Woke up with the usual symptoms (headache, right eye lid swollen, tired, not really cognitive, heart racing, etc.) but overall not too bad. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?!
Anyway, sometime after lunch I started to get a headache and felt really tired and out of it. I thought the Nystatin increase yesterday (from 1/16 tsp to 1/8 tsp) must have done it but around 2:30 PM I realized I hadn't taken my mid-day dose of 7.5 mg hydrocortisone. Since it was a bit late already I took 5 mg then and within half an hour the headache was almost gone. That's good but the pain in my right wrist and knuckles continues and it flared up in my left wrist as well until I took the HC around 2:30 PM.
I went to the lab this morning to get blood drawn. Can't wait to see what the RA factor and ANA indicate. If the pain in my wrist is RA then the RA factor should be elevated - at least you would think it would be. What is odd though is that the pain started sometime after the blood donation and low blood volume. I don't understand it and Dr. Cowan didn't have a possible explanation either.
I also had a free 15-minute consultation with Chris Kresser yesterday. I had read some of the articles on his blog and like them. In addition, at least one couple from the GAPS Yahoo group is consulting with him. After listening to my chief complaints he feels I have parasites. Since I have done several herbal parasite cleanses and my diet is extremely strict and limited, he suggested I take medication for them and then rebuild gut flora once the parasites are gone. He said since he can't prescribe medication he can't really help me right now but would be happy to consult with me after I am done with the meds (should I decide to take them). Incidentally I had just ordered another stool test kit from Parasitology Center Inc. the day before. Chris likes Metametrix for parasite testing and that's who I did the last stool test with. However, I was told that this place is even better. Chris also felt that the difficulty I am having taking probees and ferments could be an indication of parasitic infection since parasite can feed off of them.
I really didn't want to do more tests (or spend more money on tests), but I am desperate to feel better. Right now I am not living. I am merely making it through the day as best as possible and there is no joy in that. I am praying that Dr. Amin from the Parasitology Center Inc. will find something IF there is something to be found which needs to be addressed. As much as I hate taking medication, I probably will give it a try considering that everything else I have tried has not worked.
Showing posts with label Fermented Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fermented Food. Show all posts
Friday, June 3, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
GAPS Re-Intro: Day 2
I took a tiny amount of Nystatin yesterday as well as 1 drop of fermented carrot brine. I can't say I feel great today but no increased headache or other die off symptoms either. That's good...I am more hopeful.
It's only been one day and I am already tired of boiled meat. It just does not taste good to me. Yesterday I had boiled salmon and boiled chicken thighs. I admit though that I sauteed the skin of both in a cast iron skillet and some tallow. There is no way I can eat boiled fish or chicken skin and I didn't feel like pureeing it into my broth. Today I am having boiled chicken breast (it's skinless) and a ton of tallow. I will try a little bit more Nystatin but will keep the fermented carrot brine at 1 drop. It seems crazy that such a small amount could potentially cause die off.
The pain in my right wrist, knuckles, and fingers continues. I am not sure if I hurt my wrist somehow without noticing and the pain is radiating to my hand or if this is arthritic type pain. I hope it's not the latter. Dr. Cowan ordered some blood tests and among them he is checking for rheumatoid arthritis and also for mycoplasma pneumoniae. I have had the latter in the past and he wants to see if there's a lingering infection.
It's only been one day and I am already tired of boiled meat. It just does not taste good to me. Yesterday I had boiled salmon and boiled chicken thighs. I admit though that I sauteed the skin of both in a cast iron skillet and some tallow. There is no way I can eat boiled fish or chicken skin and I didn't feel like pureeing it into my broth. Today I am having boiled chicken breast (it's skinless) and a ton of tallow. I will try a little bit more Nystatin but will keep the fermented carrot brine at 1 drop. It seems crazy that such a small amount could potentially cause die off.
The pain in my right wrist, knuckles, and fingers continues. I am not sure if I hurt my wrist somehow without noticing and the pain is radiating to my hand or if this is arthritic type pain. I hope it's not the latter. Dr. Cowan ordered some blood tests and among them he is checking for rheumatoid arthritis and also for mycoplasma pneumoniae. I have had the latter in the past and he wants to see if there's a lingering infection.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
GAPS Re-Intro: Day 1
I was going to start over once again with GAPS Intro today. Unfortunately my day started crappy like so many days. I woke up with a headache and backache, tired, tachycardia (up to 137), fluid retention, and I had abdominal distention from the start before eating or drinking anything. Drinking coffee made it worse - this could be "PMS" or rather hormonal. It's too hard to tell these days but I hate it.
