Today I had a lovely (read, not lovely) chat with my Cool Acupuncture Guy. I started off the day by forgetting that I had an appointment with him and instead getting a 15 minute reminder on my cell phone. I called, thinking surely it was a mistake.
It wasn't. The receptionist said she was just wondering where I was.
In any case, I actually spoke to Cool Acupuncture Guy. To fill in the blanks, I had started taken the Herbal Tea to help with "Loose GI" but after six days I hadn't seen any improvement so I stopped taking it. On Day Three I actually noticed an increase in ick. Day Four I called and left a message but because it was right before Thanksgiving no one was really around and I didn't get a call back until Monday.
Point being...I got chastised for not taking my Herbal stuff. When faced with someone's passive aggressive disapproval, I can apparently get fairly tongue-tied. Instead of coherently saying what I needed to say I'm pretty sure I came across as a bumbling idiot. I tried to tell him that I was interested in getting checked for parasites, but to him I think this seemed very out-of-left field.
So I tried my best to explain what I was thinking (namely, that a parasite problem might be inhibiting my healing and herbal remedies) and he said that the Herbal Tea would help with parasites and would help with the loose GI. Also, someone with a damp constitution (read--out of balance) would be susceptible to parasites. So I ended the conversation like a downtrodden dog, confused about what to do next.
I think the CAG assumes I have some sort of worm, which compared to the Blastocystis that I do have is a cakewalk. Worms are easy to kill! Protozoa or whatever, that dig into your intestinal walls, not so much.
How to keep the peace and explain my thinking? I have no idea. I left a message and emailed CAG, because I do value his opinion and I want his help through this process. Hopefully it won't be a battle if I want to take Western drugs to kill my-maybe-surviving-parasite. And it would have helped if I hadn't missed my appointment in the first place.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Parasite Vs. Celiac Tutorial
This web site has a really succinct list of the symptoms that come from having parasites.
These are the ones I can personally attest to being true: ;)
Diarrhea
Bloating
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Joint Pain
Skin Rash
Anemia
Teeth Grinding
Chronic Fatigue
Immune Dysfunction
This web site has some symptoms of having Celiac Disease. And these:
Diarrhea
Bloating (Gross, I know...)
Anemia
Stomach Upset
Joint Pain
Skin Rash
My point is....if it's parasites, no wonder I have been confused!
These are the ones I can personally attest to being true: ;)
Diarrhea
Bloating
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Joint Pain
Skin Rash
Anemia
Teeth Grinding
Chronic Fatigue
Immune Dysfunction
This web site has some symptoms of having Celiac Disease. And these:
Diarrhea
Bloating (Gross, I know...)
Anemia
Stomach Upset
Joint Pain
Skin Rash
My point is....if it's parasites, no wonder I have been confused!
Doctors of Osteopathy are the Shiznit!
So today was the day I went to see a nearby Doctor of Osteopathy (not an M.D., a D.O. is a Doctor who tries to look at your body as a whole instead of parts and symptoms). The Physician's Assistant I had been seeing can't practice anymore, so I needed someone else in addition to the Cool Acupuncture Guy to help me piece things together.
In any case, I hadn't meant to bawl in front of her, but I totally did. The Medical Assistant had just weighed me (at my lowest weight since middle school) and I am generally emotionally fragile. When the real doc came in, she just looked at me, gestured to my ream of medical records, and said, "I've glanced at your records, but why don't you tell me what's been going on?" So instead of answering her, I just burst into tears.
Worse than Dawson. :)
I call this sydrome "So-Damn-Thankful-For-Help" Syndrome. In high school when a deer ran into my car, I didn't cry until an old man offered to remove the partial carcass from my bumper.
I actually enjoyed my appointment with her because her philosophy matches up with ours quite a bit. She understands why I don't want to be on drugs for the rest of my life and she is willing to help me figure out what's wrong. I let her know that I'm seeing a Cool Acupuncture Guy, taking a not-presciption med for my thryoid, and that I'm not convinced any of the doctors I've seen so far have had any clue what's wrong.
The high points:
*She is checking my thryoid, liver, and for my old friends the parasites. :)
*She understands that taking a med for my thyroid doesn't really explain the chronic inflammation I have EVERYWHERE: joints, gut, thryoid, antibodies....
*She called attention to the fact that normally people with 'true' autoimmune disorders don't have 'flare-ups' during pregnancy. Usually people with autoimmune problems have little to no symptoms during pregnancy because the body knows to calm things down so as not to hurt the body. In my last pregnancy, however, that didn't happen. Infections, hemorrhages, blah-de-blah.
*She asked why I never got re-rested for the parasite and noted that it would have been a good idea to re-test, even though she understood the other doc's reasoning for not ordering a repeat test.
*She is on board with either treating or ruling out parasites and then moving on from there. If there are bugsies, then we can deal with that and if there aren't...then I fear there are yet more specialists in my future.
*She got me my own box of Kleenex so that I could cry at length. :)
Hopefully in three-ish days I will know what THESE tests say. I'm also interested to hear what CAG says about how Chinese medicine can treat parasites. Ish.
I feel like God answered a prayer for me in that he blessed me with a doctor who is 'on the same page' as I am and who comes to similar conclusions without any arguing. She inspires trust and peace in me and she has more knowledge than I do to add to the whole picture. CAG once said that a good primary care physician is someone who could take all the information from all the specialists I've seen and look at the whole picture. This woman is more than capable of that! Praise God for guiding me to her.
In any case, I hadn't meant to bawl in front of her, but I totally did. The Medical Assistant had just weighed me (at my lowest weight since middle school) and I am generally emotionally fragile. When the real doc came in, she just looked at me, gestured to my ream of medical records, and said, "I've glanced at your records, but why don't you tell me what's been going on?" So instead of answering her, I just burst into tears.
