Autoimmune diseases are tormenting my family. Between me, my mother, my sisters, and my daughters, we have ten different autoimmune diseases represented. Most of us have more than one. A couple of us have multiple autoimmune diseases, and our health is severely compromised.
I am so very tired of feeling horrible.
I am on medicine for hypothyroidism. I'm on desiccated thyroid hormone. I have eaten gluten-free for years. But, I still struggle to lose any weight. I still struggle with insomnia. I am still exhausted. And I feel like my health is out of control and no one has answers. I see my daughters suffering from their autoimmune diseases, and I get angry that doctors too often have few answers.
Then, in my research, I stumbled upon a blog post by an author that had given up sugar. When the author, Sarah Wilson, discusses the changes in her body when she quit sugar, I felt a prodding in my spirit. I sought out more information. I found the move, That Sugar Film, which was very informative.
I know what is next for me if I don't find some way to feel better and regain health. I will develop type two diabetes. I already feel that I am on my way. I can't lose weight. I gain weight in my stomach, which is the most dangerous area to gain weight. And I keep gaining weight, slowly, year after year. Every year or two I go up another size, and it is defeating and depressing. I feel like crap. I have seen all these doctors, accrued all this medical debt that just takes forever to pay off, only to be made to feel as if I'm lazy and a glutton that might be a little crazy also.
NO!
When I think of all the years that I have tried this or tried that, and felt so defeated when I would lose nothing or five pounds, I want to cry. I never really struggled with weight issues until I was in my thirties, and then it seemed as if that is all I did.So, now, in my forties, it's no longer just about weight. It's about health. There are days when my muscles and joints just ache. There are days when it literally feels like I am on fire under my skin. I take so many supplements and vitamins to help that I sometimes feel nauseous. My CRP level, which indicates inflammation in my body, is high.
My sisters and I have talked about how we feel as if we are just waiting... for the next thing to go wrong, for the next diagnosis. One sister has tried, with all the determination she can find, to use her diet to help her heal. She has spent extended periods of time eating a complete vegan diet. She says she felt great for a long time... until she didn't. With celiac, she is already very limited in her diet. She still avoids red meat. She still eats very healthy. And yet, she is struggling to feel well.
What can be the answer? Over the last few years, there has been a lot of research and articles into how dangerous sugar can be to the human body. I have read some of this over the years, and I did try a keto diet a couple of years ago to try to lose weight. I didn't, and that was a huge sign to my doctor that I had something else going on with my metabolism.
I didn't stick with the keto diet because the doctor wanted me to do other things. So, I began medicine for hypothyroidism, and lost ten pounds... and then gained it back. Again, defeated. I still take the medicine. It has been increased over the years repeatedly. And I feel better. A lump that was biopsied and diagnosed as autoimmune related went away with increased medicine. However, I still feel like crap most of the time.
Eating gluten free has helped, but I still eat a lot of sugars. Instead of pastas, I eat a lot of rice and potatoes. Of course, these are full of sugar. Gluten-free bread is made of rice. Corn pastas are high in carbs. The replacements may not contain gluten, which helped with my beginning celiac symptoms, but it probably increased the amount of sugars I was consuming.
Of course, it isn't just added sugars and carbs that are my problem. I have a popcorn addiction. Guess what? In the blood stream, popcorn turns to sugar. I also, over the last couple of years, have developed an addiction to Mild Duds. Yes, that chocolatey, caramel goodness is way too addicting. I tend to eat it by the box, and that means that I am eating nearly 24 teaspoons of sugar when I devour a box of my Mild Duds. There are three and half servings per box, but I never eat a third of the box! I eat the entire thing, in one sitting! Is it any wonder that I feel like a fire is burning in my body?
I am on day four of being low sugar. I allow myself Stevia in my one cup of coffee I allow myself in the morning. I drink tons of water. NO soda, not even diet, is allowed. I do allow myself limited fruit because I feel that the micro-nutrients and fiber are beneficial. I have increased my vegetable intake. I am determined to feel better. But it is only day four, and my family is not eating this way. So, I am the lone ranger, trying to manage sugar cravings while my children eat candy and ice cream and slushies.
But, I have to do this for me. I think a lower sugar diet would benefit all of us, especially my ADHD daughter. For now, however, this is about me.
Sarah Wilson discussed what Hashimoto's hypothyroidism was doing to her body in her blog post. She stated:
"It pretty much crippled me a few years ago, some side effects of which included: whacked-out blood sugar, screwed-up hormones, a predisposition to diabetes and high cholesterol, mood fluctuations, weakness to the point of not being able to work or walk for nine months, weight gain and much more."
Quitting sugar helped heal all these issues. In an article for Women's Health, 5 Ways that Quitting Sugar Changed my Life,
Sarah discusses the benefits she experienced when she quit sugar. When she talked about losing weight and having her pain diminish, I felt an instant feeling of... "I need to do this!" The pain in my muscles and joints feels like I am perpetually suffering from the flu.
As much as I want to lose a bunch of weight and look nice, I want to feel good. I want health. I want healing. I am a bit fearful of developing diabetes, as I have seen first hand the horrible damage that diabetes can do to a body.
So, I am going to try to eat very low sugar. It is difficult. Easter is days away, and I know candy will be EVERYWHERE! What can I do to substitute? Fruit really doesn't seem as yummy as chocolate when my taste buds are so used to sugar, sugar, sugar.
And I am going to research. My next paper for my English class is an argument paper. I believe I am going to argue that Sugar is toxic. Then I can combine my research with my college class, and see what I learn.
I will update this blog about what I am learning and what I am going through. As much as this is a homeschooling blog, I feel that it is also a blog about my life with my children. I already do many things that are counter-culture, so limiting sugar should not be any more shocking to family and friends than homeschooling or going to college in my forties or being a Jesus freak.
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