All my life, I have struggled with serious health issues, but I never expected diabetes to be one of them. I was diagnosed just a week and a half ago after fiercely battling severe systemic candida albicans as a result of estrogen dominance that was likely only months from killing me. In fact, after I was completely frustrated with getting absolutely nowhere in dealing with horrendous symptoms of perimenopause (or, as I call it, The Long Train Through Hell Before The Change), I abruptly barked at my doctor to look inside me. He had changed my hormonal therapy three times, and I was only getting worse. After fibroids were discovered on an ultrasound, I asked if he could just "take it all out." He indicated, somewhat politely at first, that my approximate excess of about 150 lbs could lead to serious complications, so I asked what could be done instead. He shrugged and said if I were closer to the size of the student with him, who was all of 22 years old (I was 46) and maybe 100 lbs, I wouldn't have to worry about the complications. I walked out and never looked back.
This was just the beginning of a 3-year odyssey that would lead me to where I am now, and prior to that, I'd fought my body for about seven years, through hypothyroidism, severe vitamin D deficiency, Celiac disease, the brutal systemic candida, and now fibroids. There was a lot more to come, too.
It took all weekend, but I found another doctor. I couldn't see her until mid-February. It was mid-December! I made the appointment, and that day before Valentine's Day, I saw her. She took one look at me and said, "You are severely estrogen dominant and must come off estrogen immediately." I went off the next day, and within two months, I had horrific symptoms of what's called candida "die-off," when the toxic yeast starts starving and literally dying. I was sick as hell for two long months, but I was thrilled that my body was responding so well.
Then it slowed down. My symptoms weren't anything like what I'd had, but I still had significant thrush along with many ED symptoms, and my sugar cravings were out of control! I craved it like crack, and I knew I wouldn't get better until I could avoid it, but how?
I continued to walk (aerobic walking) as often as possible, when I could bear the heat, but it wasn't long before it was too much. I wasn't losing any weight--in fact, I had gained some--and I still felt miserable: moody, exhausted, and frustrated, even after all I had done. My anti-fungal seemed to be doing little, but I kept at it. I "pulled" coconut oil daily but still seemed to get nowhere.
Then, in July, it occurred to me that maybe I needed progesterone to counteract the "overflow" of estrogen. I researched diligently for a couple weeks and found no reason not to try it. In about four months, I saw a decrease in some of my symptoms--most notably moods--but still no weight loss, and although my digestive system was improving, I still had a way to go. For about 3 out of 4 weeks each month, I wanted to rip my mouth off! I still had horrible blisters and nasty pastiness, and the only thing that seemed to give me any relief was sugar. I started eating it uncontrollably, frustrated at my lack of willpower and restraint. In the middle of my cycles, when estrogen is at its highest, I would eat sugar almost non-stop.
When I was finally getting some sleep after convincing one of my doctors to put me back on Ambien, it wasn't much. I got maybe 4 hours and was always on slow speed, mentally and physically. Against my better judgment, I went back onto caffeine after being off for 4 years. It helped some, but clearly, I needed more help.
It was suggested in my newly-formed estrogen dominance group on Facebook that I might need to use progesterone daily instead of two weeks a month. I did that and noticed more relief. My Ambien started to work better, but oddly, I still had almost no appetite, and I wasn't losing.
Over time, I increased the progesterone cream, and when I doubled my dose, I suddenly had a seizure. I'd always had epilepsy, so I knew it was from that. I muttered tearfully about it for a few days and marched on. It was my first seizure in 3 years. Being gluten-free had finally made me completely seizure-free after more than 40 years, but I'd had a couple of contamination incidents along the way, including several small ones from airborne flour!! I have not had any seizures since the cream increase, now almost 2 years ago.
Slowly but steadily since then, I was seeing improvements in a lot of my symptoms. Many even stopped completely, but I still wasn't losing, was even still gaining, albeit slowly, and I had mysterious pain in my right lower back that was getting worse and worse to the point that getting out of bed was sheer torture. I had to sit upright for at least an hour after waking up. Housework, even being at the sink or stove for more than five minutes, became impossibly painful. After an MRI from my new neurosurgeon, I learned I had a herniated disc. I then wondered--and feared--the worst. Would I need a wheelchair? What could be done about the relentless pain?
A couple things were tried, including two steroid injections that did little, and Cymbalta for the nerve pain. The medication helped about 50%, and physical therapy improved my flexibility, but I still couldn't tolerate standing or walking for more than about ten minutes. Errands were a nightmare, especially standing in line. I was convinced my body was resigning from its job. Even my new gyn, who had seemed so sympathetic at first, was lecturing me about my weight. I was still eating almost nothing but sugar.
I worked up to one decent meal a day, usually in mid-afternoon, but even that didn't help. I started looking for more ways to help myself and came across apple cider vinegar. I knew I could never drink it; it would come up immediately, so I dropped the idea and kept searching for answers.
Then, at my endocrinologist's office, I saw her partner who ordered an A1C for diabetes. I was scared at that point. Diabetes was in my family. We think my grandmother died from it. I always wanted to be like her, but I sure didn't want that, and I had naively thought being gluten-free would protect me from it.
A couple weeks after the test, I stumbled across ACV tablets online and immediately bought some. I took the maximum dose and experienced immediate die-off. Excited, I kept it up, even though the symptoms were horrible, and I improved, but there was still a way to go. My sugar cravings were way down, and I noticed my back pain wasn't as bad. Maybe there was hope after all...
When I had my follow up, I was nervous but thought maybe I wasn't diabetic--yet. Then Dr. L said my A1C was 6.5, which was on the low end of diabetic. The next day, CVS had my meter, strips, and lancets. I froze. I wasn't told anything about how to test without hurting myself, and I was very anxious. I tried a few times and was afraid I'd waste the few strips I had, so I called and made an appointment with a diabetes educator. It wouldn't be for a week and a half, so I concentrated on what to eat.
I immediately looked for information and joined a forum and a Facebook group within a couple days. They advised low carb, high fat, which has been odd to learn to do, but after a week, my sugar cravings stopped completely. Now I know I can do this. Oh...and I have lost 14 lbs in 3 weeks!! Lots more to go, but now I know how. I can do this, and if you are anything like me, you can, too!
