Ground to gut - My story

Poo. Poop. Crap. Faeces. Cow pies. Sh*t. What ever you refer to it as, it's an absolutely fascinating thing! Why is it that we rarely talk about it though? And why, if we do talk about it, does it seem to be appropriate to only talk about it in relation to babies, potentially children, but definitely not as adults?

The gut has always interested me and for as long as I remember I have had sensitivities and an irritability in mine. Camping as a young girl, I remember telling mum my belly was sore and the poo wasn't coming out. I would confidently say she had no idea what to do with that information and looking back now her advice was a little questionable, but she told me to 'have some carrot and wait a little longer'... so I did. I can't quite remember how effective it was but it seems constipation can be very uncomfortable! It's not just how your belly feels, looks, and what comes out of it that indicates optimal functioning, but your body can indicate gut problems by manifesting elsewhere in the body.

Your poo can provide clues to the state of your health and studies show that your immunity starts within your gut. Your immune system is influenced by the microbiome, the millions of bacteria housed in your gut, and when this microbiome is in dysbiosis it can cause an inflammatory response in the body, potentially leading to an array of conditions. For me, psoriasis on my scalp was one of the indicators that something funky was happening in my tummy.

Growing up I was always very thin and I seemed to have caught all the bugs going around. Although I was eating plenty and helping myself to seconds of thirds of bowls of pasta for dinner, mum would say I still looked malnourished on occasions. It was the era where antibiotics were prescribed on the regular, wiping out any of the good bacteria I had (and at the time not replenished with any of the good stuff). It got to the point where the doctor recommend I drink Sustagen on a daily basis, a specially formulated nutritional drink to supplement my diet. To this day I still feel that I eat a lot more than the average woman to maintain my weight but I don't seem to absorb the nutrients from the food, despite it being quite nutrient dense.

In 2015, after many years of suffering with a very irritable bowel, I knew something had to change. It got to the point where each morning I would poo numerous times over a period of an hour, never feeling like I had fully evacuated everything, and often when I did go it was such a powerful urge I had to go immediately. I had unprocessed food in my stools and I felt exhausted. As in I woke up at 7am and by 9am could quite easily go have a nap. We have a very energetic border collie who needed her daily dose of exercise so most mornings my partner (now husband) or I would take her to the local park before work. I would often start walking after the point I thought it was 'safe' to leave the house, and within 500m I would have to turn around and run home to make it to the toilet it in time. On the rare victorious occasion I would make it all the way to the park and back without the urge. In a way it was a vicious cycle because I knew how my body consistently (or inconsistently?) behaved in the morning so my anxiety to be near a toilet grew greater as time went on. It amazes me how strong the link is between the gut and the brain.

Becoming more intrigued and comfortable with poo talk, I started asking further questions to my parents. Turns out we have a history of gut problems in the family, generations of irritable bowels. The thing that astounded me was that they knew of their symptoms, found a couple of small links to dietary factors, but otherwise accepted the state of their guts as normal and just put up with daily symptoms.

I started to delve deeper into lifestyle changes, more so dietary factors, and decided to trial a period of gluten free eating. Wowee how things changed for me, and for the better! By no means was it an instant fix but over time I began to regain my health. I felt more energised, the consistency of my poo improved, the frequency improved, and my mornings became more predictable. My psoriasis was manageable and I noticed a significant improvement in my chronic sinusitis.

Soon after our wedding in 2017 I became ill with intense stomach pain and diarrhoea. After a few days the doctor and I were troubleshooting what it could be. I had scans and blood tests, with the initial ultrasound concluding normal appearance of my stomach and pelvis and bloods concluding minimal inflammation in my body. I ended up in the emergency department for them to do a few tests and discharge me with a referral back to my GP. This made me feel like I was going crazy. I knew something was wrong. I was so unwell and no one could tell me what was happening, but the most frustrating thing is that no one could see or feel what I was going through, which made me second guess myself. After a couple of weeks I was referred for a CT scan, which concluded a kidney stone. It was strange that my pain was a little generalised and particularly bad on the right side but this kidney stone was captured on the left. Perhaps I am wired a little differently on the inside? Regardless, I felt a sense of relief that there was a diagnosis and I wasn't just 'making it up'. I waited what was a reasonable time for a kidney stone to pass but to no avail. Back to the GP I went and was referred for another scan, this time concluding no kidney stone and the shadow identified was actually a phlebolith, a tiny calcification that for me was sitting within 1mm of my ureter. One scan that says kidney stone, one scan that says phlebolith. After a third CT scan, this time with a contrast dye, it was confirmed I did not have a kidney stone.

Feeling incredibly deflated and still very unwell I went back to the GP to explore the next options. To me it didn't feel reproductive and my inkling was that it is gut related but we explored both avenues to be sure. My reproductive organs seemed to be in order but the wait for a gastroenterologist was a little longer than I'd hope. In the meantime I did a stool test and it confirmed campylobacter, a common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis. Although the test didn't confirm it, given my symptoms I also had thoughts it could be Guardia, a parasitic gut infection. Essentially I had a form of gastro for almost three months. Generally with campylobacter it should pass through your system in 1 - 2 weeks, but for some reason I must have a very hospitable environment in my belly and the little guys felt like hanging around for a lot longer. A strong dose of antibiotics and I was on my way to recovery.

I like to reflect on this experience and tell myself that maybe it was a way for my body to mentally prepare for pregnancy, for which I was unwell for the first 20 weeks of both my pregnancies. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but either way it was very mentally challenging.

Over the years I have seen many practitioners, have completed many tests, and have tried many different things to assist with the functioning of my gut. Overall I feel like I have been in a steady, manageable state for a few years now, with only a few hiccups along the way. Now, with kids, we seem to be picking up more bugs courtesy of daycare and playgrounds (seriously... kids are gross) so it sometimes feels like I've worked so well at building the strength of my gut for it only to be knocked backwards a couple of steps. I guess one of the biggest frustrations I have with gut health in general is time. The time it takes to identify what's wrong, the time it takes to rule out dietary factors, and the time it takes the gut to heal. I see why people don't bother addressing their issues. There are just so many cogs in this giant mysterious wheel of gut health but it is so exciting to see new research and new understandings being published regularly,

Throughout my blog I plan to publish a series of 'Ground to Gut' posts, all exploring the different aspects of life that can impact the gut and why that is. Ground to gut will have a heavy focus on nutrition and its various components that lead to improved health, gut function and immunity. I would love to hear your stories of your own journey with gut health and what you have found to be effective (if anything) in bringing you back to a path of happiness, so please comment below if you are willing to share. I look forward to exploring this topic further but in the meantime, happy reading (and pooping)!