I was now on birth control-the beginning of years of hormone meddling. Although I was still an extremely hard-working student, I over-indulged in an abundant social life, resulting in what seemed like a permanently raspy voice, and extra weight gain. My last 2 years of college, I studied in Central and South America near the Amazonian Basin. I explored the enchanted rain forest, and the dangerous waters. It was the most adventurous and exhilarating time of my life. However, the intestinal amoebas and parasites joined me on my journey back home.

“Diarrhea was now a part of my daily routine.”

And when I traveled surrounding countries, I developed bronchitis… I was tight-chested, reaching for small breaths on a smoke-filled boat from Uruguay back to Argentina. Heading straight to the hospital upon arrival, I embraced another round of antibiotics to quickly and painlessly dismiss my discomfort. The poor refrigeration and water sanitation left me with the worst bout of food poisoning before leaving Ecuador. My stomach troubles were stacking up. But again, upon arriving home, for good this time, the doctor prescribed more antibiotics. Although I preferred a more natural option, I was accustomed to their “one size fits all” approach to healthcare. Since these “magic pills” were such common place for everyone, I was blinded by the danger of them.

Over the next several years, I went on pursuing a nutrition business, then marriage and babies. I was finally delving into my nutritional passion for the first time. It was like a blanket was lifted from my eyes. I learned about organic foods, GMO’s, and Big Pharma. It became clear how our food system was making us sick, and how society bought into this idea of fast food,

“and medications as Band-aid solutions to cover up real health problems.”

I was beside myself, and started my verbal campaign for clean food, sickness prevention, and true “health-care” as an alternative to disease-care.

My health took a turn after my first pregnancy…bronchitis again. This time it erupted into pneumonia. For a month, I was knocked down. I spent my days with my ribs pounding from the nonstop coughing. The doctor prescribed 3 rounds of antibiotics: 2 Z-pak’s and 1 Levaquin. After that, there was a major shift in my digestive system. I began having horrendous digestive issues within a few months. I was bloated and nauseous every evening. After a year of feeling sick on a daily basis, and seeing a conventional doctor… I had gone through a journey of testing- colonoscopy, ultrasounds (abdominal and vaginal), liver check, conventional parasite/bacteria stool testing, HIDA scan (where radioactive liquid is put into your gallbladder) and blood tests. All of that to see that nothing was found regarding my digestion, so by default I have “IBS”. My ultrasound showed a nonalcoholic fatty liver. The doctor prescribed medication for IBS, that I took for a month but didn’t find that they helped my discomfort. I was given no recommendations for my liver. All of my cholesterol levels, and blood work looked perfect.

“On paper, I had the ideal bill of health. But I felt terrible, and knew that there was chaos going on inside.”

I started looking for natural ways to ease my pain, but that only lasted a year or so before I needed more support. Then with 2 consecutive pregnancies, I felt worse digestively after each one. In addition, uterine fibroid’s were found and I was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cervical cells, which they were quickly progressing as my hormonal shifts occurred through my second pregnancy. I was beginning to realize the importance of hormones and the damage they cause when imbalanced. I had colposcopies, and a LEEP procedure to cut off the cancerous cells from my cervix. My pregnancies brought about a cascade of raging hormones, followed by immense drops, and after it was all said and done, I decided on the copper IUD, with the idea that it was the safer route (being the non-hormonal option). Little did I know that excess copper causes zinc deficiency leading to low immunity, nervous system dysfunction, and a myriad of other issues.

I relied on nutritional digestive support and embarked on a path of holistic practitioners: iridology (observing the iris to determine systemic dysfunction), reiki, acupressure, massage therapy, muscle testing, chiropractic, Chinese medicine, nutritionists, and EAV (ElectroAcupuncture According to Voll). I felt more educated about my body through the process, and some small improvements with my overall health but all of it was short lived. I researched, read books, followed different holistic ideologies, and tried every diet under the sun for years. Vegetarianism was what I was accustomed to growing up. This time I tried: no sugar, no dairy, no gluten, then vegan, I switched to paleo, and even resorted to only fruits and vegetables. These weren’t short term diets either, I committed to a year of no sugar/gluten or dairy. I was determined to feel better!

“Despite my attempts, my pains expanded. It was no longer only my digestion.”

My athletes foot infection had spread, and I was dealing with chronic “mystery” pain: under my rib,  head pain, ear pressure and tinnitus, then joint pain, and chest tightness. Then strange allergic responses began, like red, itchy, watery eyes that would last for hours on a daily basis. Some of these symptoms continued for years, progressively getting worse. I kept adjusting my diet in hopes of fixing it. Nothing really helped anymore.

