"One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began."
-Mary Oliver
I can still remember my first trip to the hospital when I was 10 years old. I was doubled over with stomach pain and diarrhea. I was no stranger to either but this time was different. I had become dehydrated and the pain would not relent. There were many tests that followed that must have been designed in dark basements with an evil scientist! After much poking and prodding I was diagnosed with IBS. That diagnosis made very little difference in my daily living or eating. It seemed that there was no rhyme or reason to the pain and nothing helped with what became chronic diarrhea. When I was 12 I started to suffer with migraines that were at times debilitating. I just accepted that this was how my body was and there was nothing I could do about it. I suffered through all of high school and college. A night out with friends always caused anxiety about how my stomach would react after dinner. Would I be in pain? Would I be able to find a bathroom? When a bathroom was available the prayers for a good flushing toilet would fill my every thought. My college years also brought quite a few kidney stones and kidney infections. The migraines, stomach, and kidney problems were treated as separate issues with no underlying causes and with a slew of medications to make "it" better. Unfortunately, this just became normal and by the time I was graduating from college and getting married I had fully accepted this type of lifestyle.
Shortly after I got married and had our first child, my health started to really decline. When My son was 6 months old I found myself unable to function on a normal level. I finally went to see a doctor and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. This is like having a bipolar thyroid. It can't decide whether to underwork or overwork. I could eat a steady diet of lettuce and still gain insane amounts of weight. I started a daily regimen of thyroid medication that had me back to functioning on a "normal" level. I was still having chronic diarrhea, migraines, stomach pain, kidney stones and now I was starting to have unexplained panic attacks and at times terrible muscle pain and weakness. By the time I had our third child I had also had 3 miscarriages. I became obsessed with trying to figure out what was wrong with me. I saw every specialist that I could find. I was keeping a growing list of health problems and started begging God to heal me. I received every diagnosis known to man. Everything from Lupus to MS, fibromyalgia, and even depression. By the time I was 30 the health issues were at their all time high.
Migraines
heart palpitations
miscarriages
low vitamin absorption
thyroid disease
confusion
muscle pain/weakness
chronic diarrhea
constant yeast infections
depleted hormone levels
panic attacks
joint swelling and redness
fatigue...To name a few
For all the issues I was having, I rarely missed a beat. I refused to lay in my bed and give into whatever "this" was. I was discouraged when others wrote off my symptoms due to stress and depression. I remember the day that I told God that I was finished searching for my true diagnosis, that I was going to live with gratitude for that day, one day at a time, even if it meant that I would never know what was wrong with this earthly body. Not long after I went for my yearly womanly doctor appointment where I was told that my blood work showed that I had no testosterone. This was a shock to my dr. and she recommended me to come in for weekly testosterone shots to bring it back to normal. After she listed facial hair and a deepening voice as side effects I started searching for an alternative to this treatment. Thanks but no thanks! My sister had just recently had a positive experience with a compound pharmacist so I thought I would give it a try. Keeping my promise to God I went to her with the intent to only treat my hormone imbalance. However, God had a much bigger plan. After a very thorough health assessment by that pharmacist, she suggested that I might have Celiac disease. This was a completely new word and diagnosis to me. I was very weary and put very little weight into her recommendation. I humored her by agreeing to refrain from wheat for 2 weeks to see if I noticed any health benefits. Within 3 days I had complely normal bowels for the first time in 20 years! Shortly after the 2 week experiment I had a biopsy to confirm that I in fact did have Celiac disease. I began to eat a gluten free diet and saw some major differences in my health. My migraines became much less frequent, my muscle pain got better, I had seasons where my diarrhea was managable. It seemed that God had answered my prayers and I was on the road to health and wholeness.
After a couple of years on the gluten free diet I was better but not whole. I still had some very concerning symptoms that seemed to have no clear cause. I was almost completely vitamin deficient, still having some severe gut issues, my hormones were still quite imbalanced and I lacked the energy to maintain this active life that God had blessed us with. I went in for a routine colonoscopy where my gastro doctor found some serious inflammation in a section of my colon that was worrisome to her. She explained that this characteristic of Crohn's disease. She went on to tell me that it is quite rare to have both Celiac and Crohn's. The fact that I had undiagnosed Celiac for so long this inflammation could be from all the damage that it caused to my gut. The only way to know for sure would be to start an intense regimen of antibiotics, steroids and even a form of chemo to get rid of this inflammation. If it were to return after this treatment it would be likely that I would be diagnosed with Crohn's as well. She began to go down the long list of side effects of these medications that she was suggesting. To say that I had a mild breakdown in her office would be an understatement. I was tired of being sick and tired. I was tired from the long list of diagnosis and medications. I begged her for an alternative. She started to tell me about a very restrictive diet that has had some success in patients with Celiac, Crohn's and Ulcerative colitis. She said she doesn't recommend it often because it requires "fanatical adherence." She told me how many people are not capable of sticking to it and therefore their bodies don't heal. That's all she had to say to me. I assured her I was hard headed and if I decided to do this I would do it right! I came home and immediately began to research and plan the next year of health and wholeness.
Although I was hopeful and excited about an alternative to these medications, it was with a very heavy heart that I committed to a year of self sacrifice and denial. I had to look at my habits and idolatry head on and surrender it all. Even as I type those words, it sounds ridiculous that food had that place in my life. That I would even consider taking a mouthful of pills just so I could eat some sugar seems foreign to me now. It was a long tearful two weeks before I plunged headfirst into this diet, that would soon become a lifestyle. I was encouraged by husband and other close friends in recovery who choose to refrain from their drug of choice in order to live a life of wholeness. It was my turn to see that my "drug" of choice was making me sick and unhealthy. I prepared my friends and family, I threw out half of my household groceries, and put on my big girl panties!
I started the Specific Carbohydrate Diet at the end of August 2014 and in December of the same year I took my first labs. My labs came back perfect for the first time in over 12 years. My vitamin absorption was spot on and my inflammation levels were at a completely normal rate. My thyroid medication was greatly reduced and I was for the first time at a normal body weight. This lifestyle change has allowed my gut to heal itself. I have completely normal bowels for the first time since I was 10 and I have energy to keep up with my family. I have started a yoga practice which has helped me to focus on my body and spirit and how the two actually are connected. I now have a healthy relationship with food and understand its place to nourish my body. I experience almost no symptoms of sickness or disease. I am looking forward to a long life of eating good food and fully enjoying the community that God has given me.
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