Maggie C., West Virginia
I'm back to my energetic self again!
My story starts a few years ago with a bout of pneumonia, but it actually begins a while before that, with a number of stressful events in my life. I've always been very energetic and the kind of person who pushes herself to the limit - the classic “type A” perfectionist. I love working with my husband in our own tile installation business, so when a case of pneumonia laid me out for several weeks, I couldn't wait to get back to work. But the wait turned out to be much longer than either of us could have imagined.
My mysterious symptoms began as I was recovering from the pneumonia. I felt overwhelmingly tired - a fatigue unlike anything I'd ever felt before and not at all like you might feel at the end of a busy day. I woke up every morning feeling nauseous and often with my heart racing. It would take several hours of eating almost nonstop to feel better but each morning the symptoms would return full force. Even after the pneumonia cleared up, I didn’t have the energy to cut and lay tiles all day. In fact, I started to feel worse than I had when I was bedridden. I had a feeling of being fogged in most of the day (a feeling difficult to describe unless you have experienced it). My hypoglycemia, which I had dealt with on a small scale in the past, was absolutely out of control. - I felt seriously terrible. I became chronically irritable, foggy-headed and shaky - not good for someone whose business depends on precise, demanding physical work and a cheerful, enthusiastic demeanor! But it was my erratically racing heart that scared me into trying to get help.
After diagnostic tests on everything from my gall bladder to my heart found nothing seriously wrong, my doctor decided that I was just overly stressed and the cure was a little R&R. But I knew a week of just resting was not going to cure me because, by this point, I was barely functioning. This went on for months and, with every passing day, I grew more and more desperate. My husband was wonderfully supportive throughout this whole time but he had to work twice as hard to cover for me. Finding a solution became vital – for our business and for my sanity! I searched the health-food store for something that might help and started taking several dietary supplements, but with no real direction and no real results.
Then one day, I found Dr. Wilson's book Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome at a local health food store. I stood there reading it, thinking, "This is me." After reading the entire book, and completing the included Adrenal Fatigue Questionnaire, things started to make sense. The pneumonia combined with a number of prior stressful events had overtaxed my adrenal glands and my mysterious symptoms were likely from Adrenal Fatigue. When I contacted Future Formulations, they were very helpful and supportive. I began the Moderate Adrenal Recovery Program. This involved taking several supplements designed by Dr. Wilson specifically for Adrenal Fatigue and stress: Adrenal Rebuilder Formula, Adrenal C Formula, Super Adrenal Stress Formula and Herbal Adrenal Support Formula. I also followed the advice in the book regarding lifestyle changes as closely as possible. I began eating lean protein (poultry, fish), healthy fats (safflower, sesame and olive oils, nuts), unrefined carbs (whole grains, brown rice) and lots of veggies. I also allowed myself to take catnaps. The tip from the book that probably helped the most was to get in bed by 10:00 PM and sleep in anytime that was possible. Sleep was amazingly restorative.
I began to notice some improvement within a month of starting the supplements. Within 3 months, I felt seriously better and continued to make progress, although the information in the book regarding the winding road to recovery was extremely accurate. I found that I would make forward progress, then hit a plateau or even have a setback, but would then move forward again. It’s been about 3 years now since I first got sick and I'm back to my energetic self again. There was a time when I wondered if I would ever feel well again. The improvement in my life has been immense. Not that I never get tired anymore. Believe me I still do, but nothing like that overwhelming feeling of fatigue that persists no matter what you do. I still take a maintenance dose of the Super Adrenal Stress Formula and the Adrenal C Formula because I figure that every day of life is somewhat stressful and I increase the amounts during times of heavier stress. My advice to others who are struggling with Adrenal Fatigue is: "Don't give up. The road back to feeling better comes in small steps. But it does come! However, you have to take the responsibility to take care of yourself and do what it takes to get there."
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