My Natural Health Journey and How I Got Here

This month, I enrolled at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to begin classes next month.  I am so excited to be embarking on this new path in my life.  And I'm excited to become an integrative holistic health coach to begin a practice of helping others assess their well-being.


My own natural health journey rapidly began to come to a head about 6 years ago.  While it was happening, I didn't put any of it together.  Now when I tell the story it seems crazy that I didn't, but I just didn't know. These events began to form my philosophy for taking control of my own health and led me down the path of learning more about holistic health.  This is a strange thing to do in rural Nebraska. Natural health and organics are considered to be an unnecessary scam and the word holistic belongs to hippies and new-agers.

In late 2006, at 6 months pregnant, I began to experience some nerve pain due to the baby's position.  I was sent through a whirlwind of specialist appointments and fitted for a couple of braces for my wrist and knee.  I was urged to consider scheduling surgery on both of them immediately after giving birth.  The whole fact that I was pregnant seemed to be the main "hurdle" in their ability to provide me care.  I don't know what caused me to think of it, as I hadn't had ANY recommendations whatsoever, but I decided to call a chiropractor.  Yep, problem solved within a couple of sessions.


Shortly after my daughter's birth in early 2007, I allowed myself to get the Mirena device IUD.  My OB-GYN assured me it was the "best choice" for a woman my age that may be unsure of having more children.  I expressed my concerns about hormones and she assured me it was "low-hormone."

I should have trusted my instincts, because this set a series of events into motion over the course of the next 3 years.

First, came the dizzy spells.  No known cause or cure, only med's and laying around.  Frustrated, I went back to the chiropractor and the dizziness subsided in less than 12 hours after suffering for weeks.  About a month later, I had another nerve act up and got infected behind a tooth.  I ended up in emergency dental getting a root canal.

In June 2007, I was still struggling with mood swings, depression and the feeling that I was losing control.  Chalking it up to post-partum, I hung in there.  I was frustrated with so many things in my life that weren't going well:  my marriage, my job, an uncertain future and the other things I'd already experienced.  I knew I was going through a lot.  My OB had said to call if I was feeling "blue" since I had a family history of mental illness.

So, I made the call and I walked out of her office with a fistful of drugs and a referral to someone who would diagnose me with bi-polar II.  After some "normal" trial and error, I ended up on two drugs - one for the depression and one for the mania that the depression med's cause.  This is the way it was to be for the rest of my life.

I felt cloudy, insecure, crazy.  I'd never taken medication like this and it was strong.  No one mentioned my level of exercise, my nutrition, my sleep schedule, my spirituality, my home environment, my relationship with my spouse, my friends, my family, or my social interactions ...none of it.  Those are all the causes of what I was feeling.  And no one asked me about any of it.  This all felt so terribly wrong. 

I continued to struggle until late 2009 when my insurance ran out.  It was a relief, actually.  I finally had a reason to stop the medications.  I was nervous about what would happen.  I had friends who urged me to find a way to make it work.  Nothing happened.  Not one thing.  Except, I felt more relaxed because I wasn't taking a pill that created mania in me any more. 

I decided that no one was going to take care of me, but me.  So, I began to exercise regularly, eat real food through the need to cook more and save money after being downsized from my job.  I began to become interested in the value of nutrient dense foods and the role they play in our emotional well-being.  I immediately noticed how much better I felt just by doing these things.  Even through the beginning stages of the divorce, I still felt pretty good.

In early 2010, I was still struggling emotionally and I also began to experience a vibrating sensation off and on in my upper left thigh.  It was like I was feeling the occasional vibration of a cell phone in a purse.  It was faint, but it was definitely there.  It became more and more frequent.  I began to realize it was yet ANOTHER nerve issue.  The only unnatural thing left in me was the IUD.

Guided only by instinct, I decided to do some research on blogs to find people's experiences with the Mirena device.  I only wish I had done this 3 years earlier.  I felt as though the floor had dropped out from under me.  The stories I was finding were MY LIFE.  People who had also shared their concerns with family histories of mental health issues and people who had struggled with depression.  They told their stories of the root canals, tooth infections, vertigo, dizziness, extreme mood swings, the inability to lose weight, vibrations in their thigh and increased sex drive.  Mood swings, personality issues and sexual inhibitions are often attributed to bi-polar disorder.  And because I shared that family history with my provider, that is the diagnosis I received.  

I was furious and scared.  I wanted that thing out of me and NOW.  Within two weeks I had it out and shared with my OB-GYN what I had found.  She was stunned.

I felt like a liberated person walking out of there.  I had just been through a nightmare.  Everything I had entrusted to the medical establishment had gotten me to all of those low moments.  And I was just getting sicker and sicker.  Everything I had entrusted to my instincts and good common sense about holistic self-care, has brought me to feeling the best I have ever felt in my life.  The more I learn, the more I implement into my life, the better I feel.

I feel grateful for all of the knowledge I have learned through my experiences, appreciative for the new knowledge and credentials I will acquire and inspired that my kids and those I work with will know earlier on in the game.

I believe now that health is something to pay attention to and be aware of.  Something that could drastically tip the balances of everything.  I see now that individual body chemistry is delicate and not one person is the same.  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to your well-being and there is no magic pill.  Working through things and paying attention works.  We are all busy, but it's worth waking up to.

Thanks for reading my story.