Friday must have knocked more stuffing out of me than I realized. Either that or the cheating on my diet is starting to kick in. Or, option number three, I had one of those weird CFS adrenaline rushes last night and I'm crashed today as a result. Or all of the above.
I'm tired today. My muscles don't want to work right. I'm dragging mentally as well as physically. It is just one of those CFS things. I slept for two hours this afternoon spending a total of three and half hours in bed. Tonight was a busy night of TV and internet. I'm just beginning to feel a bit better. I think one more night of good sleep and I should be back to "normal" tomorrow.
Yesterday I was tired from Friday. However I baked biscuits for dinner later in the afternoon. I'M BAKING!!!! A few months ago I would never have believed that I would be baking again. So I'm not worried about today. Its just a hiccup. I'll work on my diet some more. Stop drinking coffee and eating sugar and sneaking grains. Things will continue to improve. I see more cooking and even some sewing in my near future and I'm excited.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Lipkin Study
The most current news I could find on the Lipkin study: http://phoenixrising.me/?p=5778
Please note that it is dated prior to the implosion of WPI so I'm not sure if the study will continue as described.
Please note that it is dated prior to the implosion of WPI so I'm not sure if the study will continue as described.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
The Good Doctor
I went to see one of the world's experts on CFS today. He said I have CFS, they don't know what causes it and there is no cure.
Now normally I would have a very sarcastic response to this. However, my main purpose in going to see him was to confirm my diagnosis. That way the insurance companies can go suck it. I now have three doctors on record saying I have CFS. One of them being an expert from Harvard Medical School. So yay me!!
The second reason I went there was to see if he had any other tricks up his sleeve for treatments that my other docs haven't tried yet. He took blood samples and will make recommendations based on the results. I have a follow up appointment with him in February and should expect a letter with the test results in roughly two weeks.
However, by the end of the visit I had the distinct impression that he is not a patient centered practice. The biggest clue was that he had no idea what veinous insufficiency is and how it might relate to my dizzy spells and almost passing out during the tilt table test. I've read in the literature that this is common and somehow related to CFS but he didn't know anything about it. Don't get me wrong. He is really nice. He listened to everything I had to say. He asked lots of pertinent questions but his main purpose in life is research work into CFS markers. He sees patients so that he can find candidates to donate blood for his research work.
This only mildly bothers me. I went there expecting this so it wasn't too much of a surprise but I do know of one patient that was infuriated by this. She had gone there expecting help with her symptoms and didn't come away with anything. Myself? I signed a waver and left him with several extra vials of blood and a spit sample for his research work. Anything I can do to advance the cure. I'll never go into medicine at this point so giving my blood, spit and filling out surveys are the best I can do. But, it would have been nice to have a few more tools offered to me to help treat the symptoms of the CFS.
The other cool thing that came out of our visit is that I will probably be asked to participate in the Lipkin study. Woohoo!! That is so neat.
We did discuss glutathione and my diet. He was happy it was helping and we agreed that we couldn't untangle how each piece was helping me and if my improvement was due to one or the other or the combination of the two. He took notes on my diet and didn't bat an eyelash when I mentioned raw dairy. Curiouser and curiouser.
One last note: I was really impressed with Brigham and Women's facility but damn they need better signage. We got seriously lost trying to get to the clinic.
Now normally I would have a very sarcastic response to this. However, my main purpose in going to see him was to confirm my diagnosis. That way the insurance companies can go suck it. I now have three doctors on record saying I have CFS. One of them being an expert from Harvard Medical School. So yay me!!
The second reason I went there was to see if he had any other tricks up his sleeve for treatments that my other docs haven't tried yet. He took blood samples and will make recommendations based on the results. I have a follow up appointment with him in February and should expect a letter with the test results in roughly two weeks.
