Product Review- Summus Naturals Easy Digest
Through this blog, you'll probably learn a lot about me. At times, maybe too much... ha! But in order to honestly and openly review things for you- you really have to know where I'm coming from. You need to know that I'm not arbitrarily reviewing and endorsing everything that gets sent to my mailbox. I was really excited to try the Summus Naturals Easy Digest. My whole life, from about 10 or 11, I have had major digestive issues. It seems like if I ate something greasy, I got sick. Other things gave me hives. Then others would bloat me. For years I lived with an IBS diagnosis alone- as I came back with no food allergies except certain nuts and sesame seeds. With those, I'd even say they were more of an intolerance. I'd get mild hives, but a REALLY bad case of run to the bathroom repeatedly. Every.single.time. I generally eat really well. I'd say I'm mostly pescatarian, moving toward paleo. I like my food clean, organic, and uncomplicated. Seems my body appreciates it too. I could basically live on sushi and carrots if I had too. Anyway, along with my digestive issues, I have also had chronic pains through my body. It started in my childhood and continues on. I have really bad episodes a few times a year, then off years I have bad months and months. It hurts to be me. For two decades, I've begged doctors to find answers. It wasn't until my son passed away in 2015 after being born prematurely and dying from a rare alloimmune disease, did I wonder if alloimmunity was related to autoimmunity in the mother. I had suspected an autoimmune issue for a while, but no one would test me because my symptoms were everywhere. The specialist that diagnosed my deceased son took the time to tell me that he felt there was a link between the two, but that they hadn't found the disease process and relationship yet. During my pregnancy with my son, Payton, I was given IVIG therapy weekly in effort to block my body's antibodies that attack the fetus. Essentially, what ended up happening was- I felt GREAT. My son was also born healthier than expectation- he was a preemie but was treated as one for about 15 seconds. It was literally a medical miracle. It prompted me harder to get answers. WHY did I feel so good? If the IVIG was blocking baby-killing antibodies, what else was it blocking? I lost (LOST!) 30 lbs on IVIG therapy. I needed to lose it- and I couldn't get it off for the life of me. But while pregnant, it happened! I had enough. I did my own research. I looked up case studies related to my symptoms, and I came back extremely convinced that I was suffering from Hashimoto's disease. I marched into my doctor's office and I presented my case. She looked at me- blinked, and said- "There is MD after my name. My name is not Web." As in- I'm the doctor here, and you've been Googling. That made me angry. I raised my voice. Doctors will hand you a narcotic pain killer because the pain is REAL, but they don't want to research to find the reason. I refused to leave until she performed the tests I requested. I'll never forget, she was so upset, but did the tests and told me it was my dime- if I wanted to waste it. She felt I had Crohn's because my half-sister does. Because of the IBS. Because she's a doctor and that made me an idiot. I left feeling a victory. It never crossed my mind that I could be wrong. I felt I had found an answer- and finding an answer is half way to managing it. I decided that I was going to not eat any gluten at all until the results came back- just to see. I just wanted to feel like I was doing SOMETHING proactive. I was at my step-son's TaeKwonDo school- watching him do kata when my phone rang. It was the doctor's office. The nurse asked me to go somewhere where we could talk privately. Oh sh*t. I thought- "I have cancer. I'm dying." Why would I need to sit down in silence??? Oh my God. I was panicking. She said- "I first want to relay that the doctor would like to extend her sincere apologies for her reluctance to hear your concerns. You must understand that a lot of people attempt to self-diagnose. The internet is a friend and a doctor's biggest issue. That being said, you tested positive for Hashimoto's antibodies, Sjogren's, and you were flagged for Lupus. I was mad. I asked for one, I got three. The paradox of it all was- I did not have positive testing for celiac or gluten sensitivity, and my thyroid levels were normal. And that's where I am now. I fired that doctor and found a new one, and I'm currently waiting to go to my rheumatology referral. IN THE MEANTIME, I'm to take action on what I know. Something is up. My new doctor is sensitive to my understanding of my own body. He encourages a holistic approach- (as a preventative, not as a cure) to autoimmune issues. He recommended I go full paleo, organic, non GMO, etc etc. I'm pretty close already, but ok! Then he said something about- "And it wouldn't kill you to take a probiotic because you'll have to lay off the dairy." (But I loooooove yogurt!) So when the opportunity to review this item manifested, I was thrilled to be chosen. Serendipity, perhaps? And so, I've been taking it since it came. As it turns out, this past week has been an "I'm too lazy to care about food" week. So pizza (which I almost never eat now) and pasta and bread happened.
Glorious, evil, delicious bread. Bread will be my demise. I love you, bread. I love you.
And where I would bloat, gain 5 pounds overnight, be a gassy, uncomfortable, bathroom marathon-running mess, I haven't been. Now, stay with me here. I'm not claiming this has fixed it all. I'm saying I noticed a little difference. It's been only a few days. But after eating pizza last night for dinner- and pizza leftovers today- normally, I'd be teetering on so sick I'm going to vomit. And I'm not. I don't have an upset stomach. I'm a little bloated, but it's noticeably less. I really appreciate this product. Gluten, soy, GMO free. Vegan friendly. It's everything I need it to be. As a preliminary review- because I REALLY want to revisit this for those moms that have digestive and autoimmune issues, I have to give it a beaming review. As a step further, I want to commend the owner of the company for being extremely friendly and enthusiastic to speak with me. I love a good product, but I love good products that are backed by good communication and friendly folks. Because of that, I decided this product needs the kind of attention I'm going to give it. It's so easy to look at a product, call it hot or a flop, and walk away. When it comes to my health and my readers' health- I think these things need a bit more effort. I really hope sharing my story and my own commitment to finding my own answers helps any of you out there looking for the same. Take a look at the product HERE- feel free to ask them questions, or email me directly. I'll do my best to help. I plan to revisit this topic again sometime next month. Here's to your health!
