The Body Speaks Loudly
After 7 year of suffering from intestinal issues, 2 of them being confusing and 5 of them being utterly miserable, I got my latest test results back and WOW! My inflammation levels are below the normal range. I’ll explain this more, later. I have climbed was felt like was an unclimbable mountain (according to Western Medicine doctors I’ve seen). So I’m writing because if I can share what I’ve learned or encourage someone to take charge of their health, it will have been worth it.
I am not going to make this sound easy - like all you have to do is write positive affirmations on your mirror each day - it’s not. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire life. It was hard because I had to make some major life shifts in order to get to this point.
Let’s back it up.
In 2012 I moved from my home in Los Angeles to a new Seattle with my then boyfriend. I was excited at first and then grew to feel alone and isolated working from home in a small town where the weather was quite dreary and I didn’t know many people. In 2013 I joined a beer club with another couple, gained a little weight around my waist (which has never been where I gained weight), and got bloated any time I ate ANYTHING. And I mean anything. And I mean BLOAT - Like, it looked as if I was 1-2 months pregnant after I’d had a piece of toast or chicken and veggies for dinner.
I struggled with that for a bit, but changed up some diet stuff, thinking I had developed food sensitivities - I hadn’t. (I had developed dysbiosis, an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in my GI tract.) In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m indulging in an Aperol spritz and a chocolate croissant, because I’m celebrating!. What I didn’t know then was that the beer (not great for gut health if we’re being honest) and loneliness drove my body into a highly inflammatory state (also more on this later). It’s now 2015 at this point. I’m living closer to Seattle city, but struggling to build a community. Most of the people I knew, I’d met through my then husband’s work. If you know me, that may be hard to believe, as I’ve always had an easy time making friends, but for some reason, I felt what was called the “Seattle freeze.”
“Loneliness is the biggest risk-factor to our health.”
— Lissa Rankin, MD
But let’s back up even further. I was not a sick child. I had the flu once when I was 3 or 4 and remember it vividly. I don’t ever recall going to the doctor except for school vaccinations or a routine dentist appointment. I didn’t ever have cavities (my first was a tiny one at 34) and never suffered from seasonal allergies or colds. So THIS came out of nowhere, and I wasn’t quite sure what sure what to do - would it heal on it’s own?
Eventually it got to be so confusing that I saw a general physician about it. But doctors didn’t seem fazed. In fact, they brushed it off, saying 70% of the population in America has digestive issues and just took x,y, or z pills to feel better… like I was just supposed to be ok with that. Why would I all of the sudden be diagnosed with a “disease” (btw that just means they don’t have a cure for it, it’s actually just a “condition”)? I was often crying in bed. It hurt to eat (well, to digest, rather). I stopped being able to eat out because everything set me off. My lower abdomen was constantly swollen.
I self-diagnosed after months of research. I decided that I had an overgrowth of bad bacteria (which is quite possible) and did a highly restrictive diet of fish, asparagus, quinoa, low-starch veggies, and zero fruit or natural sugar, however, this didn’t solve the problem. In fact, my Integrative Medicine doctor said that the strict diet I was on likely made the real issue worse. (Please note that a good, diverse diet is healthy, and limiting the body to 2-3 things is not!)
It wasn’t until 2018 that I started to feel REALLY bad. I was tired, bloated, and then work got VERY stressful and problems in my relationship became more apparent. The stress definitely made it worse. I could barely eat because any kind of food seemingly tore apart my intestines.
My doctor advised adding fiber (because I’d go DAYS without a bowel movement), but that made it MUCH worse (I know now that that was the WRONG move). Western medicine Doctors couldn’t figure me out. I had an array of symptoms ranging from food sensitivity to brain fog and anxiety (which I’d also never had before). In late 2018 I had a colonoscopy and my doctor said I had Ulcerative Colitis. and something called “Calprotectin” levels were very elevated. Basically, my immune system had started attacking areas of my small intestine - leading to ulcers and what’s called “Leaky gut” (basically, tiny food particles leaking into your blood stream and then causing huge amounts of inflammation (Calprotectin levels tell us how much inflamation is present which triggers an auto-immune response to try and fight it). I didn’t know what questions to ask and he didn’t explain to me what that meant. But, he kind of brushed me out the door and I went home not really knowing the next steps. I tried healing myself.
I cut out coffee. I cut out alcohol (really it wasn’t much I was having anyways so, whatever). I eliminated gluten as much as I could. I made large amounts of bone broth. Nothing. Helped. I finally had a test done by a natural health doctor that tells you how much inflammation is in your intestines. It was 111. It was better than before but still 2x the “normal” threshold amount!
Normal is >50. My symptoms got worse, stress at my job got even worse (which was hard to avoid, even with the best stress management tools). My relationship struggled. I started flying back home from Seattle to try and ground myself in the place I last felt happy and healthy. I surrounded myself with people who knew me when I was healthier. I ended up taking a sabbatical at work (Medical Leave of Absence) when my inflammation levels reached 2640 (remember I said less than 50 was normal?????). I knew I had to make some major changes. My body was trying to tell me something.
I had reached an ultimate low in so many areas of my life as I struggled to find answers and solutions. Work wasn’t pleasant. My relationship didn’t feel right. My location felt isolating and like it didn’t fit, culturally, with who I was. My doctors didn’t believe that I could be “one of the few” who beat it. Well, here’s me telling you that if your doctor doesn’t believe it can be done, it can’t. It’s called the no-cebo effect. The negative perspective affects the outcome.
Here’s a fun tidbit.
