First turkey, Thanksgiving 2014
Two year ago Catherine and I ate Thanksgiving dinner at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Flora, and I felt like hell. I’d been dealing with gut issues ever since August when I took some antibiotics for a prostate infection. After doctors were no help I self diagnosed it as a candida problem so we celebrated Thanksgiving and then went on a hard-core candida cleanse the next day so I had a month from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It helped but I ended up really sick after Christmas which began my whole journey into the world of SIBO. Last year at Thanksgiving I was still not too well and had just suffered another relapse. Still, compared to 2013 I was doing a bit better after finally getting a diagnosis, totally changing my life and treating SIBO for about 4 months with herbals.
Now it is Thanksgiving again and this year I have a lot to be thankful for. SIBO is done with, I’ve cleared my parasites and I’ve been off medication now for almost 7 months with no relapse. My diet has expanded greatly to a very full Paleo diet and my gut seems to be healing well. I’ve managed to gain quite a bit of weight in the last year and gained much in the way of energy. I’m back to running 3-4 days a week along with hiking, fly fishing, and hunting at full force. Through it all I’ve had great support from my family, especially Catherine who had to watch me at my worse and was always there for me over this several year journey. I’ve met some great new friends over the course of this last year or so and they have also become part of my support network, we all help each other out. I’ve been able to celebrate as some of them have gotten better this year and I really feel for those who are still struggling during this holiday season and hope that they soon get SIBO behind them too.
I’ve said it before that SIBO, as horrible as it is, was a gift in many ways. Having a serious illness wakes one up to what is important in life and alters your life completely. I would never have met such great people if I hadn’t had SIBO. Who would have thought a few years ago I’d be working with several of the top SIBO doctors in the world on an app for patients and assisting with research into diets, working with my own doctor and another friend on an exciting new venture in the Seattle area or finishing up a Nutrition/Health Coaching program and actually doing some coaching of other people dealing with SIBO? I really feel that SIBO gave my life a purpose beyond my own self-centered interests and has connected me to people all over the world.
As we sit down today to a Paleo Thanksgiving dinner with the family today I definitely have a lot to be thankful for and can really celebrate this holiday for the first time in a few years. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.