You kind of quit eating carbs like you kind of quit smoking
All I know is Keto works. Within 3wks I felt so much better. I wasn’t bloated and didn’t feel weighted down and sluggish. My hands and feet stopped retaining water. I didn’t feel like a can of biscuits trying to escape my pants. My joints didn’t hurt any more. I could bend and stretch without tightness or aches. I was only 3wks in when my hubby said he could see a difference, I almost cried!
Let me start off by saying that this is my personal journey. I am not a medical Dr, nor a nutritionist. I’m just a humble teacher here to document my experiences. I was desperate to feel better. 8 years ago I was diagnosed with an undetermined autoimmune disease at the age of 36.
It started with an incredibly sore throat, like I had swallowed razor blades. However, the strep test came back neg. See I was raised not to overdo antibiotics so I decided not to take them “just because”. Consequently, I suffered with extreme crippling joint pain followed by violent chills and uncontrollable shaking. It wasn’t until I woke up after one of my episodes (that happened every evening!) with a red rash on my inner thighs and inner arms, that I actually went to the Dr. I was diagnosed with scarlet fever. I was put on heavy rounds of antibiotics because I had become septic. Every time I finished the antibiotics my pain would come back. I was finally referred to a rheumatologist who put me on a high dose of steroids for over 3mos. I gained over 40lbs. Once it was “under control” she determined that I had antibodies for Sjogrens, an autoimmune disease. However, I never ever had the dry eyes, dry mouth or dry va-j-j. Fast forward 2yrs and I was cured! All pain was gone I could squat all the way to the floor and stand up without holding on to anything. I had my energy back and my happy-go-lucky personality back. It was fantastic! I was myself again!!
Then in January of 2018 I’m pretty sure I got the flu, it was horrible here in N.TX. However, once again I tested negative. But this time I look the antibiotic. Horrible, horrible!! I once again flared up. I was crippled! I couldn’t bend my knees, flex my feet or move my ankles. My wrists hurt so bad I couldn’t even crawl into bed. Just taking my shirt off was excruciating. My eye would swell and hurt. I’d go cross-eyed 3-5x a week. I’d have waves of weakness in my arm and legs. I couldn’t grip a pen or scratch an itch. I missed 9 days of work in one month. The antibiotic, Levaquin caused my massive flare up. I was devastated. I got depressed. I’m not a down type person. I’m the “there’s a rainbow EVERY time it rains” type person. However, I couldn’t function. Sleeping, my usual escape, didn’t even help. I had fits of restless sleep and stressful nightmares. I didn’t want to watch TV or check social media. My hubby was extremely worried for me. (have to add he was amazing! Best caregiver ever!) I was in so much pain I hated living. In desperation, I found an autoimmune community on FB. I reached out to them. I shared pictures of my swollen eyes and joints. It’s then they told me Levaquin causes nasty side effects. And can cause autoimmune flare ups. I immediately stopped taking the Levaquin and contacted my Dr. I was put on different antibiotics, but the damage was done. I went back to my rheumatologist and I had to go back on the strong meds. I stayed on the FB page reading about everyone else who was just as miserable as me and somehow I felt better. I needed to hear the words of encouragement, even if they were intended for the author of the post and not me. That community got me through my darkest days and longest nights. I never contemplated suicide, but the joy of living had definitely left.
After several months my pain started to lessen but I kept reading the posts. I found great solace in that FB group. I also started noticing that they were talking a lot about the Keto diet. I had never heard about it before. I just scrolled past it for several months. Then one day I decided to look into it. I asked my sister in law if she knew what it was. She had done Paleo so I asked her what the difference was. She wasn’t sure about Keto, but she knew it included fasting. So I joined a Keto FB page to learn more.
I stalked the page for several weeks. I was impressed with the huge amounts of weight loss. But my primary goal was to get rid of the pain. I decided to document my weekly journey through Keto. My ups, downs, leaps and stumbles.
I am a very private person. I don’t announce when I’m sick. I don’t post when I make an amazing meal. I would rather know about you then talk about myself. So I didn’t tell anyone, not even hubby that I was doing Keto. I feel like if I do then they’ll watch exactly what I eat and monitor if I really am losing weight. I don’t want to be under a microscope. It’s not that I don’t want accountability, I don’t want it to be a topic of discussion 20yrs later. Like that 1 time I tried Adkins bc a coworker was trying to lose weight for a class reunion. My family still talks about that 1 time I only ate the topping of a pizza 20yrs ago! Geesh! So yeah, this is my personal, private journey that I can be proud of and celebrate with me, myself and I. I’ve always been the “don’t talk about, just do it” type of person. But I do want to document my journey in case someone else wants to try Keto or just needs a little encouragement. It has changed how I view living now. Not to be dramatic, but it has literally changed my life! Before, I was barely surviving day to day. All I wanted to do was rip my bra off, slip into my PJs and escape in front of the TV. I didn’t have the energy, but more importantly my body hurt so bad I just wanted to escape my reality.
All the stories are real, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent, namely me!. This is a true account of my journey on Keto. I will be honest, and at times embarrassing. I want to be able to look my brother and brother-in-law in the eye during Thanksgiving so I will not be using my name. But I promise, every word is real.
My Keto Confessions 