However, by the end of the visit I had the distinct impression that he is not a patient centered practice. The biggest clue was that he had no idea what veinous insufficiency is and how it might relate to my dizzy spells and almost passing out during the tilt table test. I've read in the literature that this is common and somehow related to CFS but he didn't know anything about it. Don't get me wrong. He is really nice. He listened to everything I had to say. He asked lots of pertinent questions but his main purpose in life is research work into CFS markers. He sees patients so that he can find candidates to donate blood for his research work.
This only mildly bothers me. I went there expecting this so it wasn't too much of a surprise but I do know of one patient that was infuriated by this. She had gone there expecting help with her symptoms and didn't come away with anything. Myself? I signed a waver and left him with several extra vials of blood and a spit sample for his research work. Anything I can do to advance the cure. I'll never go into medicine at this point so giving my blood, spit and filling out surveys are the best I can do. But, it would have been nice to have a few more tools offered to me to help treat the symptoms of the CFS.
The other cool thing that came out of our visit is that I will probably be asked to participate in the Lipkin study. Woohoo!! That is so neat.
We did discuss glutathione and my diet. He was happy it was helping and we agreed that we couldn't untangle how each piece was helping me and if my improvement was due to one or the other or the combination of the two. He took notes on my diet and didn't bat an eyelash when I mentioned raw dairy. Curiouser and curiouser.
One last note: I was really impressed with Brigham and Women's facility but damn they need better signage. We got seriously lost trying to get to the clinic.
Friday, October 28, 2011
More on Gut Bacteria
Discovery News
Science News
As I stated before, I think I'm onto something here. I think the combination of glutathione for detox and food to rebuild my guts is the right way to go. I'm doing fantastic. It takes 3-6 months to get the healing process cranking. For complete healing it can be up to two years according to the GAPS author. When my body is doing better and I can detox without the aid of the IVs I will probably do the GAPS intro diet. I would love my guts to work normally. Once my guts are working I will probably continue with Weston Price as my daily diet. Returning to the SAD is out of the question but it would be nice to be able to eat the odd sandwich without having horrible repercussions.
BTW, grains and sugars are creeping back into my diet. I have to stop cheating if I want to heal properly.
"The Gist:
- Research shows that gut bacteria can affect obesity and even behavior.
- New findings show that gut bacteria play a role in the development of multiple sclerosis in mice.
- Studies could lead to a better understanding of disease and offer a solution of stool transplants."
Science News
"Previous reports had indicated that gut bacteria might be involved in autoimmune disorders such as MS, juvenile diabetes and arthritis, says Simon Fillatreau, an immunologist at the German Rheumatism Research Center in Berlin."
As I stated before, I think I'm onto something here. I think the combination of glutathione for detox and food to rebuild my guts is the right way to go. I'm doing fantastic. It takes 3-6 months to get the healing process cranking. For complete healing it can be up to two years according to the GAPS author. When my body is doing better and I can detox without the aid of the IVs I will probably do the GAPS intro diet. I would love my guts to work normally. Once my guts are working I will probably continue with Weston Price as my daily diet. Returning to the SAD is out of the question but it would be nice to be able to eat the odd sandwich without having horrible repercussions.
BTW, grains and sugars are creeping back into my diet. I have to stop cheating if I want to heal properly.
Glutathione IV: Week Six; Part One
1000mg today. No nausea. No car sickness on the way home. I'm wiped out but didn't have to sleep like last week. I even had a glass of milk with no repercussions.
Tomorrow I see Dr. Komaroff. I was putting my medical notes together and was reading the notes I made two weeks ago for my bimonthly primary visit. I can't believe the difference in just two weeks. I'm cooking everyday now. Not just breakfast and dinner but extras like muffins and bread and yogurt. I'm standing for longer periods. I'm walking around stores again. I walked into the library today which is the first time in months. I even made it into the stacks. I can't remember the last time I was wandering the rows of books instead of hanging out in the new book alcove on the first floor. I drove yesterday. Again another first in months. I stood for part of my shower today. This morning before my appointment I made muffins and eggs for breakfast, threw together dinner in the crockpot and then showered and I was still okay for the trip to the Marino Center. Here I am still awake. No nap. No collapse. No neuro symptoms. WOW!!! I'm tired but WOW!
