Tess's and Cindy's good
friend, Christy, recently had a big health scare. While she's only 31 and
has always looked the picture of
health, Christy' has had a history of gut problems and recently had an emergency
appendectomy. Sent home with antibiotics and pain pills, Christy continued to
feel lousy and listless far longer than expected.
A slow and painful
recovery led her to Dr. Hugo Rodier's office, where she finally got to the root
of her long-time belly upsets. Dr. Rodier put Christy on his standard 8-week
intestinal cleanse and rejuvenation diet using five basic Co-op products:
Probiotics 16,
Pancreatic Enzymes,
Fish Oil,
Vitamin D3 and
Constant Health.
This kat decided that
Christy's story was an important one, as many (even quite young) people have gut
problems that go unrecognized and cause all sorts of mischief. As background, Christy is a certified
Integral Coach, a Zen monk, and a gifted expressive dance and embodiment
teacher.
OHC:
Christy, when did you start having gut troubles?
Christy Svanemyr:
I grew up in West Virginia where organic foods were never the norm.
I struggled with digestion since college. I partied and ate all
sorts of typical college fare. Beer, pizza, ice cream, you name it. I gained a lot of
weight and began noticing problems with bloating and abdominal pain, but I didn't know what was making
me feel so terrible because I just wasn’t paying attention.
Eventually I caught on
that dairy was causing me problems, so I started taking lactate while continuing to eat
dairy products. It helped but not enough.
When I moved West
several years later, I started to eat more whole and organic foods. I
changed to soymilk. I started eating salads every day for lunch. And,
thankfully, I started
losing the weight I'd put on in college.
Around that time I
started to become more conscious of how foods affected me. I started
noticing that when I’d eat pasta, I’d bloat up. So I had less bread, less dairy,
less alcohol, and turned to more protein and veggies.
While I still struggled
with belly upsets, none of my doctors were the least bit concerned
and certainly no one suspected a
chronic
appendicitis.
OHC:
Let's fast-forward to fall 2009 when your health took a dramatic turn for the worst. What
happened?
CS: I had been
incredibly stressed from planning my wedding last year. I literally felt like I
might explode. Work was crazy, the Zen center was gearing up for the year's
biggest event, and here I am a newlywed -- exhausted.
After yoga one day
I just burst into tears. I couldn't keep doing it all. The pace was killing me,
I was so exhausted,
and yet I didn’t have any vacation days to take time off.
Not a week later, I
traveled to teach a somatic class. I spent the weekend reconnecting with my
body and, at the end of the class on Sunday, I went to a spa. I felt this immense
decompression from all the stress.
However, I had no idea my
trip to the emergency room was just a week away.
OHC: What
happened that first night?
CS:
Well, after dinner my stomach was not happy. I felt like I’d eaten
something bad. I had severe abdominal cramping all night and the pain slowly migrated to my lower right
abdomen. A year earlier a bodyworker told me a valve down there
could sometimes trap food and cause discomfort. She taught me to
massage it. I tried, but no luck. I was up all night in pain.
The next
morning I felt even more bloated and uncomfortable. I was used to
frequent belly aches, but this seemed extreme and I kept feeling
worse, not better.
The pain
and discomfort lasted for a week.
I should
have known something wasn't right when I couldn't even button my
pants, but I didn't know what it could be.
The next weekend, I devoted myself
to sensing into my belly. I tried to understand what was going on
and tried to consciously relax and respond. The next day, the pain
was gone and I thought I’d succeeded in my mind-body medicine
effort.
That was short-lived.
Later that night the pain was back with a vengeance. I
rushed to the drug store to pick up Pepto Bismal and Gas-X -- which
I never use, but I was desperate -- and
neither product remotely helped with the pain. I was up all
night in absolute agony.
My
husband, Vegar told me I wasn't allowed to complain anymore unless I
went to the doctor. He was really worried. I didn't call anyone that
night, but by morning I had a fever and I started to get worried. I
made an appointment with “the gut whisperer,” a local
gastroenterologist who came highly recommended.
I also
called Tess and she wondered if it was my appendix. When I looked up
the symptoms for a ruptured appendix online, they fit me to a tee.
Unfortunately, I ended up going to the wrong place and missed my
doctor's appointment. The next appointment wasn't for two days.
By
that evening, though, I was scared and in enough pain that I went to
a local walk-in clinic. The intake nurse began touching my belly and
I yelped. Man did it hurt! The nurse said quite dramatically, “You’ve
just won yourself a trip to the Emergency Room!”
Turns out
my appendix, which should have been the size of a dime, had ruptured
and was the size
of an apricot. The surgeon said it was one of the worst cases of
appendicitis that he's ever seen (and he does up to three
appendectomies a day, year in and year out).
OHC: What a painful experience. I understand your
recovery didn't go well either.
CS:
Not at all. After my surgery, I had terrible constipation from all
the antibiotics they gave me. I tried fibers, but that just made
things worse. It was awful. Three weeks after the surgery, I just
couldn’t bounce back. I had no attention span, no ability to focus,
no energy. It seemed like people were moving at warp speed and I
couldn't even carry on a basic conversation.
When I
tried to call the surgeon, the nurse wouldn’t let me talk to him and
told me that everything I’d been feeling must just be a parallel
incident! She said if there was no further infection and my wounds
were healing, I should be fine.