Worse than Dawson. :)
I call this sydrome "So-Damn-Thankful-For-Help" Syndrome. In high school when a deer ran into my car, I didn't cry until an old man offered to remove the partial carcass from my bumper.
I actually enjoyed my appointment with her because her philosophy matches up with ours quite a bit. She understands why I don't want to be on drugs for the rest of my life and she is willing to help me figure out what's wrong. I let her know that I'm seeing a Cool Acupuncture Guy, taking a not-presciption med for my thryoid, and that I'm not convinced any of the doctors I've seen so far have had any clue what's wrong.
The high points:
*She is checking my thryoid, liver, and for my old friends the parasites. :)
*She understands that taking a med for my thyroid doesn't really explain the chronic inflammation I have EVERYWHERE: joints, gut, thryoid, antibodies....
*She called attention to the fact that normally people with 'true' autoimmune disorders don't have 'flare-ups' during pregnancy. Usually people with autoimmune problems have little to no symptoms during pregnancy because the body knows to calm things down so as not to hurt the body. In my last pregnancy, however, that didn't happen. Infections, hemorrhages, blah-de-blah.
*She asked why I never got re-rested for the parasite and noted that it would have been a good idea to re-test, even though she understood the other doc's reasoning for not ordering a repeat test.
*She is on board with either treating or ruling out parasites and then moving on from there. If there are bugsies, then we can deal with that and if there aren't...then I fear there are yet more specialists in my future.
*She got me my own box of Kleenex so that I could cry at length. :)
Hopefully in three-ish days I will know what THESE tests say. I'm also interested to hear what CAG says about how Chinese medicine can treat parasites. Ish.
I feel like God answered a prayer for me in that he blessed me with a doctor who is 'on the same page' as I am and who comes to similar conclusions without any arguing. She inspires trust and peace in me and she has more knowledge than I do to add to the whole picture. CAG once said that a good primary care physician is someone who could take all the information from all the specialists I've seen and look at the whole picture. This woman is more than capable of that! Praise God for guiding me to her.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Remember Those Parasites? Those Were the Days...
At the end of the last post, I was going to pretend as if I had Celiac Disease. And I have.
For the last five days or so, I have been a very strict Celiac. If I handed my child a wheat-filled cracker, I washed my hands afterwards. I ate nothing that might even have a teeny bitty chance of having wheat in it.
You'd think that things would start improving but really they haven't. There was one time yesterday when I thought they might be getting better, but....it passed. Ha! Unintentional poo humor.
Then my parents came for Thanksgiving, and my Dear Mom said that she still thought I might STILL HAVE a parasite, specifially one called Blastocystis Hominis. I tested positive for that parasite way back at the end of last year (see Backstory...). I took the drug Flagyl for two weeks. This particularly parasite has been shown to be somewhat resistant to Flagyl, but people keep prescribing it.
Doctors are also in disagreement about whether or not Blastocystis is even worth treating because a) there are people who have it and do not have symptoms and b)....well, that's really the only reason. It is apparently beyond comprehension that different bodies could react differently to the same parasite. After I was treated, I had normal poo! YAY! And then the Big D returned.
I went back to this Infectious Disease doc only to be told that if I wasn't having diarrhea "all the time" then it couldn't be because of the parasite. So I didn't even get another stool test because I was sent on my merry way to other specialists.
What interested me the most in my recent Internet ramblings is that many symptoms of having this parasite were similar to having Celiac Disease. inflammation, gastrointestinal distress, anemia, grinding teeth, and weight loss are all symptoms of having a damn parasite. This particular parasite also lives off of starchy foods, like, *cough*, bread. So it seems that all these sypmtoms I'm having could be because of a Celiac-Disease-like-parasite. The site Bad Bugs lists symptoms: "Inflammation, hives, arthritis, low iron, leaky gut have all been associated in the scientific literature with D.fragilis or B.hominis."
And from a study, which I am not going to find again to cite properly because I'm too darned tired: "A patient with persistent diarrhea was found to have biopsy-proved colitis with large numbers of the protozoan Blastocystis hominis present in stool. Extensive evaluation failed to reveal any other potential etiologic agent of acute colitis. Following treatment with a course of metronidazole, the patient became asymptomatic, B hominis was no longer present in stool, and results of a repeated biopsy were normal. These observations are consistent with the role of B hominis as a gastrointestinal pathogen."
Some web sites say that nothing is effective in eradicating Blasto except for serious drugs. I have found some evidence that Oregano Oil taken for 6 weeks could help, one site from Australia that swears Chinese herbs can help, and a lot of evidence that two or three different anti-amoeba drugs (okay, I don't really know how they work) can help rid you of it. These are 'three-combo' drugs: secnidazole, furazolidone, and nitazoxanide. Granted, when I was first diagnosed with this nasty parasite, I was still breast-feeding so my treatment was greatly complicated. But now, now I could take any drug and I'm only hurting myself. :)
From a study on Oregano Oil: "Force and colleagues gave 600 mg emulsified oregano oil for six weeks to 13 adults who had tested positive for intestinal parasites (Entamoeba, Endolinax, or Blastocystis). Parasites could no longer be detected in 10 of the 13 after the treatment. The parasite score (parasites counted under a microscope) decreased for the other three. Seven of the eight who had originally tested positive for Blastocystis hominis reported significant improvement of their symptoms, such as bloating, GI cramping, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and fatigue. Oregano is GRAS (generally regarded as safe), but the oil should be used with caution, as it can be irritating to the mucous membranes. It should be taken with food, partway through a meal, not on an empty stomach. Oregano oil may trigger the die-off phenomenon in those suffering intestinal candidiasis or other intestinal microbial infestation due to its powerful germ-killing action."
