I have 8 things I am doing for SIBO, Adrenal Fatigue and Autoimmune today.
Today is Day 120 since I started my new protocol after being diagnosed with severe adrenal fatigue, a low functioning thyroid, and SIBO. If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know that these are additions to Colitis which I was diagnosed with in 2008.
The struggles of autoimmune and a less-than-perfect functioning system are real.
Almost 1/3 year has passed since I began addressing these new issues. I have learned so much. Tomorrow I see my holistic MD again, and so I wanted to reflect prior to the visit.
8 Things I Am Doing for SIBO, Adrenal Fatigue and Autoimmune
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Diet
It will come as no surprise that my diet hasn’t changed a ton. I have focused on diet heavily for a couple years now. I know my body, and I know a lot about how food interacts with it. When I was diagnosed with SIBO, though, a few critical things changed. These are the things I eat (and by the way enjoy!) on any given day:
- meat
- coconut oil
- fish
- cod liver oil
- coconut milk
- bone broth
- sardines (yes, I finally did it!)
- super ripe bananas
- hemp seeds
- oranges (I’m finding that I can’t do anymore than 1/2 to 1, though)
- yucca
- kabocha
- hemp protein powder
- greens (kale, arugula mostly)
- olive oil
- hemp oil
- smoothies (which include various fruits that are low-FODMAP)
- organic tea
- organic coffee
Want even more? Get access to my FREE GUTSY MASTER SPREADSHEET HERE.
I don’t do: gluten, grains, dairy, soy, corn, legumes, refined sugar, artificial – chemical – preservatives anything. I’m also strictly adhere to a low-FODMAP diet, which trumps everything else when in doubt. Finally, I consume very little alcohol, and typically never more than 2oz at a time.
Supplements
The supplement regimen is a part-time job. Truth be told, I am not always perfect with it, but I am doing my very best.
I take roughly 8 supplements regularly. Some of them are in pill form, some are “beads,” and the rest are liquid sublinguals. Additionally, I have B12 injections that I am supposed to be doing 2-3 times per week. This has been my biggest downfall and disappointment. I still have not administered a shot to myself because I can’t bring myself to do it.
I feel like this B12 injection is a key component I am missing, but for some reason I can’t bring myself (or allow my husband) to do it. (Side note: I still do all the supplements and things I did to heal my Perioral Dermatitis as well.) (Updated + working! supplements as of March 2017 can be found HERE.)
Medication
I have not yet mentioned the medication I take, but I am ready to tell you. Low Dose Naltrexone is the name. The Healthy Economist published a fantastic article recently about it. You can learn more by reading, “Using Low Dose Naltrexone for Autoimmune Disease.” I take 4.5mg before bed at night. And I know this medication is helping. But more than that, I feel ok with the decision to be on a medication because of it.
Coffee Consumption
I believe in the power of coffee, but by “power” I mean its power to keep me sane and inspired – not it’s power for fake energy.
And thus, my coffee consumption has been greatly reduced. It has been so hard, but not tragic. I drink a combination of organic regular + decaf (about 1-2 cups) each day. I do my very best to stop at that. (As of 2017, I drink even less coffee – on most days. As of 2019, HERE is how I drink my coffee.)
Tea Replacement
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Traditional Medicinals. While I was compensated to write a post using their teas all opinions are my own.
The ritual of a hot beverage is calming to me. These days, though, once the morning coffee ends, I have completely replaced coffee with tea. But like coffee, not all tea is created equally and a lot of tea contains unnecessary processing and ingredients. Furthermore, there are many tea ingredients which are not low-FODMAP and so I had to be very selective with my tea choices.
3 Teas I’m Drinking to Help Support My Healing
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Traditional Medicinals Organic Eater’s Digest Peppermint
As I mentioned above, when it comes to tea, you should always check the ingredients. Tea is one of those things that seems simple enough until it’s not. This one contains many things which are helping me not only feel better but also soothe. It’s a mild peppermint flavor, and I tend to drink it post-meal.
Traditional Medicinals Organic Lemon Balm
Lemon, in all forms, have been a huge addition to these past 120 days. From cleaning to kitchen decorations, in recipes, lemon has been good to me. While Lemon Balm is not related to lemon, this herb’s name comes from its notable lemony fragrance and taste. There is just one ingredient in this tea. I have incorporated the tea into my morning routine, as lemon balm supports digestion (read THIS, too!) and helps calm frazzled nerves (<– = most of my adrenal fatigue problem). It has replaced plain lemon water, and I enjoy the pleasant and friendly morning taste. For the record, adding a little raw honey would be lovely to this tea, but until I have the green light, honey is, of course, high-FODMAP.
