Growing up, I suffered from bronchitis, sports-induced asthma, and achy joints. I faced a future dependent on an inhaler, until my father met a chiropractor who integrated food allergies into their practice. 

We learned I had an allergy to gluten, eggs, beef, and oysters. Within days, my cough completely disappeared, I lost 18 pounds in two weeks, and my joint pain went away. 

Diet can affect your life—your literal ability to breathe and walk

Lesson One

From my first period, the pain was so severe I would scream and pray that I would pass out. I was put on the birth control pill and just lived with tolerable pain and irregular periods. 

It wasn't until chiropractic school that I learned that painful periods were due to inflammation and triggers could include gut microbiome issues, adrenal issues, and other hormone imbalances. Which taught me my next lesson. 

Lesson Two

Pain does not have to be tolerated—especially not period pain 

Traditional medicine doesn’t have all the answers

I suffered from period pain and hormone imbalance for years because my doctors never tested my hormones. They never figured out why I had the pain. They never looked for triggers. They just gave me the pill. 

And I accepted it because, at the time, I didn't know what else to do. With all the issues I had been facing for years, I was ready to do anything to not let my period control my life.

Lesson Three

You cannot achieve health by just focusing on one thing

It is important to look at your 3T's—inflammatory triggers. Testing my stool, updating my food allergies, and comprehensive blood work showed me I had candida overgrowth, blood sugar dysregulation, and adrenal dysfunction. 

Diet, lifestyle changes, and supplements helped my periods become regular and painless. I came off the pill, and the symptoms disappeared. 

Lesson Four