I spent my high school years living in Bangladesh. Even though it’s on the Eastern side of the world, in my experience, there was a pretty strong emphasis on allopathic, Western medicine. So any time I would see a doctor, I was given a course of antibiotics—but they never investigated the root cause.

In addition to constantly getting sick, I also started developing skin conditions, like rosacea, which had never happened to me before. When I was going through skin issues, I actually traveled to Singapore and Thailand, to see a few more doctors, but they just gave me steroid cream for treatment. 

None of the practitioners I saw suggested looking at my gut to see if it was having an impact on my skin or immune system. 

Needless to say, my challenges continued into college. I even somehow got meningitis during my sophomore year, which is an incredibly rare infection. I also struggled with chronic UTIs during my entire college experience. 

Through college, when something went wrong, I was either given antibiotics or pain medication. I actually became resistant to antibiotics while dealing with the UTIs. Ultimately, I never got any definitive answers, just bandaid solutions. 

Right after starting my first job post-graduation, I was sent to the ER due to pain around my ribs. As it turned out, I’d actually fractured one of my ribs, as a result of a chronic cough that would not go away. 

It was one thing after another, for such a long time.