Tummy Trouble
It was a sunny yet cold day on February 14th, 2017. I was happily single living in New York City. I had just gotten home from work and stopped at the grocery store to pick up some beer and sushi. My roommate was spending the night at her boyfriends, which meant the apartment was allll mine.
And gladly. I was excited to be single that year and was looking forward to binge watching rom coms, drinking beer and then calling it an early night. I remember having Mediterranean food for lunch and feeling pretty full after (like more than usual), but that night I began to feel nauseous and decided to pass on the beer, barely eating any dinner.
That next morning, I had to stay home from work for what I didn’t know would be the next three days because of stomach issues. I was having extreme bloating (I looked like someone who was 5 months pregnant) and running to the bathroom a lot. After the fourth or fifth day of the same symptoms, I decided to go to urgent care (it was Saturday at this point).
The doctor gave me medication to help the urgency, as I was going on a work trip across the country that Monday. It helped, but the extreme bloating was still a huge issue. It left me nauseous, uncomfortable, a bit painful, and exhausted. No matter what I ate- or didn’t eat- I would wake up bloated and either unable to go to the bathroom or would have the exact opposite problem.
The next few months were pretty on and off, but I’d still wake up not feeling myself and the boating still lingered. In early May 2017 and things got worse. I had a normal dinner the night before and when I woke up that morning, I had crazy bloating, couldn’t go to the bathroom regularly, and was so uncomfortable. It was almost like something was blocking my system or not working properly. I knew something was wrong and went to urgent care again (I didn’t have a primary care physician at the time). They took some scans and said I was super backed up and that I need to start adding more fiber into my diet. They then recommended I see a gastroenterologist since this was so ongoing.
So I did. More tests, scans, and procedures were done to figure out what was going on with me. After months of taking medicine and doing everything my doctor recommended, they still couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
“Are you stressed?” came up in conversation more times that I could count. I wasn’t stressed. Actually, I was the opposite. My life had slowed down and I was a single working 26-year-old in the city. If anything, I was a little bored with my day-to-day life. But asking if I was stressed only made me stressed and paranoid.
After all of those tests and asking my doctor if there was anything else she could think of, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and figure out how to cure myself.
During that time, however, I lost my job and since things were only getting worse, I made the decision to move back home to Columbus, Ohio as that was the only option I saw for myself. Besides having a great support system of friends in the city, I really did feel helpless and alone living in New York.
I started doing extensive research on my symptoms. I found little results online that matched what I was experiencing, but what I did find was helpful. I learned all sorts of things about your gut (the correct terminology for the Gastrointestinal tract), the biggest being that it is the most important and the least paid attention-to organ in the body. Your gut determines your overall health and function of every other organ. It determines your mood, your weight, works hand-in-hand with your hormones, effects your skin, and the list goes on. If your gut health is off, then the rest of your body can’t work properly.
This was even more of a reason for me to figure out what’s going on and get myself back to optimal health. The one thing I came across that really spoke to me was something called Leaky Gut. I had very similar symptoms and was almost positive that’s what was going on with me.
It also made sense because this was a very new condition and something the doctors didn’t know or learn about yet (or at least the doctors I spoke to). The only cure I read about was following a healthy diet and using natural remedies. I was already following the Low FODMAP diet that my doctor recommended I stay on for 60 days, so with that I decided to start doing small things to help myself feel better.
The following are the things I tried that helped tremendously and made me feel better on a day to day, eventually curing myself for good:
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Eliminating trigger foods
This will vary from person to person, so I would recommend starting a food journal or downloading an app (Cara Care is a great app and it’s free) that helps you track food, and then write down how you feel afterwards. This is necessary step to start tracking initial triggers/things that you may be putting in your body that you had no idea weren’t working for you.
Portion control
This one is so so important especially for someone who is having tummy issues. These days American-size portions leave us feeling stuffed and fatigued afterwards. But did you know you’re not supposed to feel that way from food? Like ever?
