Moving to Athens was a huge step and I had equally high expectations of both myself, and the adventure that was to come. Whilst I know at my core it has absolutely been the right decision for me, I had no idea how stressed and anxious I was going to feel during the months that followed. I found myself, on the one hand over the moon that I was finally in a space where I could create a life with my soul mate, and on the other hanging on by the seat of my pants juggling a new culture, language, working remotely, and also becoming a step-mother, during one of the most difficult couple of years in recent times. Yes, I'm talking about the global pandemic and all the psychological fun that comes with isolation! For me however, isolation was layered: Not just imposed by the government, with curfews and mandatory mask wearing, but also by being in a completely alien space during that time, being understood by and understanding precisely one sole human, and fluffing my way through various new roles after spending much of my life living independently.
Don't get me wrong, I adore my new family, but I had no idea how much stress all these things were piling on to an already tired system. Eventually, I had to admit I was running very much on empty and it took one highly unpleasant evening with pretty scary stomach pains and a visit to the local emergency room for me to take a good hard look at what was really happening.
I went from specialist to specialist assessing the newly occurring nocturnal asthma, checking my kidney function, for which I have some quite serious medical history, to conversations about whether or not a psychologist would be helpful, until I finally stumbled upon something I thought might be the most sensible thing I could do. Functional Medicine.
Throughout my training and experience with systematic and holistic Kinesiology I have become more than aware of the domino affect that occurs when something is out of sync in the body. This could have an emotional root as much as it could a physical one. (And when I say physical I mean a direct injury because to my mind any health issue manifesting in the body quite likely has an emotional root, but that's for another blog post.) As such, I wanted something that looked at the whole picture, not just the asthma or stomach pain in isolation. (There's that word again..!) Then, a dear friend mentioned someone she knew had undertaken a practice called Functional Medicine back in the UK, and was seeing some really significant changes.
I immediately went on a google search to find out the details of what this was, and started to look around for something in Athens. Eventually I found what I was looking for: A medically based practice that examined every element of the Patients life, from their moods, behaviours, life events, what they eat, to what physical symptoms they experience. This was it, this was the thing I needed to do.
Once I made the appointment I was certain this was the most sensible way forward under the circumstances, and crossed my fingers their English was better than my Greek. I had a long conversation with the Doctor taking my case, followed by a full medical screening. I found myself thinking, if everybody did this, how much illness and suffering could actually be prevented..?
Once the results were in I was called back to the Doctors office and I have to be honest, given my educational background, I wasn't entirely surprised by the results, but certainly the extent of what was actually going on lifted my eyebrows into my hairline. The short conclusion is that I was indeed experiencing Chronic Stress. The more surprising part is how one thing lead to another...
I would wager that the predicament in which I found myself wasn't solely from every stressful experience I had since the big move, but instead came from years and years of stressful episodes, each one worthy of a TV soap story-line, and layering up weightily over the last.
The Doctor told me I was essentially devoid of certain vitamins, minerals, and key hormones, and overloaded with stress hormones, heavy metals and toxicity. It turns out that even my evening salad was stressing me out...
I was immediately given a very limited diet: No foods which create or have histamine in them, or are aggravating or difficult for the gut to process are allowed. ( So, my staples, tomatoes, avocados, corn pasta, citrus fruits and spinach were out!) Six weeks in, I am still strictly following a diet of chicken with black rice, dark chocolate, and strawberry ice poles - thank heaven for small mercies - and I have to say with that one switch, the asthma has disappeared...
Huh?! I know, its weird. But, turns out that I was so stressed out by default, my histamine levels - yes, a stress response hormone - were so high, literally anything could trigger it. In addition, I was prescribed a specific supplement program.
I have worked with supplements before but nothing quite so particular as this. The best part about Functional Medicine is it looks at what's going on in your body at a cellular level, how your cells are working and responding, and subsequently the treatment course is created as a bespoke program, perfect for your body. I even have a powder mix created just for me too!!
I still have a long way to go. They have estimated around six months to get me feeling like i'm firing on all cylinders, but so far I'm pretty sure I've got a bit more steady energy. I no longer wake up feeling like I haven't slept and I'm ready to go back to bed, no more asthma, and anything that makes my stomach grumble is unexpected and admittedly self-inflicted...(You know the stuff; obligatory wedding cake and things you grab on a travel emergency...Note to self, must be more prepared for those moments. )
On the whole I'm seeing change and it's significant. My other half saw an upturn in my energy within weeks, yet the most bizarre and exciting thing so far is that my monthly cycle has been a dream. Barely a headache, no aches or pains or grumps, NOTHING. Yes, ladies, anything is possible when you get your hormones in order. Never have I had this aspect of my life so easy.
I remember the Doctor asking me If I had the run of the mill issues once a month and I said yes of course and brushed it off as many women do saying "yeah, all the usual things; can't move, tired, drained,emotional, headache, lasts about a week..." At which point he looked at me and said "I understand. No, its not normal. Your hormones aren't working properly because your stress levels are so out of whack they're running the show. Suffering isn't part of the deal. We need to change that." Turns out he wasn't joking...
I have no idea what the coming months will bring but if one of the first changes is that significant, I'm excited to see how this plays out.. I'll let you know.
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