This specialist is renowned in Zimbabwe as being top in his field and is usually booked up for months, but an exception was made due to the urgency of my condition. I could not have been referred to anyone more professional and outstanding! I was asked my entire medical history, to which I explained that in 2013 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome and high blood pressure, I was on medication for anxiety and that I have an underactive thyroid! I had also been suffering from headaches/migraines two to three times a week for the past two years and my eyes always felt as if they were on fire. I joked that I sounded like a box of Smarties with the amount of medication I took every morning but the specialist did not find this funny; I was told that this is extremely serious for someone my age, at only 27. I was asked if I had Googled my diagnoses, (I thought to myself, I love this Doctor, every other Doctor I have been too see thus far has told me not to Google my symptoms), and I replied to the specialist that I had, and that it was really a rather scary thing and that I could lose my eyesight if not treated on time.
After the consultation the specialist told me that in his opinion I had Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), but he first wanted to rule out any other possible problems. I was sent for an MRI scan to rule out any possibility that it could be a brain tumour. Chest X-Rays and blood samples were taken and I was checked from head toe, and all my tests came back perfectly normal, confirming that the specialist’s diagnosis of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) was correct. This a neurological condition of unknown cause defined by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) around the brain without the presence of tumour or disease.
It was explained that the only way to remove the pressure from my brain would be through the procedure of a lumbar puncture. I was admitted to the hospital that afternoon of the 19th of September and had the lumbar puncture procedure the following day.
The headaches that came after the procedure were crippling, I felt horrible! I was put on medication for IIH, and I suffered severely from the side effects of the drugs. When I went for a follow up with the specialist on the 25th September I informed him of these issues. He immediately called a colleague in Cape Town who advised him to take me off all the different medications for thyroid, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, anxiety and IIH.
The specialist explained that the only cure for my condition (IIH) would be to have several more lumbar punctures, that I had to lose 12kgs in weight as soon as I could (I was already seeing a nutritionist), with exercise every day, and that I must begin a new medication that had now been prescribed! He explained that these were harsh measures, but that once the pressure on my brain reduced to normal this condition would never come back.
Medication and weight loss seemed easy enough, but the thought of several more lumbar punctures made me want to cry. I continued as I was instructed, saw my Nutritionist and explained to her that I needed to lose 12kgs as fast as possible. She immediately cut all the carbohydrates out of my diet, and I then cut her meal plan back even further as I was not seeing results. I was not losing the weight and my eyes were getting worse. I was told to stop driving at night and felt like a real handicapped person! Life just felt like a huge big mountain on top of me! HUGE STRESS!!!!! I CAN’T AFFORD TO LOOSE MY EYESIGHT!! I was doing absolutely everything and anything I could and nothing was working!
Friends of mine then told me about a lady by the name of Jane Beunk, who practised a therapy called MyoReformation. They told me that it was similar to having a massage, and that I should go for at least four sessions with her as maybe it would help with my stress and possibly some of my other issues.
I started my treatment with Jane on the 3rd of October. I explained to her that I had been diagnosed with IIH, had had one lumbar puncture and that if no improvement was evident at my next eye tests on 22nd October I would have to have several more, starting with the second lumbar puncture on the 25th of October. Jane responded that “I don’t believe that you will need any more lumbar punctures! Let’s continue with Myoreformation twice a week and see what results we get!”
I’m not going to lie; I found the first four treatments rather painful! It was the furthest thing from what I thought a ‘massage’ would be, and I now know that MyoReformation bears no resemblance to massage and is far more effective. I did not realise the level of emotional taxation that it would dig up and release; emotional baggage I had been hanging on to for years, but Jane was amazing with me. I learned to relax and began to trust her, and to let go of my past that had been eating up inside of me and making me so sick!
Two weeks after beginning treatment with Jane massive bruising appeared across my back, right in the area where the lumbar puncture had been done. Jane explained that internal bruising is brought to the surface by MyoReformation and allowed to dissipate. This is far preferable to having deep-set, invisible, long term bruising restricting muscles and cardio and lymph flows.
On the 22nd of October I went for my check up with the ophthalmologist. She leaned in to check my eyes as before, which she spent a long time observing! She leaned back in her chair with a puzzled look on her face and then said “I just need to check your eyes again” before taking another long look. Baffled, the ophthalmologist said that she could not believe it, but my eyes were back to normal which was virtually impossible! She explained how amazed she was and that she had never seen anything like this before, and that all the damage to my eyes from the pressure build up in my brain and then to my optic nerves was gone! Amazingly no sign whatsoever of any remaining damage!
On the 25th of October I went to see the specialist and told him the amazing news from the ophthalmologist. He was ecstatic, as was I when he said that there was no more need for any further lumbar punctures!
I told the specialist about Jane and MyoReformation, which I suspected had very probably been the cure for my condition. He stated that as long as I was not taking any “funky herbal medication” he was happy, and that it did indeed seem that MyoReformation had worked for my condition.
I have been instructed by the specialist and ophthalmologist that I must continue to have regular eye check-ups for several months to make sure that the condition does not recur, and to keep taking my medication for a further six months, along with exercising and seeing Jane for MyoReformation.
MyoReformation has become MY transformation and has made me feel like an entirely NEW person. Apart from IIH I was constantly suffering from other aches and pains too, all over my body, but those are now a thing of the past. My knees in particular felt like those of an elderly person, but now they feel like my own again.
I have had no more migraines/headaches since I started MyoReformation and feel that this is the beginning of a new chapter for me, free of the aches and pains and the emotions of the past. I feel like I have a new lease and zest for life!
