Something you may not know about me (unless you’ve been following along here on The Healthy Apple the last few years) is that I’ve had IBS for as long as I can remember. I can vividly recall being five years old at birthday parties and eating the ice cream and pizza in the ’80s and being stuck in the bathroom. Then it was my 8th grade graduation day where I was in an awful belly bind, followed by my senior year in high school prom where I had to call my mother to go home early and hundreds of other instances where I was doubled over with a bloated belly in the bathroom too sick to move. I was always getting Upper GIs, Lower GIs and colonoscopies as a kid and no one ever found anything other than IBS so I just dealt with it. Not fun!

My belly has always been ‘puffy’ and bloated. It’s just been something that I dealt with since I was a kid, and I tried to ignore the pain for many years. In college, over 10 years ago, I started using probiotics to help with my gut bloating and IBS belly aches and have seen huge improvement since then. Fast forward a few years when I landed in the hospital with C-diff colitis, which is deadly, and was given 24 hours to live. After that, you can imagine how messed up my gut was. I could barely eat a thing without being in pain. So, I had to start over from square one like a little baby and eat pureed bland foods. Exciting, right?

That’s when I started diving into learning about the health of my gut (where the majority of our immune system lives) and how to get my gut back in tip top shape so that I could start eating like a human being again.

When I got out of the hospital and was so weak, I needed something to boost my good bacteria and support my body on a daily basis. Many doctors and friends recommended probiotics to me so I had my mother go to the pharmacy to purchase some ASAP. 

I had already immersed myself in the health world, but I hadn’t really discovered a probiotic that was strong enough to help whip me back into shape after c-diff colitis. I cannot even begin to tell you what a profound change I saw in my entire body, especially my gut health and my immune system. Then, came Lyme disease and PCOS and awful hormonal imbalances, which pretty much screws up the gut and bloats the heck out of anyone, so I was back to square one and spent the next few years trying to heal my gut. I sort of forgot about my gut for a bit, even though I was eating super clean and taking very good care of myself. I’ve gone on and off probiotics in general to give my body a break throughout the last few years but I’m ready to start a consistent schedule. 

Living with IBS

Living with IBS has it’s ups and downs. Before college it was all downs but I’ve gotten better about keeping it under control because I don’t eat fried foods or gluten or dairy or soy or sugar or cold foods or anything else that would trigger me immediately to run to the bathroom and be doubled over in pain. Yeah. Not so fun. 

I’m a “scientist” when it comes to my own health – that’s pretty much the only way to heal and see HUGE improvements in your health because every body and everyone is SO different. My best advice is that you’ve got to take notes on what makes you feel good, what makes you feel lousy and what causes reactions. Trust me here. This is so important. I had about 10 journals that documented my daily trials and tribulations. I want you to feel free to ask me questions about probiotics, IBS, and anything else that crosses your mind. I’m here for you and really want to address the concerns you have about IBS and gut health so feel free to email me or comment below with anything that comes to mind! Additionally, for more information on IBS you can check out my IBS Program. 

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

You can talk with your healthcare provider about probiotics. To manage IBS, doctors recommend using a high-potency probiotic medical food to get the necessary amount of live bacteria to make a difference in your gut health. As many of you already know, probiotics work in three areas of the gut: the microbial barrier, chemical barrier and physical barrier, which is why it’s so important to take probiotics for overall health and gut health.

Ulcerative Colitis

I’ve never had ulcerative colitis (UC) but I have many clients who have been diagnosed and probiotics have helped them tremendously. UC is a chronic disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the inner lining of the large intestine, which includes the colon and the rectum. The inflammation causes erosion of the lining of the colon, leading to bleeding, production of pus, diarrhea, and severe abdominal discomfort. Ulcerative colitis affects more than 1 in every 1,000 Americans and mostly starts between the ages of 15 and 30.