How my health crash actually saved my life

Note: You can listen to this blog post over on my podcast HERE

Ever since I was in high school I had a longing to do work that mattered to me. Something related to health & wellness, but not a conventional path.

I started exploring and experimenting when I was 19. Supplements, herbs, whole foods, probiotics, minerals, became a vegetarian for a couple years, studied reflexology on my own thinking I might take a training, learned how to do a liver flush, dabbled on and off with gardening.

The event that finally pushed me into my purpose, was my traumatic split from my ex and my health crashing hard from it. It took me a full year to get my health out of the toilet and even then I was barely surviving, taking care of 4 young kids on my own.

After selling our joint home and securing my own place with the boys, I took it upon myself to pursue my dream of becoming a holistic health practitioner.

That year as I was picking myself up and putting myself back together, I did GOBS of research. One of my main health concerns was severe reactive hypoglycemia.

It was not pretty.

I literally felt like I was falling apart and actually scared to death I’d pass out while caring for my boys. My body was screaming, alert alert you are in danger!

I realized I had to fight for my own life if I wanted to pull out of it and be able to take care of my kids. As a survivor of domestic abuse, it’s now no surprise to me my body was in shambles.

In case you aren’t aware what reactive hypoglycemia is, allow me to explain.

The US National Institutes of Health defines reactive hypoglycemia as hypoglycemic symptoms accompanied by blood glucose levels below 70 mg/dL, that are relieved by eating.

Symptoms include:

• Double vision or blurry vision
• Unclear thinking
• Sleeping Trouble
• heart palpitation or fibrillation
• fatigue, depression
• dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion
• sweating
• headaches, tremors, flushing
• nervousness, irritability, panic attack
• increased appetite, craving sweets

Here’s what it looked like for me…

I would get very dizzy and light headed and feel like my vision was clouded. I often felt like I would pass out. I had to have food and water with me anytime I left the house. Even if it was only for a short amount of time and even if I had already eaten.

I can remember how I’d feel any time I entered a large building or store with fluorescent lighting. Within a few minutes, my vision would cloud over and I felt like I was going unconscious even while walking around semi-conscious.

I felt embarrassed because I didn’t understand it and I simply just wanted to get the shopping done and get home to my kids.

I’d have to drink a big glass of water and eat a small snack first and limit my trips.

When home, I literally ate around the clock to keep my blood sugar from crashing. Back then I remember making Nora Gedguadas nut butter balls and eating out of the freezer every 30 minutes.

My body was constantly nerved up, but also extremely tired. This lasted for almost 8 months - the first 3 were the most volatile. By the following late spring early summer I had learned how  to control it. I had also spent a ton of time learning about health and nutrition.

One of the books I read was by Nora Gedgaudas (Primal Body, Primal Mind) and in the back of her book, she mentioned where she got some of her training; The Nutritional Therapy Association.

I immediately checked out their website, listened to a video about the program and decided on the spot I would take this training. That summer, after selling the house, I gleefully signed up and ordered all my books. That fall I began the online training and the following summer started my new endeavor as an online nutrition educator and coach.

Reactive hypoglycemia often indicates late stage adrenal fatigue.

I didn’t realize this was my truth until I went through NTA, finished and then found my health crashing every several months for years. It wasn’t until I turned to Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis and minerals that I was able to more deeply recover from complete burnout.

Sufferers of adrenal fatigue are unable to regulate normal levels of adrenaline and other stress hormones. This makes it more difficult to regulate blood sugar in general, and in stressful situations in particular. It has long been known that adrenal fatigue and blood sugar imbalances (most often reactive hypoglycemia) go hand in hand.

Cortisol and other stress hormones stimulate the liver to release stored glucose into the bloodstream to be used by the cells for energy. These hormones also help convert fats and proteins into glucose. When the adrenal glands are not functioning optimally, generating the energy needed to deal with stressful situations is much more difficult. In advanced stages of adrenal fatigue, it becomes downright impossible.

For people under a lot of chronic stress, and especially those with advanced adrenal fatigue, reactive hypoglycemia can be a real problem. This is because stress hormones play an important role in blood sugar regulation, and adrenal fatigue interferes with normal stress hormone levels.

The metabolic circuit in the Neuroendometabolic (NEM) Stress Response System consists of the pancreas, thyroid, and liver. The idea of the NEM response is that your whole body is affected by stress and reacts differently to chronic issues. In the metabolic circuit, the pancreas is in charge of glucose control, and thus in stressful situations, the body responds by raising blood sugar levels so that additional energy stores are available to meet increased demand.

Hypoglycemia occurs when the body is unable to meet this demand. The thyroid is a key player in metabolism, and having a high basal metabolic rate could cause you to burn off your energy faster, thus getting hungry faster. The liver is important in gluconeogenesis and producing enough glucagon to balance the insulin from the pancreas. This is why it’s important to look at hypoglycemia in a whole-body approach rather than just targeting one organ system.

Listen to the full story on my podcast A Joy To Be Me, Episode #9: How My Health Crash Actually Saved My Life.

You can find my podcast on Buzzsprout HERE or anywhere you listen to podcasts: iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify or iHeartRadio.

Now I would love to hear from you... are you having trouble finding a way to pursue your purpose in this world? Have you run into your own health crash that's making everything feel impossible?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below... 

If you'd like more support beyond this post, I do work with women one on one as well as teach holistic practitioners how to get start with hair tissue mineral analysis: Learn more about how you and I can work together HERE.

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