This morning my dad said that I should make sure the parasite was gone before I just keep spinning in circles. I guess he's right. I have been spinning in circles, trying to figure out what's wrong. But if I have a parasite on board, nothing is really working the way it's supposed to anyway. So I guess I'll go find a doctor who is willing to listen and willing to look for parasites. I'm gonna be really pissed if it's been a parasite this whole time, that I knew I had, and nothing else.
For the last five days or so, I have been a very strict Celiac. If I handed my child a wheat-filled cracker, I washed my hands afterwards. I ate nothing that might even have a teeny bitty chance of having wheat in it.
You'd think that things would start improving but really they haven't. There was one time yesterday when I thought they might be getting better, but....it passed. Ha! Unintentional poo humor.
Then my parents came for Thanksgiving, and my Dear Mom said that she still thought I might STILL HAVE a parasite, specifially one called Blastocystis Hominis. I tested positive for that parasite way back at the end of last year (see Backstory...). I took the drug Flagyl for two weeks. This particularly parasite has been shown to be somewhat resistant to Flagyl, but people keep prescribing it.
Doctors are also in disagreement about whether or not Blastocystis is even worth treating because a) there are people who have it and do not have symptoms and b)....well, that's really the only reason. It is apparently beyond comprehension that different bodies could react differently to the same parasite. After I was treated, I had normal poo! YAY! And then the Big D returned.
I went back to this Infectious Disease doc only to be told that if I wasn't having diarrhea "all the time" then it couldn't be because of the parasite. So I didn't even get another stool test because I was sent on my merry way to other specialists.
What interested me the most in my recent Internet ramblings is that many symptoms of having this parasite were similar to having Celiac Disease. inflammation, gastrointestinal distress, anemia, grinding teeth, and weight loss are all symptoms of having a damn parasite. This particular parasite also lives off of starchy foods, like, *cough*, bread. So it seems that all these sypmtoms I'm having could be because of a Celiac-Disease-like-parasite. The site Bad Bugs lists symptoms: "Inflammation, hives, arthritis, low iron, leaky gut have all been associated in the scientific literature with D.fragilis or B.hominis."
And from a study, which I am not going to find again to cite properly because I'm too darned tired: "A patient with persistent diarrhea was found to have biopsy-proved colitis with large numbers of the protozoan Blastocystis hominis present in stool. Extensive evaluation failed to reveal any other potential etiologic agent of acute colitis. Following treatment with a course of metronidazole, the patient became asymptomatic, B hominis was no longer present in stool, and results of a repeated biopsy were normal. These observations are consistent with the role of B hominis as a gastrointestinal pathogen."
Some web sites say that nothing is effective in eradicating Blasto except for serious drugs. I have found some evidence that Oregano Oil taken for 6 weeks could help, one site from Australia that swears Chinese herbs can help, and a lot of evidence that two or three different anti-amoeba drugs (okay, I don't really know how they work) can help rid you of it. These are 'three-combo' drugs: secnidazole, furazolidone, and nitazoxanide. Granted, when I was first diagnosed with this nasty parasite, I was still breast-feeding so my treatment was greatly complicated. But now, now I could take any drug and I'm only hurting myself. :)
From a study on Oregano Oil: "Force and colleagues gave 600 mg emulsified oregano oil for six weeks to 13 adults who had tested positive for intestinal parasites (Entamoeba, Endolinax, or Blastocystis). Parasites could no longer be detected in 10 of the 13 after the treatment. The parasite score (parasites counted under a microscope) decreased for the other three. Seven of the eight who had originally tested positive for Blastocystis hominis reported significant improvement of their symptoms, such as bloating, GI cramping, alternating diarrhea and constipation, and fatigue. Oregano is GRAS (generally regarded as safe), but the oil should be used with caution, as it can be irritating to the mucous membranes. It should be taken with food, partway through a meal, not on an empty stomach. Oregano oil may trigger the die-off phenomenon in those suffering intestinal candidiasis or other intestinal microbial infestation due to its powerful germ-killing action."
This morning my dad said that I should make sure the parasite was gone before I just keep spinning in circles. I guess he's right. I have been spinning in circles, trying to figure out what's wrong. But if I have a parasite on board, nothing is really working the way it's supposed to anyway. So I guess I'll go find a doctor who is willing to listen and willing to look for parasites. I'm gonna be really pissed if it's been a parasite this whole time, that I knew I had, and nothing else.
Monday, November 21, 2011
I'm NOT Crazy!
I called Sami's Bakery in Florida today. They are the makers of the fantastic bread (and bagels, lavash, and millet chips) that my CAG recommends and sells. It is super good! But I could have sworn it is what triggered this whole 'Big D' business because of the wheat it has.
CAG told me I was crazy when I saw him last week (well, no, he didn't, he just said that Celiac's eat that bread). But in my Googling for Sami's phone number, I found a discussion thread that actually states over and over again the bread from Sami's Bakery, while tasty, is NOT gluten/wheat free because it's made in a place full of wheat and probably made on things that are full of wheat.
Someone actually sent the actual bread off to be tested for gluten parts-per-million (ppm) and it was too 'high' for Celiacs. I am beyond glad, because that gives me some direction.
The link to the thread is here. It's a Gluten Free Forum. Here is a quote from one of the posts:
"We sent 2 samples of Sami's products - the millet & flax hamburger bun and the plain millet bread to University of Nebraska, Lincoln to be tested for gluten. Here is what they sd. The gluten testing of the bun and bread samples that we received on Tues, Feb 13th, 2007 has been completed. The results are listed below:
Sample Millet & flax hamb bun >5000 ppm
Plain millet bread >5000 ppm
The lower limit of detection for the R-Biophar Ridascreen Fast Gliadin is 10
parts per million (ppm) gluten. Amounts below this level cannot be reliably
detected in this assay. One ppm is equal to one milligram of gluten per
kilogram of sample product."
