For eight months, one TikToker was dumbfounded as to why she experienced painful bloating and severe weight gain in her abdomen.
As she documented her journey with her tummy slowly blowing up, netting her 50 extra pounds in just three months, she also documented the various doctor visits she went on before getting an answer.
Those visits included six ER visits, two colonoscopies and endoscopies, and a gastric emptying study.
One doctor simply told her her symptoms were "psychosomatic," aka, all in her head.
"He said, at this point, all we could do was treat the symptoms. I was on eight prescribed medications at this point (for acid reflux, colon movement, etc.). I was taking 10 Tums a day, and nothing was relieving the pain. I left crying. I felt defeated."
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
After visiting a holistic doctor, @kalistadwyer finally got some answers for what was happening to her.
The doctor ran tests for food intolerances and a GI-Map test, which came back with a positive result for helicobacter pylori, SIBO, candida and leaky gut.
She also found out she had food intolerances to rice, potato, corn, avocado, almonds, milk, beef, pork, broccoli, baker's yeast, tomato and asparagus—supplementing her already-diagnosed celiac from when she was 11.
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
Finally, she is on the road to recovery.
"I'm on a pharmaceutical and many supplements," she said.
"We're trying to heal as naturally as possible due to all the medications my body has been put on this past year. I've had to completely change my diet, which has NOT been easy, but will be SO worth it. I already feel such a difference cutting out all those foods."
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
@kalistadwyer/TikTok
According to Buzzfeed,@kalistadwyer has now lost 20 of the 50 pounds she gained after following a proper treatment plan.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC