I am a retired teacher with thirty-seven years of teaching experience. My husband and I have been married for forty-three years and have four children. Three of my children are married. At the present time, we have six grandchildren.
I was a dedicated teacher who devoted a lot of time to teaching. On the weekends, I tried to visit with my family and do housework. In addition, I worked on genealogy and did cemetery research when I had spare time. Last of all, I was involved indirectly with two historic restoration projects in my community.
During the past two years, I started noticing that I was experiencing a few health issues. When I had a colon spasm, my heart would beat fast or I would get dizzy. My eye sight would decrease for a few seconds occasionally. Also, I noticed that I was slowly losing weight each month. I usually experienced these health issues when I didn’t get enough rest.
In the spring of 2007. My mother went into the nursing home. I did not get any rest during my summer break.
On September 17, 2007, the air conditioning unit in my school went out. Although I had a fan in my classroom, I had a difficult time teaching and felt dizzy most of the time. Also, I had recess duty and a faculty meeting after school. That night I couldn’t fall asleep.
After September 17, my health issues increased and became more severe. I couldn’t sleep without the aid of sleeping pills. When I took sleeping pills, I only got about 6 hours of sleep. My blood pressure and heart rate would get high for no apparent reason. I couldn’t eat much food or drink several glasses of liquid. My colon spasms occurred more frequently. My eye sight would diminish more frequently. I felt dizzy in the mornings and couldn’t focus on simple tasks. My feet were clammy. Also, my weight started dropping more rapidly, I felt like my body was shutting down.
I sought the help of a family practice doctor, a gastroenterologist, and a heart specialist. My doctors ran several tests on my heart and colon. The test revealed that my colon and heart were not causing my health issues. The doctors concluded my health issues were caused by stress and that I needed to take a leave of absence from teaching. My family and doctor thought I was depressed, but I knew I wasn’t depressed. My family practice doctor prescribed several medications, but my health did not improve. Also, he suggested I might need to see a psychiatrist to find out why I wasn’t sleeping. I wondered if I would ever get well.
My sister-in-law suggested I should try alternative medicine treatments. Her doctor recommended Dr. Paula Howell. I made an appointment with her near the end of October. She suggested I take a saliva test, which revealed that stress had put a strain on my adrenal glands, my blood sugar level was high, and I had a yeast infection. Also, she found out I was having a problem with my gallbladder and my food wasn’t being digested properly.
Dr. Howell put me on a Candida diet, used Neuro Emotional Techniques on me, and prescribed the necessary supplements I needed. After Dr. Howell’s treatments, my health finally started to improve. My family and friends noticed my health improvements immediately. Each month my health improved. I finally started sleeping again on my own in late December or early January. It took me a few months to start gaining weight.
I decided to retire from teaching in January so I would start healing faster. Also, I wanted my students to have a healthier teacher.
Now, my health is great. I have more energy than I had in the past. Now it is not a struggle to take my grandchildren to the park or walk all over Lowe’s or Home Depot with my husband. I do not have a problem sleeping. My eye sight does not diminish. I don’t have a problem with my blood pressure and heart rate. Also, I have gained back my normal weight. Now, I have a better quality of life. Alternative medicine has made a difference in my life.
