The first time I remember having a problem with allergies was in the 8th grade. I thought I had a cold, but one of my teachers told me he thought it was more likely allergies.

My paternal grandparents moved from Missouri to Arizona in the late 1930s because of my grandmother's severe asthma and allergies. My Grandma Shanley was into herbs and eating healthy long before I was born. They say these things tend to run in families and it appeared I had inherited at least the allergies part.

In my 20s, my allergies started to get really bad at certain times. I'd sneeze and sneeze for hours. My nose itched and ran. I tried over the counter meds, but they only stopped the sneezing and runny nose temporarily. As soon as they wore off, the allergy attack would continue.

In 2001, I caught a cold that turned into bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia. I had never been so sick in my whole life, bedridden for a month, so sick and weak that I couldn't even sit at a computer. We had just moved 50 miles from my job, but I was afraid to leave the city, so we stayed in our old place for another month. Thankfully we owned both places. When I was finally able to get out of bed, I didn't have the energy required to work a half day (JUST sitting at a computer!) and then drive for an hour. Thank goodness my friend who lived close to my job was kind enough to allow me to stop over and take a nap before starting on my way home.

It took awhile for me to recover but eventually, I regained my strength. I was so happy when I could walk through the store pushing a cart, instead of needing to ride in one of the motorized shopping carts!

But I had two lingering symptoms from my bout with pneumonia. One was that after just a few hours in a lying down position my back would stiffen painfully and I had to get out of bed and sit somewhere until the stiffness went away.

The other problem was my breathing. I couldn't seem to catch my breath. My doctor was concerned and insisted that I see an asthma-allergy specialist. The specialist found that I was allergic to almost everything he'd tested me for, and diagnosed me with asthma. I burst into tears, and I can still remember him saying to me, “Ma'am, why are you crying? Of all the diseases if I could choose one it would be asthma because it is easily controlled with medication.”

That didn't help much.

I left with five prescriptions. Two steroids, to be used at the same time, an inhaler, a nasal spray, and allergy medication. I hated the whole idea of being on prescription medications. The cost, the nuisance of having to pick up the prescription every month, carrying them with me everywhere I went, the time it took to use them just to keep breathing normally. I wanted it to be over, but I also wanted to breathe without gasping.

After some time, maybe a year, the specialist helped me taper off one of the steroid medications. I had never taken the allergy medication or nasal spray on a daily basis, but I did need to use them 2-3 times a month as we live in the desert and there is dust everywhere.

In December 2009 I started on my gut healing journey – to help my husband. I was amazed at the results. The stiff back completely resolved within two weeks (as did my horribly aching feet, read more in my 6-month update). I was so thrilled as I'm one that needs my sleep and for years I couldn't be in bed for more than 7 hours without the horrible stiffening pain. I also love to read before going to sleep to relax; it was horrible to have to give that up. But after just a short time on GAPS, I was finally able to catch up on my sleep!!

I was very hopeful that I could get off the asthma medications. After a couple of months on full GAPS, I tried to taper off, but my body and my gut apparently weren't ready. I did the GAPS Introduction Diet for one month in March 2010. I was a little scared to try tapering off my medication again and wanted to give my gut more time to heal. In August I started to slowly taper off the medication, and by September I was completely off the asthma medication.

I was OFF asthma medication after having used it for 9+ years! What a relief to be free!

The allergies continued to cause me some grief for a period. I remember we still had our dairy goats and they would get the dust all kicked up in the milking parlor and sometimes I'd have to take Allegra and use the nasal spray to calm down my sinuses.I can't remember exactly when but a couple of years ago I had a stuffy nose and it was so uncomfortable, and that was when I realized that my allergies are pretty much non-existent.

I can't remember exactly when but a couple of years ago I had a stuffy nose and it was so uncomfortable! That was when I realized this was the first time in a long time that my nose had been stuffed up! It's amazing to be able to breathe through your nose!!

Several of my coworkers have problems with allergies, and sometimes they are sneezing and coughing and stuffed up, and I feel sorry for them because I hate to see people suffer. But it does help me to remember what I went through, and why I'm glad I took the plunge to work on healing my gut.

This is why I want to make sure you know about the Gut Health Super Bundle which has been put together by my affiliate partners at Ultimate Bundles.

The Gut Health Super Bundle focuses narrowly on gut health and includes 16 e-books, 5 e-courses, 3 videos and The Gut Healing Summit. Sure we're doing GAPS, but Dr. Natasha encourages us to find the cherries for our individual cakes. The combined value of the resources in the bundle is over $695, but you get everything for just $29.97 (93% savings). Remember you don't have to download or use every single resource, you can definitely pick and choose. AND, Ultimate Bundles wants you to be happy so if you buy and don't like the bundle, you can get your money back.

I've put together a post here to highlight my 7 favorite products, plus the two bonuses available (sometimes I buy the bundle JUST for the bonuses).

The bonuses in this bundle are a $20 gift card from Get Kombucha and two 16.9 ounce packages of broth from Kettle & Fire Bone Broth.

Here's the short list of the products I've mentioned at my post (value $295):

• Heal Your Gut Summit ($99)
• Gut Healing Starter Pack from Health, Home & Happiness ($75)
• Beyond Grain & Dairy (my e-book!) ($24.97)
• Broth for Breakfast and Every Meal of the Day ($19)
• How to Heal a Broken Gut ($27)
• 14-Day Gut Reset ($10)
• Lacto-Fermentation Mini e-course ($40)

Check it out here: Gut Health Super Bundle

Fine Print:

• The Gut Health Super Bundle before it expires on Monday, March 27th at 11:59 PM EST!
• As with all Ultimate Bundles products, the Super Gut Health Bundle comes with a 30-day no-hassle guarantee. If you buy the bundle and realize it’s not a perfect fit for you, no problem, just contact customer service, and your money will be fully refunded.
• If you wish to buy a bundle as a gift, buy it now and contact Ultimate Bundles customer service and they'll transfer the bundle for you.
• Worried you won’t know where to start with all the resources in the bundle? Don’t be! Inside the bundle you’ll find a handy Getting Started Guide so you can take action right away.

Click here to get your copy now!