Tomatillo-Parsley Salad

I tried tomatillos for the first time a few months ago - I know, shocking - and fell in love them. I bought a few too many the other day and decided to make a salad.

what you need:

• 4 to 5 tomatillos (about 14 ounces by weight)
• 3 sprigs of parsley 
• 1 green onion, top included
• 1/2 small to medium onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon homemade Kombucha (or vinegar works, too)
• 10 to 15 grinds black peppercorns
• 3/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Coconut Aminos

what you do:

Cut tomatillos into bite sized chunks and place in a bowl. 

Chop parsley, onion, and green onion in a mini-chopper.

Add all remaining ingredients to tomatillos.

Mix everything really well and serve immediately. If you used Kombucha instead of vinegar you can let it sit at room temp for a few hours to get a little healthy fermentation going.

I ate this salad with left over Slow Cooker Chicken Gizzard and thought it was a good combination.

Guten Appetit!


This post is shared at Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, and Freaky Friday.

April 2012 Update

It's been almost two weeks since I got back from Seattle and I have seen some good changes. Dr. D added Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula to my treatment plan since I still had some and she says they are good probiotics. For a long time I could not tolerate any CP at all but now I am up to 1/4 of the adult dose a day, in addition to various ferments including Kombucha, plus Pro Calm, Acidophilus, and Supernatant. Just a few months ago I could barely tolerate a drop of Sauerkraut brine so that's a definite improvement.

Last week I had several days where I felt joy. There was no dark, gloomy feeling and I was able to just enjoy the day, be happy, and have fun, despite all the other nasty symptoms, including the daily, and very uncomfortable abdominal distention. For the longest time I felt that the negativity was out of my control and having those days where I didn't have to try or work very hard to think positive was proof that I am right.

On the days I felt more joy I also had more energy. I even did a mini-workout on a few days in addition to cleaning the house. That is a HUGE improvement for me and I am so looking forward to when I can work out on a regular basis again.

A few days before I went to Seattle I had started taking Ivermectin and Pyrentel Pamaote. On those two anti-parasitics I felt that I was even hungrier than before and I was craving sweets again. Luckily I am done with those and have been taking Albenza for three days now. The second day on Albenza I started getting a headache, yesterday it was worse than the day before and I also started feeling like I was getting a sore throat and an earache. This morning the headache is improved, but the throat pain and earache, mostly on the left side, are still there. I also have a runny nose and my teeth are sensitive to hot and cold only on the left side.

Shortly before ending my fast I started getting chest pain on the left side and my arms hurt sort of like they did after the blood donation last year. The pain wasn't bad but I was a bit concerned thinking it might be an issue with my heart. I had called CMC and since Dr. D was out I ended up talking to Dr. Z. She ordered a CMP and CBC and also asked me to get a stress EKG. I got the blood tests the next day and my electrolytes were fine. I still haven't gotten the stress EKG, but once I started eating, the chest pain improved and some days it even went away.

Monday and Tuesday this week I didn't get to eat all day and by mid-day the chest pain was back and worse than before. When I finally got to eat something in the evening the pain would go away after one or two hours. Dr. D thinks it's Babesia and not my heart itself (but she still wants me to get the stress EKG just to make sure) and said that it's very common with people who have Babs. The fact that it improved when I broke the fast and ate something those two nights also makes me think it's Babs/die off but like Dr. D I want to make sure that my heart is ok. I went to see a cardiologist on Monday and they had initially told me that they could probably do the stress EKG the next day, but they had to do a pre-cert with my insurance company first. So they had scheduled me for today but I never did hear back regarding my insurance coverage so I re-scheduled the stress EKG for 05.09.2012 since I am heading to Orlando tomorrow.

DH is at a conference in Orlando (since last Sunday) and we are meeting at the airport tomorrow. We are taking a shuttle down to Cocoa Beach and Sunday we are getting on a 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I am looking forward to it but I am also hoping the die off from Albenza and all the other stuff I am taking will subside a bit before I leave tomorrow or at least before we leave Sunday.

