— My Journey
I personally have been dealing with IBS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) / Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), Lyme & Company, Fibromyalgia, Brain Fog, and various other symptoms for over 25 years. I was born and raised in Upper Michigan, after high school, I transplanted to Southern California in 1979 to attend college.
At the age of five, I awoke in the middle of the night with massive side pains in the area of my right hip, where I was rushed to the emergency room and my parents where told I had a burst appendix, of which an appendectomy was performed.
It wasn’t until later in my adult years that if found out the possible reason for my appendix bursting. You see at this time back in the ’60s a commercial product such as “Enfamil” also called “Formula” a replacement for breastmilk became trendy. By 1970 75% of American babies were fed on these formulas. In reality, this is nothing more than processed junk food. In addition to the formula, I was also given oatmeal flakes mixed with formula at night and was feed this through a modified baby bottle nipple. This allowed everyone a “good night’s sleep”, the formula along with oatmeal questionably led to digestive issues, as the mother’s breastmilk helps seal the intestinal permeability of the digestive system, strengthens the immune system and provide needed probiotics. Nobody to blame; at the time we all did what we thought was best.
I can recall at an early age having frequent IBS like symptoms of lower intestinal pains, leading to diarrhea and alternating back to constipation. At the time not knowing any different, I assumed we all had this condition; I recall mentioning my digestive issue to my parents during a “flare-up” and was told to take some “Alka-Seltzer” as these things “happen”. Life goes on this way and considered “normal”.
I moved to Southern California and in 1979 I meet an outstanding woman; we get married in 1982. In 1988 I took over an existing automotive repair business of which I worked and later became a father of two handsome boys. Over the years I slowly found my health being compromised by living a highly stressed, poorly balanced lifestyle. I never took the time to listen to what my body was telling me and pushed through it all.
It was at this time at the age of 25 that my health started to really deteriorate. I was very athletic during my school years and applied those same stringent work ethics to my business however, I lacked balance. Needless to say by the age of 28 I was totally burned out, I went to seek medical help and at one point I was diagnosed with Mononucleosis (Mono), a viral infection caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), which is implicated in triggering many autoimmune conditions. With elevated viral titers of EBV, CMV & HHV6, I was told to take it easy and let nature run its course with this mono virus. I didn’t take it easy, I pushed on as I had a business to run, a family to support, commitments, and responsibilities to take care of.
Needless to say, I never recovered and found myself constantly tired with extreme fatigue, brain fog, frequent morning headaches, chronic malaise, unexplained aches, and pains and never felt totally refreshed after a night’s sleep “ever since mono”. Spending your weekends in bed, just to struggle through the week did not seem right to me, so I went to seek medical help. I am a firm believer in cause and effect, and it didn’t make sense to me that this disorder just happened out of nowhere.
I went through dozens of allopathic physicians and even various alternative practitioners with no cure or lessening of symptoms insight. I tried almost everything you can think of, from prescription pharmaceuticals to alternative modalities and nothing seemed to help. I went through several Candida Cleanse protocols, Lyme disease protocols, Numerous Detox methods, Hydrotherapies, Acupuncture, Various IV protocols, MMS, Thought Field Therapy (TFT) tapping, Valkion activated air and numerous rounds of Anti-biotics over the years to treat recurring sinus & gut infections. All these things cost me a fortune and being desperate I self-taught myself to perform some very controversial IV protocols on myself, Something I don’t recommend.
