I woke up with a wicked headache and backache as well as feeling angry - typical die off for me. However, I don't think it's because I started intro. As I mentioned, I was already hovering around stage 1 and 2 foods only. The only difference is that I am boiling my meat versus frying or baking it. I did increase my fermented veggie juice yesterday AND added a clove of garlic to my soup. I think that's what did it.
My heart rate is off the charts today and not only am I taking a beta blocker today, but I have already taken two because one wasn't enough. My temperature is pretty high also - 98.6 first thing this morning and 99.3 after lunch. So either the die off is causing the increased heart rate or I need to reduce my thyroid meds even more. The T3 may have just accumulated and I need to just skip it one day or I need less overall. Today I am going to skip the ferments and probees and will see what my heart rate does tomorrow. If it's still high then it's time to reduce Cytomel. What a friggin' pain all this is.
Food today - boiled pork meatballs, pork bone broth, pork fat cracklings.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
GAPS Intro: Day 1
While I have been hovering around stage 1 and 2 GAPS foods, today I am officially re-starting GAPS intro for about the 5th time. Along with taking the supplement Dr. Campbell-McBride recommended, I am hoping that this will get rid of the abdominal distention I have been experiencing daily for almost 3 years now. She did say in her email to me to stay at stage 2 and only add new foods and move up in stages when the abdominal distention is gone. Basically that's meat, fat, veggies, eggs. I am skipping the veggies for now and doing a ZC version of GAPS intro. I am also still drinking coffee. My plan was to wean off by now but that didn't happen. It's not perfect but oh well.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Better
I think I am finally over the gallbladder issue or whatever was going on. I was able to eat normal amounts of food yesterday without any pain. I also have more energy this morning since I was able to eat. Maybe I will be able to get a little work out in.
About a week ago I had sent an email to Dr. Campbell-McBride asking her advice regarding the abdominal distention I experience. She thinks I still have yeast overgrowth in my gut causing fermentation of the food I eat. She said to stay at Stages 1 & 2 of the GAPS Intro Diet and take the Berberine & Grapefruit Seed Supplement from Nutri Ltd until the distention is gone. In addition, on days I do not have a bowel movement, she recommended doing enemas with water, baking soda, and sea salt until my bowels are empty, then following it up with a coffee enema. I am not thrilled about this but I am willing to do it. I already ordered the supplement and hope it will get here early next week. She said to start slow, with 1/2 a capsule a day and work my way up.
Praying that this will finally bring some relief.
About a week ago I had sent an email to Dr. Campbell-McBride asking her advice regarding the abdominal distention I experience. She thinks I still have yeast overgrowth in my gut causing fermentation of the food I eat. She said to stay at Stages 1 & 2 of the GAPS Intro Diet and take the Berberine & Grapefruit Seed Supplement from Nutri Ltd until the distention is gone. In addition, on days I do not have a bowel movement, she recommended doing enemas with water, baking soda, and sea salt until my bowels are empty, then following it up with a coffee enema. I am not thrilled about this but I am willing to do it. I already ordered the supplement and hope it will get here early next week. She said to start slow, with 1/2 a capsule a day and work my way up.
Praying that this will finally bring some relief.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
GB Attack
May 2005 I had my first supposed gallbladder attack. I say supposed because that's what the physician in the ER that night thought it was (based on symptoms) but they did not find any gallstones and my blood tests were normal. The pain starts just under my right rib cage, it typically radiates to my back, my entire abdomen is very distended, and it's just a really nasty, miserable pain that typically leaves me taking strong painkillers although I despise them. Yesterday around 2:30 PM I started to have this pain and it just got worse throughout the evening. Out of sheer frustrating I started c/sing which of course didn't help matters. I took some Percocet and Tylenol around 4 PM, some more around 8 PM, and around 3:20 AM I took two Buscopan Plus. It is now 6:35 AM and I still have pain. It's more tolerable, but normally these attacks don't last this long.
This is so frustrating and discouraging!
This is so frustrating and discouraging!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Indecisiveness and Perfectionism
Indecisiveness - doubt concerning two or more possible alternatives or courses of action.
