HOT GIRLS HAVE IBS
My Gut Health Journey
By: Shelby Williams
Why is this so true?! I’ve been on the road for a long time to be a hot girl without IBS. And I know a ton of you have been on this journey too! And I wish this blog could be the cure for all of you that have messaged me about this topic, but sadly I am just here to give you some perspective and what worked for me. I am not a doctor and none of this is medical advice. I do hope I can get you motivated to take your health into your own hands! Gut health is so nuanced and complicated and overlooked in our healthcare system but so very important. I also don’t mean to use scare tactics in any way. I hate that the internet just makes being healthy so complicated. I feel like this information is so needed though if you are suffering. Take or leave what you want. So, if you are in for a long, graphic blog that outlines my healing journey, here we go…
When I was in high school a long time ago, some slight gut stuff started. I was mainly just very, very constipated, which if you have had, you know can be so extremely uncomfortable. But I just made do because I was young, active and just a normal teenager. In college I decided to go pescetarian after reading the book Skinny Bitch. UGH. Did yall read that book? Very toxic. Don’t read it. Anyways, I have always been interested in health and wellness and was majoring in Exercise Science, minoring in Biology so I thought taking meat out of my diet was the healthy thing to do. So I was a poor college student who lived off grilled cheeses, partying, not sleeping, and working a lot. I had the energy though! Why not? I would get sick often from not sleeping and in Louisiana they give you antibiotics for anything and a steroid shot to get you feeling good again! I would do this cycle multiple times a year and didn’t realize how it was wrecking my gut bacteria.
So, the constipation continued. I wouldn’t go to the bathroom for weeks. WEEKS! Not even a little. Then, these “episodes” started happening. I would be so constipated that my body couldn’t take it anymore, and I would start throwing up and pooping at the same time. It would be so extreme and violent that I would pass out from being so dehydrated so quickly. One of these times EMS couldn’t find a pulse on me (I was fine, just dehydrated). I went to the ER 3 times for this. I would start vomiting and pass out, someone would call 911, I would go to the hospital and be complaining about pain in my stomach so they would give me pain pills 😬which in turn makes you more constipated. Lovely. Then, I started breaking out in hives constantly with no real trigger that I could pinpoint. I didn’t realize at this time that the gut and skin are related.
My mom took me to the gastroenterologist who just diagnosed me with IBS, gave me some laxatives (that never worked for me) and sent me on my way. We went to the allergist next who gave me steroids in pill form and in cream form, allergy meds, etc., and sent me on my way. I didn’t take any of it and started taking my health into my own hands. I didn’t want to just mask the symptoms. I wanted to get to the bottom of my problem and solve it. I wanted to feel good!
I then moved to Colorado, where I again got sick (bronchitis) and went to the Doc asking for antibiotics and a steroid shot. He said absolutely not. You can’t just be taking those things willy-nilly - they aren’t good for you in excess! He gave me breathing treatments and alternative options that worked. My mind was blown that my Louisiana doctors were just handing me antibiotics constantly that were wrecking my gut. Side note, I also had to get a cataract removed from my eye in my early 20’s and they think this was from the frequent steroid use.
My skin stuff got way worse, I was breaking out in random full body hives even when I would just do an intense workout, had eczema, and rashes over my whole body including my face. My stomach was getting worse with the continued constipation, bloating, stomach pains, and acid reflux. I was getting frequent UTIs and yeast infections. My mental health started to struggle too. I was in grad school, working, and just trying to manage my health but had no idea what to do. My anxiety increased exponentially to where I didn’t even feel like I was living in my own body. I felt like I was living an out of body experience. Again, I didn’t know that gut health was related to mental health as well. I felt so lost and hopeless and sick. I look back and even in my wedding photos, I am SO swollen. I was so inflamed and my body was screaming for help.
I broke down and found a functional medicine doctor and put it on credit cards. I didn’t care how much it was, I would pay it off someday. I needed help. This doctor took me in and made me feel seen, unlike most other doctors who just dismissed my problems. She did a ton of testing and found that I had inflammation in my gut, leaky gut, candida, and essentially NO good gut bacteria. Like none. I was shocked. She gave me supplements, told me to cut out gluten (I had developed an allergy to it), and add meat back into my diet.
Then came the agonizingly slow healing process… like years of slow healing. I don’t think it has to be that slow for most. Just letting you know what it was like for me. I was very good about my diet and supplements but wasn’t great with managing sleeping or stress or partying.
So, what helped me to feel good again?
A mostly Paleo diet for a few years. I can’t tell you how hard this was at first but if you say you can’t do something, you are wrong. Feeling better was way more important to me than eating a piece of bread. I don’t eat Paleo now. It was just for the healing process. I don’t like to be strict with my diet because we are meant to live and enjoy life, but I feel best when I am eating whole foods and limit processed foods and going out to eat.
Trigger foods. I had to figure out what triggered my constipation and skin issues and didn’t eat those triggers for a long time. Like a very long time. And actually had to be pretty strict about this at first. I get that you don’t want to tend towards orthorexia but I was not healing until my doctor was like, “YOU HAVE TO STOP EATING GLUTEN!!” I finally listened to her and cut it all out and things got better. I know it can be so hard to find these triggers. In my opinion, you don’t have to do a food elimination diet. Those are so hard. Just listen to your body and symptoms. Write things down. Tune in. Some of my other hot girl friends with IBS have figured their triggers because of the extreme bloating after you eat that food. Stop eating it for a while. It doesn’t have to be forever. This is just temporary till your gut can calm down and you can handle that food again. For example, dairy used to break me out in eczema and now it doesn’t! Huge win!
