Periodic cramping, bloating, constipation, and diarrhoea. There was also the unfocussed anxiety, irritability and depression - which got worse with menstruation, but was there most of the time.
These symptoms are not pleasant and make life uncomfortable in many ways - but when you add in the onset of rheumatoid arthritis which was beginning in the thumb and finger joints, the development of alopecia areata, on top of a pre-existing vitiligo condition – then far from life being one of joy and excitement, becomes one of constant pain, worry and misery - especially when you’re a 20-something year old young lady.
After countless hours and consultations with private healthcare specialists where your prognosis is regular symptomatic treatment with steroid injections to quieten the unavoidable flare-ups of pigment loss in fairly expansive patches of skin, hair loss and debilitating pain that will progressively become more frequent and aggressive as you age, then your future becomes a bleak and dark place to envisage.
When you add to this a diagnosis of endometriosis, then that dark place becomes an abyss, especially when the consultant who you hope will throw you a lifeline shrugs it off as being ‘normal’ and offers a contraceptive pill to alleviate the symptoms as a conciliatory measure. Normal? ‘normal’ is not always what it seems, especially when that norm data is derived from the average of a less than healthy population.
None of the Doctors, consultants or specialists even mentioned nutrition and when questioned they responded that it wasn’t really a factor.
“It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.”
~ Chuck Palahniuk, Fight Club
I think we had almost reached this ‘lost everything’ stage, so maybe it was time to try anything – well something; anything is a wee bit ambiguous.
The vitiligo, alopecia and rheumatism are all auto-immune related conditions which have a massive genetic component to them. But genetics do not equal destiny. Just because you have a specific gene doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be expressed; this is where epigenetics (gene-environment interaction) is so important. There’s nothing we could do to alter her genetics, but we do have a large control over the environmental conditions.
Because there was an obvious gut component to the situation, we arranged her food to remove any potential triggers for inflammation and provide specific nutrients that are known anti-inflammatory agents, knowing that doing so we are also beneficially modulating the HPA axis and pancreatic function which then has further implications down the cascade. In addition to this we also created an environment that assisted the repairing of the gut and other tissues in the body.
Within a fortnight the rheumatism had completely quietened down. Within a month the bloating, constipation and obtrusive diarrhoea* had disappeared. The anxiety, irritability and depression had also diminished. There have been no further flare ups of vitiligo and hopefully the alopecia is now in remission (it’s difficult to gauge as you have to wait for the hair follicle to cycle which can take at least a few months), but it’s looking good so far – no further patches occurring and the previous areas are now growing new hair.
As well as assisting in reducing the unpleasant symptoms, there was also a nice, but not unsurprising effect. Take a look at the accompanying photos and you may just be able to see to what I’m referring.
Well done Nazaneen. You’ve had to be very strong for so long – now, with this gremlin under control let’s begin to make your life a stunning masterpiece.
*Foods that previously would’ve required an almost instant visit to the bathroom have since been re-introduced and now seem to be tolerated perfectly fine
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