18 August 2008 No Comment

When stress levels get high, my symptoms get worse. My stomach gets gurgly, I get bloated and gassy, and I’m tired and easily irritated. The worst part is that I’ve had these symptoms for 12 years. They started a few months after getting married. The start could’ve been the result of me getting out of grad school with a degree in Music and wondering, “What now?” Or they could’ve started because my gut knew that my new marriage was wrong, but I didn’t listen to my gut. Because I didn’t know what was wrong with me, I thought I was a freak and that my stomach problems were all in my head. I thought my body acted irrationally, and I didn’t know how to feel “normal” again.

Over the next 12 years, I went to the doctor, who said that I had IBS and prescribed Prilosec. It ended up being expensive and a waste of money. I went to a homeopath, which was really expensive and didn’t work. I tried taking liquid nutritional supplements and digestive enzymes and food combining, but it didn’t help much. I took Immodium before every work meeting, drank lots of green tea to soothe my upset stomach, avoided promotions which would force me to go to more meetings, was content with being a working drone alone in my cubicle so that I wouldn’t have to be near anyone else, and I generally avoided social situations where I’d be inside where it was quiet.

My life was ruled by my noisy stomach. This was no way to live.

I thought that a large part of my problem must be psychological since my body sensed when I was going to be in a historically uncomfortable situation. I could feel fine and then have to go to the bathroom three times before leaving the house for a Mommy Support Group at the local hospital. I had tried nutritional solutions, prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, homeopathy and hypnosis, and nothing gave me significant relief.

In the fall of 2006, I went to see a therapist, It was my first time in therapy, and I was skeptical about it helping at all. My son was a year-and-a-half, my marriage was near its end, and I was miserable. My ex fortuitously found me a therapist who was exactly what I needed. She was kind, understanding, supportive and showed me how destructive my marriage had been to my self-esteem and self-confidence. She helped give me the strength to leave my unhappy marriage. she said that when I first went to see her, I looked like a battered woman with my shoulders hunched over–I looked small. When our time was over a few months later, I walked straighter and glowed. I had become stronger.

Right after I left, my stomach improved a bit. I was happier and felt more independent. Unfortunately, I was laid off from my job (my fifth layoff) three months after I left my husband. Things became more stressful for me as money got tighter, talking with my ex became more strained, I struggled to make enough money through my freelance web design business while trying to stay home as much as possible with my toddler son. My health quickly got worse again as I worried about the divorce and surviving and being a good mom.

A few months ago, I got out of my divorce-induced depression and decided to get my health back on track. I went back to my nutritionist and became dedicated to getting better. She said that the Candida was present in my body, and I started taking measures to get it under control. I went on the strict Candida diet, did the parasite cleanse, psyllium, probiotics and other herbal supplements, and the bloat went away. However, I would still get an upset stomach when I had to go into certain social situations. My stomach was still not better, although my energy was up, and I was less bloated and gassy.

I decided that I should attack my nervous stomach. It seemed like all of my stress (and I had a lot of it) was being held in my stomach. I wasn’t going to let my health hold me back any longer. I asked my nutritionist which herbal supplements I could take that would improve my digestion and calm my nerves. After a week on the additional products, I noticed a huge difference in the amount of gas and nervousness I felt. I started feeling “normal” again. Now that I’m seeing an even greater improvement by taking the nervousness/digestive health supplements, I’m thinking that the root of my problem is how my body handles stress more than it is the Candida. I’m still going to follow the Candida diet and try to stick to a gluten-free diet because I feel a lot better and I’m able to maintain a better weight when I reduce my carbs. But it’s the newer products that I’ve added that are really making a difference in my noisy gut, which was my biggest complaint about my health.

I’m looking forward to continued improvement and becoming a stronger, more self-assured woman after I get through all of this stress. I know there will be new stresses ahead, but I think I’ve finally found the answer to my digestive health problems after 12 years. Woohoo!