Did you know the placebo effect works 35% of the time because the idea that the situation is under control and has a solutions alleviates tension in your nervous system? Fascinating, and science-backed.
This is to say - you are the solution. Listen to your body. Research. Read studies. Follow people on Instagram who have been there. If you don’t know what it is that you’re struggling with - find a Naturopath or Integrative Medicine doctor. While insurance doesn’t typically cover the cost, you’ll be saving a ton of money, time, and energy working with someone who’s driven to find the root cause of the issue - not just throw pills at the symptom(s).
I digress. So, I continued on my path of holistic medicine, anti-inflammatory herbs, homemade foods that were easy to digest, but the BIGGEST thing was me listening to my body. I knew that the life path I was on wasn’t right. I moved from Seattle with my then husband to my family’s ranch. We tried to work things out but ultimately he went back to Seattle and I moved back to LA. The pandemic started a few months after I moved back, and despite all that civil unrest and stress, I was getting better. It was a slow process, but I approached work differently (and the toxic members of the company were no longer present), and managed my stress holistically. I did a lot of emotional work. I surrounded myself with positivity. I found myself finding joy and gratitude in the smallest things. I wrote my gratitudes every day. I cooked myself food. I cried. I reflected on the difficult choices I’d made (I left a 10-year relationship, my dog aka as my shadow/lap warmer, a cozy lifestyle and two incomes) to live in an apartment in LA.
All of these things shifted what was happening inside my body. My medication actually started working the way it was supposed to.
At the end of the day - everything inside me had to be addressed for my body to feel safe to heal.
All this to say - YOU are the key to feeling amazing. If you like you have become a victim to your circumstances, I urge you to reach out to those who love you and ask them to be your hype team.
Here’s what I’d recommend you do.
Take stock of your life. Where are the pain points? What causes you angst? What makes you sad? What are you missing? Do you feel a sense of purpose in life? Do you feel lonely? Do you have a tribe/community to lean on? How do you feel 20 mins after you eat? 1 Hour after you eat? Do you feel joy? Do you have mold in your house (this affects gut health and inflammation like CRAZY!! Look in bathroom corners, by air vents, and if at all in doubt, pick up a test from Home Depot… more on that in another post)? Are you drinking to achieve something - avoidance, relaxation, loneliness, etc.? How are your relationships with family? Are you getting enough movement each day? Are you stressed about money? How are world events affecting your mental state? What keeps you up at night and why?
ALL of these things, every single one, has the ability to trigger your body into creating stress hormones, or to activate your amygdala therefore shutting off some of the natural functions of your body. Your body is built to operate smoothly, and it is very possible that doing some of that deep work will reveal something old or something new that causes your body stress.
So, take a moment, or a day, and think about some of those things listed above. When you think about them, where in your body to you feel anxious or tension? Does your stomach turn? Does your mind race? Does your heart race? All of those are flags your body sends as signals to pay attention to.
You are your own health advocate. Talk to your doctor and request a vitamin panel (are you low iron? Low on vitamin d?), as those results can give insight into your overall health. If you have gut health issues, or your poop (yes we’re going there) isn’t the same every day. Or you aren’t going regularly, have a calprotectin and SIBO test done. It’s WORTH it.
You deserve to feel as good as possible for as much of your life as you can. It can be done. There IS hope.
While I’m not a medical practitioner, I have learned SO much in the last 6 years of this and am so passionate about it. I want to share a few of my go-to resources for health so that you can do your own research. Check out the list at the end of the post and bookmark them for when you’re ready.
I hope this blog post has either given you insight into the control we actually have over our bodies, or at the very least provided you with some interesting reading 😉.
Go easy on yourself, and others. We’re all just making our way through this life, and there’s so much to learn!
Be well,
Mia
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:
Take the PERMA profiler for establishing how “happy” you are with your current life, so much of our body’s issues are rooted in our connection to our physical and emotional world.
Write down the things that happen in your body each day. Are you sneezing every day? Not normal. Are you tired at 3pm but have problems falling asleep at night? Not normal. Do you go into a food coma after dinner? Not normal. Do you have itchy patches of skin? Not normal. Your body should be easy, don’t settle for anything less.
TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) skin map. Do you have redness around your nose? That correlates to a specific part of your body. Bumps on the side of our lips or on your chin? Acne on your forehead? They all mean something. Look it up and then find a Chinese medicine doctor - they’ll meet with you and give you tea and herbs that have been used for THOUSANDS of years to cure ailments and help the body heal.
What comes out of your body is a great indicator for what is going on inside of it. Look at the “Bristol Poop Chart” to see how your poop compares and google the meaning of each type.
Boiron pellet for an array of health concerns - or simple solutions to things like eczema, anxiety, menstrual cramps, migraines, nausea, (they have something for everything and I SWEAR by these pellets)
Buy and thumb through Prescription for Nutritional Healing guide book - it’s a wealth of knowledge
Google your “condition” or disease + “Spontaneous remission”. Then you’ll see all the people who have healed instead of just finding all the people who suffer from the issue. You’ll be amazed how many people overcome “impossible” diagnoses or “lifelong” issues.
Look up “Homeopathic treatment for” + whatever it is you’re frustrated with about your body
Do 1 month of no dairy, no alcohol, no gluten - the big inflammatory foods. Keep an eye on how you feel and then slowly add each on back individually.
Follow @nutritionschool on Instagram
General wellness - Dr. Mark Hyman
General wellness - follow Bulletproof on Instagram and their blog
Gut health - follow Dr. Mary Pardee on Instagram
Follow ME so we can connect! I’d love to be part of your journey!