Perfectionism - a propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
That is me this morning. Yesterday I had decided that I would start GAPS Intro today yet ever since I made the decision it hasn't felt right. Why? Because it's not perfect. I am not ready to add vegetables yet. I haven't stopped drinking coffee yet. I plan on fasting today (not GAPS recommended). In 9 days we are going to a Brazilian where I will be eating grilled and seasoned meats and raw veggies plus I will most likely have a glass of wine. When Bob comes back from Austin we will want to grill pretty much every day and I don't want to eat boiled meat while he eats grilled meat (whine!).
So I am back to starting on 4/24, the day Bob goes to Orlando, and doing it right. He will be gone 2 weeks which gives me plenty of time to move to the stage where grilled meats are allowed. The part I don't like - I won't be joining the group of people starting intro today. As one woman commented on Baden's Blog, I like the momentum of this group starting date, but it just doesn't feel right. Neither does starting on the 4/24 but that feels better than starting now.
The indecisiveness is killing me but I can't seem to stop it either. Anyway, from now until 4/23 I will stick to Stage 1** ZC version, slowly increase probees, and wean off coffee. On 4/24 I will start proper GAPS Intro.
**Stage 1 Foods and Guidelines
Perfectionism - a propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.
That is me this morning. Yesterday I had decided that I would start GAPS Intro today yet ever since I made the decision it hasn't felt right. Why? Because it's not perfect. I am not ready to add vegetables yet. I haven't stopped drinking coffee yet. I plan on fasting today (not GAPS recommended). In 9 days we are going to a Brazilian where I will be eating grilled and seasoned meats and raw veggies plus I will most likely have a glass of wine. When Bob comes back from Austin we will want to grill pretty much every day and I don't want to eat boiled meat while he eats grilled meat (whine!).
So I am back to starting on 4/24, the day Bob goes to Orlando, and doing it right. He will be gone 2 weeks which gives me plenty of time to move to the stage where grilled meats are allowed. The part I don't like - I won't be joining the group of people starting intro today. As one woman commented on Baden's Blog, I like the momentum of this group starting date, but it just doesn't feel right. Neither does starting on the 4/24 but that feels better than starting now.
The indecisiveness is killing me but I can't seem to stop it either. Anyway, from now until 4/23 I will stick to Stage 1** ZC version, slowly increase probees, and wean off coffee. On 4/24 I will start proper GAPS Intro.
**Stage 1 Foods and Guidelines
- Boiled meats and veggies (I am skipping the latter)
- Lots of animal fats
- Probees and/or ferments every day
- Several cups of bone broth per day
- Ginger tea with honey in between meals (I don't like ginger tea so I put ginger in my broth and I don't do honey due to sugar and candida issues)
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Going Back on GAPS Intro
I have been vacillating between starting intro tomorrow, with a group of people, or starting on 4/24 when Bob goes to Orlando for 2 weeks. After eating some almond flour shortbread yesterday I decided to start tomorrow. It seems when I am not on some sort of plan, I have a tendency to slip more. I know almonds are GAPS legal, but every time I try to eat nuts they just set me back.
The reason I wanted to wait to start intro on 4/24 is that I won't be able to have grilled meats for a while since the first and second stage only allow boiled meats (boring). However, it won't kill me to eat boiled meats for a little while although Bob will be eating grilled meats. I will start intro with meats/fats only plus broth of course and fermented veggie juice - IF I can tolerate it. If that goes well I will start reducing protein and adding cooked veggies. Of course I am afraid to leave the ZC world, but I just have no desire to continue eating nothing but meat and fat and certainly not the rest of my life.
Here's the frustrating part and I pray this will change during intro, I feel like I am in perpetual die off. I mean, you are supposed to get die off when you add probees and or ferments but then it's supposed to let up and you increase probees and ferments. With me it seems that I can still only tolerate tiny amounts of probees and even those cause a pretty bad headache and backache. How am I going to move forward if the die off doesn't go away? It's mind boggling and utterly frustrating and I am so tired of it. After 5 to 6 days of a headache and back pain I need a break. So yesterday I did not take any probees at all and while I don't feel quite as achy this morning, the headache is still there. WTH???
