Let’s welcome this week’s warrior, Jen C.!
Hello! My name is Jenn Capizzo. After graduating from college in South Carolina, I took a teaching position in the Houston area. I’ve been here for almost 11 years now. After a few years of teaching I met my husband. A few years later, we found out what I was expecting. I would describe my pregnancy as rather easy compared to most. It was toward the end of my pregnancy that I noticed that something was a little off. I didn’t think much of it as I figured the crazy pregnancy hormones were causing my symptoms. A year after I gave birth to my first and only child, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. My diagnosis was rather quick. I had some tests done first and saw that many of my inflammatory markers were elevated. The following colonoscopy showed that I had ulcerations in my ileum, confirming the suspected Crohn’s diagnosis.
I decided to see if I could kick my Crohn’s into remission through diet and exercise. Changing what I eat has been one of the biggest changes for me. I very strictly follow the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and have been doing so for almost 2 1/2 years. I realize that diet alone may not be enough for me, but it is something that I wanted to try first before jumping to biologics/infusions. Something that I face daily is lack of energy and feeling tired. Occasionally I still experience other symptoms when I have a flare because of something I ate. Many times it will come on suddenly with not much warning, so I’ve learned the importance of always being prepared.
My health journey has taught me several things, but the most important one being that God is in control and has been directing my path my entire life, even when I couldn’t see it. It’s so neat to see things that didn’t make sense before finally starting to make sense now. Through this journey, I have become more passionate about nutrition and exercise, and in turn, have been able to help encourage other women to live healthier lives themselves.
I am very busy these days as a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom. I teach online ESL classes to students from all over the world and am also a health and fitness coach. I am still trying to find the balance among the three. Some of my hobbies are cooking/baking and playing the piano. I also enjoy taking naps when I can and going on nature walks with my family. I love drinking coffee/matcha… just as long as it loves me back! 😉
Thank you so much for sharing your IBD journey with us Jen C.! Be sure to give her a follow in IG @coffeepi7