My health story begins 6 weeks after I had my daughter Ariya. I started experiencing severe bloating, gas, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, nausea, severe fatigue and brain fog. I thought I had some odd stomach virus. When this “virus” lasted for a month I was so utterly confused as to what was going on with my body. Here I was a healthy 24 year old or so I thought.. It seemed like my body had started having allergic reactions to anything I ate. No matter what I ate it seemed to make me sick to my stomach almost immediately after consuming it. So after a few months of having this mystery illness I seeked out medical help from a professional doctor who dealt with stomach issues a gastroenterologist in the area where I was living. He told me from the sounds of it he thought I had irritable bowel syndrome. I was new to what this was when I was younger I knew a girl who got constipated quite a bit and she claimed she had ibs. But besides that I hadn’t really heard much about this condition.
Apparently irritable bowel syndrome had two forms irritable bowel syndrome c which means you get constipated often and irritable bowel syndrome d which means well… yeah we know what the d stands for…. the poops 24/7. I was blessed to be enjoying this lovely condition in the form of the d and all it’s glory. I was afraid to leave the house I never knew when my condition would decide to rear it’s ugly head. Nothing I did seemed to help. I went to the internet and became obsessed with searching for irritable bowel syndrome natural cures. I discovered that diet had a lot to do with my condition. I began to eliminate gluten and noticed immediately that I felt better. I was still having issues but this helped me at least control my stomach a little bit.
I dove into the paleo diet and noticed only a slight improvement..I was on this diet for a year until I started adding back some gluten free grains. I had way more energy with some rice or corn so I kept eating this way. I ate so many eggs every day as well they were a staple in my paleo ish diet. I read and read and read some more, anything I could find about curing IBS naturally I read. We moved to California and I seeked out someone to help me more with diet. This woman was a nutritionist and was very fond of the gaps diet. I learned some detox protocols from her like drinking warm lemon water every morning to jump start digestion. I learned about epsom salt baths and their detoxifying benefits. I even learned about how toxic cleaning supplies and tap water could be. I have to give her credit for pointing me in the right direction when it came to my issues. Little did I know more health issues would start.
Shortly after arriving in CA I began being super super itchy like ridiculously itchy to the point that I was rubbing my skin raw. I always struggled with yeast infections but this time it wasn’t in that area it was in an even more embarrassing region. My bum itched like crazy 24/7 I had no idea what was going on with this new symptom. So again… I went to researching. I had all the signs of candida overgrowth. I just knew that was what was going on with me. I tried weaning off sugar which was a battle and a battle I still face today. Lots of binging on sugar then going cold turkey. But I did notice it helped with the itch some. I also started suspecting I had a parasite as I had all the symptoms associated with one as well.
I started having extremely bad heart burn with everything I ate so another fun symptom to be experiencing. I looked into it a little and eliminated night shades and that helped immensely. I seeked out yet another nutrtional therapist to help me on my journey. I learned even more from him then I did the first lady. He let me know through some testing that I had a severe gut inflammation. He told me that I needed tests done that he couldn’t do so he urged me to find a practitioner to help with that. Off I went to my first functional medicine practitioner. This man was clearly in it just for the money gave me a bunch of supplements and sent me on my way =(. Disappointed and wasting alot of money I decided to research another practioner in my area. This man and his team seemed to really be on it. They had me do several tests in which I found out I had severe adrenal fatigue ( I still have this) and a parasite. ( I still have this as well). I also found out I had an egg allergy. I was so upset about this allergy I love eggs! The practitioner wanted me to quit breastfeeding so he could treat the parasite with antibiotics. I wasn’t cool with that so I searched for yet again someone to help once we moved to Wisconsin.
I read some more online and realized that 80% of people who have ibs actually in all reality have SIBO- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. I knew this was what I had. I wanted that SIBO test and I wanted it soon. I also wanted another candida test as the one I took tested negative. I found that hard to believe… So here I am now I just saw my third functional medicine practitioner and I think she’s the one who can really help me. She agreed with me that SIBO was more then likely an issue for me I have taken the hydrogen breath test and am awaiting results. I’m waiting to hear back from the company of the candida test as the test requires you to limit water for 24 hours which isn’t the greatest idea while breastfeeding. But hopefully soon I can figure out a balance of water to drink while doing this test and find out my results for candida.
Once my test results come back I will meet with the practitioner again and figure out my treatment plan. I’ve waited 4 years to get better. I can’t wait to start it’s been a very long 4 years of poor health. I often hear I’m too young to be this sick and well… I couldn’t agree more. I’ve learned so much over the course of my sickness and I can’t wait to learn more so I can help others who are suffering.
❤ Jessica Continue reading The start of my health’s downward spiral…
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