My journey to a vegan diet (Part1)

Hi everyone and welcome to my first ever blog post! 

In the coming weeks I want to tell you my personal story, explaining my health over the last 15 years and how I came to wholeheartedly follow a vegan diet. Following that I will share recipes that I have created and recommend places to eat and fantastic vegan produce sellers that all cater for a plant-based diet.

In 2006 I started suffering severe attacks of dizziness, completely out of the blue and with no real reason why. The whole room would spin uncontrollably around me, and the attacks would come on suddenly, with no warning.  It could happen during the day or wake me from sleep during the night.  These spinning phases would last an average of 4 to 6 hours, in which time if I was to open my eyes it would make me feel so nauseous I would immediately vomit.  Quite often even with my eyes closed I would still feel the room flying around me, causing me to be sick and my temperature would go from one extreme to the other. The only solution was to lie as still as I could, in a dark room trying to sleep it off.  Once the spinning stopped, I would be left with the most horrible of headaches lasting up to 2 days and would feel totally wiped out and exhausted for the next week or so. These sudden attacks would happen frequently for the next few years. The hardest part was the not knowing when they would happen. Thankfully it would mostly be when I was at home, but could also occur whilst out with friends or family.

I didn’t consult a doctor until I’d had a few of these episodes, believing it to be just some sort of bug.  After a few months of feeling anxious and down I did go to the doctor, as they didn’t seem to be going away.  At first, my GP was unsure what it was, then after a few months of them continuing to investigate, they decided to refer me to an Ear, Nose, and Throat department. I had various hearing tests and it was found that I had lost a considerable amount of hearing in my left ear.  They also checked my balance and concluded I was suffering with Meniere’s Disease: a disorder of the inner ear, affecting balance, hearing, and causing acute attacks of vertigo. I was also diagnosed as suffering with migraines on top of this! 

I was put on medication aimed at preventing these bouts occurring, and given some tablets to place against my gum, (for a slow release into my system), when one did begin. These were to try and prevent a full-blown attack. I continued to get problems on and off but felt to a degree the medication had helped. With hindsight I now believe it was just a case of mind over matter and I don’t think they were helping at all.

During the next few years, I would begin to start suffering with considerable Tinnitus in my left ear, which would worsen just before a dizzy episode. The Tinnitus acted as a warning of what was to come…  The hearing loss in that ear also deteriorated, dropping to around 20% functioning capacity.  I spent more time going back and forth to the hospital to see doctors telling them how I was still suffering with the problems and asking for help.  I was told this would be something I would have to learn to live with.  The main problem was that my GP and Doctor at the hospital could never see me when I was in the middle of an attack as I was too ill to get to them.  When they eventually could see me, it had worn off, leaving me with just the headache. 

For several years, I tried my best to live with my condition, changing certain aspects of my life to see if this would help at all: I gave up alcohol and started exercising more. The Doctor at the hospital even succumbed to my constant requests to try a hearing aid in my left ear.  I felt it was worth giving a go, believing maybe the loss of hearing was somehow unbalancing me and was the root of my problems.  Initially this did help, but after a year or so of wearing it, I made the decision to not use it anymore as attacks were still happening on a regular basis. I also suffered with depression for a period, due to my constant worry of when a dizzy attack might happen – quite often coming on when I was out with my wife and our twins, born just over a year after the problems started.  I really struggled at that point, especially as I feel I am a positive person, who always tries to help others and enjoy life as much as possible. 

Then, in 2011 on a family holiday to Florida I forgot to take my medication whilst away – I am not sure why this happened but can only put it down to being so relaxed and enjoying my break, that it just completely slipped my mind.  I’m not one for taking tablets all the time and the fact I was feeling quite good, helped me to decide to stop taking them permanently.  Amazingly the bouts of giddiness stopped for nearly a year or more – I was so pleased and felt that I would finally not have to worry about sudden dizziness attacks.  How wrong I was. Whilst at work early one morning I turned round and suddenly, the whole building was whirling round and round.  I knew it had come back and I needed 2 of my work colleagues to carry me out of the workplace and take me home.  I vomited on and off for about 6 hours before it finally receded and I slept for hours after.  The following week I was completely exhausted and wiped out.  I began to take my medication again and life continued as it had before, with ‘out of the blue’ attacks plaguing me for the next 6 years. 

At the beginning of 2018 a chance coincidence happened; my wife was cutting the hair of one of her clients, Aly – during their conversation it became apparent that Aly’s husband had also been having uncannily, similar dizziness attacks and symptoms. Little did I know then that this conversation would begin a change in my lifestyle and result in me feeling the best I have for years. 

The next part of my blog will begin when I met with Aly’s husband Ian, and what I did next…