I want to share my story....
 

Hello everyone. I have been wanting to do this for a while but needed time to sort it all out in my mind first. I really appreciate all the support :thup: I get from this board and wanted to share with you all how this WOL changed my life for good. :wave:
Let me start off by telling you that I have always been in very poor health. I was born with severe Asthma and Allergies. I spent most of my childhood going back and forth to the hospital. My lung collapsed when I was 10 and they thought I would die.
When I was 12 my Dad left and we didn't speak for 10 years. My Mom and I were on our own. I moved out at 15. That's when things really got bad. I was taking a lot of medication to control my Asthma and Allergies and constantly on antibiotics for some sort of infection. When I was 18 I was put on anti-depressants (Zoloft), anxiety medication (Xanax) and sleeping pills (Imovane). I was suffering pretty seriously from depression and anxiety, not doubt stemming from the lack of a Father figure and my own stubborness to be on my own away from my Mom and living a working life of an adult instead of a teenager. Anyway that is emotional stuff. My depression and anxiety got worse. I was up to 150mg of Zoloft daily. I then developed stomach problems. It is a good thing I had a smart Dr. because she sent me to a specialist and he discovered I had Barretts Espohagus. I had numerous lesions that were considered pre cancerous. Anyway, I was devastated. My Zoloft was increased to 200mg. The specialist told me I had to change my ways or I would die. He told me I couldn't drink coffee (I was having 8-10 cups a day), stop smoking, stop eating cheese, chocolate, spicy foods, etc... take medication for the rest of my life, and have a scope every 6-12 months to monitor the lesions. I told him there was no way I could drastically change my diet like that. I was extremely stubborn and very angry. He told me "the more often I see you the faster my mortgage gets paid."
Anyway, my Dr. was shocked because Barretts usually afflicts men and people over 40, I wasn't even 20 yet. A year later I developed severe IBS-D. Back to the specialist. I was put on Dicetel 100mg three times a day and Buscopan for cramping. It went downhill from there. I suffered from constant migraines, acne (took Accutane)constant fatigue, inability to concentrate (they wanted me to take Ritalin), memory loss, lethargy, pain, anemia, all kinds of strange infections and illnesses (got a virus in the nerves in my face!!) and all I wanted to ever do was sleep. I was put on muscle relaxants and high doses of iron. I was to the point of taking 13 pills a day and costing my drug plan $7000.00 a year. I was constantly getting sick and not going to work. When I did go to work I would come straight home and go to sleep. My diet was horrible. I was addicted to sugar and carbs like you wouldn't believe. My mood was so unstable, up and down up and down, it was soooo tiring. I started putting on weight. I was never heavy in my life but now it was all settling in my midsection, butt and hips. I was in complete denial. I told myself it was out of my control, it was because I had stomach problems, nothing I could do about it.
In March of 2004 I had such a serious attack of IBS-D, going to the bathroom 18+ times a day, severe cramping, pain, complete loss of energy. I was hospitalized for severe dehydration. I just didn't care anymore, I contemplated suicide. When the bout ended, I got off my butt and decided to do something abot this. Actually that isn't entirely true, I wanted to lose the 35lbs I had gained and decided to do something about that. That's when I read Dr. Atkins book. Little did I know how it would change my life. I researched it for months and started in Feb/05. I don't know what pushed me towards this particular WOL because I had heard so much bad press about it and not to mention the fact that I had never been on a diet EVER in my life, but I like to think it was a miracle. As I progressed through the diet, things got better. All those crappy things I was feeling started to go away.
With the help of my new Dr. I slowly came off my medications. I am happy to report today that not only am I 1lb from goal but I no longer take ANY prescription medication. (I take Reactine for allergies) I can't explain to you how good I feel. I have never had so much energy, been so happy, or felt so good. My life has been completely tramsformed by this WOL. I now know it was the food I was eating that was making me sick - how unbelievable is that?? If you told me last year that I would feel this way and be off medications I would have laughed in your face. I truly believed I was destined to a life on prescription drugs and I would die very young. I am amazed evey day. I am so grateful for this WOL and I am a new woman with a new lease on life. Nothing can stop me now. I hope I didn't ramble but I felt it is important to let people know how this changed my life. Thanks for listening and I wish you all the greatest success. :thup:

Mel

Thank you for being so honest and open about your traumatic experiences Fire and Ice. Actually it sounded more like a living hell..... perhaps Fire and Brimstone might have been more apt :)
Congratulations and best wishes for a happy and healthy future :clap:

My story is for a later time when(not if) I have climbed a few more big hurdles and gotten near my end goals. But I am discovering what you have already learned the hard way. All the medications, psychiatrists and operations are not worth a cracker if our diet and self-care are deficient.

