My Wahls Protocol story is an interesting one, and one for which I am truly so thankful. I first discovered Dr. Terry Wahls several months ago when searching YouTube for help with my autoimmune stuff. I have multiple autoimmune diseases and was so very ill. I was desperate. I’d hit rock bottom SEVERAL times and had just suffered the loss of my beloved father who had been my rock and number one supporter forever. Over the past few years, I had put my own failing health on the back burner to try and manage Dad’s care. One of the last things he and I discussed before he got so bad and couldn’t communicate much anymore, was that he wanted me to try and find HELP for my condition. He wanted so badly for me to be able to get well enough to reclaim at least SOME of my former life, and/or to carve out a new one that wasn’t so bleak. After a kind of scary hospital stay in February 2023, I decided “Now’s the time” and I went to work, researching all over the internet.
Upon watching videos of Dr. Wahls, I was amazed that her story was nearly parallel to my own! She had been in a tilt/recline wheelchair, could not walk, etc… she was diagnosed with Progressive MS (which is what the doctors THOUGHT I had at first) which is an autoimmune disease, and I am diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases. She knew that if she didn’t get busy and try to find something to help her, she would end up losing her battle in a short time span, as this type of MS is the worst kind there is. She and her partner had two young children at the time and she wanted to see them grow up – I mean, who can blame her, right? So she went to work…
She came up with this protocol, did all the proper testing, research, studies, etc… and eventually, the MS organisations were on board with it when they saw how well it was helping her and all of the scientific research that backed it up. She went from the wheelchair to walking, cycling, and living a fairly active lifestyle once more (she had been active/sporty before she was taken ill). It blew me away to hear her story. I was also quite skeptical. I tend to be one of those “prove it to me or I’m not getting on board” people. 😂
I thought to myself – “What have I got to lose by trying this Wahls Protocol? It’s just FOOD, not some crazy snake oil cure!” So… I got her book and excitedly gobbled it up, page by page. I put myself on the protocol and have been quite strict with it. Well, within not quite two months, I was seeing more movement in my right leg – something I had not had in quite some time. My daily pain levels were decreasing. Inflammation was going down. My doctor did some blood tests and the results showed that my body was reaping the benefits of this protocol. When my father died, I weighed in at 295 pounds! Yes, that is a LOT! I had packed on about 120 pounds when I was laid up and bedbound for about 4.5 years, even though I was barely eating. My thyroid is a mess, and all of the other autoimmune diseases had added to the complexity of weight gain as well. Today, as I write this, just 4 months after going on the Wahls Protocol, I now weigh 256 pounds. I’ve lost nearly 40 pounds in 4 months. I still have more to go, but this is promising!
I still experience pain. I still experience flares. I still HAVE all of those autoimmune diseases and I always will. However, with the benefits that this nutrition protocol brings, it makes those things a bit more bearable. My flares are not as intensely painful as they were. I rarely take the narcotic pain meds anymore and mostly manage with CBD oil. My flares also don’t tend to last for weeks like they did before, but just a few days, as a rule.
The biggest thing is that I started physical therapy when I began noticing the movement in my right leg – nerves were reawakening! They are working with me and I am re-learning how to walk again – it’s a slow process, and I’m not off and running on my own just yet (they have a gait belt on me, I use a walker, and I have the PT hovering over me to make sure I don’t fall), but it is decidedly some very good progress!
I don’t know if I will ever experience the level of success that Dr. Wahls has had, but just to not be AS BAD as I was last year is HUGE to me. I am trying to remain hopeful, and can’t wait to see if any more positive changes happen for me in the future!
Okay, so this is beginning to sound like one of those hokey sales spiels you see on late-night television, so I will quit while I’m ahead – but I just wanted to explain why I am so passionate about Dr. Wahls and her Wahls Protocol. It’s life-saving stuff!
