“You’re fine, it’s just a stomachache” “We don’t see anything on this test result that jumps out” “Here’s some pills, let me know if things get worse”

Those are the things I have been told since I was 18.

At 18 I remember waking up one morning with very aggressive vomiting, gross right? That continued for 3 days straight until I finally went to the ER. There the ER doctor told me I had GERD, that was it.. No root cause, no other information just “GERD” and then wrote me a prescription and on I went.

As the years passed my problems progressed from my stomach into my guts, resulting in bulges, intense pain and more aggressive vomiting. Doctor after Doctor told me I was fine, it was a struggle to get them to run the right tests and all I could do was suffer through the pain in the meantime.

I took matters into my own hands and did loads of research. I changed my diet, added in probiotics and tried to get a workout routine in. The only problem with the workout routine was when I had a flare up it was impossible to even walk without falling to my knees.

July 2021 was when my body gave up the fight and the pain I felt was the worst pain I have ever experienced.

I ended up in the ER and had to FORCE the ER doctor, after HOURS of just lying there, to at least do a CAT scan. I went 28hrs without eating before I went into the ER and once I got there, they tried to give me food and had me drinking sugary juices. I knew better at this point and refused to do those things. Eating would just hurt my guts and the sugary drinks would too! But still… nothing.

Finally, I found my current GI and she LISTENED to me. Can you believe that?! I sure as hell couldn’t. She ran every test I asked her to and ones she wanted to run as well and there it was. 5 days after no eating and still in loads of pain she came to me with my diagnosis: Ulcerative Colitis. I sat in the chair and just cried, like ugly cried! Finally, I knew I wasn’t crazy and I had a GI who LISTENED to me.

The reason my diet change wasn’t working was because I was eating lots of nuts, seeds and fiber. All things that hurt Ulcerative Colitis flare ups, that is why my body gave out. Well, that and all the stress I was under due to some significant life events.

We also find out the route cause of my GERD: Gastroparesis, simply put I have a significant delay in stomach emptying which causes my food to reflux instead of empty into my small bowel.

I am currently on 4 different meds to get all the swelling down in my colon, small bowel and stomach. After years of undiagnosed and untreated issues it really messed up my entire digestive system so the goal now is to get the inflammation down before we figure out a life long treatment.

So why did I just share those very gross personal details? I shared them to help those of you who are silently suffering, you’re not alone I promise. It can be scary and discouraging but you can take your health into your own hands, I promise!

I want this page to be a place for you to come to be apart of my healing journey, so I can share what I have learned with you and hopefully motivate you to make some really great changes in your life. Physical, gut and mental health are crucial to creating a happy life and I want to share the things I have learned about those to encourage you to take the right steps!

So please feel free to reach out with any questions but please keep in mind that I am not a doctor, so I am not qualified to give you medical advice. I am just here to let you know you’re not alone!!