Our friend L is staying with the dogs while we are gone which I much prefer over them going to a kennel. Unfortunately Mojo is not doing so well this week. What seemed like just constipation turned out to be an infected and swollen anal gland. I took him to the vet Monday and Dr. McCormick drained it and put him on antibiotics. It was awful....poor baby was in so much pain and it broke my heart to see him hurting so much. Dr. McCormick said infected anal glands respond really well to abx treatment and that he should be back to normal by the time I go on vacation. Well, he's not back to normal. Right after the vet appointment he was finally able to move his bowels several times, and since then he has been back to having a hard time. I have been giving him the antibiotics, I increased his NuVet Pet tablets to strengthen his immune system, and yesterday I did several warm compresses, but just like before he tries very hard to have a bowel movement but nothing happens. I called the vet yesterday and they suggested that I bring him back in today. I was really hoping he didn't have to go back to the vet again and I am praying that he doesn't have to go through the same thing as he did last Monday. I am also worried about going on vacation tomorrow with him not feeling well. Praying that today will be a pain-free vet visit for Mojo and that he will be feeling great by the time I leave tomorrow.

Follow-Up Appointment One with Dr. D in Kirkland

I got to Seattle yesterday around 7 PM, picked up my rental car and drove up to Kirkland, WA. I am staying at the Baymont Inn just like last time. Nothing fancy but it's cheap, relatively clean, and about 5 minutes from the doctor's office.

Before I start writing about the appointment earlier today I should mention that I started having chest pain on the left Friday a week ago. A few days later I started having pain in my left lower arm and in my left hand. This pain was very much like the pain I experienced after the blood donation last spring any time I took potassium. So I tried reducing my intake of potassium chloride but it didn't help. Next I tried stopping Vasopressin, since it can affect electrolyte balance but that did not help either. Finally I decided to call Dr. D but she was out and I ended up talking to Dr. A. She ordered some lab work (CMP, CBC, and thyroid) which I got first thing last Thursday and a stress EKG which I have not gotten yet. Sodium and potassium looked great, but some other things were off. WBC was low, EOS was elevated, ALT PHOS was low, and more.

So the first thing Dr. D and I discussed today was the pain in my chest and in my arms. The latter went away about two days after I broke my fast so maybe some of it was due to die off. Hard to say. I also started my anti-parasitics last Friday - I took Biltricide for two days and since Sunday I am on Ivermectin and Pyrantel Pamoate. I have to take both of those for 14 days then I start Albenza.

Dr. D then asked if I had any questions which I did. I had read that some organisms/biofilm like fat and was wondering if eating a high fat diet would make things worse. She said that is true and Dr. Steven Fry sometimes puts people on a low fat diet, but she said there are too many other health issues associated with eating a low fat diet that she is not in favor of a low fat diet, especially since I am on quite a few anti-microbials. She said she would prefer that I eat as much fat as I can tolerate as long as I stick to healthy fats like animal fats from pastured animals, coconut oil, butter, palm oil, etc.

I asked her if DPP IV really does help with gluten digestion, not because I want to start eating gluten, but as a preventetive measure if we go out to eat or on our upcoming cruise for example. She said that it definitely can be helpful and that is exactly when she would use it, but not for eating gluten on a regular basis.

I had also read that some organisms love hormones and having low hormone results could be an indication of the body down regulating hormones so bugs aren't being fed. My concern was with the fact that I use both progesterone cream and testosterone cream. She said that this is also true, but when a person is on anti-microbials it's good to replace the missing hormones to build them up a bit.

Next I mentioned that I still get a lot of itching from the detox deodorant. When I brought it up over the phone a few weeks ago she thought it might be due to metals being drawn to the skin and fungi going crazy eating the metals. She suggested putting coconut oil on my skin but it did not help. Actually, the itching got so bad, I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, walk into the bathroom, and "scratch" myself with my dry skin brush. I also started getting small bumps on my skin. Dr. D said unfortunately that means I am most likely allergic to one of the herbs in the deodorant and to stop using it.

