Testimonial: Paleo Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) Changed My Life!

Testimonial written by: Yadi V.

AIP changed my life!!!
I began this diet, or should I say lifestyle, in January 2017. I began the diet because of an autoimmune disease I have called hidradenitis suppurativa. This condition features pea- to marble-sized lumps under the skin that can be painful and tend to enlarge and drain pus. They usually occur where skin rubs together, such as in the armpits, groin, and buttocks. I know some docs still argue it’s not an autoimmune disease, whatever it is… I unfortunately have it. I’ve been dealing with it since I was a kid but didn’t get diagnosed until the beginning of 2016. I went through a few specialists and finally met a great dermatologist that was able to diagnose me.

Before 2016, I would maybe get a flare up every 3 years or so. I’m not sure what made my body just go AWOL that I began to get a flare up every other day, and finally I would have 4 enlarged lumps (HUGE) that would just not go away for about a year. I was desperate for answers, I needed to make this stop and go away. As an extremely active person, it was beginning to effect my day to day life. I have an office job during the day (which meant I couldn’t really sit since I would have flare ups) and at night I’m a fitness instructor. EXTREME PAIN while teaching my class FYI. I began treatment with my dermatologist… antibiotics, weekly shots, ointments… nothing worked. I switched primary docs, I told him about my disease and he then suggested surgery. UMMM, what?! I didn’t want to go with just ANY surgeon, so I looked up a great surgeon that specialized in hidradenitis. GREAT doc, awesome work… we even scheduled my surgery! A few days after I had booked my surgery, I just knew this wasn’t the route for me. I was 4 months away from my wedding (May 28, 2017) I didn’t want to have major surgery right before my wedding, so many factors came up. I went with my gut feeling and cancelled the surgery.

The next day after canceling I remembered about a few YouTube videos I have seen about people dealing with hidradenitis. They kept talking about a certain diet that controlled their symptoms, suppressed the disease, etc. I didn’t want to take on this diet when I first heard about it because at the same time I was dealing with my flare ups, I was also going through other medical issues. I was a mess in the summer of 2016. In and out of the hospital, throwing up, horrible diarrhea, and this all happened and kept happening for 6 months (before I started the diet). At the time, my docs were trying new things with me, testing me for everything possible, and nothing helped or would show up. The only thing that did show up was that I had Atrophic Gastritis, which was not caused by a bacteria (that was confirmed with a biopsy). It was another autoimmune diseases on my plate. I noticed the confusion in doctors faces when I would see them. I’m a healthy 28 year old women, worked out 5 times a day, would eat what I thought was “healthy”… my symptoms just didn’t make sense. I should also mention that I was taking lithium at the time to treat anxiety, which also completely messed my body up.

So, back to the YouTube videos! I saw some people opening up about the hidradenitis and how they were on the paleo diet. I had nothing to lose at this point so I remember waking up super early one day, went to Sprouts and bought SO MANY GROCERIES. I was determine and had so much faith this diet would work!
NOT KIDDING, I began the diet on a Sunday… by THAT Friday… the lumps that have been active for about a year just went away. I legit cried! It was an amazing feeling to know I could control this with just food. AND NOT TO MENTION that getting on this diet also helped with all my stomach issues I was dealing with at the time. I was already a pretty fit thin women, I had dropped 25 lbs. from all the diarrhea and throwing up. Everything I ate would make me sick, etc. Once I got on this diet, my body just bounced back. I haven’t thrown up or had diarrhea or had FLARE UPS since I began this diet. And the anxiety… I haven’t had an anxiety attack since I began the diet. I am CERTAIN the diet is what helped.

I recently started to reintroduce foods into my system which has been amazing. Unfortunately because I do have atrophic gastritis, I still have so many limitations on foods, but I have never felt this great, looked this great. Oh and let me tell you about my body! Like I mentioned, I’m a fitness instructor a few nights out of the week and my body has never looked this defined, like EVER. I hate to call this a diet because it really is a lifestyle. It’s not an easy one, its a lot of dedication but trust me, NO REGRETS! I will NEVER go back to eat the way I was eating before. I feel amazing and pill free. No medicine whatsoever.
People saw how great I was doing that they began to get on the Paleo diet. I’ve had people come up to me asking me about it because their parents have an autoimmune condition, and later find out that their parents are doing way better now that they’re doing paleo. It really was a blessing for me to get on the Paleo lifestyle. I can’t say enough great things about this. AMAZING. LIFE CHANGING!

Best,
Yadi

Squatchy

Christopher Williams (a.k.a. Squatchy) is a paleo aficionado, educator, personal trainer, wellness coach, and hobbyist chef. He also works as part of the Robb Wolf team.