I left off in my story at a great transition in my life. Let me back up a little though - I had been trying so many things to reduce my food sensitivities, but they only kept increasing in number. I was still doing LDA therapy, but looking back I realize that all of my symptoms were staying the same (if not worsening) and even new symptoms were appearing every few months. But, I was too busy to figure any of that out anymore as my wedding was approaching! As of that day, on 1/16/16, I had the following symptoms:
mood swings/irritability
skin rashes
joint pain (specifically in my knees); wearing knee braces helped and I had to wear them in order to wear high heals by this point
migraines
vertigo
chronic fatigue
muscle pain
difficulty recovering from physical activity
low abdominal cramping/pain
low back pain
severely painful periods/heavy bleeding
With the blessings came stressors - a few weeks prior to our wedding, my father-in-law-to-be passed away. The day of our rehearsal dinner, our apartment flooded. After the wedding, we spent 2 weeks on a jam-packed honeymoon in Hawaii. There was a lot of flying and ferry-riding which took a toll on my vestibular system. On our return, I started a new job (ultimately one of the best jobs I've ever had). Shortly after that we bought our first house. During this time period of high stress, I decided I needed to overhaul my health 🙄. I had been pretty "loosie-goosy" regarding healthy eating during the period of the wedding and the honeymoon. I did avoid what I knew to be food sensitivities...but ultimately I was eating a lot of junk and drinking alcohol regularly. Following our move-in to the new house, the LDA shots began failing more often than before, and after about 6 months into living in this house + stopping LDA due to the practice closing I experienced:
abdominal distension (I appeared 6 months pregnant)
abdominal pain
acid reflux (with and without burning)
diagnosed with gastritis twice
worsening periods, followed by absence of menstruation for 6 months (following the gastritis which lead to massive weight loss)
extreme weight loss, then significant weight gain
increased severity in joint pain (24/7)
extreme fatigue after eating (I would often fall asleep uncontrollably)
insomnia
flushing/hot flashes
clay colored stools intermittently
extreme rage
uncontrollable mood swings
dissociative episodes
depression, worsening anxiety
suicidal ideation (towards the end of the 2 years living in our house)
The nutritionist I was working with (who is amazing and probably the most intelligent person I've ever spoken with) Angela Pifer FMN, LCN, CN, "SIBO Guru" had really helped to mitigate a LOT of these issues by treating SIBO indirectly - treating my liver detoxification system first. To her credit, she suggested a dust-cloth test of my home environment to check for mold - but I believe I took a poor sample and it came back as normal. After a few more months working with her I felt amazing! Yet, as soon as I weaned off her protocols, all my symptoms came rushing back within weeks. She referred me to Dr. Eric Dorninger ND, LAc of Roots and Branches Integrative Health Care and I finally received a diagnosis of CIRS. This diagnosis, for the first time in nearly 10 years, allowed me to begin taking steps to heal my body and take back my life.