Jaime was tired of chasing her symptoms with medications!

I am a Personal/Professional Development Coach who was trained to peel back the layers and get to the core. I never knew my coaching skills would play a role in my physical health.

For four excruciating months, I suffered with:

• Nausea
• Extreme fatigue
• Constipation
• Massive bloating
• Sudden weight gain

I had to wear stretchy clothes and a scarf to hide my pregnant looking belly because it was incredibly embarrassing and uncomfortable.

I tried to manage this on my own, but the pain/discomfort only intensified. Once the depression from all of this kicked in, I went to a Gastroenterologist. After many tests, including an upper and lower scope, his diagnosis was IBS-C and Gerd. He prescribed medication to tame my symptoms and put me on a Low-FODMAP diet with very little instruction on what that was and how to maintain it. I gave it my all to follow his recommendations, but the meds and diet were not helping. In fact, my symptoms continued to get worse and my doctor’s answer to that was an antidepressant to tame those symptoms.

As a coach, I quickly realized that the doctors were only treating my symptoms and doing nothing to get to the core of the problem. I was masking the symptoms, but doing nothing to actually fix what was causing those issues. After much research on what my next step should be, I found the Functional Medicine program at Forum Health Clarkston. 

I called Forum Health Clarkston and spoke with the receptionist. I could not believe how thorough she was. I had a page of notes by the time I got off the phone. For the first time in four months, I felt HOPE! This was going to take commitment and an investment in my health, but it was going to be worth it because they are trained to get to the CORE of my health issues.

My first appointment was beyond my expectations. After reviewing the in-depth written assessment I did prior to my appointment and my BIA testing, weight, and body measurements, Brittany Golden, my certified Functional Medicine Nutritionist, knew what was REALLY going on with my digestive system. She fed me a ton of solutions and filled me full of knowledge on nutrition. Brittany also gave me a clear path to healing my gut. Some of the goals I set with her was healing my gut, getting rid of the bloating and fatigue, and losing the weight I had recently gained. 

With the abundance of support from the whole team at Forum Health Clarkston, my first month was not as tough as I thought it would be. In that month:

• I lost 7 pounds of inflammation and body fat
• My bloating was going away
• My energy is coming back

This is a great leap towards reaching my goals. Yes, this is a commitment and an investment, but I’m relieved that my investment is going toward solutions that work. I wasted so much time and money fishing for some relief through doctors, prescriptions, and the wrong supplements. I’m excited about my results so far and am motivated to meet all my goals in the coming months. Stay tuned!