A gluten-free dietician also posts on Sami's Bakery: Test Results for Sami's Bakery Products. Apparently none of the gluten-free products are actually testing gluten-free (less than 20 ppm) and the millet and flax products (which don't directly contain gluten, but aren't labeled gluten-free) are also contaminated.
And the last link I looked at was a podcast from a blog called Hold the Gluten in which the author gives her own sad Sami's Bakery story; apparently she was glutened by millet and flax hamburger buns.
I guess what I'm saying is that it IS entirely possible that those bagels I ate had wheat and gluten in them. I'm also saying that I'm still not convinced I don't have Celiac Disease. There are other problems going on, other possible 'allergies', so who the hell knows. But I am going to pretend as if I do have Celiac Disease and if the treatment works then....?
CAG told me I was crazy when I saw him last week (well, no, he didn't, he just said that Celiac's eat that bread). But in my Googling for Sami's phone number, I found a discussion thread that actually states over and over again the bread from Sami's Bakery, while tasty, is NOT gluten/wheat free because it's made in a place full of wheat and probably made on things that are full of wheat.
Someone actually sent the actual bread off to be tested for gluten parts-per-million (ppm) and it was too 'high' for Celiacs. I am beyond glad, because that gives me some direction.
The link to the thread is here. It's a Gluten Free Forum. Here is a quote from one of the posts:
"We sent 2 samples of Sami's products - the millet & flax hamburger bun and the plain millet bread to University of Nebraska, Lincoln to be tested for gluten. Here is what they sd. The gluten testing of the bun and bread samples that we received on Tues, Feb 13th, 2007 has been completed. The results are listed below:
Sample Millet & flax hamb bun >5000 ppm
Plain millet bread >5000 ppm
The lower limit of detection for the R-Biophar Ridascreen Fast Gliadin is 10
parts per million (ppm) gluten. Amounts below this level cannot be reliably
detected in this assay. One ppm is equal to one milligram of gluten per
kilogram of sample product."
A gluten-free dietician also posts on Sami's Bakery: Test Results for Sami's Bakery Products. Apparently none of the gluten-free products are actually testing gluten-free (less than 20 ppm) and the millet and flax products (which don't directly contain gluten, but aren't labeled gluten-free) are also contaminated.
And the last link I looked at was a podcast from a blog called Hold the Gluten in which the author gives her own sad Sami's Bakery story; apparently she was glutened by millet and flax hamburger buns.
I guess what I'm saying is that it IS entirely possible that those bagels I ate had wheat and gluten in them. I'm also saying that I'm still not convinced I don't have Celiac Disease. There are other problems going on, other possible 'allergies', so who the hell knows. But I am going to pretend as if I do have Celiac Disease and if the treatment works then....?
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Desperation, Oatmeal, & Apples As Prophets
As many of you know, I've been trying to figure out what is wrong with me for SOME FRICKIN' TIME.
In any case, I have been going over and over and over my food diaries and scouring the Internet for answers. The other day I was so desperate and loopy that I asked my apple whether I would ever get better.
I used to play a game in middle school where you say the alphabet while twisting on an apple stem, and the letter it came off on was the letter of the guy's last name that you would one day marry. He would of course be your One True Love. So I was saying "Yes" and "No" in my head while twisting this damn thing, and because it's an organic apple it was good and sturdy. So, I'm standing in my kitchen doing that for what seemed like ever, and when it did twist off (on "Yes"!) it scared the crap out of me. I'll have you know I looked right up at Heaven and asked God "When?" Just to let Him know that I don't really believe apples are deities.
I also superstitiously put back on a necklace that I took off when Finn was born, one I wore for probably a solid five years. I'm not a big accessory-gal, so once it's on, it's kind of....on. The necklace is part of a charm bracelet that my Grandma brought me back from Jerusalem, when she visited years ago. The other charms were unsuitable for the necklace transformation. Star of David: People would think I was actually Jewish. Camel: Who wants to wear a damn camel around their neck? A Cross: Boooooooo-riiiiiing. The Hand of Hamsa/Fatima: Startlingly pretty and unique for a pasty white girl such as myself. So, this little hand with a blue dot on it won out. I Googled it once and found out that it was (superstitiously!) meant to ward off the Evil Eye. Oooooooo.
I digress. My point is that I'm tired of trying to figure out what's wrong, so I asked an apple. That's one of the first signs of lunacy.
And tonight, as a present, God let a sentence stand out to me during a rambling Internet search. It was something like this "...certain Celiacs cannot even tolerate oats." I read it while skimming, but I wasn't looking for information on oats, so I went back and clicked on more crap. Later, as I was reading through my food diary, the sentence echoed around in my thick skull.
When I first met CAG, I asked if I could eat gluten-free oatmeal and he said not to , just to be safe. But for the past year, I have still been eating gluten-free oatmeal and gluten-free oats because DAMN! They taste good. And so many good tasting things are off limits it seems to cruel to deny my tummy one little thing! And the labels swear up and down that their foods have been ELISA tested and made on a dedicated machine for this or that.
I think the time is ripe for me to cut that out and see if the "less than 20 ppm" of gluten allowed to be in gluten-free oats is really bad for me. I'll let you know if that makes a difference. BTW, I had a yummy bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and nutmeg on Friday night. So....if it takes at least four days for something to leave your system, I'm on Day 2 with no oats right now. Sigh.
This link talks about the reliability of oats being "gluten free". There is some question about certain strains of oats causing more problems than other strains of oats. I seriously thought there was one kind of oat. But there's lots of different types of grasses, lettuces, etc. It makes sense. Wish I'd taken it more seriously from the get-go.
