My Story- Part 1 (Ignite)

I am a Holistic Health Coach.

(Whew.  There it is.  It feels good to say it.)  Like- not a practicing Holistic Health Coach.  But this is one of those “I think, therefore I am” situations.

As I’m sure you’re aware from this blog or other interactions with me, I have a passion for health and wellness.  My personal journey to wellness has been an extraordinary one, to say the least.  I’ve learned so much about myself, my body, and my relationships.  I’ve seen the transformative powers of food and have come to believe that what you put into your body for nourishment is far more influential on your health than any workout, medicine, or supplement out there.  As a result of this, I’ve started down a new path in my journey.  I’m stepping out in faith that what I know and what I’ve learned has value to others.  I’m taking classes, working on business development, and lining up seminars.  And in January 2014, I will be ready to rock the world of Health and Wellness.

So below is the first of a multi-part series of my personal health journey.  Today I’m talking about where I’ve been, next will be how I manage my health today, and the final part will detail what exactly a Holistic Health Coach does and my thoughts on what health should look like (don’t worry, it won’t be a sales pitch).

I believe the first step to understanding where someone is going it to understand where they have been.  Not many people know my journey.

I have Multiple Sclerosis.  I’ve spent a large part of the past 5 years hiding it from my friends and family.  I always have been, and still am, very uncomfortable with this diagnosis.

For those of you who don’t know, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune condition that causes the immune system to attack the central nervous system.  Symptoms include (but are not limited to) numbness and tingling in the arms and legs, loss of balance, loss of cognitive function, and loss of motor skills.  This last one, loss of motor skills, was the one that struck fear into my heart.  By no means am I nor have I ever been an Olympic level athlete, but I can tell you that I’ve spent a good portion of my life active or playing organized sports.  The idea of not being able to move scared me to my very core.

Oh, and hey, the other chilling factor of this diagnosis?  The medical community knows no cure.  There are disease managing drugs, but no known medical way to reverse the progression of the disease.

I spent the first two years taking 8 shots per week.  As you can imagine, that got old quick.  So I upgraded my prescription to a brand new oral drug called Gileyna (hot off the FDA presses).  But something didn’t sit right with me.  Namely, the list of complications associated with the drug.  Below is a list of side effects according to WedMD (remember- this drug will not cure the disease, only manage it):