Listen to Your Gut
For the last few years, I’ve struggled with stomach issues. I knew as I got older, that things would start to change and need some fine-tuning, but this one came at me like a lightning bolt. You have more nerve endings in your stomach than you do in your spinal cord, and the gut is often referred to as the “second brain.” So I started my journey of figuring out what the hell is going on.
I thought maybe it was a food sensitivity, so I did the EverlyWell food sensitivity test. Results were inconclusive and in my opinion - a waste of money. I then started to do some food elimination, bye gluten, bye dairy, bye nightshades. The elimination phase was a pain. What can I say, I’m a big sucker for cheese and carbs. As I finished it, I did feel better but not completely. I reintroduced food back in one by one, and felt like my energy started to go down a little when I brought gluten back in. Some bloating with dairy. But was still hard to pin point what it was.
As someone who thirsts for knowledge, I thought, “I’ll just become a nutritionist and learn as much as I can about all food and the body.” That’s excactly what I did. 6 months, later, I became a NASM Certified Nutritionist. With a stronger understanding of the body, I knew that my stress levels as someone who has Generalized Anxiety Disorder were always going to be higher than others and needed to bring in stress management tools. Belly breathing, meditation, and body scanning were nonnegotiables on a daily basis. Charlotte’s Web Calm CBD Gummies along with my anti-anxiety meds were always in my back pocket. With still not feeling my best, I decided to pull in a Western medicine point of view six years into my journey.
I spent more time and money on specialists and tests and procedures. Through a breath test, they thought I had a rare genetic immune deficiency called CSID. Since insurance wouldn’t cover the medication that costs around $10k per month without insurance, I then had to get an upper endoscopy. Results came back normal. That then prompted a colonoscopy at the age of 35 to dig depper. Resulted came back normal with some mild inflammation. So naturally my diagnosis was “stress-induced IBS.” Sexy, right? My fear after speaking with many people was a blanket diagnosis of IBS because the doctor couldn’t figure it out. He gave my a prescription for SIBO and said that, “this will reset your gut and that’s kind of all we can do.”
Obviously, that wasn’t going to cut it for me. Having been a yoga teacher for nearly a decade, I’m not afraid to explore Eastern medicine and ways of thinking. Luckily one of my students at TruFusion was seeing this Chinese Medicine women, Shannon, and I immediately booked an appointment for acupuncture and herbal remedies. When I say I got more out of this one session than any other BS doctor appointment - that’s the understatement of the century. We had conversations on how there are two types of SIBO, we had conversations about energy lines and how they relate to my symptoms, we went after every tummy-related spot with acupuncture needles, did a food sensitivty test, and chatted about digestive enzymes. I felt something I haven’t felt with any Western medicine doctor - peace. My body felt like it had been reset the next day from the inside out. I felt like I got a missing piece back. Now there will be many more follow up sessions, and conversations to be had - but I felt like “now we’re getting somewhere.”
At the end of the day, if you feel like something is “off” or a certain type of medical route isn’t working for you - remember that you are in control of your body, mind, and spirit. You get to choose what works for you and what doesn’t. Get out of your head, and listen to your gut. It’s never wrong.
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I’m including links to Shannon’s website if you’re experiencing similar gut-related symptoms, if you’re stressed, or if you feel out of whack. I’m also including a link to Charlotte’s Web CBD Calm Gummies, as they have definitely helped take the stress-edge off throughout the day.