Soon after moving to Switzerland, my health started to fall apart.

I developed symptoms that seemed completely unrelated: constant sneezing attacks, runny nose, heart palpitations, food intolerances, bloating, unpredictable bowel movements, and acne, and the list kept growing, which no one could explain.

My energy was constantly drained, and focusing became difficult no matter how hard I tried. I felt dependent on things like coffee to get through each day.

I had anxiety over my appearance – from acne to bloating - wondering if the next day would bring another flare-up of these symptoms and how I would try to cover them up. It was all exhausting.

The regular doctor visits started, and I always got the answer that all of my test results looked normal or "you just have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)",  which felt more like a label than an actual explanation.

They even told me that all of these symptoms were in my head. (In retrospect, that was crazy that they even said that!)

Ultimately, I felt I had lost control over my body and life, and nobody understood.

But I knew that something was off in my body as it was signaling to me with symptoms.

After a while, I was finally diagnosed with SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) – hydrogen-dominant SIBO and methanogen overgrowth.

I thought I had found the final answer to all my symptoms, but later I realized I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Getting a diagnosis of SIBO was just the first step on my healing journey.

I got stuck in the "killing bacteria at all costs" cycle that led nowhere, just to relapse.

I felt frustrated as I tried every diet under the sun with no relief. I ended up on a "free from everything" restrictive diet that led to unintended weight loss.

I had struggled with food fear and anxiety when it came to eating; I wasn't sure how my body would handle the food. I became very frustrated that I couldn't expand my diet without my symptoms worsening.

I also knew that conventional medicine couldn't give me the answers.

I finally reached my breaking point, and I decided to stop this madness and regain control of my body.

I started researching, which led me to functional & holistic medicine/nutrition, which became my passion.

At that point, I hired a Health Coach who could finally connect the dots for me. She gave me a direction for my gut health, which I hadn't even thought about, or the doctors didn't recommend

because healing SIBO isn’t just about “killing bacteria.”

That realization completely changed my approach.

It shifted my focus towards a root-cause approach to achieve long-term results without constant relapse.

I started tuning in to my body and implementing the necessary lifestyle changes.

Diet changes seemed to help manage my symptoms, but I knew they would not resolve the root causes. Instead, I focused on nourishing my body, knowing it needed the nutrients to heal.

I added specific supplementation and started working on other factors, such as mindset, sleep quality/schedule, body movement, detoxification techniques, and nervous system support.

I have relapsed several times until the point I took seriously addressing STRESS. That was the time when I saw a significant shift in my healing.

 

After restoring my digestion and getting my life back: