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Our Bodies Speak To Us, Do You Listen?

 

A Conversation About Nickel Allergy

· body signals,self-care,health and wellness

Our bodies speak to us, our good health depends on whether we listen or not! 

Have you ever heard of a nickel allergy? I hadn't either until January 5th, 2021. 

I am someone who takes my health seriously and I work to understand my body and the messages it sends me to maintain my health. There are still  times when I've made mistakes or been slow to listen to my body. It’s after those mistakes, that I wish I would have tuned in sooner. 

You may have already heard me share my story of gaining thirty-five pounds in four years, after I turned 40. This resulted in severe pain in my hip joint that caused my leg to give out from underneath me at random times. I was referred to a physical therapist to work on strengthening my hip joint, but I knew my body was rejecting the added weight and I needed to take action. I also knew if I didn’t get my weight under control, 35 pounds could quickly turn into 50 or even 100 pounds. I’ve since gotten my weight under control and have maintained a healthy, sometimes fluctuating weight since 2016. I listened to what my body was telling me! 

More recently, I experienced another body awakening! After the birth of my daughter, I developed painful eczema on my hands and later a patch on my chest above my heart. I’ve had the patch for many years, and I’ve seen a Dermatologist and a Naturopath without relief or complete healing. Intuition was telling me I was allergic or intolerant to something causing this problem. My first thought was metal, I don’t know why. I didn’t listen to my body or my intuition. I blew it off for years. I didn’t think a metal allergy was a real thing.  

On January 5th, 2021, that changed! A woman, Kristina, whom I recently met in a female entrepreneurs’ accountability group mentioned her struggles with determining if she had a nickel allergy and her work as a coach to help others with this problem. The light bulb in my brain started dinging incessantly! I needed to find out more! Had my intuition been right?  Could I have a metal allergy? If you don’t know anything about metal allergies, they are an allergy of accumulation due to exposure throughout our lives. Awareness and acceptance are still new. I finally took action, visited an Allergy/Immunologist and underwent patch testing for 80 different allergens beyond traditional prick skin testing and intradermal skin testing. I reacted to six allergens including gold and cobalt, both metals! 

 I want to help you avoid the mistakes I made. Listen to ALL the signals from your body! Whether you call it intuition, gut wisdom, or instinct, the messages from your body are intelligent and valuable for maintaining optimal health and problem solving when unexpected health concerns arise. You deserve to live a healthy, pain free life!

Use these strategies to tune in to what your body is telling you: 

1. Assess how you feel each morning. The early morning hours are ideal for you to listen to your body’s signals. At that time of day, it’s usually very quiet, so you can pay closer attention to the physical signals. Each morning, determine whether you feel different from the morning before.   

  •  Determine if you experience any new aches when getting out of bed. 
  • Figure out if you wake up feeling lousy, even after a sound night’s sleep. 
  • See if you wake up with any ailments that you didn’t go to sleep with.

2. Compare the effects of different food choices. As you go through the motions day by day, it’s sometimes tough to maintain proper nutrition. Especially if you’re always on the go, you may end up making some poor food choices. As you do that, however, it’s important to see what kind of impact your food choices have on your body.   

  • Do you find that you’re more energetic when you eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables?  Do you need more carbs or more protein?     
  • How physically active are you  after you’ve spent a day eating junk food?
  • Does your mind function better at work when you eat vitamin-rich foods?

3. Get regular checkups. Even if you haven’t seen or felt anything to be concerned about, it’s important to get regular checkups with your doctor to make sure your body is performing optimally. It’s sometimes possible, for example, for your cholesterol or blood pressure to become high without you knowing.    

  • If you’re about to embark upon a stressful stretch at work, proactively schedule time to get a checkup.
  • If you are susceptible to a hereditary health condition like breast cancer, make time to follow your recommended testing schedule.
  • Put a routine in place for getting physicals and stick to it.   

4. Know your body’s physical capabilities. Although you may consider yourself healthy and in good shape overall, there’s just so much the body can manage. Whether it’s exercise or mental work at the office, it’s important to know your limits so you don’t end up burned out, physically exhausted, or injuring yourself.   

  • It’s okay to work out until your muscles feel worn, but you’ll know if you’ve overdone it if your recovery time is longer than you expect.
  • The same goes for mental exhaustion. You’ll feel like you’re coping through the long, stressful hours at work until you realize you’re motionless in bed when you should be up getting ready for work!  
  • If you become ill, give your body time to rest and heal. The sooner you give your body the break it needs, the more quickly you will return to 100%.

Your body is a marvelous creation! 

It speaks to you when it’s doing great, and it also speaks to you when things aren’t so wonderful. That’s the magnificent beauty of it – your body shares messages to let you know it’s in need of something so you can do what’s necessary to achieve optimal health.

Paying attention to your body’s signals is a crucial part of maintaining good health! Remember that you rely heavily on your body to support you through the ins and outs of daily life, so it's important to show it love and respect! Listen to your body’s signals and act accordingly!  

 

Show your body gratitude, not attitude! 

To Your Health,

Adrienne