It wasn’t until my research brought me to a Functional Practitioner and I was able to run an in-depth stool test. A rare parasite was detected, bacterial overgrowth, dysbiosis, fungal overgrowth, and leaky gut. I learned that these gut pathogens form biofilms. This is when microorganisms bind together to form a protective covering making them extremely hard to test for and eliminate.  It now became clear as to why my conventional doctor’s testing did not identify any of these destructive bugs.  I had to make changes to the way I ate and spent several months building up my gut- eradicating pathogens, re-establishing my microbiome and sealing my weathered gut lining. I continue to build my digestive system daily. Healing doesn’t happen overnight. But for the first time in 8 years, I finally found answers!  I could go out in the evening and not worry about feeling sick. My bloating, nausea, varying constipation/loose stools went away.

“I felt like myself again!”

However, as the roller coaster persisted on, the following year I was back with pneumonia again after COVID. I was out of commission for 2 months this time. My immune system took a big hit, and displayed long term residual symptoms (coughing up mucous daily, ice cold feet and sometimes my whole body, slowed heart rate, and an inability to focus and function normally).  I lost my energy, and couldn’t seem to get ahead of my health. I made a decision. I loved the FDN (Functional Diagnostic Nutrition®) process and I loved analyzing my own tests, and how thorough it all was. This was the one method of testing that showed real results, and a plan of supplements and lifestyle changes that actually addressed the issues. I decided that I would pursue FDN as course work for certification to truly get in-depth knowledge on how to really heal myself, and in turn, help others through their health battles. In the midst of my studies, I hit rock bottom. I was facing complete burnout.

“The fatigue had taken a toll on my body, and my nerves seemed to be out of control.”

It was no longer my stomach issues plaguing me the most, it was the inability to handle stress and anxiety. I couldn’t get out of bed some days, I was crying daily and exploding with anger. My body couldn’t handle the stress of my kids being home 24 hours a day and managing e-learning for 3 different grade levels, along with my lowered immunity and adrenal dysfunction. I would shake, sweat, wake up in panic attacks in the middle of the night, have rapid heart rate, a burning chest, and numbness on my face. I also developed a fungal rash on my arm that would not go away for a year, despite the many prescribed anti-fungal creams and powders. The only time I had ever felt this exhausted was when I had mono. I was being told I should see a psychiatrist.

“Something had to be very wrong with me physically to not be able to sustain the emotional challenges. I knew I wasn’t crazy, but I felt hopeless with no support.”

Through FDN, I learned of my hormonal imbalances, and the danger of my high estrogen. I figured out why my energy was completely tanked. I was in Phase 3 of adrenal dysfunction - the Exhaustive Phase. It all made sense. My gut dysfunction was one piece of the puzzle. Through running a series of lab tests, I was able to see the whole picture. The body’s systems do not work independent of one another, contrary to the conventional medical approach of specialists addressing one area but ignoring the others. All systems work synergistically, and each system effects the next.  My overactive nervous system slowed my motility. My leaky gut was allowing foreign invaders to get through beginning the cascade of auto-immunity with my immune system attacking my own body. My liver needed a lot of support to properly flush the hormones flooding my system due to high stress. Without my detox capacity functioning at an optimal level, my body could not manage the excess toxins coming in on a daily basis. I needed to eliminate all hidden stressors: emotional, physical, environmental… I learned how my anxiety and what seemed to be a mental breakdown was connected to my physiological malfunctioning.

“80% of my immune system was in my broken gut.”

The last 25 years of infections became very clear. Looking back at my journey, all of these low points in my health were merely my body’s best attempt to fight foreign invaders given its limited resources. With a suppressed immune system, due to a number of seemingly unrelated factors, my body was continually challenged and as a result, unable to flourish.

I began my own D.R.E.S.S. healing protocol and made adjustments to my sleep, lifestyle, diet, and focused on stress reduction. Within a month, drastic changes were evident. Within 4 months, I felt like a different person. I was functional. I was once again able to handle what was thrown at me, instead of breaking into a sweat and having a melt down. I felt like my body was actually communicating within itself, instead of facing blocked signals. My fungal arm rash finally disappeared. I was able to sleep again. I was waking up refreshed.  I learned what foods my body needed for it to function optimally, and what foods bothered me. I continued to run lab tests and support my body where it was asking for help. Today’s society teaches us to go...go...go. I had to make a choice for my health, that my whole self needed more care… my cells needed more support.

“I learned how to listen to my body, to slow down, to release old stagnant waste, to be gentle on my hard working organs,”

and to treat it with love… replenishing depletion, and building it up. Just to feel like the “me” that I remember, is worth all of the sacrifice, investment, and discipline. Being revitalized and having my energy back with a functioning digestive system once felt like a far-fetched dream. Now it is my reality.