Welcome to Oshi Patient Stories, an interview series where we hear from the real people who have found lasting relief from digestive symptoms with Oshi’s virtual gastrointestinal (GI) care. In today’s interview, Cari talks about the progress she has made with Oshi and how she feels she finally has her life back.
Cari shares her experience with Oshi Health.
How did you feel about your GI symptoms before starting care with Oshi?
Before I started working with Oshi, I was sick multiple times a day, every single day. I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t make plans. I couldn’t travel—which is what I love to do. And after a few months working with the people at Oshi, I had a nurse practitioner, I had a nutritionist, and a gut brain specialist- psychologist. They were just amazing.
And now, I’m actually planning a trip in April to Peru because my symptoms are under control and I feel so much better. I feel like I understand what causes my symptoms, what I have to look out for. I feel much more educated than I was before, and I do feel like I can have a life now and make plans.
What have you learned while working with Oshi?
The tips and strategies, I’ve learned a lot of tips and strategies actually, from working with the nutritionists. Really, being mindful about not just what I’m eating, but how I’m feeling when I’m eating, before I’m eating, how much I’m eating. The kinds of foods I’m eating, like not enough fiber in my foods, too high fat. So, my nutritionist was excellent, really educated me in that.
Also, working with the gut-brain psychologist, she really helped me kind of manage that, nervous system reaction, my stress levels. She taught me something really phenomenal, which was, diaphragmatic breathing, to help my anxiety. Which really helped me calm down my whole body and the way my stomach was feeling whenever I felt like I was gonna get sick. I use that and it really started to change the way my body reacted to if I was having a pain or if I thought I ate a food that I shouldn’t have. Instead of having that anxiety reaction, I was able to stay calm. And just being really mindful about my thoughts around food and my thoughts around being sick and really getting that type of thing under control. I think that was really significant in helping me get better.
How would you describe your Oshi experience?
I’ve told a bunch of people about Oshi. I feel like because it’s a very holistic type of protocol that they have. You’re not just working with one person, a doctor, a practitioner. I had 3 people coming to help me from different angles and with different expertise, and I think that’s what really put it, put the puzzle pieces together for me to help me figure out why I was getting sick and, and how I could get better. So, I think that was really, really, the most important part was having that team that I can contact at, at any time, and they gave me each one of them gave me so many resources, which was phenomenal.
