Brett was feeling well enough to drive us back to the ranch yesterday! I’ve been practicing my driving more but I wasn’t ready for a 3.5 hour road trip yet.
We’re both really glad to be back on the ranch now. There’s something really reassuring about a little familiarity in the middle of an unstable life. Plus, the wind is blowing from the north and it feels fantastic!
Yesterday morning, while we were packing up to leave, I had a mini-epiphany.
Let me explain…
I’ve been really fatigued these last two weeks. I feel like I’m having to drag myself through each day. The chores take me hours because I move so slowly. By late afternoon, I often find myself crying because I don’t have any energy left but I still have plenty of work to do. I’ve been puzzling over it for several days now.
What is wrong? I had so much energy just a few weeks ago. Is there some contamination in the van? Could it be a withdrawal symptom? Do I need to decontaminate myself more often?
Changing locations seemed to help the pain and mood issues that the south wind blew in, but the fatigue did not improve one bit. It finally occurred to me that maybe the fatigue wasn’t biotoxin induced after all. Maybe I was just low on electrolytes. After all, I’ve been sweating like crazy day after day in this inescapable heat! Could that also be why I was wanting a lot more salt on my food than I usually like?
Maybe I just needed to drink more water and try some of the salt pills I used take when I had POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). They helped a lot with my low blood pressure and low blood volume.
So, when we got to Rapid City yesterday evening, we stopped at three different stores trying to find the sodium tablets. The last Walgreens we tried, had the same kind I used to take for my POTS. Yay!
I took some of the pills immediately but I didn’t really notice a difference. Bummer… I was pretty sure they helped within an hour or two in the past. Maybe this is different? Maybe it will take a while to get the electrolytes back up?
Today, I took them all throughout the day… and guess what? My intuition was right! I did all the chores and I didn’t even need an afternoon cry.
Best of all, I still had enough energy left over to run around with Ramona this evening. I even skipped to the water spout when it was time to fill our shower bottles. I definitely don’t skip unless I have energy to spare! Hooray for a simple cure! That almost never happens!
Disclaimer: This might be obvious but please don’t take salt pills if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, or kidney disease.
By the way, Brett and I made a beautiful PDF of my favorite resources for suffering souls. I created the content and he made it look fancy with his superduper graphic design skills. It’s available for free to my email subscribers. Click here to sign up and receive 5 Resources for the Suffering Soul.
14 Comments
YAY! Glad you’re starting to feel better again Ana. That must be such an encouragement
July 24, 2017 at 6:32 pm🙂
July 24, 2017 at 7:15 pmYay! That’s wonderful! It’s kind of funny that after all this trouble with biotoxins and mold it was something that simple.
July 24, 2017 at 7:08 pmI know!
July 24, 2017 at 7:16 pmWoo! Haha I love how skipping is a sure sign that you (or anyone!) is feeling much better 🙂 I’m so happy that this was a quick and easy fix for you! Also, I’m amazed at how in tune you are with your body and how much knowledge you have acquired these past few months on health stuff!
July 24, 2017 at 7:17 pmAww! Thank you Alyssa! 🙂
July 24, 2017 at 8:47 pmAna, you have an ability to express yourself and your thoughts so well in words. I can’t begin to tell you how many times you have said things and it expresses something that I have felt in our struggles. It is healing to my heart and helps me to not feel alone. I am so grateful to the Lord for all that you share.
So very interesting about the salt pills ( Petra also took them w POTS ). I love how your body directed you on what was needed. Yesterday we drove to Los Banos to look at a Camplite trailer. We decontaminated before we left so I felt sure we shouldn’t turn the AC on… as we were trying to be so careful. If we buy it we don’t want to cross contaminate! It was hot and we were sweating the whole way. I thought of you guys and how you are ALWAYS exposed to the elements… in the heat, without even stops into AC stores to cool for a spell. So hard.
May God’s mighty hand hold you both up and keep you both strong, ( he certainly did after the last two days! ).
Nanette
July 24, 2017 at 9:32 pmOh Nanette! This is so encouraging! It’s so healing for *me* to know that my words are helping you to feel less alone.
I’m glad you were able to look into the Camplite trailer idea. Dr. Raj Patel recommends those. Great job avoiding cross contamination! It’s not easy!
July 25, 2017 at 8:49 amGlad you’re feeling better! What kind or brand of salt pills did you buy? Do salt pills work better than just adding more salt to one’s food?
July 24, 2017 at 10:03 pmThey are called Thermatabs. I think they work better because you can get a much higher dose (if you need that). With just increasing salt on the food it starts to taste kind of nasty after a certain point.
July 25, 2017 at 8:51 amSo glad you found something that made you feel better quickly! Hoping and praying for continued strength and healing. 🙂
July 25, 2017 at 5:37 amThank you so much Charis!
July 25, 2017 at 9:46 amAna, haven’t kept up in a while, but couldn’t wait to see how you were doing. You are still one tough cookie!!! So glad the salt pills were helping. Sounds like you are being very in-tune with your body. That is the best way to heal. I found that was my biggest healer-listening to my body. I wanted to mention that I couldn’t take the salt pills, they made me a bit sick to my stomach. But I was encouraged to eat gluten free pretzels from Mayo clinic. Haha But now I have found just a dash, and I mean a dash of potassium that I got at the food store, and I put about 1/10 in a gallon of water with some Himalayan salt and that helps me. Praying for a healthy day for you. Again, thank you for sharing your story. IT’s so inspiring. Tommi
July 25, 2017 at 9:09 amAww!🙂 I definitely agree that listening to your body is one of the most helpful things you can learn to do. Thanks for the tip! So far I’m not having any nausea.
July 25, 2017 at 9:48 am