In my last email to Dr. Cowan I asked him to address the abdominal distention. His reply was that it's probably just "bad gut ecology but we can try a course of Nystatin". So this is about the 4th or 5th person who is indicating that I have fungal overgrowth. Maybe God is trying to tell me something!!!
I told Dr. C that Nystatin gives me the same symptoms as I get from probees and ferments - headache, backache, fatigue, anger, constipation, etc. I assumed those were die off but during our last phone consult he indicated that I probably just don't tolerate those strains of bacteria. That doesn't really make sense to me especially since I am getting the same symptoms from coconut oil, palm oil, GSE, oil of oregano, Nystatin, and other anti-fungals and anti-bacterials. I still think it's wicked die off what I didn't understand is why it just won't stop, then I started reading Dr. Myhill's free E-book on CFS. According to her research CFS is caused by mitochondrial failure. Mitochondria supply energy to all the cells in our body and if mitochondria fail all organs are affected and everything slows down. It can even lead to POTS which is something I have been dealing with as well. Reading her book was like reading about myself. I finally had an explanation for all the weird symptoms I seem to be having, including the fact that I am SO toxic despite a clean diet and clean lifestyle. Since all organs are affected in mitochondrial failure that means your skin is affected. In the book it states if micro-circulation to the skin is shut down, the body cannot detox. It also explains heat intolerance, something else I have been dealing with, because the skin is responsible for controlling the temperature of the body. When the blood supply to the skin is shut off, the body cannot loose heat through the skin and the core body temperature rises.
Dr. Myhill recommends a Stone Age Diet, 9 hours of sleep every night, plenty of rest and pacing oneself, and a supplement regimen for people with CFS/mitochondrial failure. Some of the supplements I already take, some I can't get here (she is in the UK), and some key supplements (d-ribose, l-carnatine, CoQ10, and niacin) I ordered and they should get here Friday. I am hopeful yet I am afraid to be hopeful.
Back to GAPS Intro - so I was going to start over today but I am wondering what the point is. I mean, I am still on Stage 2 minus egg whites/gee/butter. Of course as usual, the perfectionist in me wants to do it right, go through the stages, add one thing at a time, etc. I am not sure what to do and I am also torn about adding ferments back in - maybe one drop at a time - and now also adding Nystatin. Dr. C said to start with a pinch and work my way up. I was thinking about using the baby scoop from my Custom Probiotics. That's about 1/16 of a teaspoon or less which is a small dose.
I am trying to find joy, be happy, and enjoy life but it's not easy right now. I feel overwhelmed with all these symptoms and the fact that it seems impossible to find a good doctor - one that will truly listen, take his/her time, not just blow me off because I take Cytomel for hypothyroidism, or look at me like I am insane when I mention some of my symptoms.
In my last email to Dr. Cowan I asked him to address the abdominal distention. His reply was that it's probably just "bad gut ecology but we can try a course of Nystatin". So this is about the 4th or 5th person who is indicating that I have fungal overgrowth. Maybe God is trying to tell me something!!!
I told Dr. C that Nystatin gives me the same symptoms as I get from probees and ferments - headache, backache, fatigue, anger, constipation, etc. I assumed those were die off but during our last phone consult he indicated that I probably just don't tolerate those strains of bacteria. That doesn't really make sense to me especially since I am getting the same symptoms from coconut oil, palm oil, GSE, oil of oregano, Nystatin, and other anti-fungals and anti-bacterials. I still think it's wicked die off what I didn't understand is why it just won't stop, then I started reading Dr. Myhill's free E-book on CFS. According to her research CFS is caused by mitochondrial failure. Mitochondria supply energy to all the cells in our body and if mitochondria fail all organs are affected and everything slows down. It can even lead to POTS which is something I have been dealing with as well. Reading her book was like reading about myself. I finally had an explanation for all the weird symptoms I seem to be having, including the fact that I am SO toxic despite a clean diet and clean lifestyle. Since all organs are affected in mitochondrial failure that means your skin is affected. In the book it states if micro-circulation to the skin is shut down, the body cannot detox. It also explains heat intolerance, something else I have been dealing with, because the skin is responsible for controlling the temperature of the body. When the blood supply to the skin is shut off, the body cannot loose heat through the skin and the core body temperature rises.
Dr. Myhill recommends a Stone Age Diet, 9 hours of sleep every night, plenty of rest and pacing oneself, and a supplement regimen for people with CFS/mitochondrial failure. Some of the supplements I already take, some I can't get here (she is in the UK), and some key supplements (d-ribose, l-carnatine, CoQ10, and niacin) I ordered and they should get here Friday. I am hopeful yet I am afraid to be hopeful.