I mentioned that the abdominal distention seems worse than ever as does my never ending hunger, and that I am now also craving sweets since starting the anti-parasitics. She feels confident that the abdominal distention and hunger are from parasites, and the increased hunger and sweet cravings are most likely die off from the anti-parasitics (which is a good sign).

Dr. A had come in to join us and next they asked me to get on the table to see what's going on with my body using ART (Autonomic Response Testing). Dr. D said that I seem to be dealing with Babesia issues right now and it appears that the Babesia is causing the chest pain. Apparently this is very common for Babesia and often an EKG will look perfectly normal but she still wants me to go ahead and get it.

Parasites are also big for me right now and I tested good for all the anti-parasitic medication. She said I should have a little splurge on occasion and about 15 minutes later take my anti-microbials. Eating sweets draws bugs into the gut where the medications are active, so eating something sweet then taking meds will kill some bugs apparently. I also tested for needing more probiotics than I currently take.

Also, my liver is really struggling right now as are my kidneys. Below is my treatment plan for now. She said not to refill any of my existing supplements until we have tested them on Friday.

Treatment While in Kirkland

1. IV Hepa Merz (for liver support - got this earlier today)
2. O-Zone Steam Sauna followed by Colonic (scheduled for tomorrow)
3. Cranial sacral with Dr. Beck (she is out so I am not getting this one)

Digestive Support

1. Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula - 2 scopps a day in addition to existing probiotics

Detox Support

1. Hyaluronic Acid - 2 dropperfuls twice per day under tongue 15 minutes away from food
2. Galactose - 1/2 teaspoon twice per day in water

Anti-Microbials

1. Cordy Chi - 2 capsules twice per day before meals
2. Rizol Gamma - 10 drops twice per day in a little water, gargle then swallow twice per day
3. Homeo-K BAB - 5 drops twice per day with other Homeo-K remedies

 Other

1. Homeo-K Energy -  5 drops twice per day with other Homeo-K remedies

Next appointment is tomorrow at 9:45 AM.

GAPS Intro #7: Day 1

Symptoms this morning: Headache, upper backache, anger, heart rate up to 120s, dizzy, weak, distended abdomen, puffy face, right eye lid slightly swollen, not fully cognitive, and stiff body.

The headache and backache seemed worse this morning when I first got up (around 5 AM) but seem to be going away now. I went back on the Berberine and GSE Supplement yesterday starting with half of a capsule. Hopefully the die off won't be too bad and I can start increasing the dose. Mom got the Pro-Symbioflor, Symbioflor-1, and Symbioflor-2 for me and mailed them Tuesday. I hope to get them early next week and will start with Pro-Symbioflor first. Maybe with all of this I will then be able to start adding other probiotics and ferments again. I do believe that re-balancing my gut flora is going to be key to healing.

My current theory is that whatever is going on in my gut is causing my RT3 to go too high when I go back to T4/T3 medication like Armour or Naturethroid. Taking Cytomel helps reverse this but causes tachycardia because it is too much of a strain due to the autonomic dysfunction (POTS) which could quite possibly be connected to the gut dysbiosis as well. If I fix my gut I will be able to go back on T4/T3 medication which will resolve the POTS issues. The reason the gut issues have not resolved on GAPS is because whatever is overgrowing in my gut has morphed and learned to live on whatever I am eating - even meat and fat. Therefore adding the supplement mentioned above will knock down the level of candida or whatever it is, the Symbioflor products will strengthen my immune system, and that combined with GAPS intro will eventually allow me to add other probees and ferments. I hope I am right about this because I am still a little bit hopeful that I will have a normal stomach, better digestion, and more energy by the time we go on vacation in November.

Not sure yet what I am eating today. It depends on what we are doing today and whether DH is going to see his dad or not, but I am thinking boiled salmon, fish broth with Great Lakes Gelatin, and lots of pork fat or tallow.

Update:

I had fish broth, gelatin, boiled salmon, and lard for lunch and dinner. Started getting a slightly stuffy nose mid-afternoon and now (8 PMish) I feel like I am getting a slight ear ache. This is a typical die off symptom for me. Headache and backache eventually went away. Abdominal distention is awful now that I have eaten two meals.

