Hey Babes!
Long time no talk. I never anticipated taking a two-week break from blogging but life got in the way and I needed to take care of myself. Before I get into todays update//blog post I just wanted to say how much I missed you! Ugh I feel so lost when I am not emailing readers and replying to comments. Also… My comment section is VERY full right now. I am going to get back to all of you. Promise. Let’s get into it shall we?
I used to be a professional at listening to my body. I took the time to check in every day or so to acknowledge aches and pains. I would make sure I had exactly eight hours of sleep. I would meditate and block out at least an hour for pilates at least 6 if not 7 days a week. My food was always organic and freshly cooked.
Two years later my life style has the same themes however I am not nearly as rigid about it. Being in nursing school, running a blog and life took over those ‘check ins’ with myself. I eat left overs and take most of my meals to go. My schedule is different EVERY SINGLE DAY. It isn’t rare for me to be eating a cold chicken breast in my car or snacking on a protein cookie in class. It’s life…you get it.
I started noticing I was needing more caffeine to get through the day. I was drinking pouches of energy powder that I know contains splenda (something I NEVER put in my body) to have the energy to drive home from school.
My hair started falling out in handfuls, which had to be because I was too rough when I was brushing it. The red lacy rash that appeared every time my skin met with warm water must have been because I made the water too hot. All of a sudden I went from wearing zero face makeup to using color correcting sticks and full coverage foundation to hide a strange rash on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. I haven’t done any of these things in years years. I knew what was happening but I also knew I could hide it. I just wasn’t ready to be the sick girl again.
About six months ago I started getting extremely sick with any alcohol consumption. Two glasses of wine or a mixed drink left me vomiting for hours…again I just thought it was odd. Maybe my tolerance was low because I wasn’t drinking with the guys every weekend. Maybe my body had one too many Raspberry Vodka and Sprites when I living at school. The most recent time it happened, my parents witnessed just how intense it really was…I will spare you the details (your’e welcome) but I will say it wasn’t normal by any means. My solution was simple, no more drinking.
I was more tired, achey and irritable.
Then, two weeks ago, I had a headache I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to be left alone so I went to sleep in the basement bed room. It hurt to move my head and nothing helped take it away. Mom took me to the ER for a migraine cocktail…which did NOTHING but they sent me home anyway.
Two days later, my head felt so full I couldn’t move my eyes. Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. I called my doctors office sobbing and cursing. I was five days deep in this headache and I couldn’t take it for another second. I couldn’t eat, drink or sleep.
Momma took me to the hospital for a second time and this time I was taken much more seriously. The ER doc called my Rheumatologist (who is the smartest person I have ever met) and the two decided to run a bunch of labs and give me fluids because I was severally dehydrated. The doctors suspected I was having a lupus headache and decided to give me IV steroids, even though I am allergic. Because we knew I was going to have a reaction, I was also given IV Benadryl. Twenty minutes after the steroid my head was SO much better.
The rest of the week I spent Benadryl drunk with an itchy rash covering my entire body but I was loving life again because that headache was gone. The following Monday I saw my Rheumatologist who went over my labs which confirmed I was having a flare.
So what did I learn from this whole experience? Not to be a moron and to listen to the signs my body sending me. Pain and rashes and headaches and extreme fatigue are NOT normal and shouldn’t be ignored.
No one knows your body better than you. If something feels ‘off’ you need to explore it. No, you don’t need to call the doctor or go to the ER with every ache or pain, but you should take care of yourself..if you don’t address it early you could end up in bed for a week. Trust me.
It’s okay to skip the gym to take a bubble bath. It’s fine to eat an early dinner and go straight to bed after a busy day. You don’t have to do it all every single day. Take time for yourself okay?
How do you ‘check in’ with yourself? I’m dying to know!
PS the top and bottom picture are only a few days apart… the bottom shows how well my butterfly rash is covered with color correcting sticks and my foundation. Do you want a How-To post on reducing redness and dark circles?
xoxo,
K
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