How to Overcome Fatigue - Get Rid of Body Burdens

 Update -Currently, on a good day, I am able to walk 25-30 minutes. I have overall much more energy for doing stuff around the house, am able on a good day to grocery shop, with Pete's help with the loading and unloading. And I have a little energy left over to be social and do small projects around the house or making homemade gifts for people. As I write this, I am reminded of God's goodness!

      Adrenal fatigue doesn't usually just happen overnight - usually a lot of different stressful events and   health problems build up until finally there is a final straw which breaks the camels back, and your adrenal glands stop producing enough hormones to give you the energy you need. But restoring your health after this occurs is not a hopeless.
         Overcoming adrenal fatigue involves simple problem solving 101. You figure out what is putting a drain on your adrenal glands, what your individual "body burdens" are, and you figure out a plan, with your doctor, how to overcome those body burdens, either through traditional Western medicine or through more natural means. Body burdens could include a too-stressful lifestyle, over- or under- exercise, allergies, chronic bronchitus, or chronic worry (too convicting...moving on...). They could include thyroid problems, blood sugar issues, insomnia, hormone imbalances, instestinal problems such as candida or parasites, or addictions like smoking or too much alcohal. (Summarized from "Adrenal Fatigue - the 21st Century Stress Syndrome" by Dr. James Wilson.)
       I will give two examples of "body burdens" and how I have/ am problem solving to overcome them to illustrate how you can apply this process to whatever your particular "body burdens" are. Two body burdens I am overcoming right now are candida and seasonal allergies. My doctor diagnosed me with candida this April - I had barely heard of it before. (It is a yeast which can become fungal under the right circumstances in your body - my body had the right circumstances!) He told me to double up on probiotics, and prescribed Diflucan. I doubled up on probiotics, and researched Diflucan - it had so many possible nasty side effects, including seizures, that I decided it was not a final solution. So I did lots of research, and found a natural anti-candida protocal by a guy named Jordan Rubin (he had one of the worst cases of candida possible, and overcome it and Crohn's disease completely naturally). His protocal is outlined in his book, "Restoring Your Digestive Health", and includes 1) avoiding for six months any foods which feed candida, including grains, bread, fruit, sugar, honey, or non-fermented dairy products, 2) a high dose of a probiotic called "Primal Defense", 3) a high enzyme (enzymes eat the candida) diet which includes goat milk kefir, freshly made veggie juice, and bone broth, and 4) lots of water and fiber for detoxifying purposes.  I talked to my doctor about using this approach, and he said I earned an A plus for research (always check with your doctor!). And it was significantly helped my health - it is one of the things that have helped me graduate from being house bound to being able to walk 30 minutes on a good day.
       Allergies are a body burden which recently have been knocking me down some, this being a summer with the one of the highest levels of allergens in a long time in San Diego's history.  Last night I took some Benadryl to see if that would help, and today I had tremors. I think that somehow the Benadryl overstimulated my adrenal glands, and my body had more energy than it knew what to do with  (I've had a similiar reactions to other medicines before, and that is the answer my doctor gave me). So I am researching natural ways to overcome seasonal allergies. I am going to try 1) limiting my exposure to the allergens by using an air filter and exercising indoors as much as possible, especially on high allergy days, 2) using natural anti-inflammatory's such as vitamin C, astragulus, and a substance called quercetin which is derived from onions, and 3) ridding my body of as many allergens as possible through drinking plenty of water and using a netti pot.  I am hoping and praying that this will work, and will keep persevering until I figure out something which does.
        While this is a simple concept, living it out is definately not easy. For me, living it out takes daily dependence on God.  It takes perseverence, sometimes, to figure out what your "body burdens" are - it took me over a year to figure out some of mine, and there may be more that I am unaware of! It is simple to realize that I have to get rid of candida to get my energy back. It is not easy to go day after day not eating sweets or bread or rice or even fruit or honey.  Nor it is easy to deal with the "die-off" symptoms of candida which include intense sugar cravings, brain fog, and even depression. It is simple to realize I need to figure out how to deal with allergies. It is not easy to get up the motivation to "problem solve" again, just when I thought I had my recovery plan down to a science. And when conventional medicine's answers are giving me tremors - it takes a lot more persistance to figure out safe, natural methods of dealing with things then just taking over the counter medicine. Nor is it easy (for me) to choose walking in a mall instead of in God's beautiful creation, until allergy season is over. I don't say this to complain - I just don't want to mislead anyone that it is easy!
           But of course the pay-off is completely worth it - it already has been! And when I am well living the full life I dream of, looking back, these little "trials" will seem so insignificant. When I am able to go on trips with my husband, have people over for dinner, volunteer to help homeless kids, work in my garden to my heart's content, and paint as much as I want for my etsy shop, or whatever other adventure's God has in store for us, I will be glad for God's help in persevering and not giving up!