Back to GAPS Intro - so I was going to start over today but I am wondering what the point is. I mean, I am still on Stage 2 minus egg whites/gee/butter. Of course as usual, the perfectionist in me wants to do it right, go through the stages, add one thing at a time, etc. I am not sure what to do and I am also torn about adding ferments back in - maybe one drop at a time - and now also adding Nystatin. Dr. C said to start with a pinch and work my way up. I was thinking about using the baby scoop from my Custom Probiotics. That's about 1/16 of a teaspoon or less which is a small dose.
I am trying to find joy, be happy, and enjoy life but it's not easy right now. I feel overwhelmed with all these symptoms and the fact that it seems impossible to find a good doctor - one that will truly listen, take his/her time, not just blow me off because I take Cytomel for hypothyroidism, or look at me like I am insane when I mention some of my symptoms.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Slowly Figuring Things Out
I skipped the SR potassium yesterday and it seems my heart rate is not quite as high this morning. I find that odd since potassium is supposed to help with tachycardia, but there it is. Diane from the adrenal/thyroid Yahoo group recommended staying off of it for one week, taking in at least 2 tsp of sea salt a day, then adding it back in and retesting after 3 weeks.
My trip to Austin is not happening this week. I couldn't find a free flight with decent dates. I could have left Wednesday and come back Sunday, but we are supposed to have wicked thunderstorms this Wednesday and I can't leave Mojo all day. This is so crazy. We really need to figure something out regarding Mojo's fear of thunderstorms. I cannot re-arrange my entire day because of him every time there's a thunderstorm.
Anyway, looks like I am re-starting intro TODAY. I think I am just not going to worry too much about boiling meat for every meal and will focus on getting some of the ferments in. Incidentally there are messages going around on the GAPS Yahoo group regarding using fermented foods only and no commercial probees. I guess it's worth a try. I have Beet Kvass, fermented carrot ginger brine, and sauerkraut brine in little dropper bottles so I will start with one drop a day. It seems ridiculous to start with such a small amount but hey - whatever it takes. I did eat 3 medium sized water kefir grains yesterday and I have a headache and backache this morning, feel worn out, swollen eye lids, etc. - all the usual die off symptoms. A friend from GAPS had an interesting theory about me feeling worse. She said the following, referring to the blood donation:
My trip to Austin is not happening this week. I couldn't find a free flight with decent dates. I could have left Wednesday and come back Sunday, but we are supposed to have wicked thunderstorms this Wednesday and I can't leave Mojo all day. This is so crazy. We really need to figure something out regarding Mojo's fear of thunderstorms. I cannot re-arrange my entire day because of him every time there's a thunderstorm.
Anyway, looks like I am re-starting intro TODAY. I think I am just not going to worry too much about boiling meat for every meal and will focus on getting some of the ferments in. Incidentally there are messages going around on the GAPS Yahoo group regarding using fermented foods only and no commercial probees. I guess it's worth a try. I have Beet Kvass, fermented carrot ginger brine, and sauerkraut brine in little dropper bottles so I will start with one drop a day. It seems ridiculous to start with such a small amount but hey - whatever it takes. I did eat 3 medium sized water kefir grains yesterday and I have a headache and backache this morning, feel worn out, swollen eye lids, etc. - all the usual die off symptoms. A friend from GAPS had an interesting theory about me feeling worse. She said the following, referring to the blood donation:
"I think something happened in your system- maybe by concentrating your blood and getting rid of extra iron storage- it got some critters out of hiding since critters love love feasting on iron and now they are on the surface causing you misery and you are flaring. I think the way we define flare for every individual body is withing a given context to that specific body. Knowing you after all this time- this is one of the ways you flare."
See, I think this makes sense and is very possible but I know if I say something like this to Dr. Cowan he will think I am nuts. I never did have my appointment with him yesterday. Apparently he was out sick so it was rescheduled for tomorrow.
I did get my blood test results from last week yesterday. My iron is slightly higher but ferritin has dropped from 75 to 44, RBC, hematocrit, and hemoglobin are back to normal but at the low and of the range, sodium and potassium are both still low normal. I noticed that my WBC was 5.2 the day I went to the ER and now it's back to 3.8 which is too low. I do wonder why my WBC fluctuates so much.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
GAPS Intro: Day 3
I took no probees or ferments at all yesterday yet I still had a slight headache and backache when I woke up. Other symptoms - right eye lids swollen, tired, fatigued, not really cognitive until the hydrocortisone kicks in, and my heart rate was still high. Actually, it went all the way up to 152 as I was standing in the kitchen waiting on my coffee. I am thinking it's safe to say that it's not from die off and I need to reduce Cytomel even more (I went from 87.5 mcg Cytomel back in January to now 37.5 mcg Cytomel and 1 Grain Naturethroid).
