The Amoebic Lifestyle

Have you ever encountered people who live I have come to call an amoebic lifestyle? You know amoeba, those tiny shape-shifting single-celled creatures that spend their lives just oozing around the bottom of ponds. Their lives consist of mere reactions to their circumstances and surroundings. People who live amoebic lives make only the necessary momentary adjustments to avoid pain and suffering; choices made on-the-fly, so to speak. They  don't seem to consider the future at all. Living in the moment, some might call it. But living in the moment has it's consequences. This lifestyle will eventually reveal they are living in crisis mode on an ongoing basis.

I have another blog called Life Without Chocolate; the name being a metaphor for choosing to live without certain things in my life that aren't beneficial to me or my health. These "things" that are needful to be chosen certainly range deeper than just the physical. Just because I can doesn't mean I should covers so much more than making choices about my physical being or merely reacting to circumstances. It extends to the mental and spiritual as well.

I seem to have the need to test the waters on a regular basis even knowing the outcome! I know that if I eat chocolate I will suffer greatly as a result - a given. And this is only one example. Why do I do that? I actually know but I will spare you the sermon. It's the human curse/blessing to be sure - free will. Free will gets us into trouble all the time!

I could choose to live in the moment daily, eat what I want or do what I want, and deal with the consequences as they arise living the amoebic lifestyle but I've found life flows more smoothly if I actually think ahead. I'm just starting to get the big picture in a clearly much larger scope after being diagnosed with food allergies 16 months ago. Kind of the HD/3D version of life. In those 16 months there have been many bad choices, oversights and Oh, duh! moments.

This new revelation has given understanding which has overflowed into my spiritual life as well. As a child of God I can certainly make choices in this life that are fun and interesting - for the moment - however they may have lasting negative consequences far beyond what I might realize. Cursed FREE WILL!

The Bible encourages us to live not just for the moment but for eternity; to set our minds on the things that will affect the eternal outcome of our lives and not the things just pertaining to our earthly lives. In other words, we are not to live as amoebas just bumping around life reacting, but actually planning ahead for what's to come.

And what is to come you might ask? Good question. If you were to die today what would happen to you? I believe there is God given life after death - either in heaven, through Jesus, or hell, through rejecting Him. You may believe there is nothing after death where everything just ends. That's your prerogative. But what if I'm right and you are wrong? Then I will have lost nothing and you will have lost everything! If we've chosen to live the amoebic lifestyle it is too late to make any other choice once we've died.

For me it's like choosing to live without chocolate. It's a much healthier life I live without it - in the moment and in the future. I have also chosen to live through Jesus - now and forever - making those decisions in life that are not just an amoebic response to my circumstances. 

How about you?

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2 

Fibromyalgia - My opinion

Wisdom and common sense says, if one thing doesn't work try something else. That's what I did. This is a part of my story that I haven't as yet shared.

Personally I am convinced that many of the people out there who are diagnosed with fibromyalgia and are given drugs with potential horrendous side effects to combat the pain are really suffering from food allergies/sensitivities. But does conventional medicine test for food allergies? NO!

This is only my opinion, but it is also my experience.

Aside from the health issues of benzodiazepines (read My Story) there was other stuff going on in my body that was unexplained - nebulous pain, muscle cramps that would stay locked in for days and hypersensitivity to OTC pain relievers and prescription drugs. I became terrified if I needed even a simple antibiotic not knowing how my body would respond.

My God directed appointment.

I had been wanting to find a doctor closer to home who could manage my natural hormone replacement therapy and discovered a new doctor in town who also happened to be a naturopathic doctor. The first visit with her became my life changing God directed appointment. After addressing the primary reason for my visit, HRT, she began asking routine questions regarding the new patient health forms I had filled out. A few minutes later she recommended I be tested for food allergies/sensitivities. Figuring I had nothing to lose I agreed and one month later I discovered, after being tested for 200 foods, I had sensitivities to 51 of those foods or their components. That's 25%! Many of which had been a regular part of my daily diet - dairy, wheat, coffee, chocolate (heartbreaking) just to name a few of the most common.

Not all health foods are healthy!

We hear on a regular basis how good olive oil is for us and should be the primary oil in our pantry which is exactly what I'd done not knowing that having it in my daily diet was like taking poison. It has been eye-opening to realize many of the things that modern society has come to believe are good for us have actually been causing me health issues. How many advertisements tell us whole wheat should be a daily part of our diet? Or, eat our "leafy greens" for good health. Well one of the most common leafy greens, spinach, is NOT good for me - nor are tomatoes, sweet potatoes, olives (olive oil), cranberries, cherries, I could go on but I will spare you the whole list of 51. You get the idea, right? 

Chocolate - my neurotoxin.

I've now come to consider chocolate a neurotoxin! After having removed it completely from my diet for about 9 months I decided to treat myself (well, really I binged but that's beside the point) and ended up with a leg cramp that lasted for 10 days! OK, now I know - chocolate is poison in my body, unless of course I want to suffer the consequences. No, thank you, I'd rather live without the pain. Pain is a great deterrent!

So, by now you may be asking, What does this all have to do with my opinion of fibromyalgia?

It's all in my choices.

What is the definition of fibromyalgia but unexplained widespread pain! The pain and the associated muscle cramps would often leave my medical care givers scratching their heads. They had no explanation for what was happening to me. I would get a chiropractic adjustment to realign my spine and before I could make the 10 minute drive to the massage therapist it would be all pulled out of alignment once again by the muscles! The physical therapy, chiropractic and massage therapy were only temporary solutions at best. HOWEVER, after eliminating the offending foods from my diet for one month all these issues began to go away. I can now live pain free and free of muscle cramps if I chose to eat right.

A little networking, and I've begun to hear similar stories. I even mentioned it to my naturopathic doctor and she couldn't disagree. My heart breaks for all those out there who are suffering chronic pain when it is possible their condition is being caused by what they are eating and it could so easily be remedied by eliminating certain foods from their diets.

If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and think it would be worth getting tested for food allergies I strongly urge you to seek out a naturopathic doctor and request the test. It could be life changing.

I'm praying for you.