L-glutamine. This was huge because it is affordable, heals your gut lining, doesn’t taste like anything, and is just so effective. Pretty much a miracle supplement. Take it every morning on an empty stomach. I took a very high dosage at first and then tapered off. This helped with my leaky gut and inflammation. There are a ton of L Glut protocols out there online. I don’t have to take this anymore, FYI. I used the NOW brand of L-glutamine.
A good probiotic. This took me a really long time to find, then they discontinued my brand. I am using Seed probiotics now and they work. I hate that any of my extra money goes to these expensive supplements but they are so worth it. I feel the difference in my skin and gut when I take Seed. Some probiotics I don’t think work at all. So how do you find a good probiotic to work for you? Try Seed if you have the money. Or if you are looking for something specific for the probiotic to cure, google the probiotic for that specific ailment. For example, probiotic strain for constipation. Go to your local store and find that specific probiotic strain to help you. I also added in kefir, sauerkraut, and kimchi to my diet. I had family members that were taking daily tums for acid reflux and are now completely off because of a few sips of kefir a day!! I think this is so cool!
Digestive enzymes - Another supplement I don’t have to take anymore but helped a lot in the healing process. During all this, I had to get my gall bladder removed too, which releases bile to help you digest fat. My gallbladder was literally black and dead inside of me. Anyways, I just didn’t feel like I was digesting my food well. I started taking the 365 Whole Foods brand digestive enzymes and they helped a lot. This is another affordable supplement that helped.
Yeast-Cleanse from Solaray for my candida. I ate low sugar and took this supplement, and I swear this supplement is what cleared it!! I use it afterwards for a while when I would feel candida symptoms coming on again and it would clear those away pretty quickly. Use code GETGREAUXING for your full Solaray order to get 15% off. I love their products because they work and are affordable! Also, when I started eating less sugar and more paleo, my body went through a major detox. I thought that I had the flu for a whole day, had to call out of work, and was in bed all day. I was shocked that I was so reliant on sugar and carbs! Did not expect this to happen at all.
Bone broth/Collagen. This is so soothing to your gut, helpful for your skin, and killer for the immune system! We still drink cups of it on an empty stomach, use it for soups, or use it to make rice. I have never been able to make a perfect bone broth so I buy it from the store. I buy and love the Bonafide brand in the freezer section. Not cheap but effective and healing. There is a lot of collagen in bone broth, but I also take collagen every day. I put it in my oatmeal, coffee, etc. I use the Vital Proteins brand. I have family members that said this has done wonders for healing post surgery, helped with hair growth, skin health, etc. I like it because it has a ton of protein, you can add it to anything, and it is one ingredient. Back story… I used to take a lot of vegan proteins that had brown rice protein in them. My doctor found high levels of arsenic in my system. I don’t know if this was from drinking unfiltered water or the brown rice protein, but I now just take collagen and use a filter on my water.
I don’t tell you this to scare you or say your protein is doing this to you but to just inform you, educate you, and show you just how insane my health has been through the years. I just have to laugh about it…
Multivitamin. I never used to take one because I thought I ate healthy enough. After I got covid for the first time, my functional medicine doc took my vitamin levels because I was always so tired and I was low on quite a few vitamins. This multivitamin now helps with my energy level so much! I also make sure that I am taking something with a methylfolate form of folate instead of folic acid. Methylated folate is the usable form of folate and folic acid is the processed form that has to be converted to folate in your body. The methylated form of folate is more effective for everyone. I have an enzyme deficiency to where I can’t process folic acid and I am sure a lot of you do too! BTW if you do, folic acid is in a lot of processed foods and can make you feel like crap if you have this enzyme deficiency. I hope that isn’t confusing. Let me know if you have questions on this. I use the Metagenics brand of multivitamin from my doctor but there are plenty of other great brands out there.
Yoga/meditation. I think that everyone needs some sort of mind/body work to really feel their best. To connect with your body and mind, decrease stress, breathe, and release stuck energy. Yoga also helped me manage my symptoms and become mentally tougher through this process.
Journal. I was so angry and hopeless since my healing took so long. I needed an outlet to just let it all out. Look up “Journal Speak.” It is my favorite way to just get s**t off your chest.
Things I do now to promote healing and wish I knew about back then
Sunshine in the morning to set my circadian rhythm and decrease stress.
Calm my nervous system with parasympathetic exercises and slow down my life.
Limit alcohol and caffeine - I was not doing this at all when I was healing and I think it slowed my journey down.
Prioritize sleep.
If something isn’t a HELL YES then it is a HELL NO - stop over committing yourself.
Supplements I want to try and am interested in - colostrum and shilajit.
I have had so many people message me about this subject. Please know now that it can get better! I barely have any IBS symptoms anymore. I can almost eat whatever I want. My entire health has gotten better x1000. And I know this can be triggering for people with a disordered eating history and I know how hard it is to find a balance in this, I promise. My body was breaking down so I had no choice but to look at what I was eating. Just remember, this is for your health and for you to feel good. Focus on what you are putting in your body and not what you are restricting (if you have to restrict something). You are adding in foods that nourish you, give you energy, and sustain you. You are adding in yummy healthy whole foods that can be fun to cook. You are adding in vitality! And just remember that our bodies are all different and whatever works for me, may not work for you. Tune in to what is right for you. You got this!
Supplement list
L-Glutamine from NOW supplements
Digestive enzymes from 365 Whole Foods Market
Multivitamin from Metagenics
Bone Broth from Bonafide
Collagen from Vital Proteins
Yeast-Cleanse from Solaray
Seed Probiotics