Over the years all these doctors told me that my lab tests are “Normal”, so I continued to search, and I tried mega-doses of B12 injections, various vitamin & mineral supplements and Herbal concoctions by the dozens, Colon Cleansing, Fasting, various Diets and juicing. I received even more multiple courses of antibiotics and even flu shots (which may be associated with EBV infections)
Back in the ’90s, there was a lot of talk of the “Yuppie Disease“ which we know today as Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) which usually leads to Mononucleosis (Mono), and then can develop into Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS/ME) and progresses to Fibromyalgia and so on.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is also known as Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), which is a complex and debilitating chronic illness with a serious impact on one’s quality of life. Since there isn’t a cure for any of these, you are left with trying to treat the symptoms, which I tried for over 25 years! Unfortunately, I ended up having to sell my business, as I no longer had the will energy, or mental capability to cope.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is much different than feeling chronically fatigued. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a neurological condition. It’s an illness in which one of the main symptoms is unforgiving severe fatigue, which I’ll call medical fatigue. It’s not the kind of fatigue that you would have after a day of work where you need to recharge for a bit and then go back out. This type of fatigue is a lot more severe and debilitating and there are a couple of other symptoms which tend to go along with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), like muscle pain, and unrefreshed sleep, a lot of people report having brain fog, trouble concentrating or remembering things and so on. Sometimes people have headaches, sore throats, or sore lymph nodes. The defining feature of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is that after exertion, all of these symptoms just get worse and new ones may even develop.
As you can imagine, not only is this hard on the individual but on the whole family!
I had managed to steady my cycle of symptom flare-ups and for a while, I basically resigned myself to this being a lifelong condition and tried to live with it the best as I could. Thinking that accepting this would give me some sort of peace, but year after year my health only continued to slowly decline, a slow death if you will and my list of symptoms grew. I needed to find out what was the driving force behind my illness.
After 15 years of trying to manage my ongoing health challenges, running a business, raising a family, I was unable to cope any longer due to severe burnout. As mentioned earlier, I sold my failing business and walked away, I had “nothing left to give” and was in awe of how my body was failing me. At the time I couldn’t understand why, only now at the end do I understand the forces that were at play, which weakened me to the point of total exhaustion. I continued searching for answers and with limited brain and energy function, this was no easy task. However, over time more pieces of the puzzle started to fall in place until I was able to make some sort of sense of my illness.
The road to recovery was in stages and actually included various protocols that I had previously used without success. I think the biggest realization was the importance of knowing what treatment or protocol to use and when. So having an understanding of what is going on and a plan helps rather than a shotgun approach.
It wasn’t until I started addressing the root of the problem that I started to see improvement. However since this journey took me well over 25 years, I developed numerous other symptoms along the way, as such I needed to address each one layer by layer as you can’t just go in and rip out the whole lot in one big swoop, it takes a systematic and diligent approach when these health issues get deeply rooted. When your body gets in this state of dis-ease the mind and body tend to fall out of balance and even the simplest of tasks are impossible. It takes a multifactorial approach to a multifactorial condition and you cannot heal in the same environment that got you there in the first place.
Additionally, along my Journey both of my sons developed autoimmune conditions; one was diagnosed with Type1 diabetes and the other with Celiac. There is nothing a parent wouldn’t do to remove the suffering from their children. Then adding to this, my father committed suicide as he was struggling with dementia, depression and his own health issues, which at the time I didn’t see these signs, and even if I had, I couldn’t have helped anyway as I was deep into my own struggles. However I will say this, that after his death my own health issues got much worse and many, many times I contemplated doing the same, but I just couldn’t allow that legacy to continue. Additionally about 6 years after my father’s death, my step brother also took his own life, which to this day is still a mystery as to why, but certainly our family has been affected by our nations tainted food supply as well as environmental influences (Genetics load the gun, but our environment pulls the trigger). As hard as it was on me and those around me, in the end, I have come out a better person and you will too. Soon after my father’s death, my mother ended up having a mastectomy performed, no doubt brought on from the stress and guilt of losing a loved one.
As such, with me going through my own health struggles and experiencing TWO suicides in the family, seeing my own children and other friends or relatives suffer from autoimmune conditions, cancers and depression, I felt a “calling” that I am supposed to share my life experiences to help others limit the amount of time and finances taken to reach their health goals and hopefully save some lives in the process. Through my journey I acquired several health-related certifications, these specialized training programs were instrumental in my recovery, which will allow me to coach you through your own journey and bring you the care and guidance needed for recovery.
