MY STORY

Hello and welcome. I’m Karen and I am so glad you are here.

HERE IS A BIT ABOUT ME...

As is true for most people with a SIBO diagnosis, there wasn’t any one moment that made me say, “Wow, I feel like crap”. It was more like a slow burn.

In my early 20’s I had a multinodular goiter on my thyroid and had surgery to remove it. It was scary and I did what I was told – remove half my thyroid and all will be well. And it was, for a while. I felt great through the rest of my 20’s and through my one and only pregnancy. Life was good, until it wasn’t. Suddenly, things were feeling “off”. I experienced fatigue, constipation, belly bloat and brain fog. I had trouble sleeping and I chalked all these symptoms up to being a new mom. My hair began to fall out and the doctors just told me to get more sleep. More sleep didn’t seem to fix the problem.

After years of enduring these intense seemingly unrelated symptoms with no relief, I realized I needed to advocate for myself and find some answers. I found a naturopath, who diagnosed me with hypo (low) thyroid. I went on meds and they made me feel awful – I felt like I was on speed. I made dietary changes and it helped a little, but nothing that lasted more than a few weeks. I began to gain weight, even though I was eating less and less. I realized I needed to do something more – but what?

Then came the SIBO diagnosis. On one hand I was elated, I had finally found the answer to all my health woes! And on the other hand, I was overwhelmed with so much anxiety – everything I read told me that SIBO was complicated and hard to heal. I dove into all the information I could find about SIBO. This was the beginning of a multi-year process to heal my gut. I integrated nutrition, multiple SIBO treatments and treatments for intestinal parasites and worms. By this time, I had also acquired a Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (an auto-immune condition) diagnosis.

What I slowly realized was that I wasn’t going to heal my body with diet and treatments alone. I changed my mindset and looked to SIBO as a symptom of a root cause of an unhealthy gut. I began to view my body holistically, and attended to my physical body as well as my emotional body equally. I supported my body’s healing by incorporating mindfulness, yoga and neural repatterning. I even began somatic experiencing therapy to work through any blocks I may have to healing. I began to take charge of my own health and believe in my ability to heal. And heal it has!

Now, I no longer have active Hashimoto’s and the SIBO that once ravaged my gut has been in remission, too. My energy is abundant, fueling my mountain bike adventures and gardening hobbies. I am no longer full of anxiety about social situations around food and I feel great in my body.

My own health journey inspired me to become an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach to empower moms with SIBO and thyroid issues to heal their gut, boost their energy, and reclaim their mental clarity and vitality so they can fully and authentically show up for life. I felt alone in my journey but that doesn’t need to be your story.

If you can relate to my story and are someone who is struggling with your gut and thyroid health, reserve a spot on my calendar for a complimentary conversation. You don’t have to do this alone. Together, we can help you to find balance.