Traditional Medicinals Organic Green Tea Ginger
The idea of drinking a green tea + ginger is one that has become a staple for so many. Green tea has been enjoyed for thousands of years as a healthy beverage, and this tea provides the extra wellness benefits of ginger.* Not only do these two fine ingredients help get digestive juices moving*, but their combination is powerful and delicious. In fact, did you know that, “Ginger rhizome has also been a staple in both Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine, traditional practices that are thousands of years old?” If you understand my healing protocol well, you know that these holistic, traditional practices are what I engage in. I love this tea in the deep of an afternoon….most afternoons.
Workouts
I have stayed very consistent and true to how I said I’d workout for healing. I lift at the gym 1-3 times per week, typically no more than 45 minutes. Additionally, I set up a nice Bikram practice for about a month, but I haven’t done it in about a month – my body wants and needs to go back. For “cardio,” I stick to walking primarily, and we walk a lot (but probably not enough). I hit anywhere from 6-10K steps per day.
Updated in 2019 to add: What I Really Think About Workouts and Healing.
Sleep
The baby is, hallelujah praise the Lord, finally sleeping through the night. It took about 15-ish months, but we got there. And thus, I am sleeping so much better. It has made all the difference.
There aren’t many nights when I get less than 7 hours of sleep anymore. Most nights I aim for 8+. Some nights I sneak in 9-10 hours. (Sleep and gut healing is a real thing.)
Lifestyle
I am not going to pretend I have this piece all figured out. My goal was healing through intention in 2015. Most of that intention was lifestyle-based. This piece is the hardest for me since I work full time + have a start-up business. Some things I am doing to stress less and enjoy more include: clearing the clutter, MOPS, walking with friends, sitting in silence with tea and a notebook for personal writing, trips and travel, reflexology and reading The Bible.
With all these changes, how are you feeling?
I have more good days than bad. Quite honestly, that frustrates me so often.
With all that I’m doing (or not doing) now, shouldn’t everyday be good? Shouldn’t I be “healed” by now?
But no, no it should not and no it will not.
Autoimmune means you will find yourself in remission, but not cured. There is no cure for the things I have. And if you’re not cured, then bad days are bound to happen because life happens. I refuse to live in a bubble, and even if I did live in this bubble, I’d still likely have bad days (um, hello, that would be so stressful!)
As a friend recently told me, “More good than bad days are all I can ask for.“
She’s right. There was a time when I had 10% good days, 90% bad days.
I would say I’ve progressed to about 75% good days, 25% bad days.
Tomorrow I see my holistic MD (and then I’ll follow up with more!). I am ready for the next 120 days, for phase 2 and for learning more, growing more and healing more.
Did you enjoy 8 Things I Am Doing for SIBO, Adrenal Fatigue and Autoimmune?
Xox,
SKH
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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Always love hearing about what you are learning. As mom and women I feel we are not often enough real in our struggles or share our secrets to accomplishing success. It is always refreshing to read how God is working in your life and using you for ultimate healing.
I am a HUGE tea drinker and in the past 6 months I have longed to get away from 1. Lipton and 2. tea bags. I started buying in bulk loose leaf and brewing in a coffee maker. It has worked really well, but finding loose leaf basic black tea has been a search. I learned a ton from Food Babe’s tea article too and have recently ordered Numi loose leaf black breakfast tea blend… looking forward to trying Traditional Medicinals too.
Thanks for sharing!!
I don’t think I’ve ever responded to anyone’s post before.. but I was blown away by the similarities with our daily routines (because of our health issues) from our diet/food lists to our sleep patterns to our lifestyle choices (especially the writing & bible reading). 🙂 I’ve been struggling for many years with multiple issues but haven’t reach my ultimate goal with healing yet nor had I seen any breakthrough for that matter until I decided to take matters into my own hands…well with our Heavenly Father’s lead of course. Making many of these personal changes has really helped me but I am still striving for 100%! I’ll be keeping you in prayer and hoping for your full recovery as well! I believe in His promises! Keep the faith and God Bless!+ Thank you for all you do!
The way that you meet the challenges you face head on and take a proactive approach to finding solutions is so inspiring!!
As I’ve gotten older, coffee just doesn’t sit well with me anymore, so I’ve become a fairly new lover of tea. I drink primarily loose leaf teas and buy most of my favourites from a newer tea company, BeTeas. http://www.beteas.com – The owner is actually my cousin, who is also a holistic nutritionist. She carefully sources out each tea, including visits to the plantations. At first, I feel for all the gimmicks and flavourings that so many teas from places like David’s Tea include, but as I’ve learned more about the health benefits of tea and started developing my own likes & preferences, I’ve moved away from that to more natural, pure teas. Did you know that drinking at least 3 cups of teas per day is proven to have several long-term health benefits? It’s also one of the very few fluids that can penetrate the blood/brain barrier….can you tell I’ve recently been to a seminar about the health benefits of tea?! LOL Some of my favourite teas are Golden Jasmine Green (the smell is divine), Cucumber Mint and Milky Oolong.