In any case, I have been going over and over and over my food diaries and scouring the Internet for answers. The other day I was so desperate and loopy that I asked my apple whether I would ever get better.
I used to play a game in middle school where you say the alphabet while twisting on an apple stem, and the letter it came off on was the letter of the guy's last name that you would one day marry. He would of course be your One True Love. So I was saying "Yes" and "No" in my head while twisting this damn thing, and because it's an organic apple it was good and sturdy. So, I'm standing in my kitchen doing that for what seemed like ever, and when it did twist off (on "Yes"!) it scared the crap out of me. I'll have you know I looked right up at Heaven and asked God "When?" Just to let Him know that I don't really believe apples are deities.
I also superstitiously put back on a necklace that I took off when Finn was born, one I wore for probably a solid five years. I'm not a big accessory-gal, so once it's on, it's kind of....on. The necklace is part of a charm bracelet that my Grandma brought me back from Jerusalem, when she visited years ago. The other charms were unsuitable for the necklace transformation. Star of David: People would think I was actually Jewish. Camel: Who wants to wear a damn camel around their neck? A Cross: Boooooooo-riiiiiing. The Hand of Hamsa/Fatima: Startlingly pretty and unique for a pasty white girl such as myself. So, this little hand with a blue dot on it won out. I Googled it once and found out that it was (superstitiously!) meant to ward off the Evil Eye. Oooooooo.
And tonight, as a present, God let a sentence stand out to me during a rambling Internet search. It was something like this "...certain Celiacs cannot even tolerate oats." I read it while skimming, but I wasn't looking for information on oats, so I went back and clicked on more crap. Later, as I was reading through my food diary, the sentence echoed around in my thick skull.
When I first met CAG, I asked if I could eat gluten-free oatmeal and he said not to , just to be safe. But for the past year, I have still been eating gluten-free oatmeal and gluten-free oats because DAMN! They taste good. And so many good tasting things are off limits it seems to cruel to deny my tummy one little thing! And the labels swear up and down that their foods have been ELISA tested and made on a dedicated machine for this or that.
I think the time is ripe for me to cut that out and see if the "less than 20 ppm" of gluten allowed to be in gluten-free oats is really bad for me. I'll let you know if that makes a difference. BTW, I had a yummy bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and nutmeg on Friday night. So....if it takes at least four days for something to leave your system, I'm on Day 2 with no oats right now. Sigh.
This link talks about the reliability of oats being "gluten free". There is some question about certain strains of oats causing more problems than other strains of oats. I seriously thought there was one kind of oat. But there's lots of different types of grasses, lettuces, etc. It makes sense. Wish I'd taken it more seriously from the get-go.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Update #534
So I haven't been doing so great lately, because for inexplicable reasons, I went from doing great! to doing really, really badly as far as...food and *other* things. Two weeks ago I enjoyed a brief reprieve from my crazy intestinal system. Two weeks later, I'm pretty sure I've shed a bunch of pounds again.
I made an appointment with Cool Acupuncture Guy to figure out what the problem might be. Sadly, after a long appointment, I really didn't ask any questions. I was just so glad that someone was listening to me and trying to find a solution!
One thing that baffled me was the bagels--previously blamed (by me) for being the trigger for Crazy-Tummy, CAG said that it couldn't be those bagels! They are made--though the package says otherwise--on separate machinery from wheaty things AND he has Celiac Disease patients who eat them regularly. On the other hand, I know that different people have different sensitivities and different tolerance levels for foods, drugs, etc. etc. In any case, CAG is convinced that the handful of popcorn I had that night (yes, people, this is my life) is what the real problem is.
He prescribed taking some weird Chinese herbs (yay!) to stop the Big D and 'warm me up'. So today is Day 2 of taking Chinese-Anti-Diarrheal-Herbs. Normally I would have asked what he thought happened, what the problem might be, and what herbs I am taking, but right now I'm just exhausted from trying so hard to figure out what's wrong. They have helped a little so far, but I don't know how long they are supposed to take to "work".
He also spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get me to specify everything I've been eating. And I didn't even bother to bring my food journal in. So, I gather that CAG thinks it's something I've been eating, like my system was finally back in balance and I screwed it up again. Maybe it was the wine. ;) I'm supposed to check back in, in two weeks and I really hope that by then I am singing a different tune. A healthier, more nourished tune.
I also finally forked over some cash to have some blood-allergy testing, the IgG kind, not the IgA kind. Some believe that measuring IgG antibodies (when your blood is exposed to certain foods) will help identify food allergies and food intolerances. Some think it's quackery.
One of my good friends says I should relax, do yoga, get massages, and just try to take a mental break from what I'm eating and what's wrong with me. I will try. I will!
I made an appointment with Cool Acupuncture Guy to figure out what the problem might be. Sadly, after a long appointment, I really didn't ask any questions. I was just so glad that someone was listening to me and trying to find a solution!
One thing that baffled me was the bagels--previously blamed (by me) for being the trigger for Crazy-Tummy, CAG said that it couldn't be those bagels! They are made--though the package says otherwise--on separate machinery from wheaty things AND he has Celiac Disease patients who eat them regularly. On the other hand, I know that different people have different sensitivities and different tolerance levels for foods, drugs, etc. etc. In any case, CAG is convinced that the handful of popcorn I had that night (yes, people, this is my life) is what the real problem is.
He prescribed taking some weird Chinese herbs (yay!) to stop the Big D and 'warm me up'. So today is Day 2 of taking Chinese-Anti-Diarrheal-Herbs. Normally I would have asked what he thought happened, what the problem might be, and what herbs I am taking, but right now I'm just exhausted from trying so hard to figure out what's wrong. They have helped a little so far, but I don't know how long they are supposed to take to "work".
