It wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, I felt terribly guilty. I even called my husband at work and cried about it. But in the end, it was the right path for me to take, at least for right now….and I’m OK with that.
I decided to go vegan after taking the Veganuary challenge in January 2019. I’ll be honest, the giving up meat part was easy. In fact, I stopped eating meat prior to Christmas 2020 before I even started the challenge. I had been what I call a “failed vegetarian” several times before, once in high school, once in college and once after I had my first daughter. So, I was familiar with giving up meat…just not dairy and eggs.
Surprisingly, being the former “poster child” for cheese, I seemed to have more trouble giving up eggs during the challenge. As someone who delighted at the receipt of cheese balls from Hickory Farms as a kid, I couldn’t believe how easily I gave it up.
I eventually gave up the eggs too and decided to stick with a vegan diet. I continued eating this way for 2 1/2 years until I switched back to vegetarianism.
So, why did I switch?
I can’t remember exactly when, but it all started around the 2-year mark.
It began with depression. I would cry everyday…for no reason. I would call my husband and tell him I was sad and I didn’t know why. I would cry randomly and my children had no idea why. I felt so sad, but had no idea what was causing it.
Then the blurred vision started. I’m legally blind in one eye as it is without my contacts so when I couldn’t see with them in, I became concerned.
I went to the eye doctor and he said my prescription was the same.
I thought for sure I must have been going crazy. Everything was soooo blurry.
Next came the brain fog. I already have ADHD but this was like ADHD on steroids.
I was so confused, I kept forgetting what I was doing from moment to moment, leaving tasks started and going on to the next one all while feeling totally disoriented and disorganized more so than before.
Then came the dizziness. I literally almost went down in aisle 9 one day at Publix.
That’s when it was determined that I had a B12 deficiency. Now this didn’t make sense to me because I took B12 supplements. And I ate nutritional yeast…lots of it. And my multivitamin also had B12 in it.
Why wasn’t anything working?
For some reason, I was no longer able to absorb B12 from supplements. Research suggests it could be related to having had COVID-19 or might be due to the hormonal medication I take to manage the debilitating pain of endometriosis, adenomyosis, polyps, fibroids and cysts (which has been totally under control thanks to the meds). Apparently, a little-known side effect of this medication is the depletion of B vitamins.
The *research shows that taking this medication over extended periods of time can increase these effects. And I had been taking this medication since 2017.
Everything seemed to be fine and then suddenly, for some reason, my body wouldn’t continue to absorb B12 from supplements.
I am not sure if B12 injections would have helped the absorption process, but they are pricey and I have a fear of needles (let’s just say getting my COVID vaccine wasn’t a walk in the park), so I’m not the right candidate for routine shots.
So, now I was left with the choice of introducing foods containing B12 or stopping the medication and seeing if that helped. I seriously considered going off my meds. I wanted to stay vegan for the animals and for the environment. When I told my husband this, he thought I was crazy. Going off my meds would cause me excruciating pain and uncontrollable bleeding.
So I reluctantly made the decision to reintroduce eggs and dairy. In just days, I saw improvement, and now after a few months, I am feeling so much better.
The blurred vision is gone, the brain fog and general sense of disorientation is gone, and the depression has gotten much better. I am not crying every day and feel happy again!
Perhaps one day when I am off the meds after I’ve gone through menopause, I can try a vegan diet again.
For now, I realized I can still make a difference as a vegetarian and it’s important to take care of my health for not only myself, but also my husband and children.
*Citation: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-birth-control-pills-affect-your-nutritional-needs/