Meet Sierra*, living with chronic digestive issues.

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the clients
“I had no idea what my condition was or how to resolve it before Gritwell. Gritwell did an amazing job of getting down to the cause of my issues, educating me on what's driving it, and giving me a plan to resolve it”

Case Overview

Sierra is a 36-year-old woman who joined Gritwell in 2020. For over 15 years, Sierra had suffered from severe digestive issues. She also struggled with chronic nasal congestion, skin flushing, insomnia, and debilitating fatigue. Her quality of life was severely impacted by having to manage her daily symptoms. She reported significant stress in her daily life associated with balancing her family’s needs with her work, existing on a tight budget, all while struggling with her health, which she felt was progressively deteriorating.

Prior to joining Gritwell, Sierra had tried elimination diets and identified sensitivities to gluten, cruciferous foods, sausages, chicken, and alcohol. She was taking Claritin daily and multiple supplements including probiotics, a B50 complex, zinc, L-glutamine, collagen, vitamin D3, and vitamin C but still struggling with daily inflammation.

When she started with Gritwell, her personal goals included decreasing her digestive issues and reducing her histamine issues - particularly skin flushing and nasal congestion.

Symptoms before Gritwell

  • Digestive issues
  • Chronic nasal congestion
  • Skin flushing
  • Insomnia
  • Debilitating fatigue
  • Stress

Finding the cause

  • Imbalance of gut microbiota and instestinal permeability
  • Underlying long-term simmering infection

Program Elements

Sierra was paired with a health and wellness coach trained on Gritwell’s platform, methodology, and research.

During her initial evaluation, Sierra’s coach obtained a detailed history which indicated a pattern of chronic inflammation and a likely excessive production of histamine. Sierra’s symptoms of flushing, chronic diarrhea, heartburn, and chronic nasal congestion also indicated she suffered from a histamine intolerance. Overall, Sierra appeared to have been living in a heightened sympathetic state as a result of chronic stress causing many of her symptoms.

After the symptom analysis

After analyzing Sierra’s lab reports and GI map, Gritwell identified the root cause of Sierra’s distress to be an imbalance of good gut microbiota and intestinal permeability, with an underlying long-term simmering infection.  

Sierra’s wellness coach next created a 4-month based personalized nutrition and supplement based program with multiple phases of treatment to address Sierra’s gut imbalances, inflammation, and potential hormone imbalance. Sierra was instructed to keep a daily intake and symptom diary (food, supplements, etc), which was reviewed biweekly by her wellness coach to determine further triggers for her symptoms. In addition to biweekly meetings, Sierra had unlimited support from our care team to address any issues between sessions.

Key Triggers and Interventions

Sierra’s case was complex. Overall, her program focused on foods to support healthy digestion and gut barrier function, while lowering inflammation in the body. She was found to have multiple food sensitivities and nuanced adjustments had to be made to her nutritional plan.  Diversity in food intake was also encouraged to grow beneficial bacteria in the microbiome.

Sierra responded well to the supplement program designed to support her gut health and immune system. She was prescribed three key supplements to support her metabolism, digestion, and decrease inflammation. She required an added prescription to increase hydration, support electrolyte balance, and help with stress/adrenal balance. Herbal therapy was incorporated as gut soothers and histamine decreasers.

A few incorporated supplements

  • l-Glutathione
  • Mega2000 IGG
  • Adrenal Support

Results

After 3 months in the Gritwell program, Sierra reported a significant decrease in her daily gastrointestinal symptoms. Her reported daily symptoms dropped by 71%, showing large improvement in digestive symptoms (89% reduction), mouth/throat symptoms (80% reduction), and skin symptoms (75% reduction).

Sierra felt so much better that she was able to reduce her allergy medication to once a week. Overall, Sierra’s personalized program vastly improved her quality of life. Her immune system, once hyperreactive, was on the mend and her daily fear of eating was resolved. Sierra looks forward to continuing her nutritional program, revitalizing her health, and checking in with Gritwell to maintain her health so she can continue to thrive and enjoy her newfound wellness.

75%
Skin symptoms
80%
Mouth/throat symptoms
89%
Digestive symptoms
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