gut health awakened me
“Gut health"... what an unfortunately trendy and popular topic these days, but my journey with gut and digestive issues started way before we had Instagram, TikTok or anything else that helped provide us with immediate knowledge that didn't make us feel alone.
My gut health journey started with a chronic idiopathic constipation diagnosis at the age of 14. I would not go to the bathroom for days, which eventually led to weeks and eventually emergency medical intervention. That pivotal time in my life was filled with fear, questions, embarrassment, multiple specialist appointments and a ton of diagnostic testing. From teenage girl to a medical experiment very quickly. After all of this, a gastroenterologist finally provided me a blanket diagnosis of CIC and the only treatment was Miralax. (Because I was an adolescent) Oh, fantastic! I quickly learned the only solution did not work and caused me an incredible amount pain and bloating, on top of the existing motility disorder.
It's one of the those first core memories of feeling completely lost in the hands of traditional medicine and made to believe there was something wrong with me (gaslit) and more importantly, told that this condition had "no real cause" and "no cure" just symptom management… for the rest of my life?!
Idiopathic : relating to or denoting any disease or condition which arises spontaneously or for which the cause is unknown.
I hate to tell you, but this wasn't the first and only time I felt like this in the allopathic medicine world. This situation was the first of MANY and one of the a real reasons behind my drive to create this blog.
However, I love to tell you, there are many reasons behind "CIC" (and lots of other diagnosis or illnesses) and they may not be in traditional medical textbooks, but they are real. Therefore, there are many ways to heal.
Welcome to the side of the internet where we discuss poop, colon hydrotherapy, coffee and herbal tea enemas, suppositories, sibo, candida, gastritis, ulcers, and all of the gut health modalities maybe you have been hesitant to try, heard about on social media, or just genuinely curious.
Gut health is so much more than the gut. It really is just health. The gut is directly connected to the brain. And there are so many known root causes these days it can actually feel more overwhelming sometimes than that "idiopathic" diagnosis.
To name a few:
Nervous System dysregulation
Bacterial Imbalances
Fungal Overgrowths
Parasites
Mold
Viruses
Vitamin Deficiencies
Trauma
So to my childhood gastroenterologist… and adult gastro specialists, I have or have had all of these!
THAT is why "gut" health is SO much more then a Miralax or a fiber deficiency. Its multi-faceted. Multi-dimensional. It has physical, energetic and emotional components to uncovering the root. I've done some deep, deep inner work to figure out what stemmed this but I've also found break through therapies that have been extremely helpful.
I plan to focus each post on a different modality, therapy, supplement, or food that has helped me in this journey, in hopes that it helps someone else, opens peoples eyes to alternative ways of thinking, or just helping someone not feel alone in this.
However, what works for me, might not work for you, but trust me when I say this, something will.