He also spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get me to specify everything I've been eating. And I didn't even bother to bring my food journal in. So, I gather that CAG thinks it's something I've been eating, like my system was finally back in balance and I screwed it up again. Maybe it was the wine. ;) I'm supposed to check back in, in two weeks and I really hope that by then I am singing a different tune. A healthier, more nourished tune.
I also finally forked over some cash to have some blood-allergy testing, the IgG kind, not the IgA kind. Some believe that measuring IgG antibodies (when your blood is exposed to certain foods) will help identify food allergies and food intolerances. Some think it's quackery.
One of my good friends says I should relax, do yoga, get massages, and just try to take a mental break from what I'm eating and what's wrong with me. I will try. I will!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Epic Fail!
This picture has nothing whatsoever to do with me, but it's frickin' hilarious.
Is anyone wondering how I did cutting out sugar and carbs? Epic failure! I thought it would be simple to cut out ALL CARBS but it turns out that cutting out grains, potatoes, and other lovely things is terrifically hard. Plus I honestly don't think that your body is supposed to run very well on no carbohydrates.
Just the same, I am taking more probiotics and I definitely see the value in cutting out refined sugars, like juices and lots of chocolate, etc. I don't think I will deprive myself if I want an apple though. I wasn't just in a bad mood without any grains, I felt really run-down and depressed and all sorts of bad things.
But some other things are getting more normal, if you get my disgusting drift. :) So there's some good news too.I do wonder if I have more than a simple intolerance because what set off a week of not normal was a millet and flax bagel with TRACE amounts of wheat and gluten. So...that's interesting.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
A New Frontier of Deprivation
I have had the Big D for a week or so now, and I'm getting really sick of it. As I posted before, I think I may have been 'glutened', but I can't account for how long this current bout of BLAH is lasting. I keep going through my food diary trying to figure out if it was this or that or the other thing that set off my poor, fatigued body, but generally I just feel at a loss.
After talking to a friend today I think I may try a diet designed to rid the body of yeast--the Candida Diet. I have lots of the symptoms that go along with an 'intestinal yeast overgrowth'. I figure, what the hell! I'm a Human Guinea Pig. And besides, I've had diarrhea for over a week now, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous. Also, another friend has been bugging me about giving up sugar for other reasons--sugar is inflammatory and inflammation leads to HORRIBLE things. It's true.
I have read about intestinal candida before, but I assumed that it couldn't be my problem because 'freaky autoimmune problems' wasn't listed as a symptom. Unfortunately, I am only just now realizing that I could not only have a wheat intolerance (or full-blown Celiac's Disease, who the heck knows), but I could also have other problems, allergies, disorders...
In any case, it turns out that I do have a great many of the symptoms listed for someone who has a yeast overgrowth--lethargy, muscle aches, joint pains, gastro issues, inexplicable food allergies, etc. And, truth be told, I do eat a lot of sugar. Partly because it's something that was on my 'safe' list from the Cool Acupuncture Guy and partly because I like it. I like honey in my tea, juice or something juice-like with my meals, and ample amounts of syrup on my gluten-free pancakes. Alas, I think the time is ripe for a change. It's going to be about two weeks before I go in to see the CAG again, so I have some time to try it out. Generally, I don't understand about the hot/cold Chinese food philosophy, so I will ask him about yeast overgrowth and how it might fit into his view when I go see him again.
There is supposedly a horrible time after you cut out sugar in which your body totally rebels because the dying yeasties release some sort of toxins in your body. We shall see.
My goal isn't to try some new "miracle cure" everyday (as my DH has warned me against), but I don't know that there can be a downside to eating less sugar, and carbs, except that I might be a cranky, bitchy friend and wife.
Here is a Candida Killing Diet from a hospital: Click here! This one is more strict than some others I've seen.
I also liked Years Free Foods because they have a list of foods that one CAN eat. Always important when you're trying to look on the bright side..
After talking to a friend today I think I may try a diet designed to rid the body of yeast--the Candida Diet. I have lots of the symptoms that go along with an 'intestinal yeast overgrowth'. I figure, what the hell! I'm a Human Guinea Pig. And besides, I've had diarrhea for over a week now, so I'm feeling pretty adventurous. Also, another friend has been bugging me about giving up sugar for other reasons--sugar is inflammatory and inflammation leads to HORRIBLE things. It's true.
I have read about intestinal candida before, but I assumed that it couldn't be my problem because 'freaky autoimmune problems' wasn't listed as a symptom. Unfortunately, I am only just now realizing that I could not only have a wheat intolerance (or full-blown Celiac's Disease, who the heck knows), but I could also have other problems, allergies, disorders...
In any case, it turns out that I do have a great many of the symptoms listed for someone who has a yeast overgrowth--lethargy, muscle aches, joint pains, gastro issues, inexplicable food allergies, etc. And, truth be told, I do eat a lot of sugar. Partly because it's something that was on my 'safe' list from the Cool Acupuncture Guy and partly because I like it. I like honey in my tea, juice or something juice-like with my meals, and ample amounts of syrup on my gluten-free pancakes. Alas, I think the time is ripe for a change. It's going to be about two weeks before I go in to see the CAG again, so I have some time to try it out. Generally, I don't understand about the hot/cold Chinese food philosophy, so I will ask him about yeast overgrowth and how it might fit into his view when I go see him again.
There is supposedly a horrible time after you cut out sugar in which your body totally rebels because the dying yeasties release some sort of toxins in your body. We shall see.
My goal isn't to try some new "miracle cure" everyday (as my DH has warned me against), but I don't know that there can be a downside to eating less sugar, and carbs, except that I might be a cranky, bitchy friend and wife.