I'm curious what the famous doc is going to say. Is he is going to scold me for drinking raw milk? Is he going to be offended that I'm having glutathione IVs? Is he going to scoff at my supplement regimen? The assistant couldn't believe some of the stuff I'm taking. Of course I wasn't taking any of the traditional western medicine stuff she listed off. This is going to be interesting.... I'll let you know what happens.
Tomorrow I see Dr. Komaroff. I was putting my medical notes together and was reading the notes I made two weeks ago for my bimonthly primary visit. I can't believe the difference in just two weeks. I'm cooking everyday now. Not just breakfast and dinner but extras like muffins and bread and yogurt. I'm standing for longer periods. I'm walking around stores again. I walked into the library today which is the first time in months. I even made it into the stacks. I can't remember the last time I was wandering the rows of books instead of hanging out in the new book alcove on the first floor. I drove yesterday. Again another first in months. I stood for part of my shower today. This morning before my appointment I made muffins and eggs for breakfast, threw together dinner in the crockpot and then showered and I was still okay for the trip to the Marino Center. Here I am still awake. No nap. No collapse. No neuro symptoms. WOW!!! I'm tired but WOW!
I'm curious what the famous doc is going to say. Is he is going to scold me for drinking raw milk? Is he going to be offended that I'm having glutathione IVs? Is he going to scoff at my supplement regimen? The assistant couldn't believe some of the stuff I'm taking. Of course I wasn't taking any of the traditional western medicine stuff she listed off. This is going to be interesting.... I'll let you know what happens.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Mystery Solved
Talked to my doc today. Thank goodness he didn't train in the US. We discussed the last IV I had and all the weird stomach symptoms I've been having plus all the diet changes I've made. And guess what!?! I've been eating too healthy! Yup too much cabbage and kale in my diet. Turns out they both cause the generation stomach acid. My doc used to do this on purpose where he trained in medicine so that they could measure a person's ability to produce stomach acid. They would make the patient fast and then feed them cabbage. Hence I gave myself a sour stomach from eating kale daily and of course the huge load of cabbage I ate last Saturday. Not to mention trying kraut juice.
So, the current game plan is to get my IV of 1000mg tomorrow as scheduled. No more kale, cabbage or kraut juice until my stomach settles back to normal. Then I start introducing kale back in slowly. When I can tolerate it I can start adding cabbage juice back in but only a tablespoon at a time. Then I can add actual cabbage.
I knew that beets and kraut could give me trouble but I never considered cabbage or kale to be a problem. I grew up eating cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. I love them. I stopped eating them since hubby hates them. I was very excited to reintroduce cabbage into my diet and was excited to try new leafy greens. Turns out that I love kale and swiss chard. However, I never knew that I had to slowly introduce them into my diet. Of course my stomach being testy has been a problem since I first contracted CFS. I couldn't eat during the entire first month of the illness and my acupuncturist put me on double boiled rice so that I could get something down. I dropped ten pounds during that time period. Not the recommended way to loose weight.
Anyway, mystery solved. It wasn't the glutahione. I just have to go more slowly with the diet changes.
So, the current game plan is to get my IV of 1000mg tomorrow as scheduled. No more kale, cabbage or kraut juice until my stomach settles back to normal. Then I start introducing kale back in slowly. When I can tolerate it I can start adding cabbage juice back in but only a tablespoon at a time. Then I can add actual cabbage.
I knew that beets and kraut could give me trouble but I never considered cabbage or kale to be a problem. I grew up eating cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts. I love them. I stopped eating them since hubby hates them. I was very excited to reintroduce cabbage into my diet and was excited to try new leafy greens. Turns out that I love kale and swiss chard. However, I never knew that I had to slowly introduce them into my diet. Of course my stomach being testy has been a problem since I first contracted CFS. I couldn't eat during the entire first month of the illness and my acupuncturist put me on double boiled rice so that I could get something down. I dropped ten pounds during that time period. Not the recommended way to loose weight.
