Trust Your Gut

Yesterday I went to my post-operation check up. My surgeon asked how I was doing (feeling great), if I was taking it easy (ummmm, can you define “easy”), and if I’ve tested out the system with pizza (no, lasagna). I got a big check mark of health and my scars (there are 4) are healing okay. Then came the pathology report.

“Well, it says here that you had chronic inflammation and stones. I’m glad you made the decision to have us proceed. You must have been in some pain for a long time.”

I so badly wanted to say, “No sh*t Sherlock” but I refrained. He’s a nice man. Neither the swelling nor stones showed up on the ultrasound before the surgery, so forcing him to take my money and remove my gall bladder was strictly my doing. Woo Hoo – I’m not a crazy hypochondriac! And it’s not just A) stress, B) too much junk food, or C) too much liquor in college. Okay, I’ll give you the stress, but otherwise I eat a lot of organic foods and, believe it or not, didn’t drink in college, not even much pop.

What this is telling me and you is that as women we have a 6th sense and we need to follow it. Call it women’s intuition, gut feelings, instinct, para-normal, mother nature, whatever….we all know we have the ability to tune in and we need to pay heed to it more often. I knew there was something wrong with my body and I had to go to the extreme surgery to prove it.

I believe that sometimes we become so strong on the outside, especially to others looking at us, that we forget to pay attention to our insides. Not just our physical, but mental and emotional too. As you are reading this, start at the top of your head and work down, asking yourself “How does this feel?” Make an inventory of yourself. When you are done, make some appointments to correct/discover what isn’t right. If you regular doctor isn’t helpful, try an alternative. Be sure your hormones are level, your back is aligned, and your body is detoxed. Those three things are your solid foundation.

Trust yourself! You know you the best. There is no trophy for being in pain the longest, whether physical or emotion. It doesn’t make you a better mother or woman. I am learning the hard way about taking care of myself first, so if you can learn from my mistakes, all the better. I am rewarding myself tomorrow with a concert by Stephen Lynch. I plan to laugh for hours and flood my body with good, healing endorphins. Cheers to the power of laughter!!