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[psychdiva]

I haven't felt healthy for several years - not "sick" but not entirely well either. Between an autoimmune disorder and major depression, I almost always feel as if I have to push myself pretty hard to get through the day. I vaguely recall a time, 8-10 years ago, when everything didn't feel so effortful and I had more zest. Now, I'm recommitting myself to taking better care of my health: adequate sleep, more nutritious diet, exercise, etc...but I'm wondering, what does health feel like when you have it?

[rubygirl]

First of all, psychdiva, (((hugs))).  That's a lot to deal with.

When I'm feeling healthy, I feel alert and I have the energy to do the stuff I want to do.  I spent several years in depression without realizing it.  I remember when I first started my medication and I was like, "Oh my God, I haven't felt this way in ten years.  I had forgotten."

I don't *always* feel that good.  But I feel considerably better, almost all the time, than I did before.

When I am healthy, I am *aware*, as opposed to walking around in a fog.  And I enjoy how my body feels.

(wow...I think this thread is motivating me toward healthy behavior...)

[t_s_o_p]

When you're healthy you don't notice that you feel well. You take it for granted most of the time. The only time I recall being really truly aware of feeling healthy was immediately after recovering from a cold or the flu.

That's not entirely true. I've had constant back pain for long stretches of time in the past. The past two years have been almost entirely pain free, and I do pause every once in a while to appreciate how effortless ordinary activities are compared to how difficult they can be when you're in pain.

[daurousseau]

You might want to get a complete cardiac workup to see if there's something veering away from the norm there. Heart disease can sneak up on you, disguised in some of the ways you describe.

[secretweapon]

To me, feeling healthy means having lots of energy and feeling motivated to do things.  I find that exercising frequently (I like walking and cycling) is a huge factor in how healthy I feel. 

[glowdart]

I've had some chronic problems as well, and healthy for me was often when I did recognize that I felt well -- only after a few years of feeling well most of the time did I start to not notice feeling well and instead noticed feeling unwell.   

Health:
Sleeping through the night.
Waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed and calm.
Not needing caffeine to feel the brain click on (or only needing one cup of coffee).  Certainly not needing a steady stream to remain functional. 
Craving healthy food/ feeling satisfied while eating healthy food.
Not craving vast quantities of crap or chemicals. 
All bodily functions working, without pain or puss.
No limitations (within reason) on activities.
Reasonable stress levels to prevent the early morning crispness upon waking from dissipating. 

[psychdiva]

You might want to get a complete cardiac workup to see if there's something veering away from the norm there. Heart disease can sneak up on you, disguised in some of the ways you describe.

Check. I was even half hoping the doc would find something, so I could have a defined cause and interventions.

[msparticularity]

Your question made me think even more about mind/body stuff, Psychdiva. I struggled with such profound depression for so many years that it really overshadowed much of my adolescence and early adulthood. I can remember some years that were better than others, and I definitely was conscious that I was doing better and was thrilled about it, but those happened here and there--not regularly. I was in great physical shape then, and very active most of the time, but I was mostly conscious of the struggle.

In my thirties I began to get real help for the depression at about the same time the early wave of physical health issues started. The depression became more of a chronic but more manageable thing, while the "female problems" and what was probably borderline fibromyalgia ramped up. During that time my self-care deteriorated along with my energy, and I ate poorly and didn't exercise much.

Oddly enough, my self-care improved about the same time as I developed RA. I was able to improve my activity level, lose weight, eat well, and so on. When I'm not in a flare, I generally feel better than I think I ever have. I pay attention to depressive tendencies, but the depression is manageable and pretty readily managed. I also developed more understanding of how anxiety is tied into the depression for me, and that has helped still further.

I'm (I hope) beginning to come back from a particularly severe flare right now, so writing this has given me something to look forward to, actually :).

