The Unskilled Cavewoman Podcast

"I was a strong woman, and I only knew how to be one version of strong...and that was the woman my husband fell in love with."

Shanna, the blogger and studying Nutritional Therapy Coach of WellnessUnraveled.com, has been married to her husband for 18 years. Together they have spent over a decade of their union also married to autoimmune disease.

Shanna's undiagnosed heath struggles had become progressively worse during a time when there was not much information concerning autoimmunity, and neither her nor her husband knew exactly what chronic illness was, or how to handle its challenges.

Shanna and I, both autoimmune patients, talk about our common previous feelings of: guilt for resting; not wanting to disappoint our partner; and how those feelings have transitioned for the better. She chats about the need to be honest about how she feels with her partner, especially when her AI has her exhausted.

Listen in on how living with an autoimmune disease, and particularly adapting to the AIP diet lifestyle, has changed and strengthened not just her perspective, but also created a stronger marriage.

What is the difference between IBS, also knows as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and IBD, aka Inflammatory Bowel Disease? And how does Ulcerative Colitis factor in when we are talking about these illnesses?

Jaime Lubich Hartman, NTP of Gutsy by Nature chats with me about her experiences living with Crohn's, an autoimmune disease, and how she manages her chronic illness with both natural methods and traditional medicine.

We share our experiences with diagnostics for IBD and IBS, including colonoscopy and barium x-ray imaging. We also talk about the lifestyle changes we have made to keep ourselves in remission, including taking a slower approach to life, and learning to take on less.

Jaime coaches people living with autoimmune disease and struggling with leaky gut. She and I agree upon supplementing with bone broth, collagen, and L-glutamine for healing intestinal permeability and helping to soothe aggravated digestion issues.

Jaime not only uses the AIP (autoimmune protocol) for her clients' healing, but she also continues to utilize the protocol in her own life and health.

To learn how to work with Jaime, you can find her coaching website here. To follow Jaime on social media, check her out on Instagram and Facebook sharing all things Gutsy by Nature.

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Beth Chen of Bon AIPpetit and I talk about some of the difficult emotions us as parents with chronic illness face, particularly guilt.

Finding community has been essential to Beth's healing journey as a parent. She's learned how to ask for help with her son when she needs it.

Figuring out what kind of mom boundaries she needed to set was essential to ensuring her health doesn't spiral out of control after all of the healing she's encountered.

We also chat a bit about how children raised with a parent that has a chronic illness can naturally nurture them into growing up with compassion and kindness for others.

Jana Beam Powers is a Massage Therapist, Arvigo Maya Abdominal Massage Practitioner and intuitive healer. She specializes in woman's reproductive and digestive health. She provides hands on healing as well as coaching on diet, supplements, emotional health and sexual trauma healing.

The Maya Massage technique is based on a traditional massage that has been used for centuries in South America reproductive and digestive issues. Rosita Arvigo recognized this treatment while travelling to the area, and trained under the shaman Don Julito who was performing the therapy there.

Conditions such as endometriosis, PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), infertility, fibroids, polyps, misaligned uterus, scarring from surgeries, and painful cycles can all be helped with Maya Massage.

Jana has helped even those who have had unsuccessful exploratory surgeries, during which more scar tissue was created during the procedure on top of what the patient possibly already had and was causing their original health issue.

I celebrate my ultrasound results with Jana after the 7 therapy sessions I've had so far with her, and Jana recollects some of her favorite healing success stories from her clients.

We talk supplements as well as complementary therapies for feminine health.

Jana also integrates energy work into her coaching which helps her clients deal with traumas, letting go of others' baggage so they can deal with their own emotions. This allows her clients to get to a place where they can process their emotions, branch out, and enjoy life in a state of bliss rather than a state of emotional and physical pain.

Chatting with Jordan of Healthy Fat & Fit was too much fun...I was nodding my head almost the whole time while we talked because of our similarities of symptoms and experiences living with thyroid disease. Jordan is diagnosed with hypothyroidism and uses the Paleo autoimmune protocol to manage her symptoms and thrive through her chronic illness. I personally just love this lady, she is so down to Earth, genuinely friendly and a joy to talk to, and I know you'll just adore her too.

Jordan encourages others to take their health seriously, meal plan, and keep track of their progress, because they will be amazed at how far they've come when they read through their journal.

She also encourages staying in a meal-planning routine to avoid the temptations to eat convenience foods that are harmful to our health and cause symptom pitfalls.You can find resources on her blog like her "day on a plate" section, tips on how to cut the cost of the AIP, fitness tips, and an AIP meal plan & habit tracker.

My lovely guest, Beth Chen - of Bon AIPPetit - and I talk about toxin-free living.

How do we know as consumers which personal care and household products that we are using are safe...and which ones contain harmful ingredients? We mention how to check your current products and potential purchases for safety, as well as chat about our favorite, high-performing finds and DIY's.

Learning about and implementing product safety doesn't have to be overwhelming when you utilize the tips we share in this podcast. Join us and discover why it's not just people with chronic illnesses that need to embrace awareness about what's going on to their bodies.

What is FMT? In my interview with Dr. Sarah Ballantyne of The Paleo Mom we discuss the diversity of the microbiome, and the role Fecal Microbiota Transplantation can play in chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases.

We all have primal instincts within us, begging to be nurtured re-awakened. In our modern society, how do we realize true human goals and desires? How do we support one another in the midst of chronic illness due to broken food and medical systems? In this episode I talk about the simple ways in which I've begun to reconnect to my ancestral humanity and how it's brought me acceptance and happiness.

In my first episode, I talk about my health history, including some things that I've never shared before about myself and my life that I truly believe have contributed to my overall well-being. I wanted to be candid in sharing this with you, because I want you to know that you are not alone. Not everyone has a perfect past, and that's perfectly OK. We were where we were meant to be then, and we are where we are meant to be now.

My Hashimoto's, Hypogammaglobulinemia and suspected Celiac are a huge part of my life, and I believe a natural approach to reversing my diseases is what has gotten me this far. I still have a ways to go, but with this community I foresee a bright and healed future.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of mine. May this podcast help you to travel empowered along yours as well!