What were my two least favorite things as a kid? Poop and needles. Poop smells wretched, looks weird, is the absolute ultimate reminder of how dirty and imperfect all of us “above nature” humans are, just how animalistic we are. Needles scare the poop out of me. I’ve fainted getting my blood drawn. I’ve thrown tantrums causing me to be held down for vaccines. I’d rather be stuck in a cage alone with a mountain lion in a 1 v 1 MMA fight then go to the doctors for a shot. Yet here we are and these two horrid things are the things that are making my life glorious and my health amazing for the first time ever. Life is funny and ironic, isn’t it?
Ever since I was six weeks old I have had chronic skin and congestion problems, as well as some very severe allergies. My parents took me to every allergist, dermatologist, nose mouth and ear doctor, anyone they could find to try and figure out what was wrong with me. I’ve been on every skin creme and allergy medicine under the sun. Nothing seemed to work. When I was 5 I finally got prescribed steroid lotion, which I have been using consistently for 16 years now (That’s a long time and is not good for you). I can’t stay in the same room for more than an hour with cats or dogs, and tree nuts cause rashes all over my body as well as swelling and itching in my throat and on my tongue. Not fun problems to have.
So after years of making due and simply being used to the unordinary symptoms of daily life that I had. It was time for a change. After my mother had had wonderful results from her gut microbiome testing combined with nutritional blood work. She recommended I do the same. Not thrilled to have to get even more blood drawn and… poop in a cup. I did it anyway after seeing how well it worked for her and being mystified by the possibilities of having all of my chronic lifetime symptoms simply disappear. Without much hesitation after contemplating the possibilities I did all of the testing with a newfound optimism.
The results were horrifying, the impact has been amazing. I’m no rocket scientist, but I know when red is bad and green is good, having a lot more red than green is not what you want to see. I had imbalances and deficiencies left and right. However, after going through my lab results with a qualified professional we figured out that there was really and truly one simple root cause in my gut that was throwing the whole system out of whack. An imbalance of fatty acids was impairing the functionality of my gut to do what it does. This then had a butterfly effect that caused havoc; creating all sorts of symptoms all over my body, including chronic sinus and skin issues. I’m now on supplements that are not designed to just cover up my symptoms, but instead to actually address the root cause of all my issues by balancing my fatty acids and giving me a quick boost of vitamins that I had been deficient in from the lifelong imbalance. I am feeling a little better every day and we are hoping that within a year I will be able to get off of my steroid cream and allergy medicines for good! How rocking would that be?
In reflection, this whole seemingly wacky experience has taught me to really appreciate everything in life. You never know when your two least favorite things will team up and become the saviors you need to level you up in life. For me, it was poop and needles coming in and unlocking the key for me to become a better, happier, and healthier man.
