First of all, I just want to send some love and hugs to all of you out there waiting on test results of any kind.

6 months ago I started feeling dizzy and nauseous after some of the workouts. It progressed to the point where I would be dizzy and nauseous for days after a high intensity workout. I was told to go to the ER where they did a CT Scan, EKG, and chest X-ray. The results were inconclusive, so they sent me to a neurologist.

The Neurologist said all the possible problems are 100% treatable by surgery or therapy, but in the meantime it could cause a stroke or worse if I push it exercising.

So, there I was, unable to do any moderate-high intensity exercises until we finished 4 different tests that took months to complete. It’s funny, because last year I was at my peak as the Fittest Woman over 35 in Nevada. Now, in 2019, I’m going to just try not to get fat again.

I have to laugh, because I’ve been giving advice on modifications to our members for 15 years. As aging adults, things go wrong all the time. Sometimes it’s a skiing accident, sometimes it’s an overuse injury, and sometimes it’s a sleep injury (it’s a thing! LOL). When we break our ankle, we do upper body, when we break our wrist, we squat! When we have back issues, we don’t do anything that hurts and we go see Dr. Badger to make sure we don’t have anything really bad wrong with us. The coaches are magical with modifications and always willing to help.

But what happens when the prescription is ‘don’t get your heart rate up.’ Sheesh. It’s been a head scratcher, for sure. I’ve been showing up to class and deciding to modify everything in the class to my level. I tried doing yoga and other things, but I just missed my friends at Camp Rhino. It has been so humbling to go slow and take it easy in the classes, but I’m finding the ‘fun’ in exercise again. It has changed from pushing myself to the limit to having a great time with my friends in class. Of course, when I get better, I will have both. I will push hard AND have fun with my friends.

The bottom line in all of this is practicing what I preach. Everyone who comes into my office seeking advice is told the same thing: “Take control of what you have control over.”

What do I have control over?

• There is a chance that my health issues are from stress. So, I’ve been trying to rest my mind, improve my sleep and take days off. I’ve only taken half days off so far, but I think it takes practice, just like anything else.
• Nutrition. Ugh. I have to figure out how to eat all over again. Eating and performing high intensity workouts is a lot different than eating and taking it easy. I have an appointment with Anna, our Rhino Nutritionist, to get a new program based on my new activity level. I suppose I could eat more vegetables…
• Doctors visits. I should have scheduled earlier, but I waited, thinking it was a vestibular (ear) issue. But from now on, I have control over scheduling and making all the doctor visits and asking lots of questions. Dr. Jessica Knirk, my neurologist, seems to be super knowledgeable. I go in today to get my test results.
• My attitude. In the whole scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal at all. In the beginning, there were whispers of it being something way worse while I was in the ER. Most of you know the feeling of waiting on test results and being scared about the answer. But now, knowing whatever I have is treatable through surgery or therapy, I just need to have a good attitude and not whine about not being able to workout like I want to. I just need to recite my big 3: I’m thankful I’m surrounded by loving people (that’s you!), I’m thankful to have a roof over my head tonight, and I’m thankful my family is healthy.

The final thing I’m doing is deciding there’s nothing wrong with me. When we think we are sick, every little change in how we feel throughout the day makes us think we are more sick than we are. The anxiety and stress from worry doesn’t help anyone. I scheduled my Doctors appointments, I have set boundaries for myself in my workouts, I am eating healthy, getting sleep, and reducing stress in any way possible. So now I am deciding to FEEL healthy and live my life until my next doctor appointment. I’ll update everyone on my Facebook when I know what’s going on, but until then, I’m healthy and happy. If you ask me how I’m doing, I’m going to say ‘great!’

4/23/2019 UPDATE: It’s an inner-ear crystal issue! Yay! Getting treatments and I’ll be good to go.

NEW Update: It wasn’t the ears. It was stress. Stress literally put me in the hospital and had doctors thinking I had MS or a Heart issue. I’ll be making a series on stress to help anyone who needs it.