Kristina’s Health Journey

I knew I was sick from the minute the polluted river fish microbes crumpled me into an agonized ball on the sand floor of that lopsided Guatemalan hut.
Because it was such an acute event, I thought this was where my illness journey began — but that was my first mistake.

Normally, I would’ve had a smile plastered across my face, but on this day I couldn’t even manage a grin. The others I was with were worried, but there weren’t any doctors for at least 100 miles. Not that I wanted to resort to that anyway. Kombucha and bentonite clay were all we had, so I sipped and swallowed what I could and gained just enough strength to keep up with the daily activities — despite the discomfort and persistently horrifying bowel movements.

A few weeks later, I was still unwell. I took both the antiparasitics and the antibiotics given to us by the travel clinic before we’d left Canada — a two-week round of Ciprofloxacin. It’s hard to say whether it helped; all I noticed was an increasingly exaggerated reaction to many of the foods I used to eat.

At the time, I was teaching yoga and doing my best to “mind over matter” — consuming fermented foods, practicing daily, and relying on surfing, yoga, and sunshine to keep me going. Stress-free living and vitamin D can go a long way! Being the stubborn 24-year-old that I was, I traveled Central America for another year after that, trying to manage my symptoms naturally.

By the time we headed home, I knew something was seriously wrong. I started reading everything I could, devouring podcasts, and learning about the kinds of testing that might finally explain what was happening in my body. But when I went to my family doctor, I was shut down.

They wouldn’t run the tests I requested — apparently, they “risked being audited.” And as for all that “microbiome stuff”? They said there wasn’t enough research to prove it mattered. The only thing my doctor was willing to offer was a disability form.

Months later, after trying various doctors and naturopaths, I was barely functioning — down to two or three hours of energy a day, enveloped in fog, my hair falling out. I looked like a zombie. Something had to give.

I eventually found a functional medicine clinic run by a doctor and nurse practitioner two ferries and a bus ride away. They ran a battery of tests and discovered Hashimoto’s, Candida, and several resistant infections. I was put on herbal antibacterials and antifungals, plus regular IV infusions. A bit of the fatigue and brain fog lifted, and I thought I’d be back to my old self in a few months. But I was wrong.

It would take over two years before I could even begin to digest carbs again. I started reacting to the very herbs and medications that were supposed to help me — my skin and nervous system would flare, and sleep became a battle. At my worst, I went weeks sleeping only 2–3 hours a night. Nothing helped.

Eventually, the nurse practitioner refused to see me — she said I wasn’t following her direction. But I didn’t know how to explain what was happening. (Spoiler: it was MCAS/MCS.)

I went through multiple SIBO protocols, limbic retraining, counselling, even fasting for 14 days at a time. I tried carnivore, did enemas, and cycled through every diet imaginable. I was diagnosed with CFS and even told I was under “spiritual attack.” Specialists said lowering my thyroid antibodies wasn’t possible — even with the proof on my lab results in front of them.

I spent far too much money on supplements that triggered reactions and autoimmune flares. I realized most practitioners — naturopaths and functional doctors included — were still offering Band-Aid solutions. They treated symptoms, not systems. No one truly looked deeper. And almost none of them paid attention to the things that made the biggest difference: diet and lifestyle.

So I decided to become my own practitioner — to make my suffering worth something.

Getting my thyroid back on board was the first breakthrough. It helped my gut and gave me enough energy to start working again, but it didn’t fix my anxiety, skin, sleep, or sensitivities. That came later — when I mastered microbiome testing.

I discovered I had hydrogen sulfide overgrowth — no wonder I never responded to typical SIBO protocols. Once I targeted that specifically, the H2S SIBO was gone within four months and never returned. But I still couldn’t tolerate many of the tools used to restore the microbiome.

That’s when I found the first missing piece: MCAS. Training to work with MCAS patients helped me help myself. My sleep improved. I didn’t bother pursuing a formal diagnosis — I wasn’t interested in meds, and the energy it would take to get into a specialist wasn’t worth it. My goal has always been to rely on as few pharmaceuticals as possible.

After a severe flare that left me sleepless and mentally unraveling, I tried peptides — and they changed everything. They increased my tolerance, stabilized my system, and gave me the foundation to heal again.

Then came genetics. I learned that my system didn’t fit the usual “low serotonin or dopamine” narrative. I had too much dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate — and poor methyl group processing, despite having MTHFR. This explained the rapid heart rate, insomnia, anxiety, and intolerance to flavonoids. By addressing enzyme bottlenecks and neurotransmitter metabolism, I finally regained more stability.

Working with Dr. Bob Miller of Tree of Life Health helped me identify my biggest genetic vulnerabilities — including how my body mishandles calcium. His insights (and warnings about mold) proved invaluable. Despite being told by Shoemaker-trained practitioners that I didn’t “fit the mold case,” I eventually tested very positive through serum testing (after several false negatives on urine testing).

That was a turning point. Within weeks of treatment — not Shoemaker’s — my nervous system began to relax. I wasn’t forcing peace anymore; it was just there. I started sleeping deeply, dreaming vividly, sometimes getting 7–8 hours a night with real REM and deep sleep. My microbiome finally started to respond normally as well. Targeted prebiotics actually fed the microbes they were supposed to.

Mold treatment and the peptides resulted in the most efficient improvement. But, there were certain things that resulted in substantial improvement, just over a longer period of time. Heavy metal detox for example was also essential for me, but the effects were slower to take hold. Previous to the metal detox I could not tolerate anything that up-regulated glutathione without experiencing migraines. Nor, medical ozone.

I regained tolerance for fruit and sugars and supplements, and most importantly, I am now carrying a healthy pregnancy to term — my first after previous miscarriages.

Now, my goal is complete freedom — no food thresholds, no energy limits. I want optimal vitality, slowed aging, clear skin, and the ability to travel and eat freely.

You can follow along as I keep exploring what it takes to achieve that.