Living the College Athlete’s Dream…Until I’m Not
I worked hard and now I’m on a college team playing the sport I love. I had to get good grades and be a solid athlete to get here. But now my body is not cooperating. At first it was just little things like being sore that put me in the Training Room. Now it seems like I keep injuring myself and I’m sick a LOT.
And when I’m injured or sick, I can’t practice or play.
This is stressful! It puts my scholarship or playing time or both at risk.
Then the downward spiral starts to happen.
Guess how I know this trend…I was you.
I was constantly in the Training Room for an injury or illness that wasn’t serious enough to take me out of practice. By my junior year, I was so unhealthy that I was seeing multiple doctors and on 12 medications. Nine of those meds were “permanent”.
I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, Allergies, and Asthma. I felt like a mess and I was depressed.
My playing time was constantly at stake. I was mostly on the bench. My grades were suffering because I struggled to make it to class. I had given up on this being my dream anymore. I was on the brink of giving up on life. It was dark in my head.
Several events made me realize I wasn’t in the right place. But those events had to become very “extreme” for me to see the signs and do what I needed for my mental wellbeing.
I quit the team. Then I quit this school.
I took a year off from softball to get a mental break and do a lot of testing to figure out what was really going on because an IBS diagnosis isn’t a complete answer. And I wanted off all the drugs they put me on.
I ended up going to another school and playing softball again. I found a much healthier way to live and do all the things I love.
Now I’m off all those medications. I take some supplements on and off to help when stuff gets out of whack. But I’m able to play the sports I love and live a very normal life again.
If this is where you’d like to be, let’s connect! I can help you get on the road to recovery, playing again, and going to classes without pain and fear that you’ll miss something to run to the bathroom.
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About Amanda
Former engineer on several NASA projects turned medical intuitive. I work with female college athletes with gut pain that is taking her out of her sport. Along with the unpredictable pain, she’s struggling with depression and her grades are starting to slip. I can scan her body to see what’s wrong, clarify it for her, map the path forward, and land her back in her best condition, back in her happy life, back in the game.