Blessed Sunday to you and yours. Since giving several health updates in the past few months, I trust there are readers who have been praying for me. Thank you. Please keep my full recovery in your prayers.
First, to summarize, a year ago I had serious GI problems, then back issues, then a sudden outbreak of nerve and muscle pain in my arms and legs with extreme fatigue, etc. A very long story, but after a long process of treatment and seeing specialists, I began to seriously recover after Christmas, the pain itself subsiding to near zero, and fatigue levels lifting enabling me to work.
The extreme stress itself largely resulted in several rounds of bad ear allergies, including two ear infections, the last one a couple weeks ago that ruptured my ear drum Fortunately they heal typically within a few weeks or so. One of the symptoms is tinnitus. I already have mild tinnitus in the main affected ear over the years which has been very tolerable, yet with the ruptured ear drum it has spiked up which is distracting and stressful. But I’m offering it up, knowing that as the rupture heals, I expect it to resolve. God’s will be done.
The other factor was the antibiotics for the ear infection seriously affected my GI, which ironically actually makes allergies worse, considering the affect of the gut microbiome on your immune system and response to allergens. You also become much more sensitive to food. This led me down the path of healing my gut this last week. Fasting, probiotics, slowly reintroducing fiber and fermented foods and later more fatty food, good sleep, and daily exercise restores the GI after antibiotics kill off a lot of the microbiome. The allergy meds help but have a lot of side effects when taking several, which motivates me to come off these meds soon and others also affecting the GI. Most meds disrupt the GI microbiome affecting your whole health, one reason to avoid most, if you can.
For example, statins cause GI distress, but also chronic fatigue, tiredness, muscle weakness, and muscle pain, ironically all symptoms I’ve been having since this health crisis started. So I’m expecting major improvements ahead just from the careful weaning off of these meds.
So two specific prayer requests right now: for my eardrum to fully heal and therefore tinnitus level to resolve, and for my current allergy/GI sickness to resolve. And please pray for my general recovery, especially so I’m well enough to return to work in physical therapy and resume normal life.
The positive is that since Christmas there has been a major improvement, to the point I felt more or less recovered, except now for the ear/allergy/GI set back. But it’s only a temporary set back, a bump in the road, looking at it from the bird’s eye view. From that point of view, all things considered, I am thankful for what level of restored health I now have and the future opening back up. With my diet, exercise, and other changes, I have every reason to be optimistic for good health in the short term and very good health in the long term. I have learned many life lessons about taking care of my health, the hard way. I thank God for life, and the opportunity to have eternal life with Him.
That said, please keep me in your prayers as I will also pray for readers, especially those of you going through your own hardship right now. For everything there is a season.