Food Sensitivity Series (PART 4)
REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL FOOD INTOLERANCES
Kate, a 52-year-old female with 8-year history of migraines, insomnia, and stomach cramping
Welcome to Part 4 of Dr. Meg’s Food Sensitivity Series. Now that you have been empowered with the information about the science, the facts, and lab testing, I am sharing a story of a real-life person who went through a long history of health issues that lead to healing through identifying and treating the root cause of illness.
Kate’s Story
Kate came to my office with an 8-year history of debilitating migraines, insomnia, and stomach cramps.
Kate started having these symptoms after a stressful divorce and a big move with her 3 kids back home where she could be close to family. Kate’s symptoms did not just pop up overnight, they were gradual. It all started with the insomnia and migraines.
Kate went to see her primary care doctor to address her concerns. Kate’s physician believed she may have sleep apnea therefore she was referred for a sleep study and results came back negative. Kate was sent back to her primary care doctor and prescribed a sleep medication. Kate could now sleep but what about the migraines that stayed just the same? Kate tolerated her migraines for about another 3 years by managing them with pain relievers. During this time, Kate started to experience cramping pains in her stomach that occurred daily and were worse after dinner. Kate was referred to a gastroenterologist who performed an ultrasound to look for any abnormalities in Kate’s abdomen but results came back normal. Kate was then told to avoid eating dairy and prescribed a drug that stopped the spasms in her stomach.
Kate continued on her life journey for another 5 years of taking these two medications which provided helpful for getting good sleep but no relief of her stomach cramping and still managing her migraines with pain relievers as needed. Kate was not enjoying life taking all of these medications which only addressed her symptoms and not the true cause. Kate came to see me. We discussed her history, her journey, and her life and health goals.
The current system Kate had in place was failing her and it was time to make some changes. After meeting with Kate, we both decided to do some testing, one of which included a food intolerance test.
Kate’s food intolerance test came back with very high IgA or IgG response to 17 foods. Kate came in for a follow up and we discussed how we could pull these foods out of Kate’s diet, what some safe and healthy alternatives are, and concentrated on the foods she could still enjoy or even start exploring.
Addressing the root cause
What I think is important to address and talk about is not just the food intolerances we found on Kate’s labs but the initial event of her divorce and big move. By addressing this as one of the key triggers to Kate’s symptoms and initiating counseling, we are addressing the stress and anxiety which started Kate’s symptoms in the first place.
We treated the gut with food elimination and herbal support, we treated the trauma and stress with counseling and we supported the bodies functions so now we start the journey to healing.
After 2 months Kate was off of her antispasmodic medication for her stomach cramps and after 4 months Kate was off of her sleep medication. Kate’s migraines resolved after 1 month of the elimination diet.
After 6 months of weekly counseling and an elimination diet of Kate’s foods that ranked high on her food intolerance panel, she began a food reintroduction. Through this process, Kate was able to tolerate 10 of the 17 foods eliminated. To this day Kate does not experience any of these symptoms as long as she avoids the 7 food triggers and keeps a healthy low level of stress in her life.
Why was Kate able to tolerate these foods again? Well, this all goes back to the connection that stress causes on our body systems. Kate’s gut lining was greatly affected by the mental and emotional stressors she experienced ultimately leading to a significant amount of inflammation. Once we treated the root cause of the inflammation and also treated the inflammation itself, the body began to heal with the support we provided it.
What did we do with the other 7 foods you ask? Well, Kate now has the power and the knowledge that those foods were not friendly to her body and she has the choice to either avoid or eat those foods as she chooses. The power is in the knowledge of what affects us negatively and things that are positive.
As we treat the whole person, and not just the symptoms, we get back to healing and healthiness
Here to empower you with the knowledge of healthiness,
Dr. Meg
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. There are no financial ties to any supplement companies, pharmaceutical companies, or to any of the products mentioned in this post. This post is not meant to treat, cure, prevent, or diagnose conditions or diseases and is meant for educational purposes. As always, please consult your doctor before trying any new treatments or supplements.
**All names and patient information has been altered to protect the identity of this person.