If you’ve ever cared for a plant, think about how you feed it. They need small amount of water weekly, by-weekly, etc. depending on the plant, for it to grow. If you’ve ever given a plant too much water too often, it dies. Same thing goes for your body. We eat food for fuel, to keep us alive. We need calories throughout the day to keep us going so we can conquer whatever it is that the day brings. If we’re eating large size meals, it puts our body in overdrive and takes more energy to digest than actual energy we just fed it. Eating big portion meals clogs our system and makes it harder for our tummies to digest the food, leaving you feeling sluggish and backed up, to say the least.
Eating large portions, especially while eating unhealthy foods, can tear your stomach lining and cause long-term problems. If you struggle with portion control, try my mindful eating practice I created for free when you subscribe to my email list here!
Start taking a probiotic
I had to try a few different brands until I found one that worked for me, but when I did boy did it help! I remember waking up the next day after taking it before bed and noticing a huge difference. Probiotics basically just put the good bacteria back into your body that your body is not naturally producing itself. It’s safe to take with any medications and even while pregnant (*please check with your doctor before taking my advice as I am not a licensed medical professional)
Fiber
Fruits, veggies, whole grains, there are so many things out there that are high in fiber, and the good news is that most are REAL foods that your body needs anyways! So start upping your fiber intake as soon as you start to feel tummy issues (the only time you should lower your fiber is if you’re going to the bathroom TOO much. I would recommend eating more whole grains and crackers/fizzy drinks to calm your tummy if you’re having this issue, and also start to take calcium as that also helps with this issue.)
Magnesium
Magnesium helps loosen bowels naturally, among other health benefits. This was especially helpful for me as I was having trouble going to the bathroom. Along with the bloating, it was like something was blocking the way from my normal bowel movements, which is why my doctor took so many test on me to make sure it wasn’t something greater- like a tumor. Taking magnesium helped me tons along with the probiotic, something that is as simple as taking once in the morning and/or evening.
Apple Cider Vinegar
This helped me kick start my journey to better health and better digestive issues right away. I started drinking a teaspoon in liquid form in the morning on an empty stomach. After a while I switched to pill form because it was a lot to take first thing in the morning taste-wise. If you’re taking in pill form just make sure to follow it with lots of water so it is absorbed in your system.
Cut out Coffee (at least on an empty stomach)
This one was hard for me especially working in an office full-time. I needed my coffee to help wake me up in the mornings. But did you know that the acid from coffee damages your stomach lining? This can cause indigestion along with anxiety and many other issues. If it does that to a normal, healthy digestive system, think about the harm it’s doing when you already have trouble digesting. Yeah, not good. Ditch the coffee and switch to tea or, if coffee is a must, make sure you’ve eaten something first.
M.O.V.E
If you get one thing from this post, please let it be this one. It is SO important to move on a daily basis regardless of having tummy issues or not. Our bodies weren’t meant to live in the sedentary environment that this society has created for us. We’re meant to move at all stages of life. Think about it this way; when you’re sitting in a chair all day, your insides aren’t getting much action. Therefore, things aren’t flowing/moving along the way that they would if you added in a workout routine or added in walks throughout your day.
The more you move, the easier of a time your body will have moving everything along the way it should. This applies to everything from bowel movements, blood flow, to sweating out toxins sitting in your body. I can’t stress enough that this step beyond anything helped me the absolute most. Adding even 30 minutes of treadmill activity to my daily routine (I would walk when I didn’t feel like being there) helped tremendously. It was honestly the best thing I could have done for myself.
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If you’ve tried these and still aren’t seeing any results, I recommend starting my 60-day gut restoring program I created for people battling the same thing I did- starting January 19th, 2021! After doing months of research and trial and error, I found a cure for myself and decided to create a program to save people the time and effort of going through something like this themselves. It took time, persistence and patience (all of which I needed to work on) but I eventually saw results.
This program isn’t a strict 24/7 diet- it’s learning how to restore your gut and overall health in a way that is practical while navigating daily life.
If you have any questions or want to reach out regarding any of the info above, feel free to shoot me a message or email me! Kristen@comefloww.com