My Journey of Spiritual Growth and Body Health
I’ve been absent for a while, distracted by daily life. Plus, my book on the connection between food and fibromyalgia, which I thought was ready for publication, still needs a great deal of editing to publish even as a PDF let alone a Kindle book. I don’t have the energy for that right now. This update is the result of one of my spirit guides telling me to write about my recent experiences.
At 3:50 am this morning (8/14/2025), I awoke with a need to pee. I sat up in bed and suddenly my equilibrium was gone. I was weaving around while sitting and it took a few seconds or a minute before my world righted itself. I rotated my shoulders and gently moved my head from side to side to make sure all was still steady. Then I tried to stand, and wow, that was scary. My muscles were weak and uncoordinated. I made it to the bathroom, did my business, and returned to bed, trying to sleep until 6 am. All the while, I prayed my equilibrium and muscle strength would return.
By 6 am, I was better, but still not independently functional and had to get my husband’s assistance to ensure I didn’t fall trying to get to the bathroom again.
This is a sudden change from yesterday. I had been improving after another bout of muscle weakness, and even did 30 minutes on the stationary bike followed by 14 minutes of core training, Pilates, and stretching. Then I had to rest for 3 hours to let my leg muscles recover.
Prior to my most recent episode of muscle weakness, I had been improving. I was walking 20-30 minutes almost daily, riding the stationary bike 20-30 minutes daily, and finishing with 15-20 minutes of core exercises, stretching, and Pilates. My body was getting strong again and I was trimming down.
Why the sudden change?
Then two and a half weeks ago I had a chiropractic adjustment with the same practitioner I’ve seen for 15-20 years. This adjustment, though, was a bit more forceful on my neck and low back. I didn’t say anything, and I should have. That was a Monday. By Tuesday afternoon, I suddenly had the sensation that my legs were about to give out. So I quickly made my way to the sofa where I relaxed for an hour. My muscles were still weak and unstable and I sensed a trip to the Emergency Department was in my future. I made my way to the bedroom to put on warmer clothes since it’s always cold in the ED of the hospital. That’s when I noticed the movement of changing clothes was causing tingling throughout my body – arms, hands, legs. I called my primary and spoke with the nurse who told me to go to the ED immediately.
Six hours later, after lab tests drawing 5 vials of blood, a urine test, a CAT scan of my neck and an X-ray of my low back, lumbar area, I was discharged with inconclusive results. Except the nurse practitioner agreed with me that I probably had pinched nerves in both the neck and lumbar areas, and only an MRI would show that. She ordered one for me since the hospital where I live did not have sufficient night technicians to allow use of the MRI machine except for emergency situations. My husband, who had been with me the whole time, took me home at 9 pm.
By Saturday, after a follow-up visit with a nurse practitioner affiliated with my primary doctor, I had an MRI of my spine from cervix to lumbar area. The results were in by the following Monday, but I didn’t look at the report, concentrating instead on doing what I could to improve. My husband pulled the rolling desk chair from his office which I used to roll around the house. Since I have full range of motion, moving while seated is easy. Standing and walking are challenging. I have found I am best in the mornings after a night of being stretched out in bed, making it possible to walk independently from room to room. However, by about 3 pm, the muscle weakness tends to worsen and I need to rest practically stretched out in a recliner.
Possible pinched nerves
I had a follow-up visit with a new internist this week Tuesday who confirmed that I have severe pinched nerves in several cervical areas which could be the cause of pain down my left arm. When I stretch the arm out to reach for something, it feels like the ligaments or tissues are tearing. It’s painful, and more painful on some days than on others. But I’ve continued to do exercises to try to relieve the neck pressure and stretch it out on either side based on physical therapy treatments I had a few months ago. Sometimes it helps. Other times, it aggravates the pain. Massaging the neck and shoulders helps as well.
The doctor also confirmed that while the MRI shows the whole spine, it did not include the sacrum area which likely is the cause of the muscle weakness in my legs. So she ordered that as well as a referral to a spine specialist. I’m now scheduled for the sacrum MRI today. Hopefully, that will confirm what I have been telling my doctors for 3-4 years …. that I think I have pinched nerves in the neck and the low back. I neglected to say sacrum, so no one thought to check that and only recommended physical therapy. That has helped, and certainly the core training I’ve been doing has helped to improve my balance. At least until this morning.
It’s now 7:20 am, and I am better able to walk briefly by myself or with my husband there to ensure I don’t fall. My equilibrium at least has stabilized. Turning my head doesn’t cause me to weave around while sitting although I sense my eyes and my brain aren’t totally in sync and there’s a minute pause between what I see and what my brain registers. Meanwhile, my shoulders are tight and my sacrum area hurts. But I’m 90% functional. Thankfully!