My Treatment Plan

The same day of my last episode, I decided to take action and call into a few doctors offices that I had been waiting to call. All were homeopathic and all came highly recommended. Well, the soonest appointment available with any of those doctors was in August. And the one I really wanted to see was out until October! I know time goes by so quickly, but I couldn’t wait until August to at least TRY to figure out what was going on by myself.

That day I was able to connect with one of my friends who is a Chiropractor. I had contacted him with some questions I had, but he asked me what was going on and told me he thought he could help. He has been wonderful and I’m so grateful for his interest and compassion. So, with his guidance I am trying a few things to get to the bottom of my symptoms.

Now, here is the disclaimer. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. I have done loads and loads of research and am full of information, but what I am doing is based on what I have learned and what my beliefs about my own condition are.

All I really know for sure right now is that my gut is unhappy. I have come to believe that a lot of our health really comes from our gut, so if its not functioning well we may see symptoms anywhere in our body.  I have a lot of ideas about what caused it, and I have a lot of ideas about what may help. So the only way to get to where I want to be is to take action. I have preached an ant-diet lifestyle in class after class since I graduated college, and I truly believe it. This is not a diet. I am trying to heal whatever is going on in my gut and from the research I have done its going to take some work. But, I am willing to sacrifice some pleasures now if it means I will be better off in the future.

About 6 weeks ago, after doing some research, I decided to cut out gluten. I had read that some researchers believe there may be a link between gluten sensitivity and gallbladder disease, so I figured it was worth a shot. I can genuinely say it was helping. I wasn’t feeling as sluggish and my stomach seemed more settled than it normally was. However, I experienced another episode in the midst of being gluten free, so to me that said that gluten was not the only piece of what was going on.

About a week ago I started a new supplement regimen. Right now I am taking enzymes before every meal, as well as a supplement that is supposed to kill off the bad bacteria in my gut. In another week or so, I will start a new pre and pro-biotic to build that flora back up again.

Here are the highlights of what I’m doing diet wise:

Can't Haves:

Added sugar

Lactose

Grains

Legumes

Can Haves:

Most fruits and veggies

Meat, poultry and fish

Most nuts and seeds

Healthy fats

Now like I said, this is based upon my own experience and my own research and the help of my friend. If you are familiar with Paleo or Whole 30 it is similar to those, but I’m not doing this to drop weight or challenge myself. It’s purely for health reasons. Trust me, I wouldn’t give up a sugar cookie if I didn’t have to.

I am about a week in right now, and I have to say it has been challenging. It’s almost like my body is throwing a tantrum that I am eating so clean. Like I said previously, I was a pretty healthy eater before, but I still loved a little chocolate or added sugar now and then…and doughnuts. Part of my reaction may be the supplement I am on also, but right now I am tired and a little bit grumpy and underfed. It’s hard to get enough to eat sometimes, but I am working on that-I just need to do a bit more prep work! I think I am headed in the right direction though, and that feels great! I don't know how long this regimen will be necessary, but my gut (no pun intended) tells me I will need to do it until my gut is healed, and right now there is no way to know how long that will take.

I will probably write more about this later, but if you too are struggling and looking for more insight here are some things to look into.

1. Leaky Gut: I had never even heard of this until a family member of mine was diagnosed with it recently, but it is fascinating. After doing some research I have come to believe that it may be what’s going on with me too. Hence the diet modifications. http://www.wholehealthchicago.com/2894/understanding-leaky-gut-syndrome/
2. The Standard American Diet: (ironic that the acronym is SAD). http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/07/24/opinion/sunday/20110724_SAD_Timeline.html?_r=0
3. Antibiotic use. I was on these constantly as a baby and we just didn’t know back then what they were capable of.                                             http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130703160623.htm
4. My friends and Chiropractors website.                                                        http://livingelevatedfmc.com

Some other things to consider if you have an un-diagnosed health condition that you are struggling with.

1. No one knows your body like you do or cares about it as much as you do.
2. Your symptoms aren’t imaginary, not matter what anyone says.
3. You are not alone.

Well, I could talk about this topic forever, but I will refrain myself and stop there so I have more to post about later! If you have any questions or would like me to address anything specific in future posts let me know. I have to say, we are so incredibly lucky to have the internet, Yes, it can be a curse at times too, but valuable information is literally at our fingertips, and for a girl that doctors cant figure out, that is pretty amazing.