The Waiting Game… #slayingSIBO

Have you ever been told you’re a ruminator?

(I’ll give you time to google “ruminate”)

Well, I have been one all. my. life. I was born a type-A, worry wart of a child — truly, I tell you it’s a miracle I’ve made it to age 26 without becoming a total basket case. The self-induced stress I have put my body through has probably primed me for SIBO!

At 26, almost 27, I will say that I have made VAST improvements in my almost obsessive ruminating behaviors. I mean, I no longer spend hours on hours on WebMD… just short half hour periods here and there (hey, old habits die hard, ya know?)

But I swear I’m not a hypochondriac – I am just innately in tune with my body, and I know when something’s not right. And finally, my persistence and “worry” has brought me some bonafide truth and answers.

Unfortunately, the time between when I received my test results and my follow-up with my doctor on Friday is a week. ONE WHOLE WEEK. Do you know how much time that is for me to think about this, worry about this, and GOOGLE THIS?

A lot. But the waiting game is to my favor, really, because I have been deep-diving into the world of SIBO and how I am about to kick this thing’s butt. Receiving this diagnosis can be overwhelming. The scarcity yet vastness of information on SIBO can be truly mind-boggling.

Because of this, I wanted to share a comprehensive short list of resources I’ve found in my research that I have found extremely helpful thus far incase anyone else feels lost in the midst of a SIBO diagnosis! I am by no means an expert (yet), but I’ve already learned a lot. I still want to do more research on more areas, and as I learn, I’ll post on the blog.

You can find that list HERE 🙂

While I wait for Friday to come (two more days!!), I have already started to make some changes in my life to start truly healing and get my life back. It’s amazing how news like this can really spur you to assess your life.

1. I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting this week – – thinking about what and who causes me stress, and better yet, what and who brings me joy.
2. I’ve been extremely self-aware. I’ve taken care to notice every feeling and thought that I’ve experienced this week to help me notice things like stressors and dark places in my mind (so I can work on fixing them!)
3. I made an appointment with a therapist – not for anything specific, but from what I’ve been reading, stress management will be VITAL in helping cure SIBO, and honestly, I’ve never really been that great at stress management… I like to think I’m a rockstar at suppressing it though 🙂
4. DANCE PARTIES: Yes, I’ve started having a dance party to music I used to love in my teenage years (think Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers) every morning before I leave for work, and honestly it just MAKES. YOU. HAPPY. Try it.
5. Gratitude. Through all of this, I’m trying to be grateful. I’m trying to be grateful for the fact that it could always be something worse, and I’m trying to be grateful for the fact that maybe this will lead me to a better quality of life in the long-run.

I know we all love a weekend, but especially this week, Friday can’t come soon enough!

I’ll be sure to update the blog after my appointment.

Until then,

xo

happily Haleigh