First for Women – August 26, 2019

health tiredness cure

36 First for women 8/26/19

T

hat’s okay, Mom,” Tracy Frost-

Blair’s daughter, Maggie,

reassured her. “I had just told

her I was too tired to come to her

lacrosse game, and she felt sorry for

me. That made me feel worse t han

the fatigue and colitis pain I was

dealing with. I’m the mom! I’m sup-

posed to be the supportive one, I told

myself. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the

first time I felt like I let one of my kids

down. I needed to figure out what was

wrong so I could fix it.

Barely getting by

“Twelve years ago, I was tired all the

time. Running a home day-care busi-

ness and raising two school-aged kids

was hectic, but I was also in a toxic

relationship. I did my best to push

t hrough, doing what needed to be

done, but my body finally had enough.

I couldn’t sleep despite my fatigue,

and it seemed like I caught every cold

going around. I was always sick.

“I couldn’t enjoy my life. I’d get

up, get through work, try to rest

and then do it all again the next day.

Plowing through the kids’ activi-

ties and interactions, I

pretended nothing was

wrong, but they knew

better. And because of

my difficult marriage,

I’d already isolated

myself from friends. I

felt defeated, but I was

desperate to regain my

quality of life. I’m too

young for this, I thought

to myself. I was in my

40s but felt like I was 75!

“Eventually, I developed such pain

and cramping in my abdomen that I

had to go to the doctor. He diagnosed

me with microscopic colitis, an inflam-

mation of the large intestine that can

only be seen with a microscope. It’s not

as severe as typical colitis, but it causes

diarrhea and cramping. Around

the same time, I developed terrible

psoriasis on my hands. I had to

give up the tennis and platform

tennis I enjoyed because it hurt too

much to hold the racquet and my

hands embarrassed me.

“My doctor told me these symptoms

weren’t dangerous, but he wanted to

put me on medications that he said

would help me feel better. But I didn’t

want to take pharmaceuticals just to

mask symptoms. I wanted to get to the

root of the problem and fix it!

Answers at last!

“So I made an appointment with

an integrative medicine specialist.

A saliva test revealed I had adrenal

fatigue. I learned that my body was

One-minute QUIZ

If you’re always exhausted and have two

or more of the symptoms below, negative

neuroplasticity may be to blame.

ARE STRESSED-OUT BRAIN CELLS

MAKING YOU TIRED?

✓Insomnia

✓Irritability

✓Brain fog

✓Heart palpitations

✓Memory lapses

✓ Overreactions to

minor stressors

✓Loss of appetite

✓Muscle/joint pain

✓Salt/sugar cravings

Tracy Frost-Blair, 55, battled exhaustion, stomach issues

and rashes for years—until she discovered the common

cause and the surprisingly simple cure

Tracy Frost- Blair,

Penfield, NY

“I feel like a 25-year