![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/c2tblog-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/curious-solution-694x450.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s easy to hear the suggestion of dietary or environmental triggers as I won\u2019t be able to have anything I enjoy; or I\u2019m going to have to spend time I don\u2019t have cooking. To some extent, you may be correct. But it\u2019s unlikely that you won\u2019t be able to have ANYTHING you enjoy. And you will most likely find ways to spend less time than you anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The easiest way to move past a feeling of I CAN\u2019T is to start wondering what, when, why, how?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of the process as a treasure hunt or mystery to solve. You may discover things you\u2019ve known all along but put aside as silly or impossible. And you may feel better more quickly than you think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is causing the problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping journals or lists is a good way to start determining what makes you feel bad or leads to specific symptoms. Write down where you are, what you just did, and what is happening when a symptom begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you break out in a rash after your morning coffee. Write that down and also include the room where you consume it, and any other food, drink or medication you have taken. If you\u2019re in the kitchen and someone sprayed a cleaner of some sort, record that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you sneeze every time you go to the bathroom, mold or mildew may be a trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your chest feels tight when someone sprays a certain disinfectant, something in that product may be a trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you burp excessively or have reflux after eating chocolate, that may be a trigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is time consuming to keep track, but it will allow you to see patterns that narrow the field. In the long run, that\u2019s faster than hit or miss guesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When do I have a problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re keeping a journal but not really seeing a pattern, observing when you have a problem can help. Before I figured out that my toothpaste was causing a rash, I observed that the rash went away when I was traveling in my RV. So, I had a problem when I was at home, but not as much when I was on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From that observation, I made note of what I do differently on the road. While that didn\u2019t immediately lead to me remembering my travel toothpaste was different, once I noticed my tongue felt swollen and my mouth felt unusually dry after I brushed my teeth, it became confirming evidence for trying a change in toothpaste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do I have a problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve observed when and where you have an issue, you can go back to asking why. This question can lead you back to your doctor to determine whether you have an allergy, sensitivity, celiac disease, or some other autoimmune condition or dysautonomia. Taking the patterns you\u2019ve identified to your doctor can inform their next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is not an automatic guarantee you will get a diagnosis. There are many conditions that take years to diagnose. That\u2019s frustrating and discouraging but doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t find some relief. There are diets you can try on your own without sacrificing nutrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do I proceed?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Get support for your mental health. If your medical team begins to treat you as though you may be imaging symptoms, it can make you feel crazy. That doesn\u2019t mean you are. Physical and emotional health are intertwined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask questions. If you have read something you think could be related, ask your doctor about it. Take them a research study you found. Doctors are busy. They may not be aware of the newest research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get a second opinion or a third if you need to. If you have the means, you may want to consider getting a referral to a physician in a larger city or at a more diagnostically sophisticated hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take an advocate. If you\u2019re exhausted and not sure you can absorb what you\u2019re being told, take a trusted relative or friend with you to ask questions and note the answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do what you can. When you discover a trigger you can safely eliminate that may be contributing to your symptoms, eliminate it and see what happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When answers are hard to come by, the quickest way to relief can be to let curiosity lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If your physician has exhaustively tested and cannot provide a diagnosis to explain intestinal issues. itchy rashes, and fatigue you may want to let curiosity lead. When your health team begins suggesting the best next step is to consider dietary or environmental triggers, it can be easy to resist. Getting curious can help get you … Continue reading “Let Curiosity Lead”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[96,4108,4107,4106,125],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6256"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6259,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6256\/revisions\/6259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}