KyHiker

So a resource blog that many of you may be interested in is SCDlifestyles. It lead me to many resources that helped me. I assume I'm gluten intolerant, not SCD, but it doesn't matter much either way you can't eat gluten.

I feel like I found my peep in you, Brandy. So it sounds like you and I have some similarity in our journey. I have a few recommendations for you that have helped me immensely. #1 read Hashimoto's, The Root Cause by Isabella Wentz. I felt like she explained my entire medical history. You may also consider The Paleo Approach, Reverse Your Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body. There's more out there too. The blog SCDlifestyles is worthy and I keep getting recommendations for The Body Ecology Diet, which I haven't read. I went off gluten because my doc told me to and I felt bad enough to do it. And she recommended Wentz's book. Going off gluten I found out why I had choking spells since college. That said, going off gluten was hell, so I did the radical jump start with the amino acids that Wentz describes in the book, and my gut hasn't been this calm since I was a child, and I am not exaggerating. I'm now on a healing diet and admittedly a bit lost. I'm going to do some Alletess testing (food intolerance testing) and more research. Haven't been able to add many foods, so going to test vs elimination diet. I'm still working through things, but I feel empowered and hugely improved. A year ago I had chronic fatigue so bad I didn't do squat and every joint hurt, and for awhile my hand hung as if dead. I'm 51 and I get where you're coming from about feeling 80+. But 4 months into a radical diet and I'm getting closer to my age, but about 15 years to go, wink. The the resources I provided are riddled with references to current research, but much of it is not known or embraced widely by allopathic medicine. Me, I'm just going for results, and radically changing my eating is giving me results. As Schoolass mentioned, when you eliminate foods that cause you problems, eating them again will amplify the problems, which is motivation to give them up! Keep your chin up and do your own research. I asked docs for 10 years and got nothing. Then I got sick enough to go to the internet and take responsibility for my own healing, and now I have hope. I didn't find that doc who told me about the gluten and Wentz book until I started my own research. I trust you will feel better if you work it.

I had a gastric bypass in 2006, and for nearly 10 years now I've been anemic and low on magnesium, calcium, iodine, selenium, Vit D. My doc was talking about a transfusion a couple of months ago, and I welcomed the idea. As for Vit D, I've been on 25,000 IU without being in the normal range. So yeah, malabsorption is real. Now that said, based on quality of life and what I knew when I had the surgery, I haven't regretted the surgery. But things went sideways for me a year ago and since then I have learned so much, not about bariatric surgery, but about IBS and auto-immune diseases. I now relate my weight to autoimmune concerns which are tied to IBS - and other digestive concerns. So, even though I am at a good weight (started at 350, now 155, but still have to work at it all the time, FYI), I'm on a gut healing diet and wishing I'd learned about that option before the surgery. The surgery will create a challenge for me in healing my gut. I came to this through Hashimoto's, the Root Cause. Assuming you don't have that particular affliction, I recommend you read The Paleo Approach, Reverse Autoimmune Disease and Heal Your Body. The blog SCDlifestyle was an eye opener, and a book I keep getting recommendations for, but have not read is The Body Ecology Diet. Even if autoimmune disease is a concern for you, these resources will help you understand the root of your GERD. So in summary, I've had 10 years of questionable health and nutrition problems and autoimmune disease challenges and I'm still having to do radical diets to find health, so you might be able to avoid surgery, resolve your GERD and lose your weight without the surgery. Me, I'm still working on it against stacked odds. Whatever path you choose, may you have the best result!