|
printable version of this page
Overcoming Chronic Fatigue
by Pam Killeen
Does just getting
out of bed in the morning seem to be a major effort?
How about doing a simple job of vacuuming the living room
floor? How about
serious things like having to keep a job which required
concentration, focus, intellect and creativity—operations which in
my mind were simply not functioning. I didn’t know it then, but I
had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
This multitude of
symptoms which I was experiencing included the inability to use my
cognitive processes. The
sheer and utter exhaustion I felt every day made me think I was
dying or wishing I was. I
was really overwhelmed with severe problems such as memory loss,
confusion, brain fog, digestive difficulties, PMS, and even
insomnia. I would have thought being that exhausted, that sleep would
come easy, but it didn’t. To
better describe this illness: It would be like having the flu or
being hung over day after day, month after month.
Words cannot describe the feeling I had—of no energy to
feel, think, give, socialize, share, create, or exercise.
Gradually over time, I lost my job, my friends, money, and
possessions. Needless
to say, this greatly increased my stress level.
In my desperation
to get better, I turned to the medical profession—only to have
most doctors I went to uninformed about my illness.
One doctor even said that I would be sick for the rest of my
life and I may as well learn to live with it.
I began searching
for answers elsewhere. I
sought out alternative therapies, including chiropractic,
acupuncture, massage therapy, reflexology, and nutritional changes.
Ultimately I
accepted the responsibility of getting myself well.
I decided that I absolutely was not going to accept the idea
that I might feel this way the rest of my life.
I rejected the attitude that I was a patient because the term
patient implied passivity and submissiveness and would leave me
without a sense of power to change.
I became
proactive and actually forced myself to get out of bed and go
outside every day, I initiated an exercise program including tennis
and golf. During this
time, I was still in an absolute fog, but I pretended to enjoy
myself.
Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome was my enemy and the battle was just beginning.
No one but myself really accepted the fact that I was
extremely ill. This made life even more difficult.
However, eventually, people began to come into my life who
understood my problem. I even encountered some understanding doctors who gave me a
lot of support in that they know I was not crazy, depressed, or lazy
(as are many people so accused who have chronic fatigue syndrome.) They sensed my desperation to get better.
I became an
active participant in recovering from the syndrome in that I made
changes in my diet-eliminating all processed and white foods (sugar,
dairy products, flour, salt, eggs) and red meat.
I began to realize that this was not enough so I became a
total vegetarian—making a complete about face of my traditional
North American eating habits—which included animal protein,
processed foods and overeating.
I discovered that even these significant changes were not
enough to completely heal my body.
I remained a vegetarian but began to explore other
alternative diets.
Thankfully, I
discovered the living foods diet (Hippocrates Lifestyle or Ann
Wigmore Diet.) Hippocrates,
Father of medicine, said “Let thy food be thy medicine and the
medicine be thy food.”
I integrated raw
(living) food and chlorophyll into my diet.
The chlorophyll I use comes from wheatgrass.
I grow the grass indoors either in soil or hydroponically and
then extract the juicer in a special juicer. I also grow sunflower
and buckwheat greens.
I learned how to
incorporate these highly nutritious foods into my diet when I
attended a course at the Ann Wigmore Foundation in Boston.
Ann taught that vegetables should be eaten raw in the form of
blended soup, or fermented in a recipe she calls veggie-kraut.
Prepared this way, vegetables become easier to digest.
She emphasized a diet of dark greens (buckwheat, sunflower,
wheatgrass juice), sprouts (alfalfa, lentil, pea, etc.)
And high calorie, high enzyme fruits such as bananas and
avocados. Other fruits
she used are apples and watermelon.
She included dehydrated foods and believed that food
combining is important but not to let such a ‘science’ control
our lives. Ann believed
that the body becomes sick from eating foods that are dead
(processed, microwaved, cooked, irradiated).
Dead foods are devoid of enzymes and oxygen, the catalysts we
need for proper digestion and proper assimilation and elimination. If we don’t eliminate properly at the cell level, we can
become very toxic and subject to any disease. We can reverse this
toxic nutrient deficient and diseased body by eating food in its
natural state. Ann said
that we must reform our attitudes toward dead foods, that they can
be highly addictive and that most of the time we eat these foods
because we are emotionally attached to them.
This whole
lifestyle is easy and I haven’t felt that it has controlled my
life. Ideally, I feel
comfortable eating about 80% raw foods and 20% cooked.
I feel that food which still has its life force intact,
transfers that life force to my body and increases my energy.
When I make inappropriate food choices, I feel tired and
listless reminding me that my body is still very sensitive and
requires further healing.
Another thing I
wondered about—why did this happen to me?
It was essential that I found this answer because it became
interesting to me to explore this.
Was it just physical, or was it emotional, spiritual, and/or
intellectual? Therefore
I became aware that in order to heal, I had to not only repair my
physical body, but also the other three parts as well.
Looking back on
my healing process, I realize even though it was quite painful, it
was necessary for me to experience and in many ways I’m much
stronger for having to deal with this struggle. I view chronic fatigue syndrome as a health challenge rather
than a chronic illness or an impossible hurdle to overcome.
I alone was responsible for regaining my health.
Nobody was going to hand it to me in a pill or on a silver
platter.
To those of you
currently experiencing CFS, I would like to say:
“Don’t own the disease and let it get the best of you.
The best of you has yet to surface and this disease has
happened to you to wake you up to this fact.
Never take your health for granted and try not to feel
victimized by CFS, as you will only continue to let it control you.
You must take control of your health by realizing that the
body will only have the capacity to heal if you make the right
choices. You must honor
yourself and do what is right for you.
I cannot finish
this article without expressing my gratitude to those who stood by
me through thick and thin while I was sick.
Their belief in me helped me more than they may ever be able
to realize. I am truly
blessed to have met these people at a time in my life when I needed
as much support as possible.
I am now able to work part-time and enjoy a fuller life today than
even a year ago. My
focus is on feeling better. I
am still experiencing vulnerabilities in my cognitive functioning
and some other CFS related symptoms.
However, I know the more I surround myself with healthy
decisions, the easier my complete recovery will be.
Health is now one of my main priorities since I know that
without it, I stand to lose everything.
|
