*Spring of 2013 we had moved out of state so my husband could support our family (as you may recall I lost my 15yr job to GP. HERE is the blog on that)
*Fall 2013 I took a job at a hotel so we could make ends meet. That went from 3 days a week, to 2 days, to 1 day and then finally support help to no help. All because I was always expressing my concern of leaving me in a 3-floor hotel alone and sometimes overnight. Crazy to be concerned about my well-being in the harsh oil field town, right?! Plus my GP was letting me do the job 100% with all that STRESS and WORRY.
*Spring 2014 I joined Jamberry nail wraps as an Independent Consultant (Fall 2017 I still am there) and found a vendor job to try. The vendor job was stressful in the beginning, but I got the hang of it and actually enjoyed what I was doing. 1 store to service grew to two. Working around my health issues (mostly in the mornings) and it was only for a few hours a day when product arrived, it was a great fit. Sadly my GP was still very bad and I was having a hard time trying to figure out what to eat, how much, what my triggers were and so forth. This town didn't have a GI Dr for me to see so I was on my own for the 2 years we lived there.
*Fall 2014 was the year of major depression and a challenging marriage. My husband was great in all of the GP issues I had, but felt helpless he couldn't do anything. His work was very stressful, which put further pressure on us. I wasn't making as much money as I wanted to and faced with knowing I would never make what I did at the career I lost.
*Summer 2015 we moved again and as of this post are still living here. It is a beautiful place to be in, small town living and about a 6hr drive to friends and family. Lots of fresh produce stands, markets and even garden/local food serviced in most of the restaurants. Such a good change for us.
*Fall 2015 our marriage hit a 'realization' moment where we finally could see things on both sides clearly and could start to heal as well as rebuild the foundation. My GP was about the same as before, the only difference seemed to be less vomiting and high nausea days were fewer in a week. I began to work harder on food triggers. Also found a GI Dr to go see. Labs were done and I was very very deficient in a few vitamins.
*Winter 2015 the prior vendor job I had in another town had an opening here for me, so I started to work 1 - 2 days a week again. It felt good to get out of the house and be needed. Yes, I was still doing Jamberry and the GP Fight Store, but being out and about was nice.
*Spring 2016 we began to explore our new area via hiking. Never thought I'd be able to do that nor want to with such allergies and asthma I have. The views were incredible, the silence was peaceful and both of us needed this healing time for our body and soles. We began to do this weekly.
*Summer 2016 I had noticed I was feeling better with GP, able to eat more in a meal, eat more of a fresh variety of foods and had built up a good elimination list. The Dr was very helpful with me, listened well and we worked on more issues I could have besides GP. All have come back as just intolerance's and not actual allergies/condition. Of course!
*Winter 2016 I was doing very well with GP until Nov/Dec when I started to feel weird. It wasn't GP, but I didn't know what it was until it hit me like a ton of bricks....Norovirus! Click HERE to read more of my journey with that. In a nutshell, it seemed to have reset my system in some odd way that I am now able to digest fresh fruit, vegis and nuts that I couldn't before (these are GP no-no's as high fiber is hard to digest). I still can't eat a steak, but that's okay. I still need to limit dairy, gluten and a few other items. My no-no list is a little shorter however I still have to have one.
*Spring 2017 We had such a bad winter, record snowfall we were happy to see warm weather which didn't happen until June when it shot up to the 90s and has stayed close to that for the last 3 months. Now we are leading the nation in area of fires and state records for hottest summer. So we've only been able to hike a couple of times. In the meantime we have a project car we are working on getting up and going for me. Sold my Honda and purchased a truck to replace our old one. All of this is part of our vision for the future we desire.
*Summer 2017 This is where we are at right now....my GP is the same as it has been the last almost 9 months now and I'm just so happy I'm in a good place with it, finally! However, I just accepted training in 4 new stores making my work week 3-5 days a week and 5-6hrs each. Yep, it's a money thing for our future plan. I'm heading back to the Dr as I have been feeling a little 'off', probably vitamin levels again. I'm anxious and scared to see what my GP does with this added beginning stress of training in so many new stores at once and the added work load. However, I have a great husband that tells me if it is too much for me, it's okay to step down and we'll figure out another plan. Fingers crossed and hiking boots strapped for much needed decompression time!
Just remember that each of us have our own journey in everything, so don't compare your struggle with that of another person. For me I've always been told by others with GP that my condition is mild (I no longer vomit, not on a feeding tube, etc) yet I don't feel that way as I lost my career I worked so hard at climbing my way up to a department manager in a 30 person office, we then lost our home, have traveled all over for my husband's work to support us and at times without Drs to go to. Yes, I have worked my butt off researching and testing what my triggers are, with and without success over the last 6 years. This is a life long daily challenge for myself and all of us with a chronic illness.
So please, just be kind to each other -- listen without judgement -- accept that we are all different!
Thank you all for your support over the years!