Taking Back My Health

So the last couple of weeks have been difficult, health wise. In fact, the last couple of months have been difficult.

Strange, sheet-drenching night sweats. Waking up with unexplainable, 24-hour, tailbone pain (alien abduction anal probing gone wrong?  -- not that it could ever go right). Bouts of pure exhaustion even with plenty of sleep. Cluster headaches. And I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of things. Not to mention the strange "gain 4.5 pounds and suddenly lose it 2 days later" thing. I think I had forgotten to mention that I lost it as quickly as I complained about it. Speculations abounded about perimenopause, arthritis in my tailbone, crazy bacteria, and even cancer.

With all this weirdness going on, I decided to follow my doctor's orders and take the Prevpac she prescribed for the h. pylori bacteria in my stomach. I have always fought taking medication unless absolutely necessary. And recently decided to stop the Crestor after the blood tests proved it was having adverse effects that weren't worth the "theoretical" benefits. First day into the Prevpac and I experienced what I call the "great exorcism". It was the most violent series of vomiting ever, which caused me to have black eyes and tiny bruising all over my swollen face for several days after. That was Super Bowl weekend and after I let my stomach settle and nursed on Pedialyte for a day, I tried the medication again and was in pain and a lot of discomfort all of Sunday.

That's when I decided I'd had it with this whole idea of throwing prescription meds at every symptom. I'm tired of doctors listening to the pharmaceutical companies who are deep in their pockets instead of hearing their patients. I want a more holistic approach to my health. Apparently, I'm very sensitive to chemicals as this is not my first or second horrible experience with medication side effects.

I'm on a mission to recover my health. I'm researching natural methods and ways in which I can make myself function at my best. I just finished reading "Cleaning Up! The Ultimate Body Cleanse". It's very thorough in defining the why, where, and how of cleansing your body of all the crazy toxins that are robbing us of good health.  I'm not naive in thinking it will be easy. I've started this journey in various forms over the last 7 years. However, I realize how important it is that I finally see this through.

I know that it is going to require dedication to routine and follow-through, so I have to work up to it.

I have less than 4 weeks until I go to Puerta Vallarta and so for the next few weeks the focus will be on exercise and healthy eating (not quite to the extreme of the cleansing diets, but getting on the right track). Then after PV, I plan to start the cleansing regimen. There's a lot of preparation that goes into this. Meanwhile, I'm cleaning and organizing my kitchen and my closets to get into a healthier routine.

Wish me luck!