My name is Lindsay. I have always been very guarded about myself and my weight, but I made the decision that I would share my journey of chronic pain and weight loss and better health in the hope that I may learn more about myself, and that others may benefit through my journey of self-exploration. I have chosen to include details about my conditions in the effort to spread awareness, instead of hiding behind them anymore.
I grew up a very athletic and high energy person, always playing sports, eating right, and taking good care of myself. At the age of 15 I was diagnosed with Stage IV Endometriosis, and began having to have surgery to remove adhesions from my abdominal cavity almost every year. I struggled to maintain the same active lifestyle I was used to due to chronic pain and high doses of hormones to try to slow the progression of the disease.
By the age of 20 I was diagnosed with a degenerative bladder disease called Interstitial Cystitis. I was put on a medication to manage this condition, and was also put on a low acid diet to try to help with the Hunner's Ulcers that I had developed inside my bladder. Basically this condition robs you of your bladder lining and everything you consume from food and drink to vitamins goes through your bladder and you feel as if you have a bladder infection all the time, and is also met with the constant urge to pee, making exercise and sports extremely difficult with debilitating bladder spasms.
At the age of 25 I had already had 6 laparoscopic surgeries for endometriosis, and was now dealing with yearly abdominal surgeries to excise the endometriosis which took over my abdomen at an extremely rapid rate, and now with that surgery I was also having bladder hydrodistention to stretch out my shrinking bladder in the effort to provide me with some relief.
I did not want to medicate myself into a coma from the pain I was dealing with, and I began to feel depressed from both the hormones (I went through chemical menopause several times to try to slow progression of my disease) and from my extremely restricted diet and malnutrition as a result. Sleep was extremely difficult between getting up almost hourly from pain and having to pee. Chronic exhaustion resulted.
My dream job of modeling that I had achieved was cut short due to my pain, and lack of sleep made me feel sick most of the time. The calls for modeling jobs gradually stopped, and my grades in college suffered because of my constant exhaustion and depression.
So began my self medication through comfort eating. Since I was unable to eat most fruits, red meats, and many vegetables or anything else that was acidic, I started leaning toward anything else I could eat without pain. The hormones made me have severe cravings, and also put on weight without even doing anything. My activity level dropped severely and my eating habits got extremely unbalanced. I simply stopped caring.
When I was 18 I was blessed to meet the man of my dreams who became my husband in 2006. He was and is a constant pillar of support through all of my struggles with my health, and did everything he could to be there for me. My family, extended family and friends also have been there for me through everything as well which has been a blessing, but has also let me become lazy because I have unconditional love from such a large network that I have never had to worry about what anyone would think.
In 2011 I was surprised to find out we were expecting a baby even though I had been told my several doctors that pregnancy was a slim to impossible endeavor due to all of my health problems. We found out I was pregnant after I was in a freak automobile accident that beat up my body but luckily didn't hurt my baby. A CAT scan revealed that I was 20 weeks pregnant, and within days of finding out we were going to have a baby we found out we were to be blessed with a little girl. Luckily the radiation from the CAT scan did not hurt my daughter, and the scan was done only because I didn't know I was pregnant.
As was my body's usual style from having immunosupressive tendencies I developed preeclampsia then eclampsia and had to have my daughter 5 weeks early through emergency c-section. She was healthy and perfect, but my body struggled to heal from the surgery, and by December of last year I had to go in for surgery to have a complete hysterectomy and c-section scar revision, and also bladder hydrodistention.
For the first time in over 15 years I am now without the pain of endometriosis plaguing everything I do, and am left to deal only with my Interstitial Cystitis that I will have for the rest of my life as it is an incurable condition. My husband and I made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle with the Biggest Loser diet and regular exercise, and for the last two weeks have been doing a great job. It is our new lifestyle for us, not a diet. We have made the commitment to continue on this journey to health and wellness.
My husband only has 20 pounds to lose, and I have three times that. I have learned to forgive myself for what my body has become and since doing so have lost almost 10 pounds in two weeks. I know every week won't be as good as these two and I will encounter temptations and hit walls when I have flare ups that make exercising difficult, but I am determined to make this work. My body will forever be a challenge for me, but I have made the commitment to be healthier for myself, my daughter and husband, and to hopefully show others who deal with chronic pain that it is possible to overcome and to be successful.
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