[veleda]

Funny you bring this up - I was just thinking about it today. I have some kind of iron absorption issue going on that my doctors can't figure out, and have just finished my ninth weekly IV infusion of iron (one more to go), and I feel so great I can't believe it! I mean real really great. I was having angina every day (I have heart disease) and taking nitroglycerin once or twice a day to just do normal things like hurry to catch the train, and now I have nothing. It's such a great feeling to not have to think about feeling lousy and allowing extra time to do things, etc.

I forgot what this was like, this energetic, motivated, happy feeling. I'm interested in doing things again, and my memory is back (that's huge for me - I hated feeling so foggy). That's what healthy feels like - awesome!

[groundhog]

Pyschdiva,

I too have an autoimmune disease (celiac and possibly Sjogrens). I'm hoping not to get any others. I've had low-level depression for years, but meds don't help.  Right after I was diagnosed with celiac, I felt like a million bucks.  Slept better, no anxiety, no stomach problems, didn't feel like I had been run over by a truck every morning.  But some stomach issues remain - even gluten free- and the healthy feeling isn't as strong.

I have less of that great feeling now but I have better energy than I did.  It would help if I didn't overwork myself.  But life happens.  Menopause (I'm 50), overweight.  I'm working out and losing weight. 

Best of luck to all those who have this problem. 

[psychdiva]

I too have an autoimmune disease (celiac and possibly Sjogrens). I'm hoping not to get any others.

It seems like I'm hearing from so many women about autoimmune diseases. Maybe it's just my/our age bracket but they do seem to be getting more common. Ugh. Modern life is, I think, bad for us.

[ideagirl]

I haven't felt healthy for several years - not "sick" but not entirely well either. Between an autoimmune disorder and major depression, I almost always feel as if I have to push myself pretty hard to get through the day. I vaguely recall a time, 8-10 years ago, when everything didn't feel so effortful and I had more zest.

Have you been tested for vitamin D deficiency? Very low levels of vitamin D can cause symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia (all-over pain, exhaustion, etc.), and borderline low levels basically give you a year-round case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder): depression, no energy, etc. And with people who live in sunny climes and get outside during the warm season, borderline-low vitamin D can just plain give them SAD--actual SAD, during the winter months.

I just got tested for vitamin D and had borderline low levels, so my doctor put me on 1000 I.U./day supplements (which are available without prescription at any Whole Foods or health food store), and voila--ZAP! My "zest" bounced back within a couple of days.

My doctor said, I forget the exact figures, but basically about 47% of white women in America have at least borderline low vitamin D, and 54% of black women (the numbers are higher for black women because they don't get as much D from the sunlight in these latitudes as white women do). So basically--HALF of all American women.

[ideagirl]

Oh, and did I mention the many additional benefits of getting your vitamin D levels up where they should be?
* Strengthens the immune system
* Enables your body to use the calcium you eat, thereby preventing bone thinning and eventual osteoporosis
* Scientifically shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer, breast cancer, and a few others
...etc. etc. etc....

[msparticularity]

Seconding (or thirding?) the Vitamin D recommendation. My rheumy told me that 800 IU/day is now the very conservative dose. I'm taking 1,000 IU/day, and I think it does help. I didn't have a sudden, "aha" moment, but a lot of changes including that one seemed to add up to a slow but steady improvement in my overall health.

[psychdiva]

I haven't felt healthy for several years - not "sick" but not entirely well either. Between an autoimmune disorder and major depression, I almost always feel as if I have to push myself pretty hard to get through the day. I vaguely recall a time, 8-10 years ago, when everything didn't feel so effortful and I had more zest.

Have you been tested for vitamin D deficiency? Very low levels of vitamin D can cause symptoms that are often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia

I just started D supplementation on the recommendation of my gyno and will get tested when I see my internist later this month. My gyno recommended it for bone health (lots of osteoporosis in my family) but if it helps with the blahs too, that would be great. I'm hypervigilant with sunscreen, which surely limits the amount of D I get from sunlight, not to mention that there is no sunlight in the midwest from November through March.

Can D be taken on an empty stomach?