I’m so glad that you are having more good days than bad and I wish you continued progress!!!
I have recently been diagnosed with Sibo in the past two weeks I m doing as much independent research as possible, thank you all for the lively discussion! I am still debating whether or not to go ahead with my doctor s 10 day Neomycin Flagyl protocol, followed by at least 90 days of Dr. Pimentel s New IBS Solution Sibo diet.
I’m 3 months, down 30 lbs. Been treating myself holistically for 2 wks!! Just so weak and digestion still uncomfortable. Finally at its peak. I’m determined to heal through supplements and diet ????
Yay! Xox
Have you considered adding L-Glutamine and Zinc to your diet? I’ve just finished antibiotics for sibo and the effect of those two alone have really eased my symptoms. Also I noticed you are not taking probiotics? Is this because you are getting it from your food?
Hi, Adam! Yes on both..in fact, I have a whole blog post dedicated to L-Glutamine -> http://bit.ly/skh101d7 The reason I don’t always do a Probiotic is because when gut bacteria is really off, a lot of research indicates that both pro and pre-biotics only help feed that “bad” bacteria. After this next course of antibiotic, I will be adding back in the Probiotic, though. I enjoy NOW Foods and Prescript-Assist. Thanks for stopping by!
Prescript-Assist. Does that not upset the SIBO?
Thank you
Hi, Irene! It really depends where I’m at with the SIBO. I have recently learned that when my SIBO is active or showing any signs of becoming active again that I cannot do probiotics really at all. However, when it’s not, I tolerate them.
Hi there! I just came across this blog post – I recently have been diagnosed with SIBO, adrenal fatigue, and hyperthyroid. I have been following a low fodmap diet and have eliminated all the potential allergens. I am curious how you feel more than a year later. The diet has been Incredibly hard but I am proud of myself for managing my symptoms. I am taking most of the supplements you’ve mentioned. I see my GI next week and my guess is antibiotics are in my near future. Any recommendations for surviving the treatment and moving forward? Thanks a ton! I feel comforted that I am not alone ❤️
Thank God for a SINBO community!! I just started this week. I healed my gut temporarily before seeing my holistic doc by drinking Jahmu Chai whuch has turmeric and ginger in it. I’m looking forward to learning more here and find encouragement to heal spiritually, emotionally as well as physically. God bless. Maggy
I haven’t been able to get my gut health back since my second baby. I see a GI next week. I suspect SIBO due to my severe chronic iron deficiency. Do you have that? I also need somebody to address my adrenal fatigue(diagnosed five years ago by naturopath who found I had almost no cortisol production but I never followed up and then got married and had two kids back to back… I feel icky though and would like to address.) who found and treated your adrenal issues? Thanks for the great post and God bless.
Hi, Jennifer! My Naturopath found it. I go to The California Institute for Functional Medicine. I work with Dr. Amy and Dr. Schweig:)
I’m at a loss! I just completed the eradication phase of antibiotics and then 6 weeks of herbs. Was feeling somewhat normal again and now I’m back to where I started within a few days, If not worse! doing the anti Sibo diet and Iberogast for now until I get the good prokinetic and have pain all over and diarrhea again. First time in months! My ND says I have to wait three weeks to test again. I can’t function like this. Help anyone? She’s taken me off of probiotics for now. Was doing so well in eradication!
Hi! I am almost healed, and I’ve been writing about it more lately. Here are some things that may help you –> http://bit.ly/skhsupmedh
Thank you! Very helpful and informative (yes, the Eaters Digest is truly helpful.)
You are most welcome!
Can you share what you have tried for Adrenal Fatigue and for the SIBO….I have the same thing though my Hashimoto’s seems to be in remission right now. I agree it is a journey and I always say Life is a marathon and not a sprint. I think that can apply to all facets of life including healing. Thanks for sharing your story and your heart. Blessings, Cindy
Hi, great to your healing story. I’m just wondering about your sleep, because it seems when you say “Aiming for 8 hours…” then you are sleeping extremely well. My experience with adrenal fatigue is that sleep gets extremely distorted and 2-4 hour sleep is “normal” with AF. So no matter how high you aim with sleep with AF, you ain’t gonna sleep that much, because biology wakes you up after a few hours.
That is true. I always just made sure I went to bed early enough to account for any interruptions. That said, I didn’t have that many sleep interruptions. Good luck!
Have you tried the Plant Paradox program?
I have not.