I was
shocked. Again, I was being told I was just fine and yet I knew I
wasn't doing well. This moment is so vivid in my memory, as it
marked the moment when I knew I had to venture outside Western
medicine.
OHC: Where did you turn for help?
CS:
I talked at length with Cindy, who shared her own appendicitis story
with me. The similarities were eerie. She too had had pains that
doctors had written off as unremarkable. She had actually suffered
from chronic appendicitis for a few years before she finally was
rushed to an emergency room in excruciating pain.
Looking back,
I am sure my appendix was at the root of my belly problems.
Cindy
encouraged me to go see Dr. Rodier to help me get my health back on
track after everything I'd been through. It was a huge relief to
learn that his services were covered by my insurance as I already
owed over $3,000 for my surgery and stay in the hospital.
I
felt really exhausted and vulnerable. Cindy and Tess
were great, supporting me through the whole process.
Tess was
so sweet. I didn’t feel well enough to drive and I wanted a friend
there who understood what questions to ask.
At first
it was all so overwhelming to me. I didn’t see the connection
between all the supplements Dr. Rodier asked me to take and what
they would do for me. I also didn’t like the idea of being dependent
on a whole bunch of supplements at 31 either. But I was desperate to
feel better as I certainly wasn’t able to work or enjoy my life the
way things were going. Since I totally trusted Cindy and Tess, I
decided to try the new diet Dr. Rodier recommended.
OHC: How did you fare on Dr. Rodier's protocol?
CS:
I started
the cleanse
diet right away. I'll confess. The first two weeks were hell. I
became even more exhausted. I was sleeping 11 or 12 hours a night
and experiencing the mild flu-like symptoms of detox. I was assured this was normal,
that my body was detoxing and that I was going to feel worse before
I felt better. I'd done enough cleanses to know I needed to hang in
there, but can imagine a lot of people
going off the diet at that point.
In the
third week, when I reintroduced fruit, I felt like my life came back
to me almost overnight. I remember going to the corner market and
just gorging on berries. They tasted amazing and, having felt
nauseous for so long, I was so thankful to enjoy my food again.
I felt the
best I’d felt in I couldn’t remember how long. I had clarity, ease,
and best of all, energy. The nutrition had really kicked in, and
between the stuff I got from the Co-op and the iodine and adrenal
support products a naturopath had recommended, I was feeling so good!
OHC: How has your view of health changed? What can
you say about having faced such dramatic health challenges at your
age?
CS:
That sense of invincibility wears off toward your late 20s. It did
for me at least, and I’ve heard a lot of my friends say the same
thing. More of my friends are paying attention to which foods work
best for them.
Even my
Norwegian husband -- who used to live on bread, cheese, and beer --
has changed his habits. He notices he’s a lot more connected to his
food and feels more fulfilled when he prepares something at home.
I know that when
I'm really busy, it’s harder for me to stay conscious of my choices
and I'm more prone to eating foods on-the-go. I am working on
slowing down and eating more consciously. It's hard for me to limit
my diet because I
actually love food, all kinds of food! I’ll never be a master of
depriving myself, but I try to eat more raw foods with enzymes, a
salad every day, and plenty of protein.
OHC: What a journey. How are you doing now?
CS:
I'm doing well. I attribute the most change to the
Probiotics 16
and
Pancreatic Enzymes.
My stomach used to hurt so often that pain was part of the norm. Now it rarely hurts anymore. I was
so grateful for having access to the Co-op's products because Dr.
Rodier had me taking so many capsules of probiotics each day in the
beginning. There's no way I could have afforded buying more
expensive store brands, so I would have probably taken less to save
money.
The best
thing about having gone through Dr. Rodier's cleanse diet is that I
notice I have a stronger tolerance for foods that used to give me a
lot of trouble. I still notice I’ll bloat a bit if I have something like
wheat pasta, but I’m not on the floor in pain anymore. I can feel my
system getting stronger, and for that I'm incredibly grateful.
Now, I’ve
also got my sister and my dad ordering your
Probiotics 16.
The problems I have clearly run in our family. Since both my dad and
sister have struggled with tummy trouble and regularity, I think
they'll become converts to probiotics pretty quickly!
----------------------------------------------------
As Christy
said, she loves food, which means even on a restricted diet,
she created some delicious dishes. I thought we should share some of
Christy's recipes for those of you considering your own personal
cleanse on the
Dr. Rodier
diet.
Recipe #1 - Kale & Spice Scramble
Sautee
ginger, garlic and onion in coconut or olive oil in small skillet.
Scramble eggs
in separate skillet.
(If you
put the eggs in with the kale, the kale gets limp, so Christy found
that separating the ingredients improved the textures and flavors!)
Combine
kale with scrambled eggs and add pumpkin and/or sesame seeds. You
can add chicken sausage for extra protein. Goes very well with a
little hot sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe #2 - Cabbage & Coconut Sautee
Sautee
mustard seeds in coconut or olive oil on medium heat until the seeds
begin to "pop."
Add
chopped onions and/or chilies for more spice.
Add
chopped purple or green cabbage and sautee
together with mustard seeds, onions, and chilies. Add shredded
coconut and mix well.
