Hi there. I’m Cindy.
Growing up in a household where delicious home cooking was the focal point of every weekend, holiday, celebration and family gathering, there exists no hesitation when I say that enjoying good food has always been a major part of my life. When I turned 16, I started to experience mild digestive symptoms that surfaced after most meals and snacks. These occurrences were seemingly random and mostly harmless. The discomfort escalated so gradually throughout the next 7 years that I accepted stomach pain and distension as a normal part of my every day.
When my symptoms intensified in my early 20’s and prevented me from having any semblance of a healthy, enjoyable life, it finally dawned on me that what I was experiencing couldn’t have been normal. I accepted the idea that something must be wrong. I was then diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and SIBO in 2013, bringing forth the heartbreaking perception that my life as I knew it would have to change.
Although doctors had me test several medications for the year following, I continued to suffer debilitating symptoms, until I discovered the FODMAP diet and finally found relief.
Starting out and even now, I wasn’t working with a dietitian. For the first year, I cycled around and around. I’d start the elimination phase, get exasperated from not fully grasping everything I could and couldn’t eat only to throw it all to hell and eat what I wanted again. These phases would repeat themselves every 2-3 weeks, each cycle ending in pain. At some point, I decided enough was enough. The pain was traumatizing enough to convince my mind that I need to listen to my body, no matter what it took.
Fast forward years later after a ton of research, cooking, experimentation, internalizing information, eating at restaurants and traveling, I was finally in a great place with maintaining my gut health, understanding my own personal intolerances and navigating this high FODMAP-filled globe. It was then that I decided to start this blog. Read more about that here.
But wait! There’s more!
As if having IBS and SIBO wasn’t enough, I was thrown another curveball at the end of 2018, when I started experiencing extreme fatigue. For months, I didn’t think much of it since I commonly had poor sleep quality. After mentioning this to my doctor during my annual appointment, they decided to test my thyroid hormone levels. I was then diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis in January of 2019.
I felt extremely discouraged. It was as if I was back at the beginning of my low FODMAP journey. My first doctor was not helpful. With the questions that I had, she’d share information that contradicted the research I had done. I thought, “How can I have another condition where conventional medical models and protocols utilized by standard doctors fail to provide answers and address root causes?” Through this time, I became a shell of myself and continued to experience symptoms. After a year in April of 2020, I decided to leave my doctor for a functional medicine practice specializing in hypothyroidism. I knew it would be expensive, but my health was worth every penny.
And boy, did my life turn around from there.
My functional medicine doctor was (and is) amazing. It was the first time I didn’t internally roll my eyes at a doctor’s responses to my questions. I felt heard. My symptoms and complaints were taken seriously. She now has me on all the right medications. I learned I had various nutrient deficiencies, and immune reactions to foods beyond FODMAPs. With the team’s recommended supplements and suggestions for a revamped diet, I no longer feel like I’m doing this alone. And wow, do I feel grateful.
To be honest, I haven’t figured it all out. I’m still, and likely will always forever be on my health journey. Through the years, I’ve learned that ultimately my health is my own. That I must listen to this body of mine and be its biggest advocate.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for taking interest in my story! I’m truly so happy that you’re here. And if you’re on your own health journey, I feel you. I hope you feel a little less alone.
