Accidental Healing

Share your McDougall successes here in order to inspire others.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Accidental Healing

Postby MandyK » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:57 am

My Name is Mandy,
I am 33 years old and a wife and mother to 6 wonderful children. My journey to healing began 5 years ago. I have had chronic joint pain for the last 8 to 10 years, with worst crash occuring after the birth of my 5th child. My health at the time of my "crash" had many faces: swollen inflamed fingers, toes and spine, the inability to walk well without shooting numb pain, the inability to use my right hand and wrist, needing a wrist brace at night to help with the pain, chronic sinus congestion and infections always making me feel like i was coming down with something, my husband had to wake up in the middle of the night to roll me over or get my son out of his crib for me to nurse, painful ovulation cycles with spotting. And also intense fatigue from the pain and poor sleep.
I WAS DESPERATE! As my husband and i reserched we came across the Gerson therapy and I dove in.Along with yoga and the therapy i began to make improvements in my physical pain. I then got pregnant and fell off the wagon. Slowly over the last three years of returning to a SAD diet my symtoms intensified and built back up. Some symptoms worsened. I lost my sense of smell and taste.My jaw pain was so intense we began to pregrind all my food so I would not have to chew much.I also had increasingly worse diahrea, which i have had all my life. I only weighed 135 pounds, but looked 7 months pregnant with all the bloating i had. I could no longer button things, open jars, grip, etc.
This past december I got so low one day, even though i have never been suicidal, I remember thinking that it would be so convenient if i could just die in a car wreck. That was my wake up call!!!! I looked at my 6 blessings and my husband and decided I had to try harder.
So back to the doctor I went. Up till this point any tests i have had done have always been negative and normal and i have not used any heavy drugs or even pain killers. I just knew it wasnt the answer. In january,2018, as all my testing from my rheumatologist came back normal, exrays, normal, everything just so frustratingly normal, my husband and i were so discouraged. With nothing to diagnose, how would i know what to work on??!!
My husband googled one night about helping arthritis and it kept taking him to gluten free to help with inflamation and I though what the heck, lets try it. The next morning I began a very natural gluten free switch, because i knew gluten free oreos didnt make sense. On day three gluten free, i had an intense reaction. I was sitting with my children and some other family playing games, when all the sudden i grabbed my left arm because it felt a little achy, had an overwhelming sense of smell and then i said to my husband something is not right. I almost passed out and was taken to the ER. They ran all test imaginable including EKG and brain scan to check for a tumor. As always, normal. I was sent home and went to bed, exhasted and scared.
I woke in the morning and began to eat breakfast and i screamed to my husband that my smell and tase had returned!! I was overjoyed. My nasal passages felt so open and free and i could breath better than i ever had in my life. what happened the night before, since no one has an explanation, was the inflammation in my nasal passages released so quickly and intense it releaved all the pressure on my nerves there and caused my crazy sensations. I still have minor ones from time to time, and after each one my sinuses feel even better.( As a side note...as i look at my health history as a child, i was always in the doctor for sinus issues and stomach aches.) I was put on a heart monitor and caught some pretty intense heart palpations. But everything was in normal rhythm, so we had to assume it is maybe related to going gluten free so cold turkey. The new research being done on gluten/opioid effect helped me to not be so scared. My joint pain began to be much better and i was able to stop grinding my food.
But in the last 3 weeks i began to loosen my natural eating side to include more processed gluten free foods and i began to feel worse. I was feeling good enough to buy new tenis shoes and try my hand at walking and running again. It had been a long time, so i took it easy. On the morning of my 10th walk/run my leg hurt very badly right where i had torn my meniscus and had it repaired years before. So off to the doctor i go and find i had broken my leg. This was about the tip of the iceburg for me. A bone density test revealed normal levels thankfully, but i was determined to get back on track with my gluten free natural diet.
I was googling osteoporosis and came across McDougall testimonials and i was hooked. That night i think i stayed up till midnight reading and reading. Crying sometimes when i found that person that sounded just like me. It was all i needed to jump back in.
So now I am a gluten free McDougaller and feeling better every day. The pain and inflamation is down by 90% at least. My jaw continues to improve and i no longer need to grind my food. i no longer need a wrist brace at night, my painful ovulation cycle has dissapeared and other feminin issues have resolved, the pain in my feet has vanished, my sinuses continue to improve and my diahrea is completly resolved. I was never much over weight, how can one put on weight when everything they eat just shoots through them??!! But reguardless, I have lost ten pounds and all my bloating. I am 5ft 6 and 123 pounds. I am so excited to feel alive again I am motived for life. I am always encouraged to continue when my husband or children will comment on something i was previously unable to do, like help them put on their socks , open a jar or button a shirt. It may sound little to others, but to me, it is a huge accomplishment!!!
I know i have a ways to go, but i feel confident my body is smart enough to fix itself, if i am willing to help it out. The last time i remember feeling somewhat well was during the Gerson therapy. I am convinced it is because of the similarities of the diets... The McDougall diet just makes sense to me being starched based, and i am grateful, because i like to eat and be full so this is right up my alley.
When my leg heals i am excited to use all my new found energy towards including exercise in my life. I have never been one to want to exercise. Always felt to tired. My dear husband and children are so encouraging and helpful and willing to eat all my crazy vegan dishes.
Thank you and your wife and staff for all the life saving work you do every day.

Mandy Pfeiff

PS. I am anxiously awaiting my McDougall books and recipe books here soon.
MandyK
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2018 5:42 am

Re: Accidental Healing

Postby Willijan » Wed Mar 14, 2018 6:56 pm

What an amazing story! I am so happy for you. But also, we can all learn from what you have experienced. It is so hard when something is wrong with your health, no one can tell you what, and you have to figure it out for yourself. Thank you for sharing your story.
Willijan
 
Posts: 790
Joined: Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:12 pm

Re: Accidental Healing

Postby acts410 » Fri Mar 23, 2018 11:58 am

Wow, thank you so much for sharing your inspiring journey!!!
acts410
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Jan 13, 2018 3:59 am

Re: Accidental Healing

Postby vmathews » Thu Apr 26, 2018 8:39 am

Thanks for sharing your story Mandy ... Just as you benefited from someone's testimonial, so shall others benefit from yours ... CONGRATS
vmathews
 
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:28 pm

Re: Accidental Healing

Postby Atheria » Tue Nov 06, 2018 3:22 pm

I'm a fellow no gluten vegan member. Celiac Disease is in my family, and although I don't have that...I definitely have a gluten intolerance. One of the weird health things gluten caused in me was painful, bloody, sores up in my nasal passages. I had no idea it was gluten causing it until I "accidentally" stumbled upon a gluten free bakery website in Colorado and the woman owner mentioned that as one of the issues she had clear up after quitting all gluten.

I'm glad to hear you are feeling so much better. Pain sucks. I'm not as lucky.

Peace,
Atheria
~ ATHERIA ~
www.bridge4spirit.wordpress.com
User avatar
Atheria
 
Posts: 752
Joined: Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:45 pm
Location: Santa Fe, NM - USA


Return to Testimonials and Success Stories

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.