It’s hard to focus when you aren’t feeling well. But imagine feeling unwell often enough that even when you do feel well, your distracted by the worry of when the next round of pain will hit.
That was the life of Sierra about four years ago, before she found Valeo.
“Back in high school, my stomach would hurt randomly, and it just kept getting worse,” Sierra explains. “I couldn’t figure out if it was entirely food related, even though I could tell that the typical culprits like greasy or overly sugary foods didn’t sit well. But it continued getting worse, to the point where even normal meals would cause so much pain that I’d be sweating and couldn’t focus on anything.”
High school can be hard enough but add intense stomach pain on top of it and it becomes truly challenging.
“With how severe my stomach aches were, I wouldn’t want to get up and walk to my next class. I knew that this is not normal! An occasional stomachache here or there might be normal, but it was to the point that I was worrying about my stomach even when it wasn’t hurting because it was only a matter of time until it flared back up.”
Finding Valeo
Luckily, Sierra soon found out about Valeo through her extended family.
“My cousin also happened to have stomach issues around that same time and told me about Valeo. She had seen Dr. Rob and he figured out the cause of her pain – it was some sort of stomach bug. I thought, ‘maybe I have that?! Maybe if he figured out what was wrong with her stomach, he will be able to find what’s going on with mine.”
Her cousin’s story was motivation enough to schedule an appointment. But Sierra soon found out that Functional Medicine and getting to the root looks different for everyone.
Sierra’s Path to Healing
“Although I was hopeful my issue would be what my cousin had, Dr. Rob determined it was leaky gut and imbalanced bacteria in my microbiome. My protocol was definitely different than my cousin’s, and I had to go on a strict diet for four months,” says Sierra. “It was really hard!” she adds.
Thankfully, Sierra’s parents were a great support to her as she navigated her new diet. “I was a high school student, living at home, and I don’t think I could have done it on my own. My mom especially was such a huge blessing and I’m so thankful for her diving in and supporting me!”
Although it was very difficult to adjust to the diet recommended to her, Sierra was dedicated to giving it her best effort in hopes of feeling better.
“I wasn’t sure if it would work. I just had to keep the faith and trust that Dr. Rob knew what he was doing and that the diet would help. It ended up taking about 3-4 months, but it was worth it! After that, I was able to slowly add some more foods back into my diet and still felt great!”
Free to Be Present
The change that finally feeling well has made in Sierra’s life is, well… lifechanging.
“It’s exciting to really feel mentally and physically well… I get to live normally and enjoy life!” shares Sierra. “Now I get to focus on the time I’m spending with other people and enjoy my swimming workouts, rather than be bogged down with stomach pain or the concern of if I’ll start feeling sick. I have so much less fear and so much more awareness of my body.”
Sierra says the whole experience taught her a lot – more than she thought she’d learn!
“Adjusting my diet gave me a lot of food awareness, which is helpful to understand food labels and what different nutrients in foods are. It’s cool to use that in normal life to be aware of how I’m fueling my body. It has also taught me a better relationship with my body, in general,” she adds, explaining, “I can appreciate it feeling well and use it for what I love to do! I’ve been swimming by whole life, and I’m able to enjoy it more now. I am currently on my college swim team.”
Words of Wisdom
Sierra knows firsthand that the change required to feel better can sometimes be daunting. Major diet or lifestyle changes never come easy! But, as Sierra points out, there’s much to learn in the journey.
“The difficult diet helped me realize I’m a lot more in control of my actions that I realized before and I have a lot of commitment and perseverance. It was a mental test to be able to stick with it, but it showed me I’m stronger than I think.”
Between learning lessons about herself and how to keep her body healthy well into the future, and actually feeling better, Sierra knows that the journey she went on was well worth it.
“It will take time, money, and effort, but ultimately taking care of your health is worth it because it makes your life so much more enjoyable,” she says. “I just wish I would have taken care of it sooner!”
If you’re ready to take action for your health, call our front desk at 952-949-0676.
