My name is Leah, and I am a physical therapist and yoga teacher. I decided to kick this venture off with today. What better time to tell one’s story? I am excited about these blogs because I believe I can write a kick ass essay after all those writing classes in high school and college, though I do struggle with emails (apparently, I am too blunt and come off as rude - forgive me?).
To talk about today, I need to tell you what happened 9 weeks ago. I gave birth! It was my second birth, and I did it at home (this could be a story unto itself). Anyways, it was a beautiful experience, but my placenta got stuck (I was told happens randomly and to anyone …), and I lost a shit ton of blood (half my body drained). My experience at home and in the hospital were wonderful. I felt well cared for the whole time (especially after two units of blood).
As many of my patients can attest, I left the hospital and the real work, struggle, difficulty, scary ride started. It was two weeks of hell. I left the hospital because I could make it to the bathroom by myself. Little did I know that was going to be the maximum of my abilities for the next two weeks. I could also breastfeed my baby, which we’ll find later was a huge blessing (not just for my new baby girl).
The day after leaving the hospital, my labs showed my blood levels were not so low any more I needed a transfusion but were not normal. As I said, this was followed by 2 weeks of hell (standing up in the shower was a dizzying and frightening chore). Then, my blood levels normalized. Apparently, I should be perfectly fine… Four weeks go by, and I am able to get downstairs where I spend the day then make it back upstairs. I try walking around the block, which resulted in feeling faint, dizziness, lightheadedness, and blurry vision.
I go to the doctor (internal medicine) because I don’t think this is normal. At the doctor, I request that my blood sugar be checked, and it is scary low. Below 70s is scary; 40s mean on the edge of damage, coma, death. I was at 43.
This begins a journey of testing my blood sugar levels pricking my finger all day long and drinking orange juice. Orange juice brought my sugar levels up rapidly, but they would not stay there. This was frustrating and scary, and I started to gain weight instead of losing it with my postpartum period.
At 6 weeks, I am feeling better then I have a dizzy episode at my follow up doctor’s appointment that scares not only me but everybody. You may know how it feels when all the nurses rush in; it doesn’t feel great, though I am still thankful for their care. They put me on the diabetic monitor that hooks to your arm.
At 7 weeks, I am fed up. I have clearly gained weight. I feel terrible in my body. I find a book. Lara Briden saved me with her menstruation book in the past, and behold, coincidentally, she comes out with a book on metabolism, hypoglycemia, and women. Her books, other than containing epic content, are incredibly convenient to read.
I went straight to the section on what to do in order to stabilize my blood sugar and read the bullet points. Then, I jumped out of the bathtub (where I’d been reading), ate 3 eggs, grabbed my 10-year-old son (baby napping and monitored by dad) and went straight to the grocery store. She tells it better (will be another blog), but a big piece of stabilizing blood sugar is big, big portions of protein and fiber. My relationship with orange juice died that day.
I went to the endocrinologist a few days later (a few days of feeling nearly back to normal, by the way) who also told me to eat protein and fiber (of course, by then, I was well on my way and the book fleshed out what to eat, vitamins, dosages). The endocrinologist literally just said, “if you have an episode, eat protein and fiber not juice (apple and peanut butter).”
I am on week 9. I can jog/walk up to 30 minutes, and I went to the gym for the first time this morning. I am weak. I have no core. I got short of breath just going up the stairs to get to the gym equipment. I am SO proud of myself for just being able to be there.
I will go over my exercise routine in my next blog. This includes yoga, jog/walk, and weightlifting starting low and slow.
If you got to here, thanks for reading, and please feel free to email me with any questions.
Our Meaning:
I believe in the warmth of coffee and tea and community. This is a place where we are integrating yoga and physical therapy to meet RVA's needs to heal from an injury then work to prevent reinjury, together.
~Leah Johnson, PT, DPT, OCS, Cert. DN
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