How I Finally Healed my Gut
In 2006 I took a round of antibiotics for an infection. About a week later I began feeling really bloated and my stomach swelled up like a balloon. It was a very heavy feeling that I’d never experienced before and it was very uncomfortable. Then, unbelievably, that feeling got much worse and didn’t go away for close to 10 years.
I saw doctor after doctor. They looked at my stomach, they looked at my liver, they looked at my kidneys, they looked at my ovaries, they looked at my blood. Time after time, I was told that everything was normal. Eventually I was offered a diagnosis of IBS, a condition for which there is no cure, no cause, no definitive diagnosis.
Digestive problems became my new normal. I spent many years as a functioning adult with “IBS". What I didn’t know then is that the gut has a hand in nearly every bodily process - it contains 80% of our immune cells, extracts nutrients from food, regulates hormones and insulin, balances our metabolism, and even helps us sleep.
Ultimately my health took a turn and started interfering with my life. The many years of untreated digestive symptoms had a devastating effect on the rest of my body. Before long I was dealing with brain fog, weight gain, blood sugar dysregulation, severe nutrient deficiencies and hypothyroidism. I felt I had aged 50 years. I continued to see many doctors, but they began to look at me skeptically - more than once I was told that I should see a psychologist, that the symptoms were “all in your head.”
During this time I spent many nights Googling my symptoms, and trying new supplements and diets out of desperation. I spent so much time and money searching for that miracle cure, the “magic pill” that would fix me.
Eventually I decided to make an appointment with a functional medicine doctor. I was skeptical; but I was also desperate and willing to try anything.
It was the best thing I ever did.
The doctor listened to my symptoms and history, looked me in the eye and said, “I believe you and I’m sorry you don’t feel well.” He helped me go beyond “IBS” to find the root cause of my symptoms, and he taught me the functional medicine approach to gut healing which is often called the 5 Rs - Remove, Replace, Repopulate, Repair, Rebalance.
The functional medicine 5R protocol was just what my body needed. It’s not a magic pill, but a systemic approach to healing the gut step by step. Within weeks of walking into that doctor’s office, I already felt 80% better.
Gut Garden's GoodGut Program
Unfortunately, my story is not that unique. The truth is that there are so many people walking around that simply don’t feel well. So many people that are being told that their physical pain is all in their head. I've been there, and I know what it's like not to feel your best for weeks, months or even years at a time.
At Gut Garden, we really want people to know that they don’t have to accept ill health as a “new normal.”
-Lily Lopez, Founder of Gut Garden
