Wellness is a journey…

I would say this journey really started 2 years ago. I was 1 year postpartum with my first child. 37 years old. A new job, a new mom, newly married, new home, and a healthy baby. My husband and I live in beautiful southern Oregon surrounded by mountains and wildlife. What more could I ask for – it seemed I had it all.

It looked great, but my body was screaming for help. From the outside, it looked picture perfect. But the cracks were starting to take shape and it would all come bubbling up to the surface in a very fierce way. At this point, sleep was off the list of things I did regularly, eating a balanced diet was definitely not something I focused on. I ate as healthy as possible, but really, I was just shoving food in my face when I had sometime. Dairy, gluten, sugar – whatever was easy and fast. My daughter didn’t breastfeed, so I pumped exclusively for her for a full year which kept me on a four hour cycle even through the night. My nanny moved so I was working full time and caring for a little one full time, living in the illusion that I could totally handle it. We have no family around so no extra hands and by not around, I mean they are 3,000 miles away. Exercise – forget it. Self care – what was that?

It started with a little bit of eczema which turned into full blown eczema all over my hands and arms. That turned into a strong re-emergence of acid reflux which I thought had been a thing of the past followed by 2 months of diarrhea. What was happening? The generalized anxiety disorder I always kept suppressed really reared it’s ugly head at this moment too. I was not only preoccupied with incessant worry of caring for a newborn, but now I was anxious about my own health and quite honestly, my mortality.

Any symptom I had became amplified and SO MUCH WORSE! I experienced shortness of breath, eczema, IBS-D, the chronic throat clearing, laryngitis, lump in the throat, sore throat and chest burning which had never happened before. This was bad. Really bad.

I went to my GP who ordered some blood tests, put me on an acid blocker, told me to get some sleep and sent me to a dermatologist and a GI doctor. I took the meds, blood work and stool samples came back clear, and was prescribed some creams for the diarrhea. I was a walking band aid, just trying to stop the bleeding for minutes at a time before symptoms started to whack a mole their way back in.

After 8 weeks of diarrhea I decided to get scoped all which ways via colonoscopy and endoscopy. They found esophagitis (Grade 1) which indicated GERD. He diagnosed me with IBS, gave me another PPI and said to take it every morning. So, I did. I addressed some of my anxiety, gave up gluten and dairy and was eating a pretty plain diet, but one that was filled with starch, and while the diarrhea went away, the throat stuff did not. I saw ENTs who said, yup, acid reflux – stop eating acidic foods and find some stress management. Take this drug, they said.

But, the magic pills they wrote me off with were doing nothing if not making things worse. Finally, I decided to get serious about this once and for all. I stopped taking the PPIs and dove into what would be the next 6-9 months of extensive research, trial and error. I read and read and read.  I found a few good blogs which lead me to some new supplementation and the discovery of LPR! I had never heard of it. All these years and it was always sold to me as GERD. But this LPR, checked all the boxes and was obviously it. I felt relieved and yet discouraged at the same time. Why doesn’t anyone know about it? Why aren’t doctors talking about this? Can it even be cured? Every single doctor wanted me to go on an acid suppression medication. But they don’t work, at least they didn’t for me, and in the long run they cause all sorts of other terrible issues.

I remained vigilant and continued to research and try and try and try. Over the course of that time, I tried several regimens and remedies including lots of breath work, vagus nerve therapies, probiotics, Alkaline Water, L-Glutamine, HCL, D-Limonene, Zinc, D-3, Aloe Juice, Slipper Elm, Marshmallow Root.  I followed diets.  I paid some guy on the internet $100 to diagnose me and tell me it was likely my hormones (estrogen imbalance and anxiety). He was very kind and inspirational as he had also healed himself, but it just shows you the desperation that one feels when in the belly of the beast. All of this and still I couldn’t quite get it. I still had the lump. I still was clearing my throat. I was still in a state of panic. 

Then I found a protocol that really resonated (Reflux Reboot) written by a young lady about my same age. I followed it to a tee and kept up with the breathwork, meditation, vagus nerve stimulation, therapy and supplements. I was truly taking an all angles, holistic approach. I never did take the PPIs or acid blockers.

Fast forward to today. It’s been over a year and I’ve never looked back. Sure, I spent thousands of dollars; yes, I have been on a million supplements; absolutely I have stayed up all night reading forums, papers, books, making food journals. It’s all been worth it. I know so much now.

For the first time in my life, I realized that there isn’t a magic pill, the doctor isn’t a magician who will just hear your symptoms and make you better. For the first time, I understand so deeply how incredibly complex and connected our bodies and systems are.

It started with acid reflux, but as I began to learn and commit to healing, I found that healing is a true journey and wellness is a path we carve out for ourselves based on our own unique life, circumstances and needs. Acid reflux was just my body presenting symptoms and telling me I was out of balance – emotionally, physically, mentally. Once I started to focus on all the areas and commit to wellness from the bottom up and the top down, things started shifting and slowly I could feel the journey transit start to take shape. One by one, slowly but surely, my symptoms started to fade and more bad days were being replaced with more good days.

There is no one size fits all, magic-pill or anything a doctor can say to cure you. You have to take the reins, be pro-active, look at things from a hundred different angles, start and stay in it. Stay on the path and follow where it takes you. The journey towards wellness is so worth the trip! Happy healing everyone!