In part 1 and part 2 I discussed how trying to fix my acne led me to GAPS. In part 3 I’ll share the progress that I’ve experienced on GAPS so far. I’ve seen a lot of healing but I’m hoping for even more.
Acne:
I am so happy to say that GAPS has made a huge difference in my acne. Before GAPS I literally had dozens of breakouts on my face all the time. These days I rarely have more than four or five “active” blemishes. Some days I have none. Now honestly four breakouts is four more than I want, but I think that healing my skin (and gut) is just a really slow process. For the first five months on GAPs my skin actually didn’t improve at all. I kept plugging on, though, because I was so convinced that it was going to work. And after five months, my skin finally started clearing up a bit. After 11 months or so my skin was looking pretty good. Now at 15 months I’m still at that pretty good level. I’m not satisfied yet: even when I don’t have any breakouts my skin still looks flawed because I have a lot of hyperpigmentation and bumps from old blemishes. My skin looks blotchy and discolored rather than smooth and even. And since I’m still getting new breakouts I’m generating more of those spots all the time. I’m hopeful, however, that my body will be able to repair all of this given enough time.
Digestive Issues:
I briefly mentioned in part 1 that I’ve had digestive issues my entire life. Since childhood I’ve experienced unexplained stomach aches, occasionally accompanied by diarrhea, on a routine basis. It wasn’t a major problem but I never knew when I might start feeling sick to my stomach. Within a few days of starting GAPS my digestion immediately started feeling great. I realized that, in the past, even when my stomach had been feeling okay I’d still had a low level of discomfort. But once I started GAPS my digestion cleared up immensely. I am so happy about this! These days I still get stomach aches sometimes but it is very occasional. It’s wonderful how great my stomach feels the vast majority of the time.
Warts
Before starting GAPS I had more than 20 plantar warts on the bottom of my right foot. I’d tried both natural and conventional treatments but nothing had made any difference. They weren’t bothering me a lot but I knew that if they kept spreading they might start causing pain. Within a few months of starting GAPS I suddenly realized that my warts were less noticeable. As the months went on the warts continued to shrink and disappear. Today they are all gone. I didn’t expect this type of benefit at all but it is awesome that it happened anyway.
Energy
Before GAPS I felt tired a lot of the time. There were plenty of days that I just wanted to sit on the couch. After more than a year on GAPS this finally started to improve. I’m still not super energetic but most days I feel a lot more energetic than I used to. I’m confident that my energy will get even better as my gut heals more and more.
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I am so happy about all of healing I’ve experienced with GAPS. I still have room for a lot more improvement, though, so I’m planning on sticking it out for another nine months at least. I’m so curious to see what the next few months will bring.
In tomorrow’s post I’ll discuss the lessons I’ve learned during my GAPS experience. I hope you’ll join me then!
This post is part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.
If you’re on GAPS, what healing have you seen? What improvements are you still waiting for?
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10 Responses to Reflections After 15 Months on GAPS: Part 3 – My GAPS Healing So Far