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Coping
with Spondylosis
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I was known
as a chubby baby. Being the first child I was pampered by
my
grandparents. My parents being new to parenthood, were
unaware of the nutritional needs of a growing toddler. I was
fed with whatever my heart desired. I grew up to be an overweight
child, teenager and later as an adult.
Exercise and
proper diet was not a part of me for years. I always wondered
about the ‘health freaks' that I called them, thinking why
were they so bothered about being slim and healthy all the
time? My motto for life a few years back was 'Eat what you
like as life is short'.
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During my teenage
years, I used to enjoy fast food. At that point of time, I was least
bothered about cholesterol, trans fat or saturated fat products.
I just went along feeding my body what my heart desired. Being 'fat'
I did not have a posture and presence of myself and I used to follow
the mindset of others. I did not have any purpose in life and I
did not even know myself. I always used to question myself for what
was my goal in life and what I had to achieve but could I if I was
not even aware of my strengths and weaknesses?
In the year of 2008,
I weighed almost 90 kg. Then the lightning of pain struck me one
day. I started having episodes of terrible left arm pain. It used
to get worse especially at nights or just simply when I was in a
resting mode. I had no idea what was happening to me. I went for
alternative treatments like massages, hot and cold therapy. Nothing
seemed to work. One night, I just freaked out! My spine, starting
from my neck down to my sitting bone, started to have a burning
sensation. Life became miserable and I used to mourn in pain everyday.
My last choice was to see a doctor and I was referred to a spine
specialist immediately. After a physical examination, I was
advised to go for a spine MRI. The results confirmed that I had
cervical and lumbar spondylitis. You had no idea what I was going
through. Being only 26, the doctors did not encourage me to have
surgery. They believed that by changing my diet and lifestyle, I
would be able to control my symptoms.
The biggest question
in my mind was 'will I be able to do it?' I had did not have any
confidence in myself. Unfortunately, the pain and depression made
me put on more weight. There came a point of time when my spine
could not bear the excessive weight and I started to limp with one
leg. A few months down the road, I had to bend over in order to
walk. I used to go for acupuncture treatment and various others
but everything was unsuccessful. There is a saying that goes 'help
yourself and god will help you.'
One fine morning, I made a decision
that I would change my circumstances and come out from this. I started
to change my mindset and believed in myself. That was when life
started to show me a new direction. I was aware of homeopathy and
took the chance to try it out. With the tiny tablets taken daily,
I was having lesser pain episodes. With the homeopath's advice on
diet, instead of having three meals a day, I have six smaller meals.
There were many sacrifices that I had to make along the way. I have
given up a fast food, high cholesterol, saturated and trans fat
diet. It also includes white rice, white bread or bakery breads.
In short, I do not consume empty calorie food anymore unless I am
left with no choice.
At this present moment, my past is
just electricity in my mind but if I look back, I am thankful for
what I went through. I express gratitude as the pain allowed me
to become what I am today. I am now weighing 64kg, I have an in
depth knowledge of the nutritional needs of a person and the greatest
thing is I have gained my self-confidence. I love myself and living
my life to the fullest. Being a human, there are times when turmoil
occurs but for me, if I have turned over my life, I can handle any
other situations that come along right?
Contributing Author: Fatema Zakir zakir.fatema@yahoo.com
Freelance Health / Nutrition Writers, Web Content Writing Services, India
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