I have energy I never knew existed!

“When I first heard about Root Cause Medical Clinic, it was because a cousin was researching information related to her thyroid. She started listing off all of the symptoms that she had related to her thyroid that had cleared up when she removed gluten from her diet. I had never had my thyroid tested, but as I listened to her talk, I was amazed at how many symptoms she said cleared up that I had lived with and always thought was normal. I decided to talk to my doctor more in-depth and to ask about those symptoms further, as well as a host of other symptoms. I had terrible allergies, that just had gotten worse and worse as I got older. Several family members had allergies, so it was “normal” to me. I woke up every morning with hives and was on a cocktail of different prescription and OTC allergy medications just to keep my symptoms at bay enough to be functional. I also had significant IBS symptoms, which had me in and out of the bathroom on a regular basis, even keeping extra clothing at work “just in case.” To top it all off, I had bizarre, unexplained muscle twitches that were sometimes accompanied with sharp pains, and I was constantly tired (except at night when I should have been sleeping). I also had low blood sugar and low blood pressure and sometimes anemia… as I made my list of symptoms for Root Cause Medical, I actually felt like a bit of a train wreck, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I was tested for thyroid issues, after arguing with my doctor that I wanted the test done (despite the fact that both of my grandmothers, my mother, and 9 of my aunts are diagnosed with hypothyroid), and I had gone gluten-free in the meantime because of the results that my cousin saw. My thyroid test came back as normal, but that didn’t explain why I felt the way I did, and now I knew it wasn’t normal. Going gluten-free, a lot of things cleared up. The pain I had with the muscle twitches went away within a couple of weeks (and that had been significant). I also wasn’t spending nearly as much time in/out of the bathroom. Those changes in and of themselves gave me hope. Then my cousin said she was going to make a trip out to CA to Root Cause Medical.

I read “The Gluten Effect” and saw myself in so many of the issues. It was a bit extreme, perhaps, but I decided to join her after I spoke to Dr. Vikki. I didn’t want to bounce around from doctor to doctor locally, trying to figure out what was going on. I decided I would be better off making the leap to go to the clinic, and then once I knew what I was looking for, I could try to find a more local doctor. There were three of us that were seen at the clinic, and the staff was great, arranging everything so that we could all be seen, crammed into just a couple of days. We did some of our testings from home before we went to make sure that there were results at the clinic when we first got there. There was no need to convince us that gluten-free was the way we needed to live, even without test results, but the results confirmed what we knew. We all had some similar issues, but some different ones as well.

I happen to have had some pretty intense hive reactions to a whole host of antibiotics, and I showed positive for a couple of different parasites, which are generally treated with antibiotics. Dr. Carrie took extra time researching the different possible treatment methods for the parasites and my antibiotics. She presented a couple of different options to me, and we took a calculated risk on the antibiotics, some I had never had, in different families from those I have had a reaction to. Going back home, I continue to work with Dr. Rick over the phone. After starting the antibiotic course, my allergies started to lessen. The parasites I had were known to cause those types of reactions in people. Also, my IBS issues nearly cleared up entirely. Tweaking my supplements, my muscle twitches also ceased, and I began to sleep through the night. Things were so much better than they had ever been, but things were still not where Dr. Rick thought they should be. After a stool retest, we found that one of the parasites had not gone completely away. We added supplements for that, and I continued to support my poor adrenal glands that had taken quite a beating from the gluten. At the end of that treatment, I was feeling so exceptional that we decided not to retest for the parasites because there was no indication that there was anything going on.

I started this process with Root Cause Medical 8 months ago. I have been gluten-free for 11 months. I can honestly say I have never felt better. I have not taken ANY allergy medication in about four months, which is beyond exceptional for me, AND I work outside during the summer! The spring allergies that made everyone miserable barely touched me, and that was while I was still treating the parasites. Now I am working in the dust, mold, pollen environment, and I am doing so much better than anyone that I know that doesn’t have “allergies.”I am no longer worried about where the bathroom is or living off of supplements for my IBS symptoms. I take a multivitamin and listen to my body. I can tell if I have been exposed to gluten, and though I went through a period where I was hypersensitive, I seem to be on the other side of that now as well. I do not believe the lie that I can “cheat” or that “a little doesn’t matter.” It just isn’t worth the cascade of symptoms that come flooding back to me that I can feel for the next 3-4 days, and I KNOW it lingers for 3-6 more months in my system wreaking havoc on my adrenals. I have the energy I never knew existed. I fall asleep and stay asleep, feeling rested and wake before my alarm in the morning.

Since I know that CA is a bit too far for me to have a regular doctor (I am in WI), I had to seek out a local doctor, and I found one that is savvy to all of this and has been willing to work with me to transition my primary care and other concerns to their clinic. I don’t think I ever would have found them though, without the vigilant education I received from the doctors and staff at Root Cause Medical. My trip to Root Cause Medical Clinic gave me a new lease on life, and I feel better now than I ever remember feeling before. It really was a godsend to me.”

– Richard C.