From Plate to palate; A fertility journey Part 1
Hello! I'm Annette Licitra, Certified Health Coach & Wellness Chef, and my passion is to provide encouragement, support and nourishing recipes to people as they invest in their health so that their bodies will shine for them. Ok, that was the easy part. Now, for the rest…and, I’m just going to put this out there – this is a bit of a difficult story for me to write. But, this is part of healing. While many aspects of my healing process have gotten easier over time, there is one symptom deep inside of me that I struggle with more than some of the others…here it goes…
For as long as I can remember, I've been challenged with digestive issues, which I had always chalked up to a 'nervous stomach'. However, I knew in my gut (yes, pun intended!) that something was amiss, but couldn't figure out what to associate it with other than nerves. Fast forward to 2002, when I learned through conventional allopathic medicine that I had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) which is characterized as a chronic digestive disorder.
As I moved into early adulthood, my list of symptoms grew to include recurrent urinary tract infections (ouch!), pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS), rosacea, melasma, interstitial cystitis (IC), fatigue, brain fog, pelvic pain, weight gain, bloating, thinning hair…and, the one that I wear the deepest and hardest on my heart – the dreaded word: infertility.
As I moved into early adulthood, my list of symptoms grew to include recurrent urinary tract infections (ouch!), pre-menstrual symptoms (PMS), rosacea, melasma, interstitial cystitis (IC), fatigue, brain fog, pelvic pain, weight gain, bloating, thinning hair…and, the one that I wear the deepest and hardest on my heart – the dreaded word: infertility.
I began doing serious research on natural healing in 2014, two years after my husband and I got married. We wanted to start a family, and started to realize that it was taking longer than we thought it might. This saddened and confused me. I figured that I had to start doing something because I didn’t know what was REALLY going on. It became more difficult to understand, or maybe accept, how so many females got pregnant so quickly. Here I was, and still am, struggling to conceive.
With these ridiculous digestive issues and now this infertility thorn, my rigorous research mode kicked into high gear. I started learning that all of my symptoms – yes, symptoms, not diseases (a disease is only a dis-ease of the body) - are related to one another, and are a result of multiple things, but mainly a high level of unproductive bacteria in my gut (streptococcus), nutrient deficiencies, overuse of antibiotics, and lifestyle.
Digestive issues were the ‘norm’ for me, sadly, but after I started paying more attention to my intuition, it began ringing louder and louder that my symptoms were stemming from my gut. After doing serious research on natural healing, I felt my eyes start opening…wide! Cutting out gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, and soy, eating whole, real foods and making a life-long commitment to a healthier lifestyle over the past 4 years were some of the best things that I have done. While it hasn’t yielded a pregnancy yet, I am confident that my body is in a healing process.
All of this research has made it much easier to understand the lifelong health challenges I have been facing, but the infertility obstacle still plagues my heart. I’m not going to lie – it is difficult to hear about everyone around me getting pregnant with absolutely nothing happening on my end. And, for this to happen year after year - it’s hurtful. But, I have to keep telling myself not to take it personal, but to be happy that they are bringing a beautiful miracle into this world. After I get out of my own head, that hurt goes away. And, I am truly happy for them, of course!
The disappointment month after month has slowly started to ease, but only because I have really leaned deeper into my faith. I am extremely grateful to God that He has shifted my path onto this beautiful wellness journey and keeps opening my eyes to new things on the daily; with this, my emotional scars are beginning to heal. I have a long way to go on my emotional healing path, but I feel so strongly that there is a gift in this challenge. Maybe it’s to help others facing similar obstacles or maybe my baby will be the gift that I am supposed to receive…I’d like to think it’s both!
I have grown exponentially on my health journey, and through this, I’m learning to dig deeper into my soul for healing. Making changes to what goes on my plate to nourish my physical body, and my future baby (yes, I am speaking this into existence!) is something that is unbelievably important to me. The tie to what goes on our plates and our health is inarguably connected. Whether it is allergies or infertility, food and drink are key players in the healing game.
Focusing on prayer, meditation, energy healing, resting, hydrating, cleansing, breathing and many other things are paramount to lean into when trying to conceive. I have been incorporating (more) of these natural healing methods into my lifestyle, and while the pregnancy hasn’t happened yet, in my heart, I know that they are helping on many levels. I still have a lot to learn, but from what I have already learned, I know that I am being equipped to help others on their journey!
Thanks
Annette Licitra
Integrative Health Coach + Wellness Chef
630.965.6454
Passionette Palate
*Schedule an appointment with me here*: https://www.vyte.in/annette@
