Saturday, April 30, 2011

GAPS Intro: Day 6

Not much to report really. I am dealing with quite a bit of die off, my heart rate seems higher again and I don't know why, and I am still on stage 1 except that I ate grilled meat last night. I also started the supplement last night that Dr. NCM recommended. In addition, I am thinking about adding Interfase Plus back in. I took it last year for a while and was starting to see improvements. Then I stopped taking it, got strep, then scarlet fever, and things have just been rough since then. I may order it today and start taking a small dose in the AM. Maybe the combo of Interfase Plus, the Berberine/GSE supp, and increasing probees and ferments slowly will finally show some improvements.

I mowed the yard yesterday and I had barely started the backyard (which is a PAIN to mow due to the slope and uneven soil) when the new, self-propelled mower stopped working. I could not get it to start back up. My guess is that it was just overheated and I should have waited a while but instead I finished the backyard with the old push-mower. What a pain that was and I am feeling it today. I probably won't be doing much the rest of the day although it's so nice outside it's a shame to sit inside.

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.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

GAPS Intro: Day 2

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.

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.

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!

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
  1. Boiled meats and veggies (I am skipping the latter)
  2. Lots of animal fats
  3. Probees and/or ferments every day
  4. Several cups of bone broth per day
  5. 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)
That's it but I will also try to stick to more gelatinous meats or meats that have less muscle fibers like beef tongue and heart. Today I am having just broth.

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.