Hi Pirie,
I have a story of healing to share with you. In 2010, just after having my first baby, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in both knees. It came on really quickly. It started with pain when I woke up in the morning but within about a month, I could no longer sit in a chair or get down onto the toilet. My knees were visibly swollen. My son was just four months old and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to take care of him. I had prescription drugs, cortisone injections, lots of supplements, and nothing worked. After a little while, I turned to alternative healing methods.
I did physiology and took gluten out of my diet. This helped me to regain some motion. After about three months, I was able to sit down without pain, but I still couldn’t climb stairs and had a constant ache in both knees. I certainly couldn’t get onto the floor to play with my son.
When I got pregnant with my second child, I decided I had to do something. I began meditating. After just three weeks of meditation the constant achiness went away and more motion returned. After I had my daughter, I had an enormous flare up of eczema, the worst in my life (I’ve always had some eczema since I was a baby). I was covered in weeping sores and bloody rashes, literally head to toe. I knew using medication wasn’t an option, there were just too many rashes and it could possibly enter my breast milk.
My sister-in-law introduced me to the Body Ecology Diet. I knew I had to change my diet because I had seen the positive effects of removing gluten. So I went full force on BED. Within 8 weeks, my skin was almost perfectly clear. By week 12, my knees were also a lot freer. I had loads of energy and felt wonderful. It was the start of a new dedication to fitness and my health.
I haven’t been perfect and I’ve had set-backs. But overall, I’m healthier and happier than I have ever been in my life. Also, I started to realize the effect that my job and the pressure I was putting on myself had on my life. I am now studying psychology and am pursuing a career in counseling with a focus on mindfulness to help others deal with the stress and emotional issues behind their health problems, especially chronic pain.