What I wished I’d known before my microbiome got nuked.
Thought I’d share my fun 😩🙃 adventure into learning that the gut is so much more important than I ever knew. I’m not a scientist, just someone who’s learned a lot after getting screwed.
I’ve always had “bad guts” as my mother would call it. Chronic constipation, easily upset system, and food aversions. On top of that I grew up poor and the types of food I was exposed to were not “nourishing” or healthy.
I dealt with some form of anxiety or depression for most of my life and just figured it is what it is. Fast forward a few decades and an ear infection and out of nowhere I was the sickest I’ve ever been. Weeks and weeks of diarrhea, two hospital visits where they blamed “a bug” or “anxiety” and finally I was near collapse. I’d lost almost 25 pounds and was weaker than I’d ever been. Finally a new PCP sent me out for some tests and lo and behold I had developed C-Diff!
It took almost 9 months and three extended courses of Vancomycin to kick it out of the active stage and back into dormancy. To say my guts were nuked is an understatement. I was a shell. Slowly I started to gain back some vitality and I decided to treat myself to a long overdue massage. I was all clear and ready to get my life back.
While I was getting my massage I started to feel funny. I got up and off the table only to notice my arms and hands had swollen up to twice their size and it was spreading. I had just had my very first allergic reaction. Unfortunately, this allergen is not a top 9 and it has ruined my life. It’s everywhere and in what feels like everything. Anything new is a gamble and companies frequently choose not to disclose anything.
Treat your guts well! They are the source of all health and happiness! I have high hopes for FMT to treat food allergies as a lot of new studies are showing. And if I could have an elective one just on the off chance of fixing my health I would!
I went from a totally normal and healthy 30 something to an almost 40 year old with a hx of a TIA, Cancer, and Anaphylaxis. None of which happened until my guts went bad.
Make better choices and if you do get sick treat your biome before you do anything else!