Hi, My name is Sylvie Boucher Musulinaro.
I am from Quebec, Canada and I am blessed!
I am a proud wife and mom of two young boys. I have been struggling with my health since I was a little girl. I finally found out what my body had been trying to tell me for so long at the age of 33. I have a go getter type personality so, naturally, I thought I had been racing against stress and that it, stress, had finally gotten ahead of me.
Since I was twelve years old, I've been struggling with fatigue, and chronic fatigue at times. I had also been experiencing severe acne, stomach pain and chronic diarrhea, as well as a high susceptibility to infection and flu. At one point in my life, I found myself sleeping most of the day and I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. I developed allergies to common medications and as a consequence my neck and throat was so inflamed that we couldn't see my neck anymore. The doctors told my mom they couldn't do anything for me and that I may die. My mom desperately sought a second opinion, a homeopath, and after 1 month I was healed.
Life continued normally for a while. When I reached eighteen years of age, I started experiencing chronic fatigue again. I was putting myself under a lot of stress while studying and working in a totally new environment. I then met the man who became my husband and we moved out from Montreal to established ourselves in Gatineau.
Then, just as an unwelcome visitor at my doorstep, I started experiencing chronic diarrhea and stomach pain. I sought the doctor's advice and he did not know what was wrong with me. So as a result of my visit to the doctor, he had me scheduled for a colonoscopy shortly afterwards. The result was negative, my colon was "perfectly normal". A "healthy colon" according to the doctor. His diagnosis was nothing short of being stress related. His advice, "Stop stressing!" My response, "Easier said than done, tell me what I have and I'll stop stressing!"
Soon after, one of the happiest days of my life had arrived. I was to be married. I remember how I got prepared for that day. I took 3 Immodium in the morning and did not eat nor drink during the day cause I feared an attack from the dreaded "diarrhea goblin". Can you imagine being in the church and having to stop the matrimonial ceremony to run to the bathroom with that huge dress, seeking help from your mom and your maid of honor because you have diarrhea? Well I did, and that scared me. Then, it was time for the honeymoon. My husband and I drove to and around the Maritimes. I had a rendez-vous with a bathroom every chance I got an opportunity. I still reminisce of all the pictures my husband took of me beside different styled bathrooms along the way. I can now laugh about it!
Picture of different styled bathrooms - Honeymoon
When I got pregnant at the age of 27, the diarrhea ceased but I was now even more susceptible to infection and flu. As soon as our first son blessed this world, diarrhea cursed my world again. Same scenario for my second pregnancy. When my first child was still a baby, we found out that he was allergic to dairy products. The naturopath asked me if I was allergic to dairy as well. I honestly did not know. I talked to him about my battle with diarrhea. He tested me using the NAET technique and we found out I was also allergic to dairy. Immediately, I stopped taking dairy and my diarrhea stopped. NO MORE DIARRHEA! That condition poisoned 10 years of my life. I was now free! I was blessed!
Life continued rather normally after that. At age 30, I started experiencing chronic fatigue again. You would say that this should be normal since I now had 2 young babies to take care of while working full time. I wasn't sure so I started seeking help from a series of naturopaths, osteopaths, chiropractors, as well as tried a variety of diets and exercise routines. I did not believe in traditional medicine anymore. I knew something was wrong with my body and they could not help me at that point so I continued looking and trying.
I started going to the gym every second day. I lost a little bit of weight though at the expense of feeling more tired after the training program as opposed to being energized (which would be normal).
On October 28 2008, I got up from my bed, walked to the staircase and began to go down, missed the first step and there I was going down the stairs head first. While going down, I remembered the ceramic floor and bang! I had a concussion and couldn't get up let alone walk. An ambulance ride later I remained in a sleeping position strapped down to a board and a neck brace for twelve hours in the hospital. I got a whole body scan. The results were negatives. No broken pieces. Their advice, try walking and go back home. The next day, I couldn't feel my legs and my arms. They were numbed. I saw a chiropractor which helped me fixed this issue since they were not aligned properly anymore due to the fall. Yet, the doctors had not seen that with all their fancy x-rays! Throughout all this ordeal, my fatigue was still present. Since the accident, I knew my eyes and my brain were not acting as they should. Something was wrong with me. I started getting dizzy whenever I would walk fast as well as when there were patterns on the carpets and walls. I found out later (years later) that my left frontal brain cortex got affected by my accident on the stairs. My brain is not reducing the speed of light nor the speed of the objects or patterns going by when I walk or drive.
I knew there were also things I was probably not doing right. I became conscious about what I was eating and started searching the web and reading all kinds of books. I became passionate about health and wellness. I subscribe myself to blogs, training programs, food courses, etc.
I had always eaten the Standard American Diet, which consists of processed and fast food. One day, I woke up and started searching for a different lifestyle and diet. I found the Raw Food, whole-food and plant-based diet. I studied it and decided to jump into it 100%, head first in that journey by myself (no coach nor health consultant). I changed my diet and remained on that diet for 6 months. I lost 30 pounds in the first 3 months and lost another 10 pounds over the last 3 months. I was back at the weight I was when I first met my husband. I had lost the pregnancy pounds. I was so happy. I started to feel good, less fatigue. I went to see the doctor for an annual check-up and blood test. When the results came back, she mentioned to me that my platelets were low. She was concerned with the barely low platelets and not my iron level, B12 vitamins level, total protein and cholesterol which were identified as low. I had low blood pressure and according to the doctor, that was the reasons why I was feeling dizzy and tired. She also thought I had vertigo caused by the stairs injury.