GAPS Re-Intro: Day 3

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.

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. 

What would have been GAPS Intro Day 28

I finally figured out why my tachy issues came back. The day I started back on GAPS Intro (4/25) I went to donate blood. Later that day is when my heart was racing like crazy. It took me two weeks to realize that I was dealing with low blood volume due to the donation. Long story short, I even went to the ER one day and now I seem to be anemic. Well, I was that day but have been eating beef liver like crazy since then. I was retested last Wednesday and hope to have the results tomorrow. My sodium was also below normal and potassium was low normal. I eventually asked Dr. Cowan for some SR potassium which he actually prescribed. I am still not back to where I was, but it's better now. What a setback.

Because of all this GAPS intro really has not been going well at all and I sort of fell off the wagon Thursday night. We went to the new Brazilian restaurant in town and I decided to have a glass of wine. I had a big buzz from that one glass, despite all the food I ate, and on the way home chewed a piece of gum. At home I had dairy kefir that I had made from regular, store bought heavy cream and I put some Splenda in it. Not the end of the world and it's not like I ate a whole cheesecake, but considering the state of my health, digestive and overall, that really wasn't a smart thing to do. I am still sort of dealing with the reaction from dairy.

Of course now I am toying with the idea of starting over AGAIN. It's the perfectionism driving me to "do it right". I am even considering going off most of my supplements, including the progesterone cream and testosterone cream I had added back in, and starting from scratch adding one thing at a time. That would really be the biggest change and going back to eating boiled meats which I am not looking forward to. The other consideration is to use fermented veggie brine only - no commercial probees. I stopped the Custom Probiotics and the Berberine supplement about 3 days ago and I feel better. Not only am I having daily BMs, but I don't wake up with pain and a stiff body every day. I really wish I could figure out why I am reacting so strongly to beneficial bacteria.

All of this has put me in sort of a depressive mood. I am getting to the point where it's hard to see the end of the tunnel or where I believe that there is someone out there who can figure this out. I put a lot of hope into doing GAPS intro again, but that hope is slowly fading as well. If I can't increase beneficial bacteria then I am not really doing GAPS. So where does that leave me?

I still think that the strep and scarlet fever incident last year caused some kind of lasting problem - but how and why? That is what I want to discuss with Dr. Cowan tomorrow. I am tired of him ignoring the fact that I have not gotten better since then. There HAS to be some significance to it.

Today marks 915 days (or roughly 30 months or roughly 2.5 years) with a distended, uncomfortable abdomen as well as a host of other symptoms that have not improved. I feel overwhelmed, disappointed, scared, and don't know where to go from here. Spending one more day feeling the way I feel seems unbearable. Needless to say my ED issues are rampant right now. It's the only way I feel I can cope. I pray, I ask God for guidance, I ask Him for comfort but I feel nothing and I hear nothing. It's very discouraging...

Back to starting over....I will probably go back on proper GAPS Intro but will have to wait a while. Rachel, our former neighbor from Austin who is like a grandmother to us, is not doing so well. I am hoping to go see her next week and I won't even attempt to make broth there or take broth with me. I will just eat GAPS legal food and won't worry about the rest. This time I also plan on going to The Saltlick, my fav BBQ restaurant, while I am there. Last time I went to Austin I chose not to go and then regretted it. Soooooo.....it looks like I will be re-starting GAPS Intro June 1 which is perfect because Bob goes to LA for 7 days on June 2nd. Now if I could just wean off coffee by then that would be great. I have read for the third time now that coffee can mimic the gluten protein and if you are gluten intolerant you could react to coffee. UGH! I tried reducing a few days ago and the depression got even worse. I need to find something to replace the coffee with. Unfortunately green and black teas make me feel nauseated on an empty stomach (and stain my teeth horribly) and I don't eat anything in the morning. Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and go off cold turkey the same time I go back on intro. Sound like suicide? I think it does!!!