Here is a Candida Killing Diet from a hospital: Click here! This one is more strict than some others I've seen.
I also liked Years Free Foods because they have a list of foods that one CAN eat. Always important when you're trying to look on the bright side..
Monday, November 7, 2011
Why Organic? Aren't All Vegetables The Same?
If you are already aware of why buying 'organic' is worthwhile, stop reading! On the other hand, if you are someone who wonders why the hell I would pay any more for a banana that appears to be identical to another banana at a fraction of the cost, read on. Sometimes I get shit from people for being crazy, but I have good reason! Or at least good intentions. Excerpts are from The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.
"Of course, the healthfulness of food is not simply a question of its toxicity; we have also to consider its nutritional quality. Is there any reason to think my Whole Foods meal is any more nutritious than the same meal prepared with conventionally grown ingredients?
...Back in the fifties, when the USDA routinely compared the nutritional quality of produce from region to region, it found striking difference: carrots grown in the deep soils of Michigan, for example, commonly had more vitamins than carrots grown in the thin, sandy soils of Florida. Naturally this information discomfited the carrot growers of Florida, which probably explains why the USDA no longer conducts this sort of research. Nowadays, the U.S. agricultural policy, like the Declaration of Independence, is founded on the princple that all carrots are created equal, even though there's good reason to believe this isn't really true.
But in an agricultural system dedicated to quantity rather than quality, the fiction that all foods are created equal is essential. This is why, in inaugurating the federal organic program in 2000, the secretary of agriculture went out of his way to say that organic food is no better than conventional food. 'The organic label is a marketing tool,' Secretary Glickman said, 'It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is 'organic' a value judgment about nutrition or quality.'
Some intriguing recent research suggests otherwise. A study by University of California-Davis researchers published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry in 2003 described an experiment in which identical varieties of corn, strawberries, and blackberries grown in neighboring plots using different methods (including organically and conventionally) were compared for levels of vitamins and polyphenols.
Polyphenols are a group of secondary metabolites manufactured by plants that we've recently learned play an important role in human health and nutrition. Many are potent antioxidants; some play a role in preventing or fighting cancer; other exhibit antimicrobial properties. The Davis researchers found that organic and otherwise sustainably grown fruits and vegetables contained significantly higher levels of both ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and a wide range of polyphenols.
SKIPPING AHEAD...
Why in the world should organically grown blackberries or corn contain significantly more of these compounds? The authors of the Davis study haven't settled the question, but they offer two suggestive theories. The reason plants produce these compounds in the first place is to defend themselves against pests and diseases (*my clarification--which they no longer need to make themselves since they are sprayed in chemical pesticides)...A second explanation...may be that the radically simplified soils in which chemically fertilized plants grow don't supply all the raw ingredients needed to synthesize these compounds, leaving the plants more vulnerable to attack, as we know conventionally grown plants tend to be...
Obviously there is much more to be learned about the relationship of soil to plant, animals, and health, and it would be a mistake to lean too heavily on any one study. It would also be a mistake to assume that the word 'organic' on a label automatically signifies healthfulness, especially when that label appears on heavily processed and long-distance foods that have probably had much of their nutrtional value, not to mention flavor, beaten out of them long before they arrive on our tables."
All this is to say that I, in my everyday quest for health, do think there's a difference between the veggies sold at Wal-Mart, the veggies at Whole Foods, and even the veggies sold from your local farm co-op.
I don't know what the hell is being put on the conventionally, industrial farm stuff, so I am trying to make better choices in this area. I do think that eating veggies and fruits from Wal-Mart is better than eating none at all. Lesser evil and all.
The reality is that it's often more expensive and it's often hard to figure out whether something is industrial organic or small, local farm organic. I was just talking with a friend today about how the produce at Sunflower Market and Sprouts is, like other grocery stores, divided into organic and non-organic, though one would assume that everything in those stores is organic. I still have to read labels!
"Of course, the healthfulness of food is not simply a question of its toxicity; we have also to consider its nutritional quality. Is there any reason to think my Whole Foods meal is any more nutritious than the same meal prepared with conventionally grown ingredients?
...Back in the fifties, when the USDA routinely compared the nutritional quality of produce from region to region, it found striking difference: carrots grown in the deep soils of Michigan, for example, commonly had more vitamins than carrots grown in the thin, sandy soils of Florida. Naturally this information discomfited the carrot growers of Florida, which probably explains why the USDA no longer conducts this sort of research. Nowadays, the U.S. agricultural policy, like the Declaration of Independence, is founded on the princple that all carrots are created equal, even though there's good reason to believe this isn't really true.
But in an agricultural system dedicated to quantity rather than quality, the fiction that all foods are created equal is essential. This is why, in inaugurating the federal organic program in 2000, the secretary of agriculture went out of his way to say that organic food is no better than conventional food. 'The organic label is a marketing tool,' Secretary Glickman said, 'It is not a statement about food safety. Nor is 'organic' a value judgment about nutrition or quality.'
Some intriguing recent research suggests otherwise. A study by University of California-Davis researchers published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry in 2003 described an experiment in which identical varieties of corn, strawberries, and blackberries grown in neighboring plots using different methods (including organically and conventionally) were compared for levels of vitamins and polyphenols.
Polyphenols are a group of secondary metabolites manufactured by plants that we've recently learned play an important role in human health and nutrition. Many are potent antioxidants; some play a role in preventing or fighting cancer; other exhibit antimicrobial properties. The Davis researchers found that organic and otherwise sustainably grown fruits and vegetables contained significantly higher levels of both ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and a wide range of polyphenols.
SKIPPING AHEAD...
