MamaKit

I was just reading on another thread regarding insurance (Choublak's) and noted the post from NWGRITS. I have Crohn's disease as well and am quite worried about a flare up of my disease from all of the trauma I've exprienced during the last three months. So far so good I think. I've lost weight but otherwise no other symptoms. Good GOD I can not afford to get sick on top of everything else I've been going through.

It made me wonder about any serious physical health problems that anyone here thinks were caused or made worse by life with an A.
Or from a more positive perspective, did anyone's health change for the better when you got into recovery?

FoxInSocks

I'm not to sure if they have been made worse as had sinus problems since I was quite young and also what I used to say as "my bones"...if I'm tickled it hurts and for ages after it or if someone prods me(and it can be a very light touch) it really hurts...had this for a long time too which I later found out was Fibromyalgia after I had pains in my chest and went for lots of different checks and nothing was found. This does get a bit worse when I'm stressed and I have aches all over and its not just when poked or knocked. And no I'm not a wimp...I gave birth to 2 boys with out any pain medication!
I can say though that my confidence is very very low and now find it very hard to make new friends and do quite like my own company now. Before I met my husband I was very out going, had loads of friends and would chat to anyone, could be in a room full of strangers and still be able to chat and always would end up becoming friends with someone. I have put on quite a bit of weight too as I do use food as my comfort when things get bad...and there have been many bad things....22kgs over weight! So I do think our health suffers but for me I really should have found a better outlet rather than food but at the time thats what I chose....even this morning...I could have had toast as made it for my boys but no..a cup of tea and about 8 chocolate biscuits...and thats only because the pack was finished!! My Name is Fox In Socks and I'm a bad food-aholic!!!

owathu

Well, like I shared in my thread today, every ounce of back-pain I had while with my AH is completely and utterly gone. I had mentioned that I couldn't empty a dishwasher without searing pain in my back....NOW? Not a twinge for almost two months.

Also, my knees were shot while with him, I couldn't run, and I love love running...(go figure!) and the moment I left, knee pain gone, nothing, I am running everywhere now. It's like flying on the ground. I highly recommend it.


Also, I never mentioned, I had a annoying cyst on my face, AND it's gone now.


These people can affect your health, your body will tell you when something's not right. We need to start listening to what our bodies, or intuition is telling us. Don't discount something as, oh, age, or oh, just is, when in fact, when you get out of a bad situation, your body many times follows!

KRA

Since I've left my xagf: my back pain is greatly reduced, my skin looks better, and I've lost some much needed weight. Also, the constant state of anxiety I was almost always in when I was with my x was causing stomach problems. I didn't even realize it until about a month after I left when I realized I was no longer having stomach problems.

kudzujean

My father was a real bad alcoholic and died from alcoholism after he and my mother had been married a little less than nine years.

She had hypothyroidism in her mid-thirties, and died of a heart condition at 75.

I'll ALWAYS believe both conditions resulted from her living for years with a violent, abusive alcoholic.

FireSprite

My personal health has definitely improved a thousand % since I've embraced recovery, and I've made it a point of focus as well. It was one of the things that I had let slide during the worst AH years & I hated myself for it. I started acupuncture, started back on a yoga routine, added cardio & some minor strength training, aim for 7 hrs of good sleep each night, & am working on sticking to changes in my diet as well. Little by little my overall health is vastly improved from 18 months ago & it shows in a lot of ways.

With one exception...... last summer, when my husband announced that he was an A & was going to seek treatment by starting AA meetings that same day, I was shocked & utterly out of sorts. (Unlike so many of you, I was very unaware about how much he was abusing alcohol.) I almost immediately gained 15 pounds - like within 10 days - despite no major changes to my diet or exercise routine. In fact, I had been in spectacular shape & feeling really great about my self-image. Now, despite every change I've made, despite the focus & honest efforts I've put into losing the weight, it REFUSES to budge. My arms & legs & butt are all toning up but my midsection refuses, flat-out, to give up an ounce. When I do manage to shed a single pound, it comes back x3 over a matter of a couple of days.

I recently had a realization that the ONLY other time in my life that I was overweight with seemingly NO control over it was when my dad's alcoholism & drug addiction took center stage in our family's lives & he was sent to prison for felonies associated with his vices. So..... now I'm wondering if this is an Inner Child Reflex triggered by AH's issues. I've been incorporating EFT techniques in over the last few weeks to deal with it & reading more info on ACoA & I think I'm onto something here!

lillamy

Here: http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...l-fatigue.html
A few more things.

Tuffgirl

This topic comes up often - stress is a terrible drain on a body. I was sick a lot, had stomach troubles, a cyst on my eye, perpetual eye twitches, pre3ssure headaches, and beginning thyroid problems.

Now I feel fine - all of that is gone. I have more energy, lots weight, no more twitches (except when I drink too much coffee) and I sleep better.

Because I have less stress in my life, I have more time to take care of myself. Physical health and emotional health are intertwined.

seek

I am currently trying to regain my health, via rest, diet, beach time, and massage (to name a few).

I became a depleted, anxious mess - my hair fell out and I have never been so exhausted. Taking vitamins now (B's and adrenal restore, plus a multi and sometimes D and others).

I have aged at least 10 years in a few months. Praying I can regain my vigor and will to live.

amooseoncebitmysister

Here's my anecdote:

I just moved/left AH on Monday. For maybe 2 years as things circled the drain, I had GI problems. I had no GI problems this week! Remarkable. Hmmmm.

Then last night, AH called me, obviously drinking, and I obviously (whoops!) picked up the phone. This morning: GI problems.

I've often thought that there should be medical studies on us re the effects of mental/emotional stress, since we so clearly exhibit resultant physical symptoms. I recall learning in a family program that codies get stomach cancer at a higher rate than the general populace.

LifeRecovery

I am taking a class called Tension Relaxation Exercises.

In this class and somewhere else this week I heard the same statistic: 86% of our diseases in this country are in part related to stress.

I lived with TMJ for many years (prior to living with alcoholism also). Through recovery I have not had a bad incident in greater than three years (I was still with my alcohlic then).

Recovery is a great gift that I have given myself.

Carol Star

When I was married to my XAH I was too skinny, couldn't sleep well, grinded my teeth, was always afraid, stressed at work (teacher), hair would fall out. Now I am fat and not stressed and happy and can sleep. I took yoga and meditation and got rid of the back pain.