Part 1: What On Earth Is Going On?

A few years ago I started to notice some extreme things happening to me - and to my body. I would wake up in the morning and I would look and feel pretty normal, but then soon after I awoke I would get really bloated - so much that I looked about four months pregnant. Aerie started to notice the bloating and it was then that I realized that the bloating, that was frustrating me so much, was not just in my head - it was very real, and I knew that I had to get to the bottom of this.

For as long as I can remember I have always been an avid exerciser and I have always made fitness a priority in my life. So I had no clue why, despite all of the time and effort that I put into my workouts, I still could not lose weight in my stomach. I always felt really bloated and fat. I was chronically fatigued, moody, and irritable, couldn't concentrate, I experienced waves of mild depression, itchiness, and a great deal of brain fogginess. I had intense cravings for sweets and bread that were almost impossible for me to control. My cravings had total control of my life. The thing that bothered me the most was the bloating though. I would be fine one minute and then I would eat something and I would have to go change my pants because I couldn’t button them up anymore. I remember one day I ate a plum and I bloated up within 15 minutes and Aerie could not believe his eyes. This is when I noticed the food that I was eating was giving me a reaction, and that certain foods seemed to be more offensive than others.

I went to my doctor and she told me that I was fine; she couldn't explain the itchiness and bloating I was experiencing, and referred me to a specialist. I had tests and ultra sounds, but everything appeared just fine. My frustration only intensified. So I did some research on the net. I felt like I was chasing my tail - it was a very confusing and depressing time of my life.

Then one day something happened that brought me a sense of hope. After months and months of actively trying to figure out what on earth was going on with my body, Aerie came home with an answer...a possibility. He was seeing a new chiropractor for his back, and this one time that he went in, she was talking about the importance of strengthening our backs through abdominals (she is a competitive body builder). Anyway, Aerie told her about me; he mentioned to her that despite the amount of time that I focus on working out and strengthening my abdominals, I can’t seem to tone them and I am always bloated in my stomach. She began to ask Aerie what my other symptoms were and after discussing it, she told him that I may have something called Candida - which is a yeast overgrowth. As it turned out, Candida was something that our chiropractor specialized in.

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To be continued...