Sometimes I get angry when I think about the amount of misinformation and vested interests out there. Then I realise how fortunate it is to now be on the right track and to be free of dependency on those things. It was pure chance that I stumbled on Dr Atkins book a few weeks back and I will remain eternally grateful to him.

That is very inspiring - good for you! I can relate - I have suffered from severe IBS for many many years. When I started lowcarbing a couple years ago, it was amazing - I have never felt so good - the attacks were GONE!

AFter regaining a lot of my weight, the attacks are back, adn are a direct result of the processed foods - I know this now thanks to low carbing. So, that is my main reason for wanting to get back on track.

Wow! What an amazing story. It sounds as if you've gotten a new lease on life. That truely does sound like a miracle. Enjoy 2006 and the many new years after it. Thank you for sharing.

Good Morning Fireandice.

It is stories like yours that keep me coming back to this forum daily. You inspire me to be better,to do better and to continue with this WOL to be able come off medication completely. I have very bad asthma also.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this here for us to read.

I am so happy for you that you have reached you goal weight :cheer: :cheer: but most of all I am so happy that you are able to live such a healthly life.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOURS.
Warmest Regards,
Joy

Thanks for sharing your experiences -- I'm sure many of us will benefit from your honesty.

Although my experiences were somewhat different from yours, I can totally relate to the dramatic change in health and needs for medication that you describe. Thanks for reminding me how crappy I used to feel and how much life has improved in the past almost-year-and-a-half that I've been following a LC lifestyle.

Oh, Mel. What a wonderful thing you've done, both in your life and by putting it out here where all can see and learn from it!

Bravo!!!

I wish you the very best in life,

Donnna

I am so happy for your life to be transformed like that.
I have no questions that you may be right on aobut the foods being the underlying problems for many of your ails.

Keep on Keeping on girl!

Thank you for posting your story......I too have allergies/asthma/IBS.....and have been feeling like crap for far too long.......(no where near as bad as you were).....but have taken dicetel.....am on Zoloft now for post partum depression/anxiety.....so it give me hope that I will feel much better!!

I had some "hidden wheat" the other day....and the IBS-D comes back right away with a venegence......

Congratulations!

Thank you all for your kind words. You have no idea how much you all have helped me make this transformation, I thank you. Happy New Year to all of us!!

Mel

All I can say is, what an amazing story!

And it would seem, what an amazing woman!!! After reading your post it is almost no surprise to me that you stuck to the Way of Life (diet is truly a 4 letter word!) and are doing well.

:wave:

Fire and Ice, what a life story! Thank you for sharing.
I also had a big improvement when I started to lc, which I wish I'd started years ago...anyway, wanted to respond to the issue of Barrett's esophagus. I have that too, and even tho I no longer have to worry about the GERD, I know the damage is slow to heal, if it does. What I have been doing is taking a tbs. of aloe vera on an empty stomach at least once a day, more if I'm home and remember to. I'm hoping the aloe vera coats the esophagus and helps it to heal. I've heard that aloe vera is just as healing inside the body as out, and I know it helps with burns.
Hope you continue to feel better and better. ~Gail

Three cheers for Fireandice

:cheer: HIP HIP HORRAY:cheer:
:cheer: HIP HIP HORRAY:cheer:
:cheer: HIP HIP HORRAY:cheer:

It's not just about losing weight but feeling healthy too. Good for you Fireandice. We're all proud of your success.:Party:

Your story is remarkable!!
Congratulations!!
Please post this in the success forum, it's something to be treasured.

Wow congradulations on your healing and success. Thank you so much for sharing your story w/ us. This way of life has saved me, life and soul!!!!