I  cried: ‘When did my life become like this?’

Apart from toxins that needed to be flushed out of my system, I had Hormonal Imbalance. I told her I had treated it before. She recommended I buy  certain supplements and herbal teas which might be the answer to all the minor symptoms I was experiencing. Reluctantly, I bought them from her. I had never come across such bogus capsules before. The tablets were big and in various shapes.  They were plenty and cost an arm and a leg. I was expected to take them  all every morning!

 The very first time I put all in my palms to take, I  cried. ‘When did my life become like this?’ I asked myself.  They  couldn’t have been less than 20 … “how will I swallow all these?” I thought aloud. The supplements looked like a meal on its own. First I took them in twos. With plenty of water o! At the end of it all, I would be very full. So I reduced the quantity of food I ate in the mornings to accommodate  the sups.

In my disillusionment I didn’t remember I was to take some before meals! Anyway, I adjusted. It didn’t seem that bad on the long run. In less than a month, all the symptoms disappeared.

In my disillusionment I didn’t remember I was to take some before meals! Anyway, I adjusted. It didn’t seem that bad on the long run. In less than a month, all the Symptoms Disappeared. I mean I had no more breathing problems; menstrual pain, headaches and I slept easily. It went on for six months. One day I just looked at the containers of the supplements and said I was not going to depend on them all my life. Apart from that, the cost of buying them was tearing our pockets apart! No more, I decided. And again, I was in good health for a very looooong time….

Fast forward to few years after… One fatefully night I woke up suddenly and forcefully, as if I ran out breathless from my sleep.  Night after night it reoccurred….

  Then I went to see the family doctor who after checking my vitals put me on blood pressure tablets.  The condition became worse as the days went by. Initially, I could not understand what was causing it or explain how I was feeling.  Then gradually I began to notice that it happened when I ate late, took meat or any fatty food.  After months of observation, I noticed I could not digest many foods. Anytime I forced it I would have a terrible night. It took quite a while for me to “come to terms” with that. The only foods that didn’t give me much problem digesting “were” rice without stew, pap without sugar and milk, ewedu and amala without stew and water leaf juice.  Anytime I ate anything other than these, I would land in the hospital in the early hours of the following morning. Meanwhile, I cooked delicacies for my family!

One day I took cabbage juice, I nearly passed out… same for pineapple. The condition became really critical. My husband witnessed it every midnight. He could feel me but he could not fully understand what I was going through. But he realised it was scary. Sometimes he would ask me to try and explain it to him. Words cannot fully capture the experience, but I would try… Each time I would wake abruptly, jerking my hands, stamping my feet and trying to cough to come alive. It was as if life was ebbing out of me. As if life was going out of me and I had to grab it back. When I woke up like that, I felt lifeless. And I felt  my heart had stopped beating…because by the time I’d fully come around, my palpitations would be very high.

One day I took cabbage juice, I nearly passed out… same for pineapple. The condition became really critical.

I was experiencing this crisis for long. I was sorry for my husband, he didn’t bargain for this. I am a slim person and became slimmer and I was nearly disappearing. I became a shadow of myself… No one could pinpoint what was wrong with me.
Sometimes, I would think it was asthma and report how I was feeling to my Doctor and he would check and say it’s not Asthma.

My pastor was worried about my condition. He sent me to one of the best hospitals to have a comprehensive medical check-up. Nothing strange was detected. In fact, my organs were in tip-top shape… according to them o! But I knew all was not well with me…! I just knew it!!!

PS: To be continued….

Do you have a similar experience? How did you get through it? We’ll love to read from you. See you soon….