I’ve been dreading writing this.
So this post, the one I have been dragging my feet on, this is the whole reason my son urged me to create a website. He watched me treat myself for parasites after years of being sick and he encouraged me to share the information with everyone.
This is the back story. I guess I will start at the very beginning. I grew up on a dairy farm. When I was 8 years old, in 1987, I began feeding the calves everyday. At that age, I carried buckets, downhill with sometimes as much as 16 pounds on each side. No wonder I ended up with killer thighs! That year, I had my first symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. I had to be very careful with what I ate and when I ate. My father had a similar gut, so we all believed that I was just like him, that this was some hereditary condition. It was always this way for me. It got better only during my pregnancy with my son, which knowing what I know now, actually makes perfect sense. (Look for a post about postpartum women and gall bladders in the future).
This is me and my calf, Gabriella, in 1991.
Here we are again at the Fulton County Fair in 1992 after winning the Showmanship Award.
Fast forward to the year 2021. A friend of mine and I took our kids to Florida for Christmas vacation. I got very sick, while we were there, vomiting during the night. After we got home, I was no longer nauseous but I had severe stomach pain, migraines, and joint pain. Certain things I ate made it so much worse. It seemed like flour and sugar were the main culprits.
December of 2021
I went to the doctor. She did blood work. The main issue that appeared was that my liver enzymes were elevated. I rarely drink and my diet wasn’t horrible, so this seemed odd to me. Everything else seemed to be in order. I also took a Ucari food sensitivity test. The foods that showed up as difficult for me to digest, were in fact the foods I was struggling with. The doctor warned me of the test’s validity, but as I told her, it gave me a starting point, at the very least. The doctor prescribed me some migraine medication. I tried it, it didn’t seem to work any better than ibuprofen, so I did not fill it again. I had previously been diagnosed with PTSD, so my symptoms were chalked up to stress. This was the height of COVID, and my job as a school counselor had become increasingly difficult. I left the doctor’s office with the agreement that I was going to work on my diet.
For months, I ate nothing but whole foods, if I couldn’t tell what it was originally, I did not eat it. I had some success and felt a bit better. Then in August of 2022, the school year started. Within two weeks, I got COVID for the first time. I was so sick that there were moments that I didn’t think I would wake up the next day. It took me a long time to recover. Eventually, I returned to work, but my fatigue wouldn’t let go. I knew by October I could not last another school year. I had started my private practice that spring, so I decided to leave the school in December and devote myself to my practice full time or as much time as I could.
Beginning in January of 2023 I was able to get the rest that I needed. I have been a regular exerciser since the age of 12, but having control over my schedule, helped me get back into the habit more consistently. I stayed on my whole food diet, I had supportive relationships in my life and I felt myself improving. Every once in awhile, I would try some sugar or flour and have the telltale headache and stomachache again. I would think, this doesn’t make any sense! If there is nothing wrong with me, why does this food bother me so much?
As 2023 wore on, my private practice became more successful, I worked full throttle, while still battling exhaustion at times. Then in December I suddenly realized that again, I had overextended myself. I had over worked and over given. I knew I had to pull back and take some rest for the sake of myself and my son. I realized this a bit too late. Just before Christmas, I had a panic attack, it along with the period of agoraphobia that followed, irrevocably changed the course a very important relationship.
After the panic attack, I had trouble sleeping, racing thoughts that wouldn’t leave. I suffered from restless legs too. At one point I had to go outside and stick my feet in the snow to get my legs to stop moving and to stop myself from sobbing. Here I was, back to ground zero. Just as sick as I had been before. Maybe more so. Still blaming myself. Still blaming stress and mental health. Once again I had to claw my way out with diet, exercise and challenging my agoraphobia through music and travel. That summer, I started to feel better again. Swimming and sunshine always help. I felt decent, but not great. Winter time came, as always my fatigue increased.
Then in January of 2025, I had a client completely change my life for the better. She is a 30 year old female with a history of trauma. She had been suffering from stomach issues, she had multiple tests run, including a colonoscopy. She continually asked doctors if it was possible that she had parasites. She even cited her unique risk factors like camping, walking barefoot, and swimming in ponds and lakes. She kept getting the same answer. Parasites are rare in the United States. She decided to treat herself with Ivermectin and lo and behold, parasites were present. As she is relaying all of this to me in session, it occurs to me, maybe that’s what’s been wrong with me the whole time!! I decided to investigate and treat myself too and that led me on my journey back to health, this time with actual lasting results! In my next entries, I will share with you the steps that I took and continue to take to improve my health after a life time of neglecting this very important pathogen.