Well, it has been a whirlwind of craziness since the end of February 2019. I started with those spots and turned into hives from food allergies and stress, then I got the crack in the corner of my mouth which turned out to be Candida overgrowth. When this finally healed I thought the only thing left was the spots on my body that wasn’t itchy but wouldn’t go away. I also still had some spots on the back of my tongue that I was worried about. I finally went to my acupuncturist, because he listens way better than my Naturopath was, and she talks way too fast to really feel like she cares much.
I showed my spots on my tummy to the acupuncturist and he really wasn’t sure but thought it could be a reaction of some sort. It wasn’t itchy, so I didn’t think so. We went on with the session and I showed him my tongue issue, right away he said this is Thrush, which is Candida Overgrowth! Like what?! I thought everything was clear but apparently, I still had a lot of work to do. Before the end of the session I mentioned my nephew had gotten mono a few weeks before and was wondering if the spots could have anything to do with that. Come to find out yep! I have never had mono before and he said that the rash type spots I had was mono or a closely related one virus that does this.
This journey has been so crazy. I have never had this many issues all at once. I have never had a Candida Overgrowth or Mono until now at 28 years old. I have been taken back by it but at the same time things are making so much more sense by having these “diagnoses”.
My acupuncturist told me to start cleaning up my diet, no sugars, no processed foods, no flour. I didn’t think this would be too hard since I had been doing pretty good on my eating habits, but he didn’t want me to eat high sugar fruits either. Fruits are life especially during the summer! I also was advised to start taking Monolaurin, which is a natural herb found in coconuts and breast milk to break down the protein of viruses. And Berberine which is a natural supplement to help keep the blood sugars level. I was also told to get more rest.
The next day we left for vacation. It was amazing to relax and enjoy the beautiful beach, exactly what I needed! I started the Monolaurin and Berberine but didn’t really keep up with what I was eating during that week. I had some sugars and flours, I enjoyed life without worrying about it. I knew once we got back it would be all about healing up as quickly as possible.
Being back now for about 10 days it was tough to get on the no sugar, no flour eating, I was kind of deflated and wasn’t sure even what I could or couldn’t eat. I was making it too complicated. I finally made the mindset shift that I needed to go all in by the work week after vacation and it came so naturally. I do occasionally feel the want to eat something “bad for me” but I am keeping strong. I really feel it is helping too. The spots on my tongue are slowly disappearing, and it has only been one week! My throat is still very sore here and there, but just like the crack on the corner of my mouth, it got worse before it completely disappeared! I feel the rest of this will hurt worse before I fully heal and if that’s what it takes…then so be it.
I am excited to finally see some progress on this healing journey. I have been thinking so much about why all of this started happening to me. The more I think about this the more I see it has been something slowly accumulating over the last year or so. November 2017, I switched shifts and started working at a desk job, I slowly stopped working out as much, and I was completely exhausted and fatigued. I also noticed my stress levels slowly started to raise and my mental health started turning more negative. All this puts strain on the body. Any kind of stress is harmful to the body. The stress and negativity and lack of exercise has lowered my immune system leaving me susceptible to viruses and infections.
So, my journey is far from over! I am really focused on my eating style already and will continue this. I am starting my workout routine again, going slow and steady for now. I am looking into anything I can do to improve my positive thinking and stress levels. This one is a tough one for me currently because I am still in a job I dislike, and that is stressful since it is temporary. I know I should be able to just flip a switch in my brain and feel better, or at least it should be that way, but it doesn’t work like that. I would love to find a job I enjoy every day, I would love to be able to work from home and make enough money to support our family, I would love to be able to go on vacation whenever we wanted. Reality is it is not that simple.
I will be working my ass off to find something that will fulfill me. I am working on my Holistic Nutrition Certificate, but that will take another year plus building my business up enough to go full time at that. I would like to be in a position that gets me on my feet more and interacting with other people. I feel if I were able to get out of this current job I would be able to really focus more on my mental health and this would help me improve my overall health.
Well that was a really rant like post! I needed to get it out of my head and on paper, but I also needed to update you all because this is part of my journey to healing and feeling my best self. Overview goals:
Stay focused on Eating Healthy to clear the thrush/candida overgrowth.
Workout/Move my Body Every day.
Meditate/Deep Breathing—this is my weakness and I need to do it every day.
Acupuncture when I can—currently they want me to come in every week, I need to try to do this for my health, but it is expensive.
Find good uplifting podcast or YouTube video or audio book to listen to at work.
Positive Affirmations.
Find a Job I will enjoy and love doing that will pay good.
Make a vision board.
Learn how to deal with my stressors and start addressing them.
Clear the Clutter—mind clutter, physical clutter in the house, etc.
Go Outside every work break.
Laugh more.
Enjoy life.
Go on more Adventures.
Be in the moment.
Much Love,
Ashley