Nourished Intuition – Angioedema Flare Before & After
So here we are.
You’ve stumbled across my website, probably in the midst of searching for answers to your own problems, and you’ve found yourself interested in mine!
Grab yourself some bacon, a coffee, and get comfortable… because you’re in it, now!
It all started when I was a tiny human.
From the age of 8, I suffered from serious allergies and asthma. I was allergic to everything. Dust, pollen, dander, perfume, the sun & gluten (unbeknownst to me at the time). I had insomnia, anxiety, and was plagued with influenza/colds/stomach bugs/ear infections/throat infections every few months.
My influenza infections were not you’re usual – 3 day bout of being sick – We’re talking week to 2 week long bed-riden sickness!
The allergies made my breathing so bad, I couldn’t sleep unless I was sitting up (I’m not kidding). I had a bean bag chair pushed up against my wall to act as a “sit up” pillow, in order for me to breathe. Visits at night to the hospital for medicated breathing masks were frequent. I missed more school than I attended. Fun times!
Being an 80’s kid in Canada (oh dear did I just give away my age?) I was raised on the typical Canadian Diet: Dempster Bread, Kraft Singles, Chapman’s Ice Cream, Margarine, Dunkaroos, Fruit-By-The-Foot, Poutines, Toaster Strudels and the oh-so-dear to my heart Pizza Hut stuffed-crust pizza (loooooooord, amiright?!).
Healthy.
Now, this is not to say that my parents didn’t actually cook meals like responsible adults. They did! However, most meals contained some form of Protein that I refused to eat.
Fast-forward to the age of 11, when I subluxated and broke my ring finger by breaking my fall onto the landing of the stairs beside me. So… falling over essentially. This somehow caused my ring finger to break. The doctors tried to blame my Mother for forcing my finger to break (like… abuse!) because they couldn’t believe my finger could have broken so damn easily. Welp, folks, it did.
By the age of 13, I was tipping the scales. Not only did I have the same problems as when I was younger, but they had also become exacerbated by my disordered relationship with food. Incessant cravings for SUGAR.
On top of this, I had begun experiencing physical pain and extreme swelling in my body (we’re talking 10lbs of fluid), from head to toe that would come and go. I was able to piece together the correlation between eating a meal and the pain coming on within hours. The pain was likened to being hit by a truck (not that I know what that feels like, thank god). My entire body felt like one giant bruise. I couldn’t touch my back, chest, my stomach or my throat/neck without excruciating pain. My lymph nodes became swollen and sore to the touch. My body filled with fluid (edema) every time. Similar to what others describe from Rhabdomyolysis. (See Photos Above)
But why? My family doctor at the time had no answers.
I went on like that for years, accepting that things I consume could sometimes make me wish I wasn’t alive.
You can see in the photo on this post, the face on the left is the next morning after an “Angioedema Flare”. The face on the right is 2 days later.
I do not wish this on any human.
Speed up to the age of 18. I was no longer tipping the scales, but I was sicker than ever.
My hair was falling out, my nails were peeling, I was frozen all the time, had zero energy, I would get dizzy when going from a seated to standing position, blood pressure was always on the low-end, blood sugar was all over the place, anxiety and depression was the worst it had ever been, periods were screwed up… It was the best, you guys. The BEST. (sarcasm)
Moving onto my early 20’s.
I contracted infectious mononucleosis that went undiagnosed for weeks. If anyone reading this has ever had it, you know it’s akin to slowly dying.
The doctors told me they couldn’t do anything but hand me some Percocet for the pain and watch it closely. This was, obviously, unsatisfactory advice. So we sought out the help of a Naturopath (this is when I fell in love). She took one look at me and handed me a bottle of Defense Plus by Nutribiotics. No more than 3 days later, I was on the road to recovery.
It was that very same Naturopath that discovered I was allergic to several foods. I had adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue, sensitivities to some fruits among other allergies. She started me on a course of Rhodiola, B12 injections, Iron supplementation, and dietary guidelines.
Finally, I had some answers!!
As recently as 2017, I was still suffering from heat-induced Edema, insane seasonal allergies, and inflamed lungs. Living life with a nasal corticosteroid spray that gives you terrible nose bleeds is NOT my idea of living. This shouldn’t be a thing. Something is wrong if we need drugs like these just to breathe!
I have lived every healthy “lifestyle” that’s out there. Read all of the research papers I could find relating to my problems. Convinced myself I may possibly just be dying of some insanely incurable deadly disease more than a couple of times (Dr. Google is great for that).
If doctors could only prescribe me vs helping to heal me, I decided to take it upon myself and learn all that I could! Here I am today, after achieving several Nutrition Certifications specializing in:
- Sports Exercise Nutrition
- Primal/Natural Nutrition and Fitness
- Metabolic Flexibility
I now know the following:
- I have a rare genetic disease called Hereditary Angioedema Type 3 that can be triggered by many many things 🙂
- I possibly have Mast Cell Activation Syndrome that triggers the HAE.
- I have tested negative for Celiac from a Gastroscopy.
- I do not have any bacterial dysbiosis or gut flora imbalances.
I am currently following a Whole-Animal-Foods based lifestyle with a great focus on healthy fat sources, lysine levels (immune boosting), clean protein sources and high-digestibility.
I hope that my story helps to shed some light on your own personal situation. If I can help even just one person by sharing my story, it’s worth it. You are 100% not alone.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me and my story.
Love, peace and bacon grease my friends…
– Casandra Willis 🙂