The Beast is Gone!

Last fall I was in a dark place. I just recently went back and read my November post when I talked about The Beast and all of the horrible symptoms I was experiencing. It made me sad, actually. I remember specific times of uncontrollable tears as I questioned what was going on with my body.

From my November post these are the symptoms that were haunting me:

• Joint pain – this has been the worst of the symptoms and has drastically increased the past 4-5 weeks. I cannot sleep at night due to the deep, throbbing pains in my hips. There have been times I have barely been able to get out of bed.
• Headaches – these are off and on all the time, typically in the afternoon
• Face rash – this happens with various foods, which is why I have been set on having a food allergy or sensitivity. Obviously I have been logging my food in a journal and have created a long list of things I cannot eat.
• Hair loss – this is when I really started freaking out. My hair is thinning at a rapid pace.
• Fatigue – I am exhausted ALL the time (especially the past few weeks).
• Mild depression – which seemed to be getting worse as my health was declining
• Constipation – I know this can be TMI, but I was only having a BM every 3-5 days.
• Raynaud’s disease

Those symptoms were real. And they were really scary. 

My goal was to nurse myself back to health from the inside-out, meaning I had to get my gut healthy again. I wanted to do this by altering my diet and taking appropriate supplements. I had a goal of eliminating my parasite without the use of antibiotics. It is no secret that taking these antibiotics can wreak havoc on our guts and that’s exactly what I am trying to avoid. I also wanted to avoid taking Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and the like.

Spoiler alert: IT WORKED!

I have recently received the results from my follow-up stool sample and the parasite is officially gone! My “good bacteria” numbers are all back in the normal range as are the inflammatory and immune response numbers. I have not re-run the bloodwork to see about the low Vitamin D or checked my thyroid, but I plan to do that in the near future.

The key though; I am almost completely symptom-free. I never have joint pain, I cannot remember the last time I had a headache, my hair is growing back and thickening some, I am no longer constipated all the time, and I have so much more energy than I did 6 months ago! I even ate onions today and did not break out in an awful, itchy rash! Crazy to think I was able to accomplish all of this by changing my diet and taking supplements.

So to call the last six months a GIANT WIN is an understatement! Not only did I accomplish my goal of not taking antibiotics or any OTC medications, I also learned so much along the way. Although I paid a pretty hefty price to get where I am now, the knowledge that I have gained that I can now share with family, friends, and readers is priceless.

The bottom line; I am a huge believer that our gut microbiome plays a crucial role in our overall health. I read that one out of seven people have some type of parasite and may not even know it. Your gut may be healthy enough to overcome it right now, but that can all change in a moment’s notice. The processed and preserved foods in our diets may not be able to be properly digested and can set up an environment for so many health problems. 

I know now that I want to continue living this way. I need to make sure my gut is healthy enough to fight off a parasite or anything else thrown my way. If you want to chat more about what I am doing, I am always an open book.

Thanks for following along in my journey in this fight against the beast. Your kind words, encouragement, and prayers have meant so much to me.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week.

Diana