I was living my dream. Despite the daily sun of California, the thrill of caring for critically ill patients, and delicious vegetarian foods, my body was telling me... something was wrong. After most meals I felt bloated, abdominal pain and fatigue. I had trouble sleeping, concentrating or conjuring enough energy for my favorite hikes.
It didn’t take long for my mind to create imaginary monsters...a parasite infection from sushi... or maybe a lurking cancer? Scary as it was, I had to face my fears and find out the cause of my symptoms. Naturally, I turned to my colleagues in Western medicine... but my workup was negative. Negative?? When I remained curious, I was refused additional testing and simply told to continue avoiding “food triggers”. Not only did I not have an answer, I had no tools to improve my symptoms.
And so I searched for answers, for tools, for help…
I evaluated functional practitioners who believe in finding the root cause of illness and use traditional and lifestyle treatments. Unfortunately, every practitioner I encountered had a strong belief in an animal based diet and I was committed to a plant based diet. Not a good fit. I explored ancient traditions of acupuncture, Chinese and Ayurvedic Medicine. These systems are time tested and holistic but seemed to lack reliability across different practitioners. With a head full of questions and hands empty of answers, I realized like so many others suffering with digestive complaints, that I had to become my own expert and craft a personalized healing plan.
Hours of research turned into days… then weeks... then months as I learned, crafted and revised my treatment plan. When I experienced recurrence of my symptoms, I dug deeper in research to understand why. So many times I found myself adrift in a sea of information and misinformation. My lifesaver was my education in Internal Medicine and research training. I realized how fortunate I was to have this knowledge as I encountered other lost souls online in blogs and discussion forums. As my health and energy elevated, so did my passion for supporting others. This passion led me to create Healthy with Haliko, an integrative telemedicine practice where I share the latest research and time tested traditions to help others optimize their digestive health.
When I look back, I am amazed at my transformation. If I can do it, you can too! Let me catalyze your change from surviving to thriving with my experience and expertise.