I fought a health battle and won. You can, too.
A mid-vacation trip to the emergency room was the turning point. I woke up with an angry, itchy, painful rash covering my body from head to toe. All stemming from medication for a simple toothache.
It was finally the beginning of the end. The wake-up call to get to work and get this figured out. Not a doctor I had been to had been able to help me so far. I was going to have to help myself.
Here’s how it all went down.
About 12 years ago…
I began to gain weight. Like overnight. I became achy all over, my stomach made these weird noises all the time, and I had practically no energy.
I went to my doctor and got tested. And then re-tested. And then more testing. And finally, they put me on thyroid medication and high doses of vitamin D. This changed basically nothing.
In fact, things got progressively worse.
I began experiencing devastating weight swings—as much as ten pounds in one weekend depending on what I ate.
After begging, crying, and pleading with my doctor to test me for food allergies, he agreed. The results said I was sensitive to wheat, gluten, eggs, cow’s milk, yeast, almonds, walnuts, and red kidney beans. “Just eliminate these foods and you’ll be fine.”
I was shocked and completely freaked out. Those ingredients are in almost everything. What in the world was I going to do? I felt so lost. My doctor offered no solutions, no guidance, no nothing. I was on my own.
It was going to take some time and energy to figure out how to eliminate these things from my diet and still be able to eat. Much less enjoy anything.
Over the next year, I gained 25lbs, my thyroid never balanced, and the food sensitivities continued to not only increase, but changed to whatever I was eating.
I had always been physically fit – I worked out with a trainer, did a lot of yoga, and had maintained my weight since high school. Gaining 25 pounds and hardly being able to get out of bed was not only a physical blow but a blow to my psyche as well.
It was really depressing.
Take this and don’t call me in the morning.
Enter doctor number two. He saw nothing wrong, said to maintain the status quo, and prescribed Lexipro so I could “feel better.”
But I was fed up. I had to do something about this.
I knew there was something wrong and I was determined to figure it out on my own. I did a deep dive into food as medicine and began to really evaluate and eliminate chemicals and processed foods from my diet and lifestyle.
Eliminating gluten, dairy, and all of the things on my ever-morphing sensitivity list enabled me to “band aid” my situation and keep the issue a standstill, but I still couldn’t lose weight and my thyroid never balanced.
And then…
In 2015 I was I was given an antibiotic for a toothache which resulted in a severe reaction, a trip to the emergency room, three rounds of oral steroids, and a steroid shot.
I was at my wits end. Something had to give – I simply could not live my life like this anymore. I reluctantly went to yet another new doctor.
But this doctor retested my food allergies and did a comprehensive pathogen stool sample. I was diagnosed with H.pylori and SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth).
The good news was that I now knew what I was dealing with – I could literally hear the angels singing when my doctor gave me the diagnosis!
We did several types of treatments, both antibiotic and holistic. My diet was a huge player in this process, but by this time I had figured out what an impact diet, lifestyle and stress levels can have on our bodies and how much of it is, in fact, directly within our control.
Finally.
Over the course of a year and with each round of treatment, I felt better and better. My weight dropped with each doctor visit, minor aches and pains that I had never even associated with my condition went away, the inflammation in my body was reduced, my blood sugar dropped, my cholesterol improved, my food reactivity pretty much went away, and, most importantly, my thyroid normalized.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I learned from this experience, not only regarding nutrition and what we put in our bodies, but how critical it is to approach our health as a whole and not just parts.
Our bodies are very wise and are always doing everything they can to keep us alive, but it is up to us to provide it with the tools it needs to achieve optimal health.
Today.
And that’s how I got to where I am today. Soon after this diagnosis and treatment, I began a three year certification program in advanced nutrition at the highly regarded Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver, Colorado.
I had so many friends experiencing the same issues I became determined to help them avoid the pain and suffering I had been through.
And now I am here to help you battle your nutrition demons as well.
They lurk everywhere—in our kitchens, in our bathrooms, on the store shelves, and even in our minds. I struggled to find my way on my own but you don’t have to and I don’t want you to.
If you were thinking “I’m experiencing the same things!” as you read this, I have programs that will help you break free of all those things—just like I did.
The weight gain, achy joints, lack of energy, poor sleep, low libido, tired skin, and the list could go on.
Imagine what it would feel like to remedy symptoms like those sans pills. It’s possible!
