All my life, I’ve struggled with one health condition after another.

At only 15 years old, I developed sciatica so bad I would stand at the back of the classroom because I couldn’t bear to sit any longer. I was always an active kid, I played many sports in high-school including softball, hockey, rugby, wrestling, etc. It was probably the contact sports that caused this problem for me. You may be thinking, “what does this have to do with nutrition?”. Don’t worry, you’ll see in a minute. I saw my family doctor multiple times for severe back pain between the ages of 15 and 18. This was my first experience of seeing the doctor for a problem and being offered no solutions except strong medications. I’ve always wondered why my doctor didn’t think it was odd to have a 15 year old sitting in front of him with excruciating back pain. No imaging was ordered, no physio suggested, just meds.

Even earlier in my life, I struggled with psoriasis. As a 10 year old, I had patches on my elbows and knees. The doctor prescribed cortisone and sent me on my way.

In college, my psoriasis was the worst it has ever been. I could hardly move my fingers they were so swollen.

Every time I bent them, deep cuts would open up and bleed. The psoriasis moved to my scalp, keeping me awake at night in pain. I would wake up in the morning with blood under my fingernails from scratching so much in my sleep. Once again, I was given cortisone and sent on my way.

I couldn’t go on living in pain.

I was only 17 years old!

As the years went on, I did more research. I learned that gluten intolerance could be a culprit. At the same time, I was also experiencing IBS, PMS, mood swings, inflammation, blood sugar imbalance and more. I decided to take it upon myself to do an elimination diet and remove common allergens from my diet. I did 2-3 elimination diets over a few years before I finally admitted to myself that gluten was a problem. Within a few months of eliminating gluten, my psoriasis was all but gone. My fingers stopped cracking. They didn’t bleed every time I moved. What I didn’t expect when I removed gluten was the improvement in my IBS symptoms, less PMS, weight loss and mood improvements.

It was like the fog had lifted.

It was the first relief I had felt in years.

All of my problems weren’t gone, but they were significantly improved. As the years went by, I continued to struggle with irregular periods, horrible cramping and major mood swings around my period. Going back to what helped me back then, nutrition, I set out to improve my hormones and bring my body back to balance.

I am still a work in progress. But I look back at how far I’ve come, and I know for a fact, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for learning about nutritional interventions.

All of this to say, I’ve been there.

I know how it feels to go to the doctor and leave feeling deflated with a prescription in hand. I know how it feels to think I’m going to feel this way forever. And I’m here to tell you, you don’t have to. You can improve your health through the power of nutrition. And I’ll be here to help you the whole way.

Maggie

My Story Goes a Little Like This…