Embarking on a 21-day Detox Part 3

About a year into therapy, I had already broken up with my boyfriend and was trying to concentrate on graduating from college. I was a 5^th year senior, struggling to keep up with my full class load and a full-time job and was headed towards flunking out. With the help of my therapist, I was able to negotiate my college load, which had bought me some time to get myself together. She suggested I stop overdoing it and just commit to one class that I can easily ace, so that my life would be manageable. I argued that I needed to graduate and if I only took one class, I’d never get my diploma. She reminded me that my way wasn’t working and strongly suggested I try hers. I finally conceded and re-enrolled in one of classes where the teacher originally gifted me an incomplete grade (meaning I didn't fail and could retake the class). This class was Holistic Heath: Western Traditions.

One of the required books was Andrew Weil’s Spontaneous Healing. The book features many inspiring stories of how everyday people  healed their serious illnesses without the use of traditional allopathic medicine. Reading the book brought my attention to all the random symptoms I had been having. While, I was dealing with my food issues and slowly getting healthier, my body wasn’t on the same page.  I was having a lot of random health problems. The cartilage in my ears would swell up and it would be extremely painful, my legs and feet were always cold and purple, I was having recurring yeast and urinary tract infections. I was 22 years old and waking up achy and groggy every morning.  I was still pretty overweight, weighing about 150lbs (I’m 5’2), even though I was exercising at the gym at least three times a week, doing weights and cardio.

Feb '04

Aug '04

In the book, Weil outlines different healing modalities and how they can help with certain ailments. My good friend at the time was studying to become an acupuncturist and I remembered that in high school when my period stopped, it came back only after I saw an acupuncturist (I was amenorrheic for two years as a result of my eating disorder). And so I decided to see an acupuncturist. I found one through my insurance. I went to see Jennifer Ashby in Oct’ 04. She had a practice in the Mission District which she shared with Jenny Crissman, who also happened to be a nutritionist in addition to an acupuncturist. After talking to them about my symptoms, I decided to work with Jennifer for acupuncture treatments and Jenny for nutritional support.

At the same time, I went to see an allergy specialist because I had a feeling that some of my symptoms were related to food allergies. I got the results of the allergy test and Jenny’s assessment in the same week. The allergy test showed that I was allergic to wheat, dairy, citric acid (the preservative), and chocolate. Without knowing the results Jenny told me I needed to abstain from wheat, dairy, citrus fruits, nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant) and chocolate if I wanted to be healthy. These were all staples in my diet, but I resolved to do whatever Jenny told me and so I gave them all up.

stay tuned for more...