I Had a Burst of Energy

FTC Disclosure: This post may include links which allow me to earn a small commission on the item(s) purchased. This has no effect on your price. GAPS Diet Journey is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

I have had these “bursts of energy” as I refer to them, over the years. I have had low energy since childhood. As an adult, I would experience these “bursts of energy” that coincided with my cycle. In talking with women friends it seemed to be a “cleansing” process, similar to the nesting urge that a pregnant woman experiences before she goes into labor. When my period was due to start, I would get a burst of energy and I would tackle things that normally I didn't have the stamina for, usually some kind of major housework. That worked out pretty good through my twenties and thirties and early forties but in the last few years the bursts of energy came more sporadically, like once every three months, instead of every month. The energy spurts rarely lasted more than a day and I learned to pace myself and not become frustrated when I could only get so much done. There is always so much to do when it comes to cleaning around here that I'd need a crew of four people working with me for forty hours. Hopefully that would make more than a dent! 🙂

So today I had one of those bursts of energy and tackled the kitchen floor. I swept and mopped since it has dire need for a few weekends but I have just not had the energy to do more than cook and wash a load or two of dishes. Sometimes I think, maybe I'm just imagining that I'm this worn out. Maybe I should just push myself. But even my husband knows I have to be careful of overdoing it or I might end up in bed the next day. Today, in addition to sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor, I pulled the stove out, cleaned each side of the stove, and swept and mopped behind the stove. My husband walked into the kitchen and said, “Whoa, whoa, there lady. Be careful now we don't want you falling out or hurting yourself. Just because you have a burst of energy (see even he knows what I call them, lol) doesn't mean you need to clean behind the stove! Take it easy now.” After that I wiped one of the refrigerators down from top to bottom, and then I cleaned the back door. It's white but you would never have known it for all the fingerprints. Ah it's so frustrating, most of my adult life the way it's been is by the time I feel like doing anything the door looks like it's never been wiped down, ever.

I am beginning to be cautiously optimistic that I am gaining more energy. I'm really hoping the leptin reset works/is working… but then I think maybe I am doing more damage to myself by being on hydrocortisone for such a long time (over four months now) without treating my thyroid.

I've temporarily jammed my head in the sand over my thyroid condition. I keep thinking I should start the T3-only protocol, but first I need to get some lab work done to see if anything has changed since November 4th. My iron levels need to be at a certain point, as does my sodium and potassium and a few other things need to be “just so” before starting. I have a doctor's appointment the first week of February and he has agreed to order labwork for me I just need to email over the list of what I'd like them to put on the order. I am hoping tomorrow to come up with a list of tests that I want to have done. Maybe I should make a point to do that, and also blog about it to keep myself accountable…

But then from reading Dr. Kharrazian's book Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal: A Revolutionary Breakthrough In Understanding Hashimoto's Disease and Hypothyroidism he says if you have Hashimoto's Disease then it's not your thyroid, it's the autoimmune disease and that needs to be addressed. I am addressing the autoimmune disease by doing GAPS. I could begin thyroid medication and hopefully I would find that I would eventually need less. Or will the leptin reset fix my thyroid? Or should I do a liver cleanse? What to do, what to do.

Sheesh, no wonder I'm confused. Well, you know at least I'm trying! I'm not just accepting that this is my life, I'm trying to help my body heal itself and that is a good thing. 🙂

OH! I forget to report back about my dental appointment! Well, last week was actually pretty difficult. I think I had a cold or some kind of virus because I was waking up every morning with a sore throat and was having trouble sleeping. My sinuses were clogged and my throat felt like it was coated with phlegm. I kept waking up with my mouth all dried out. Now that is a sensation I do not and will never miss! For years (most of my adult life to be sure) I experienced clogged sinuses and my mouth dried out while sleeping fairly regularly. It is so nice to not have to live through that and it was kind of nice to have a return of those symptoms if only to highlight to me that they are no longer occurring. I ended up staying home on Tuesday and worked for several hours, my dental appointment was on Wednesday so I knew I HAD to go in on Wednesday. Well, as it turns out when I woke up Wednesday morning I had only gotten about four hours sleep and I was a mess. It used to be when I didn't get sleep I would just brush it off, get up and force myself to get going. I can't do that right now. I called my boss and told her I couldn't come in my throat was bothering me too much. She doesn't like us to come in when we're sick anyway because our clients are elderly. I called a friend and she told me I sounded like I wasn't feeling good at all, so I decided to call the dentist office and reschedule. Thankfully they did not charge me a fee since I cancelled in less than 24 hours. Maybe I just got myself too stressed out thinking about going to the dentist, I don't know. I went back to bed and slept for about 90 minutes and then I got up and decided I needed to go to work. It was making me feel more stressed to stay at home knowing all the work that was waiting for me there. I asked my husband if he would drive me to work. He had a project he'd been holding off on completing so that worked out for him and it was very pleasant to be able to spend some time together and I also enjoyed being able to do some crocheting on the way. I got to work about 1pm and my boss was surprised to see me. I ended up staying until 7pm and on the way home one of our tires decided to separate so we stopped and my husband put on the spare and we didn't get home until after 9pm! I'm supposed to eat no later than 7pm and lights out at 10pm. I have been failing to meet these criteria, I really need to try and get back on board. If it's really true what Dr. Kruse says about setting yourself back 10-12 days I'm back to the beginning by now. LOL. Hey, I have to laugh or I'll cry. 🙂

My bursts of energy do seem to be coming closer together. This is encouraging. Let's see, the last one I had was a few weekends ago – I believe it was the weekend of December 17th, I helped my husband in our bedroom rearrange and put up some shelving. And then today. I would really like to vacuum the living room floor as well but don't want to overdo it. My husband said he would vacuum for me when he gets back home but it's driving me a little nuts looking at all the little pieces of paper and stuff all over the place. And tomorrow I would like to make a couple of batches of sauerkraut. I am running dangerously low.

I have been feeling better, so I am encouraged. Yesterday I actually felt happy for a few minutes. It is good to feel good. I am really looking forward to 2012 being the best year of my life. Even doing the two steps forward, one step backwards health jig I feel sure I am improving. 🙂

How are you doing on your GAPS journey?

 

 

 

GAPS DIET JOURNEY is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to AMAZON.COM. GAPS DIET JOURNEY is an affiliate for several companies and may be compensated through advertising and marketing channels. Therefore, this post may contain affiliate links.

4 thoughts on “I Had a Burst of Energy