

To turn to God

To learn to say no when I need to,

and that is okay.

Wow.

This post was not supposed to be so long...

AND IT IS NOT INTENDED AS A PITY PARTY!

( Mainly because I can't eat the cake served at parties. ;) )

This post is just a peek into the behind-the-scenes of my life.
I hope too that this post encourages you,
If you are also struggling with health problems
Or even with just facing your image in the mirror every morning.

I like being known as the bubbly, happy girl

Who people would never guess was in pain or hurting on the inside

I want to encourage people

And I don't want to share ugly with them

Ugly is seen and heard about everywhere.

I want to share happy, and fun, and cute, and glitter, and sparkles!

So now that I got all of the catching up not fun stuff out in one long post

We can go back to fun and polkadots!

WISHING YOU ALL AN AMAZING FRIYAY!

LET'S PARTY IT UP TONIGHT, AND LIVE TODAY FOR TODAY!