Category: Uncategorized

Eat The Damn Cake

Cake. Cookies. Candy. Ice Cream. Now that I’ve got the attention of most junk food lovers, let’s talk. 

If you know me, you know I wasn’t always the smallest. I mean come on, I went to college. After graduating, I moved to Florida to work at the one, the only, Walt Disney World. If you’ve been, you know about the food. OH MY GOSH. THE FOOD. So yeah, I gained a lot of weight. After 10 months, I moved to Tennessee with my mom. It didn’t take long for my mind to catch up to the realization that my body was tired, unhealthy, and larger than it had ever been. 

July of 2017, I began a meal plan of strictly clean foods, complex carbs, vegetables, and lots of protein. I also began a workout regimen of cardio and lifting. I was strict. I was the most disciplined I had ever been and it felt good. I neglected a lot of things in my personal life to uphold this “fit” new lifestyle. I skipped meals with friends and family, I scheduled life around my gym time, and I skipped out on desserts I really wanted. 

It was hard work, but in a matter of 9 months I had lost a total of 50 pounds. I felt nothing but pure joy and I never once regretted the sacrifices I had made for this transformation.

Until I got sick, that is. 

I ate all the green, healthy things. I skipped on the sugar. I ate every thing sodium free. Never cooked in oils. Never skipped the gym. Parked at the end of parking lots. Took the stairs. Took my meds. Whatever a “healthy” person should do, I did it.

I still got sick. So you’re saying these things can happen to the healthiest people? Yep. Cancer? Yep. Autoimmune diseases? Yep. High cholesterol? Yep. Diabetes? YES.

Perfectly healthy people CAN GET SICK. I did. I was the healthiest I had ever been and I STILL GOT SICK. It’s not fair and we don’t see it coming. 

Now I’m not saying don’t take care of your body. I’m not saying don’t take extra measures to be healthy. I’m not saying don’t eat good foods and I’m not saying don’t work out. But what I am saying is sometimes things happen to us -things that are often out of our control. 

So eat the damn cake. 

Eat the damn cookies, candy, and ice cream. 

…Not so secret life of Alex

Diagnosis

the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms

The first thing to say about achieving a diagnosis is that it’s a process. The process for me included 2 ER visits, a 48 hour heart monitor, blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, a 9-day hospital stay, MRIs, EKGs, an EEG, an endoscopy, and a team of doctors. I had a primary care provider and was given a cardiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, allergist, and a GI specialist. Together, they had to use my symptoms to find out how and why my body wasn’t functioning like it should. I had such a wide range of symptoms that stemmed from various organ systems. 

Fast forward to about 6 months after the symptoms began- we have a diagnosis. We actually have more than one. Happy ending, right? Wrong. 

See, the problem with finding the problem is that it didn’t come with a magic wand of solutions. (The Disney in me wished it worked this way). Unfortunately, the road to recovery is a journey. First things first, I’m learning to come to terms with the hand I’ve been dealt. Like they say, life isn’t fair. It comes with trial and error of medications, figuring out my body’s “triggers”, and retraining my body to do things it was once able to do. 

I take 17 pills a day, not including my “as needed” medications which can add anywhere from 1-8 more pills per day. Some of them have been successful and have been added to my permanent med list. Some are on a trial basis, so we wait. We wait weeks and maybe months to see if I improve. If not, we try again. And we wait, again.

It’s been a long 6 months for me, my family, my friends, and doctors. I value everyone who has stood by me during the physical pain, the mood swings, and the emotions. I wouldn’t be able to do this without my support system and I’m working on being able to talk about the actual diagnosis. More than anything, I want to be me again.

Thank you.

I love you.

Stay tuned. 

…Not so secret life of Alex