On a more positive note, I found two recipes that Bob really likes. One was Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes and the other one was Salisbury Steak. I was really surprised that he liked the salmon cakes since he is not crazy about fish, but he even went back for seconds. I made some of them with jalapenos instead of asparagus which was good as well. I also omitted the nuts and parmesan cheese, and used two eggs instead of one egg white so that I could eat them.
I need to experiment and come up with some of my own recipes.
The reason I wanted to wait to start intro on 4/24 is that I won't be able to have grilled meats for a while since the first and second stage only allow boiled meats (boring). However, it won't kill me to eat boiled meats for a little while although Bob will be eating grilled meats. I will start intro with meats/fats only plus broth of course and fermented veggie juice - IF I can tolerate it. If that goes well I will start reducing protein and adding cooked veggies. Of course I am afraid to leave the ZC world, but I just have no desire to continue eating nothing but meat and fat and certainly not the rest of my life.
Here's the frustrating part and I pray this will change during intro, I feel like I am in perpetual die off. I mean, you are supposed to get die off when you add probees and or ferments but then it's supposed to let up and you increase probees and ferments. With me it seems that I can still only tolerate tiny amounts of probees and even those cause a pretty bad headache and backache. How am I going to move forward if the die off doesn't go away? It's mind boggling and utterly frustrating and I am so tired of it. After 5 to 6 days of a headache and back pain I need a break. So yesterday I did not take any probees at all and while I don't feel quite as achy this morning, the headache is still there. WTH???
On a more positive note, I found two recipes that Bob really likes. One was Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes and the other one was Salisbury Steak. I was really surprised that he liked the salmon cakes since he is not crazy about fish, but he even went back for seconds. I made some of them with jalapenos instead of asparagus which was good as well. I also omitted the nuts and parmesan cheese, and used two eggs instead of one egg white so that I could eat them.
I need to experiment and come up with some of my own recipes.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Here We Go Again
I am starting another fast tomorrow. My goal is 14 days, 7 of which I will be spending at Weckbecker with my friend S. We are going on Friday so I will be fasting 3 days prior and 4 days after the clinic stay. I am looking forward to the end result, not so much to the process since I was hungry every single day of my last fast. That's not what is supposed to happen. I am also hungry on a regular basis, no matter how much I eat, which is getting pretty frustrating. I reduced Cytomel from 87.5 mcg to 75 mcg and that has helped with quite a few symptoms. My heart rate is slightly lower (but I still take a beta blocker most days), I am not sweating excessively, I am sleeping much better, and I don't feel like I need to strip down to my skivvies and bra after I eat!
My hope is that the detoxing I get from the fast will allow me to really increase my intake of probiotics and fermented veggie juice afterward. I am still struggling to add those in as I get quite a bit of die off. No doubt the first few days of the fast will be horrendous from die off, but at least I can sit on my butt all day if I need to. The question is what do I do after the fast: GAPS, ZC, Paleo...?? I can't imagine never eating vegetables again so why am I so hesitant about going back to a more Paleo lifestyle? I guess feeling like a failure (other ZCers made it) is part of it and fear of weight gain. None of those are God talking as my smart hubby pointed out to me.
I also hope to blog about my fasting experience every day. Ha! Judging by the date of my previous post you might guess how that's going to work out!
My hope is that the detoxing I get from the fast will allow me to really increase my intake of probiotics and fermented veggie juice afterward. I am still struggling to add those in as I get quite a bit of die off. No doubt the first few days of the fast will be horrendous from die off, but at least I can sit on my butt all day if I need to. The question is what do I do after the fast: GAPS, ZC, Paleo...?? I can't imagine never eating vegetables again so why am I so hesitant about going back to a more Paleo lifestyle? I guess feeling like a failure (other ZCers made it) is part of it and fear of weight gain. None of those are God talking as my smart hubby pointed out to me.
I also hope to blog about my fasting experience every day. Ha! Judging by the date of my previous post you might guess how that's going to work out!
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