Robyn’s issues began with what she thought was a pinched nerve as a result of a surfing accident that had broken her nose.
Over time, parts of her body on her right hand side began to go numb until it reached the point that her whole right side was numb from the neck down.
After going to her Chiropractor, he suspected that her symptoms may have been neurological, especially given that her Father has MS.
Robyn went to the Hospital and insisted on waiting to get an MRI which showed some lesions on her spine. For a definitive diagnosis, she needed another MRI of her brain, but she was not considered an “urgent case”.
In order to get the diagnosis that she needed, Robyn had to stay alone over night on a gurney in the Hospital’s hallway so she wouldn’t lose her place and could get the MRI in the morning.
As she lay on the gurney, social media kept her company through the night. After searching for hashtags about MS, Robyn saw post after post from people with MS who were in pain, losing mobility, confined to wheelchairs and the fear began to rise.
Then she found the hashtag MS warrior from people who were living with MS but attempting to improve the quality of their lives and heath which gave her the hope she needed and inspired Robyn to make the gradual shift from MS Warrior to MS Thriver.
The MRI next morning showed over 20 active lesions that satisfied the McDonalds criteria for a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.
At first, Robyn felt that she had to prove that she was stronger than MS so pushed herself hard to complete 20 running races but realised that this attitude was harming, rather than helping her. Especially as overheating causes all of her MS symptoms to come back.
There is a theory that type A personalities who are high achievers, push themselves hard and have perfectionist traits, tend to develop autoimmune disease. Robyn defines herself as an Alpha woman and has many big goals for herself. For her to be able to achieve all of her dreams and ambitions needs a commitment of taking care of herself in a happy and healthy way.
I loved this discussion with Robyn and I know you will too. She has so much great information to share.
Have a listen on the blog here or search and subscribe to the Emotional Autoimmunity Podcast on iTunes, Spotify and most podcast players.
Robyn Baldwin is the founder of Autoimmune Thriving and an MS Thriver. Her mission in life is to empower those living with an autoimmune disease to thrive and not just survive. Autoimmune Thriving includes yoga retreats, an online program on healing and a treatment fund for those in need of holistic healing assistance.
Robyn lives in Ottawa with her husband and 2 fur babies. She is a full-time Digital Marketing Director, a health & lifestyle blogger at RobynBaldwin.com, the author of Love Lost, Life Found, a yoga teacher, the host of the Alpha Female Podcast and a passionate Essential Oil Educator. She loves weight lifting, running, yoga and making seasonal bucket lists. After being diagnosed with MS in 2014 and starting out on a new health journey she’s transitioned from being an MS Warrior battling an auto-immune disease to an MS Thriver and living well with the health sidekick.
Links:
Website: https://robynbaldwin.com/
Autoimmune Thriving Website: https://autoimmunethriving.com/
Autoimmune Thriving IG: https://www.instagram.com/autoimmunethriving/
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Episode 19. Kirstie Howard: Hashimoto’s, endometriosis, infertility and IVF.