Last Sunday when I woke up my heart rate was hovering around 89 which was the lowest it has been in a long time. It felt so good. No dizziness when standing or feeling like I need to sit down. I had reduced from 50 mcg Cytomel to 37.5 mcg the day before. That day I went back up and since then it's been pretty high again. Going back down to 37.5 mcg has not done the trick so maybe the T3 started pooling in my blood. I really don't know - it's all speculation. I am thinking about just taking the 1 Grain of Naturethroid today and no Cytomel at all to let the T3 clear, then going back to 37.5 mcg Cytomel with Naturethroid tomorrow.
I am crazy hungry, too, and I don't know if that's from die off or too much T3. In addition, I am feeling very warm, my temperature went up to 99.3 after eating lunch yesterday, I sweat at night, and I am waking at lot during the night. All that seems like too much T3.
Food today is Mahi Mahi boiled in water. I will drink the resulting broth and will add some pork gelatin since there are no bones in the fish and I normally have bone broth. I will add pork fat to the fish. I think I will go back to taking my probees today (L. reuteri, Symbioflor2, Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula) and skipping the fermented veggie juice. I know the latter is very important but the die off yesterday was brutal. If that works out ok then I may go back to adding the fermented veggie juice but a smaller amount - maybe 1/8 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp.
Last Sunday when I woke up my heart rate was hovering around 89 which was the lowest it has been in a long time. It felt so good. No dizziness when standing or feeling like I need to sit down. I had reduced from 50 mcg Cytomel to 37.5 mcg the day before. That day I went back up and since then it's been pretty high again. Going back down to 37.5 mcg has not done the trick so maybe the T3 started pooling in my blood. I really don't know - it's all speculation. I am thinking about just taking the 1 Grain of Naturethroid today and no Cytomel at all to let the T3 clear, then going back to 37.5 mcg Cytomel with Naturethroid tomorrow.
I am crazy hungry, too, and I don't know if that's from die off or too much T3. In addition, I am feeling very warm, my temperature went up to 99.3 after eating lunch yesterday, I sweat at night, and I am waking at lot during the night. All that seems like too much T3.
Food today is Mahi Mahi boiled in water. I will drink the resulting broth and will add some pork gelatin since there are no bones in the fish and I normally have bone broth. I will add pork fat to the fish. I think I will go back to taking my probees today (L. reuteri, Symbioflor2, Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula) and skipping the fermented veggie juice. I know the latter is very important but the die off yesterday was brutal. If that works out ok then I may go back to adding the fermented veggie juice but a smaller amount - maybe 1/8 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Day 1 (for the 2,357th time)
Fell off the wagon again yesterday and paying for it today. This time it was the nut butter bars I made for Bob. I figured since they have Splenda in them I would be able to stay away from them, knowing what Splenda does to me. Nope! Ended up c/sing after lunch and after dinner then, as usual, totally regretting it. I didn't feel too bad when I woke up today but around 10 AM the oh so familiar headache, upper backache, and lower backache set in. Haven't gone away yet!
So far today has been good as far as eating is concerned. I had lamb and shrimp for lunch and will have the same for dinner. Our friend and petsitter L. is coming over for dinner tonight. We are grilling jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, ribeye steaks, and some lamb steaks for me. L. is bringing a tossed salad and I am making haricot vertes sauteed in butter with spices I brought from Germany. The salad and haricot vertes are for L. and Bob. I am still doing ZC with fermented veggie juice.
Speaking of fermented veggies, I just started another batch of Sauerkraut. I have one batch that has been in the fridge for about two weeks now. In another 4 or 5 days I should be done with the juice from my fermented carrots and by that time the SK in the fridge should be perfect. I am planning on always having a batch in the fridge ready to go. It's just better if you put it in the fridge for 2 to 4 weeks after you are done fermenting it at room temperature.
So far today has been good as far as eating is concerned. I had lamb and shrimp for lunch and will have the same for dinner. Our friend and petsitter L. is coming over for dinner tonight. We are grilling jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, ribeye steaks, and some lamb steaks for me. L. is bringing a tossed salad and I am making haricot vertes sauteed in butter with spices I brought from Germany. The salad and haricot vertes are for L. and Bob. I am still doing ZC with fermented veggie juice.
Speaking of fermented veggies, I just started another batch of Sauerkraut. I have one batch that has been in the fridge for about two weeks now. In another 4 or 5 days I should be done with the juice from my fermented carrots and by that time the SK in the fridge should be perfect. I am planning on always having a batch in the fridge ready to go. It's just better if you put it in the fridge for 2 to 4 weeks after you are done fermenting it at room temperature.
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