Something else to worry about now! She referred me to a physiotherapist and I got tested for vertigo. The result was that I did not have vertigo but was still stuck with the fatigue.
As for the diet, I had a feeling that I was not doing something right. Instead of consulting a raw food health coach to fix my menu, I decided to add eggs to my diet and vitamins. I experimented with food and vitamins. I started eating a lot of soy based products while eating a whole food diet. Soy is known to increase someone's body with phytoestrogen. My hormones were unstable. I had too much estrogen and not enough progesterone.
Someone referred me to a quantum bio-feedback naturopath. I met him and he detected, with his technique, hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, leaky-guts, low immune-system, low protein absorption, neurological issues, mineral and vitamins deficiencies, food allergies (including dairy and gluten) and mercury intoxication. He started to treat me for each symptoms I was experiencing and recommended I see an holistic dentist to get my teeth fixed due to mercury intoxication. I had 13 grey fillings. I booked an appointment with the dentist and within one month all my teeth were fixed. The last tooth had to be removed completely and a ceramic tooth had to be implanted. When the dentist removed that tooth, he found out that I had a major infection under the tooth and the bacteria was eating the mercury and transporting it into my bloodstream. The next day, I had regained most of my energy. I was so blessed!
I saw the naturopath a few times over a period of 2 years. My other symptoms were not going away even with his recommendations. It was difficult for me to believe what he was saying. I was a little bit like Thomas and needed to see facts about my health. I did not stop eating gluten completely due to this doubting phase.
In the mean time, I discovered the benefits of having a mini-trampoline at home for exercising and the benefits of earthing (grounding). I started practicing these 2 things on a regular basis. They are so beneficial and they also help detoxifying the body. They helped establish a favorable environment where my condition was finally diagnosed.
I had been struggling for 2 years every morning asking myself if I was going to work or not. One day, I couldn't get up to go to work. I went to see my doctor and told her about my condition and she signed a leave of absence for 2 months saying that it is just stress related and that I may be depressed. My blood test results were normal according to her. She did not investigate further.
I knew deep withing my soul that it was not just the stress. OK I admit, stress played an important role.
Whenever I had the strength, I started researching on the Internet and found a video of a specialist in Ottawa who was talking about low-thyroid issues and much more. He was also listing all the symptoms I was experiencing. I took the phone and called his office. He had me do a few medical tests in order to get the facts about my health. First, he looked at my blood test results from my doctor. He told me that there is not enough information on my case just by looking at the doctor's test results. He had me do additional blood tests, a Saliva test (for hormones), a genetic test and a fecal test. He was suspecting an auto-immune disease.
The day came where I would finally found out what had been cursing me all these years.
My results showed that my left frontal brain cortex was and still is not responding well to light and speed due to an injury (which I know is the stairs accident).
My results also demonstrated that I had an auto-immune disease called Hashimoto where my anti-bodies attack my thyroid gland. My anti-bodies are also attacking my other glands such as pancreas and adrenal glands. The cause of this auto-immune disease is a permanent sensitivity to gluten which was found through the genetic test. I was born with 2 copies of a genes predisposing me to being gluten intolerant. Simply put, it caused all of my hormones to be depleted. I couldn't cope with stress anymore. What a blessing! I finally know what I have. I am allergic to gluten.
So I met my doctor again with all the new results. I was asking her to extend my work leave until I gained back the energy. She denied all the tests and results I had gotten from my other doctor saying that she never heard about saliva tests and fecal test being performed on patients in this country as it did not, in her opinion, derive any conclusive results. She also does not believe in genetic tests, especially not those that come from the USA. Therefore, my results are false and I must be really depressed to be searching so passionately about was wrong with me. She referred me to a specialist at the hospital. I saw the specialist and got the same answer as she did. They both wanted me to take anti-depressants which I refused to take.
I decided to ignore my medical doctor and to believe the naturopath. I had to go through a series of natural treatments in order to help my body heal. I had to balance my anti-bodies, boost my auto-immune system, control my blood sugar level, repair my gut and adopt a new life style (Gluten and dairy free).
Because my intestines are in such bad shape, it caused food allergies, chronic fatigue and inflammation in my body including in my brain.
As soon as I removed gluten from my diet, I gained energy and no more stomach bloating. Changing to a gluten free diet was not rocket science, as I first thought it would be. Just stop eating gluten. I quickly found out that gluten is everywhere. I read some books on the subject and I was more knowledgeable and was able to quit gluten for good. I have to say that it takes time to master the life style.
What do you eat when you visit your family? What to do when you travel? These were some questions I had in mind. I also found out that people around me did not know what it means to be gluten-free. They have every intention in helping you but are still ignorant. I remember the first week-end off in Montreal visiting my Italian in-laws. I knew they were going to make pizza, so I went to a natural store and bought gluten-free pizza dough. I was so proud of myself. I made my own pizza with my mother in-law. I had pepperoni on my pizza, thinking that it is meat and meat had no gluten. I ate the pizza, my stomach bloated. I thought to myself that it must have been too soon to see any benefit of the diet yet. It is when I read the book Gluten-free for dummies that I found out that there is gluten in pepperoni.
Being gluten-free is complex but easy to adapt once you have all the knowledge you need to embark on this journey. There is so much we can eat in a gluten-free life style. It will be too long to tell you on this page.
I am now only sleeping at night. I learned how to eat well, how to relax while managing a whole life full of joy and surprises.
Taking care of its immune-system is the key to optimum health and it all beginning in the intestines.
I am blessed! I am on a wonderful journey, a new life which I am sharing with you. I hope to bless you through my discoveries, my tips, my recipes and my new way of life.
Live fully, love always and be blessed!
With love,
Sylvie