One can think that the world is unfair and ponder the many reasons for the lack of lifestyle interventions, but focusing on the problem never seems to yield a solution. But perhaps, I thought to myself, if I could make connections among all of my symptoms, then maybe I could find and treat the root cause of my condition, and hopefully my story will inspire others to do the same.
I am passionate about our health on this planet and find the allopathic method is failing us all, no longer should we be sent home with prescription medications without addressing the root cause. Don’t misunderstand me, there can be a place for allopathic medicine, however, we need to treat the body as a whole, rather than chasing symptoms, only then can allopathic medicine can be used in conjunction with holistic medicine.
Once I understood the connections between the brain, gut, exercise, stress management, and a positive mental-spiritual attitude, I began to see changes. I achieved better health through this process and you can too! It’s still an ongoing process; however, I am far better off today than ever.
The key to recovery is having a thorough understanding of how Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, ME, Fibromyalgia, Autoimmunity, or any other dis-ease symptoms work. My path will undoubtedly be different than yours, as the key to recovery is customizing a plan that meets the individual where they are. Each individual will have their own demons to face and underlying factors to resolve. Never lose hope, there is a way out.
I’ve had many setbacks and the journey still continues, taking one day at a time “on my terms”. I am no longer looking for the quick fix or those silver bullet protocols, as they just don’t exist. A big part of the process is done “within” focusing on the holistic approach of Body, Mind, and Spirit.
Through my own healing process, I tapped into a core value of wanting to share this work with others by helping to support them through their own personal health journeys. So I wanted to broaden my knowledge even further about health and began researching and acquiring certifications in Holistic Functional Medicine while working a full-time job in corporate America and planned to leave in a year or so. But as fate would have it I was laid off from my corporate job, so I took this as a sign that it was time for me to “go all-in” and start the career I was destined for.
I mean it when I say that I take your health personally. All of my services involve building a partnership that will last for a minimum of 90 days during which time we will have regularly scheduled sessions and ongoing communication so you can really feel supported while you make the changes necessary to support your health.
I provide an initial phone call in which we can discuss your primary issues and goals and assess whether or not we’d be a good fit.
My typical clients are people who have struggled with nagging health problems that have been largely written off by the traditional medical system. Many of these people have seen multiple practitioners but have been unable to achieve lasting results. Behind every symptom, there IS a root cause, and my expertise lies in my ability to discover the underlying malfunction and help my clients truly restore health.
I see myself as a health detective. I use a methodical system of functional laboratory testing, energy work, and client intake that reveal clues that eventually uncover the real issues behind their chronic health complaints. This system has been developed through work with thousands of individuals and has proven its success with thousands more.
When you work with me you do not get any “cookie-cutter” or “one size fits all” approaches. I engage with each client as the unique individual s/he is. My ultimate goal is to help educate and empower you to make the best decisions for your own health. Nobody else knows what it feels like to be in your particular body. I’m here to act as your guide, your wellness educator, and your advocate.
When you work with me I’ll help you to develop a whole wellness protocol that works for YOU.
I have spent over $500,000 through the decades learning how to achieve health and wellness using natural, non-toxic, and holistic approaches. While I have spent excessive amounts of time and money to get to the place I am at today, it is my goal to expedite your process with the least amount of time at a fraction of the cost.
But make no mistake, while I can provide assistance in your health goals it’s up to you to put forth the time and effort; this I have no control of…. You are the one in charge…. I empower you to become your own bad-ass self-healer.
“I am certified in many areas of health, fitness, and nutrition. My approach includes not only looking at diet, herbs, and supplementation but also addresses chronic stress and quality of life providing a well-rounded and truly holistic approach to your health and well-being.
Enough about me, this is about YOU…. I want to know more about YOU, a whole lot more! So please contact me when you are ready to schedule your phone consultation!”
— LIFE EXPERIENCES:
Retired Automotive Proprietor
Athletic & Fitness Coach
Treating Leaky Gut, Adrenal & Chronic Fatigue, CFS/ME, Fibromyalgia, Celiac, Autoimmunity & other various digestive symptoms
Continually researching topics related to Holistic Health!