Why in the world should organically grown blackberries or corn contain significantly more of these compounds? The authors of the Davis study haven't settled the question, but they offer two suggestive theories. The reason plants produce these compounds in the first place is to defend themselves against pests and diseases (*my clarification--which they no longer need to make themselves since they are sprayed in chemical pesticides)...A second explanation...may be that the radically simplified soils in which chemically fertilized plants grow don't supply all the raw ingredients needed to synthesize these compounds, leaving the plants more vulnerable to attack, as we know conventionally grown plants tend to be...
Obviously there is much more to be learned about the relationship of soil to plant, animals, and health, and it would be a mistake to lean too heavily on any one study. It would also be a mistake to assume that the word 'organic' on a label automatically signifies healthfulness, especially when that label appears on heavily processed and long-distance foods that have probably had much of their nutrtional value, not to mention flavor, beaten out of them long before they arrive on our tables."
All this is to say that I, in my everyday quest for health, do think there's a difference between the veggies sold at Wal-Mart, the veggies at Whole Foods, and even the veggies sold from your local farm co-op.
I don't know what the hell is being put on the conventionally, industrial farm stuff, so I am trying to make better choices in this area. I do think that eating veggies and fruits from Wal-Mart is better than eating none at all. Lesser evil and all.
The reality is that it's often more expensive and it's often hard to figure out whether something is industrial organic or small, local farm organic. I was just talking with a friend today about how the produce at Sunflower Market and Sprouts is, like other grocery stores, divided into organic and non-organic, though one would assume that everything in those stores is organic. I still have to read labels!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Whenever Did Food Tasters Go Out Of Style?!
I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a person with officially diagnosed with Celiac Disease taste my food before me. If I had unlimited funds, I could pay someone else to have diarrhea instead of me! Probably some sort of employee welfare law would prevent this sort of cruelty. I might outsource to China or Mexico.
In any case, I woke up this morning with a horrible case of...D. And I will spare you the details, but it's clear that a) it was the worst D I've had in a long time and b) I had recently eaten something very, very bad for me.
I'm still not sure what caused the whole fiasco, but my Dear Husband pointed out that the kind-of gluten-free bagels I have been getting from the Cool Acupuncture Guy might be the reason. The reason is that though they are (DELICIOUS!) gluten-free technically and are made from just millet flour and flax seed meal, they aren't made on dedicated gluten-free machines. So, there's a lot of room for wheat corruption.
Looking at everything else I ate yesterday, other possible culprits include broccoli and soybean oil from a garlic pill supplement. Everything else I'd eaten is something I've had before that did nothing.
I'm a little mad at myself because the package clearly says "contains traces of gluten, wheat, and yeast". I just thought for sure that trace amounts of anything wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be true.
Today is a sad, bagel-free day and I already feel better. If this experiment is successful and I get better not eating bagels with trace amounts of gluten...then I'm lots more sensitive than I thought.
P.S.--Sami's Bakery in Florida has an online store and their products are amazing. I haven't ever gotten sick from their stuff before, so I still recommend it.
In any case, I woke up this morning with a horrible case of...D. And I will spare you the details, but it's clear that a) it was the worst D I've had in a long time and b) I had recently eaten something very, very bad for me.
I'm still not sure what caused the whole fiasco, but my Dear Husband pointed out that the kind-of gluten-free bagels I have been getting from the Cool Acupuncture Guy might be the reason. The reason is that though they are (DELICIOUS!) gluten-free technically and are made from just millet flour and flax seed meal, they aren't made on dedicated gluten-free machines. So, there's a lot of room for wheat corruption.
Looking at everything else I ate yesterday, other possible culprits include broccoli and soybean oil from a garlic pill supplement. Everything else I'd eaten is something I've had before that did nothing.
I'm a little mad at myself because the package clearly says "contains traces of gluten, wheat, and yeast". I just thought for sure that trace amounts of anything wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be true.
Today is a sad, bagel-free day and I already feel better. If this experiment is successful and I get better not eating bagels with trace amounts of gluten...then I'm lots more sensitive than I thought.
P.S.--Sami's Bakery in Florida has an online store and their products are amazing. I haven't ever gotten sick from their stuff before, so I still recommend it.
Present Nicky Vs. Past Nicky
So, I found a package of my used-to-be-favorite snack crackers hiding away in an old bag of mine. I am probably going to throw it away because it doesn't have an expiration date and I don't know how old they are. Truth be told, no matter how long it's been since they were manufactured, they're probably going to be just fine.
Forever.
I looked at the ingredients out of curiosity. In my previous life, before I cared about nutrition because my body willingly processed EVERYTHING and anything I gave it, I didn't care what the ingredients were. Even worse, I assumed that peanut butter crackers would be a good snack. The problem is that they're not just peanut butter crackers. My innocence and naivete tell me that peanut butter crackers should have wheat flour, stuff like baking powder maybe, some sugar, peanut butter, and...? But there's lots more. Here are the official ingredients from Kellogg's web site:
Ingredients
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), PEANUT BUTTER (ROASTED PEANUTS), SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, SUGAR, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, DEXTROSE, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF SALT, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE), SOY LECITHIN, CORNSTARCH, YELLOW #6, CHEDDAR CHEESE (PASTEURIZED MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES), WHEY, BUTTERMILK, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, RED PEPPER.So, aside from all the added vitamins, here are the ingredients that jump out at me: TBHQ, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Yellow #6, and disodium phosphate. Preservatives, more sugar, more corn parts (dextrose), and dye? I'm not even sure what the yellow is for. For the cracker? Or to make the peanut butter part look more peanut buttery?
My point is that where I'm at right now, I am more aware of what I'm eating. But our food is so deceptive these days. It's not just peanut butter crackers, it's a lot of other weird things too. If I could, I would go tell Past Nicky to throw away all the stuff that is currently making me sick. But...maybe my angry little tummy would just find some other food to pick on. :(
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