My Story
I had to learn the hard way how to properly nourish myself over the years. As a very determined, stubborn, and driven type A personality, I put a ton of pressure on myself, but unfortunately it was at the expense of my health.
As a nutritionist, it pains me to admit that I was a VERY picky eater as a kid. Lots of sugar, minimal veggies, and LOTS of highly processed “junk food.” Early in life, I suffered from chronic tension headaches pretty much all day every day for years. My parents took me to countless conventional doctors who did different testing, but the causes of the headaches were never determined. I popped Ibuprofen like it was candy to try and get some relief to get me through the day. It wasn’t until I finally went to biofeedback therapy and learned how deep breathing and tapping into the parasympathetic nervous system (responsible for rest and digestion) could help prevent and dissolve my headaches. I finally got some relief.
Fast forward into my teens, I started struggling with an unhappy belly. I was told I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). I never got any answers as to what might have caused my IBS, and was told that there was no cure. Doctors tried putting me on difference medications to try to mask the symptoms. Nothing helped.
I remember feeling tired very often as well. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) in my early teens. The doctor put me on thyroid medication. Not really sure I ever felt good… Then I started getting frequent urinary tract infections. Lots of antibiotics were used to treat these infections over the years. I wondered, “Why did I keep getting these infections? Is it bad to keep taking these antibiotics??”
Meanwhile, my stomach symptoms (bloating, gas, cramps, discomfort) would come and go. Often, I would skip breakfast and lunch and maybe have a cookie or freeze pop in the afternoon. Less food in the belly meant less bellyache. The tension headaches eventually invaded my life again. Especially when I was feeling stressed. I just learned to live with them…
Over the years, I must have just gotten used to not feeling very well. Unfortunately, feeling like crap was my norm. Right out of college, I found myself unhappy working in a corporate sedentary job. I was feeling very unfulfilled and stressed. I felt stuck. I watched those around me at work overindulging in alcohol, often eating out at restaurants or munching on “junk food”, not sleeping well, not exercising enough, and not managing their stress. I found myself slipping into many of these unhealthy habits as well. I knew I didn’t want to continue to live like this.
I started to get recurring skin rashes and hives often. Doctors said it was eczema and prescribed steroids as treatment. But what was causing it? Why did it keep coming back? Something had to be triggering these rashes and severely dry itchy skin, right?? Also, I had high blood pressure during several visits with my general practitioner over the years in my early 20s. My physician said it must be hereditary and finally convinced me to go on blood pressure medication.
Years passed, I married a wonderful, compassionate, and kind man in my late 20s. I didn’t want to complain too much about how I wasn’t feeling well most of the time, even though I’m sure he would have been empathetic.
I finally resigned from the unfulfilling job and found a new position shortly after in the wellness industry. This was a job I felt more passionate about. Life was good, but I was still lacking something significant. I wanted to get myself healthy by finding the root causes of my symptoms, and I wanted to help others achieve optional health. I wanted to further educate myself. I NEEDED answers to why I wasn’t well. Knowledge is power, right?!
I decided to go back to school for my M.S. in Nutrition and Integrative Health. For several years, I worked full time during the day, and worked on my classes nights and weekends. I LOVED everything I was learning but, unfortunately, it was at the expense of my social life and self care.
In my early 30s, I gave birth to my son. It was a wonderful time in my life, but work, school and a baby that didn’t sleep well became an exhausting combo. I chose to power through. I had always been the type to work hard and never slow down. Resting didn’t come naturally to me. So I just kept going.
I applied what I was learning about nutrition to my own health. Through dietary adjustments, supplements, and appropriate physical activity, I eventually discontinued my blood pressure medication. I didn’t want to be on any unnecessary medications while breastfeeding. And, I wasn’t convinced that I really needed it.
The first year of my son’s life was immensely joyous but also very challenging. I had to deliver him via C-section because he was a breech baby. This was NOT what I envisioned for my birth plan. I tried everything to get him to turn naturally: acupuncture, and even a very painful and stressful procedure (External Cephalic Version ECV), but nothing was successful. That stubborn little guy didn’t want to budge. So against my desire to have a natural delivery, I instead welcomed my Venice into the world by having him removed surgically. Thankfully he was a very healthy beautiful baby. Breastfeeding was SUPER challenging for the first few months, but eventually after many tears and much physical strain on my body, we both found our groove. Soon breastfeeding was second nature. During that first year as a mom, wife, full-time employee, and graduate student, the quality and quantity of my sleep significantly declined, my stress levels soared, and my self-care suffered. I found myself relying on several cups of coffee during the day and “treated myself” to one too many glasses of wine at night. My belly was not happy and neither was my head. I kept wishing I had more time to spend with friends and family. My life felt out of balance. Too much work and not enough fun and relaxation. A few years went by in a bit of a fog…
It wasn’t until I finally graduated with my master’s degree that I really started paying closer attention to how I was actually feeling: fatigued, achy muscles and joints, belly aches fairly constantly, headaches, dry eyes, dry mouth, swollen glands, pelvic pain, frequent/urgent urination, and several other random symptoms became too evident to ignore anymore. After seeing numerous doctors, I finally met a very thorough holistic naturopathic doctor who really listened, and also was willing to help me try to identify the root causes of all my symptoms. With the help of other specialists, a few more diagnoses were added to the list: Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Sjogrens Syndrome, and Interstitial Cystitis. All were chronic. And none had a cure… Finally I was getting some answers. But, what the hell could have caused all of this? I had been eating healthier over the years… I’ve been physically active…I started to resent my body.
I refused to take medication for any of my symptoms. I knew they would only put a band-aid on the problems, may lead to other unwanted side effects, and would not cure my conditions. I wanted to heal my body naturally by treating the root causes of my symptoms. I did all kinds of specialized testing, completely changed my diet, started on several supplements, continued to exercise, focusing on low impact and more therapeutic movement, started prioritizing sleep, and started practicing meditation and mindfulness. Over the years, I identified foods that would trigger my symptoms and removed them from my diet. I’d been guilty of mindless eating and eating for reasons other than hunger. Stress was a huge trigger as well. I worked to develop a healthier relationship to food and developed a great appreciation for nourishing my body.
Over time, I noticed improvements in my symptoms. Symptom flares would come and go… I would often feel irritable and anxious and would get moody. I’d feel good for a while, but then symptoms would creep back in. After some hormone testing, my doctor said I was in “chronic adrenal overuse” (fight or flight) and had a “serious neurotransmitter deficit.” I addressed the hormone deficiencies with supplementation. It was time to seriously prioritize self-care and relaxation.
Of course, I decided I needed more education and started to pursue my functional medicine health coach certification. I wanted to practice everything I was learning on myself first. I DESPERATELY desired to balance and heal my body and put all my symptoms into remission naturally.
my story continued…
It has not been an easy road, but I would not have changed a thing because my journey has brought me here. My unique experience and health struggles feed my drive to continually learn, research, and grow and humbly practice what I preach. I know that healing takes time. I’m still working on being patient, kind, and loving to myself.
I’m hoping that by sharing my health journey, I may inspire, educate, or even help someone like you who may be experiencing similar symptoms or navigating similarly complex health challenges.
You are not alone. You deserve to feel well. We’re in this together.