Anyway, mystery solved. It wasn't the glutahione. I just have to go more slowly with the diet changes.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tummy Troubles
I have been having moderate tummy troubles this week. There are several suspects to blame so I really don't know which one caused the problems.
Possible causes:
Possible causes:
- Glutathione?
- The crappy sauerkraut I made last week? Yes, I tasted it before I chucked it out.
- The new raw milk I bought last week from a different farm? They had been shut down about a month ago and reopened after they passed further testing by the state.
- The new yogurt I just made? Highly unlikely since I was having this problem last week before I made it and tasted it.
- Stomach is rebelling against the new diet?
- Going through herx from die off from diet?
- Not handling the high fat diet well due to lack of gall bladder?
- Drinking Kombucha that got left out overnight? That shouldn't be a problem since this stuff is brewed at room temp.
- Got a stomach bug?
- Simply doing too much? Mom is here so I'm more active than normal.
Stuff I'm doing to help it:
- Drinking bentonite clay. This helps but only temporarily.
- Taking activated charcoal caps. Again helps but only temporarily.
- Avoiding cultured foods.
- Made chicken soup today. Only food I could even consider eating.
- Drinking peppermint tea. Drinking water and lemon water makes it worse.
The only symptom is discomfort. Occasionally it turns into full blown heartburn and I have to resort to using Pepto Bismol but generally I simply have no appetite and feel yukky. It isn't nausea. I do have some burping, farting and tummy rumbling but nothing else. It is truly odd.
Apache Blessing
”May the sun bring you energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night,
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being.
May you walk gently through the world
and know its beauty all the days of your life.”
Apache Blessing
Friday, October 21, 2011
Glutathione IV: Week Five, Part One
Had my fifth IV today. 800mg. It seems as long as I tolerate this well it will be increased by 200mg each week until I hit 1200mg.
I must say this week has gone very well excepting the minor crash after doing too much this weekend. I even had energy when I got up this morning and my head was clear. I managed to shower prior to going to the clinic which is unusual for me.
On the way home I took my son for some lunch since he hadn't eaten that day. This involved walking across a small parking lot which is a huge deal for me. When we were done with food I walked across the lot again to see my chiropractor. I was starting to get tired and dizzy by this point.
I got home and immediately laid down. I listed to the news for about an hour until hubby came home. We talked a little bit and then I promptly fell asleep for two hours. I just couldn't stay awake any longer.
The nice thing is when I woke up I felt better. My head is clearer. I am walking around the house unassisted and sitting up on the couch. Woohoo!! I wonder if I'm going to be done with my herx by tomorrow. That would be phenomenal!! I would love to do a bit of baking tomorrow.
If this stuff works out the way I think it is going to it looks like I'm going to be more mobile than I have been in months. I'll be able to function in short bursts and then have to lie down to recuperate. This is so huge for me. Once the dosing levels off and I'll be able to adjust my pacing better.
I'm thinking that the IVs are doing the detoxing and I'll keep doing dietary tweaks to allow my body to heal itself. I might just beat this thing. Or at least see some considerable improvement. I'm so happy!!
Now if I could just fix my marriage. Blech. One thing at a time.
On a happier note, I met with my primary doc this week. I told him about the improvements. Of course he wanted to know what I was doing differently. I told him about the IVs and the diet changes. He didn't freak out!! I even told him about drinking raw milk. I'm so proud of him! He is actually okay with my weird diet! How cool is that!?!
I must say this week has gone very well excepting the minor crash after doing too much this weekend. I even had energy when I got up this morning and my head was clear. I managed to shower prior to going to the clinic which is unusual for me.
On the way home I took my son for some lunch since he hadn't eaten that day. This involved walking across a small parking lot which is a huge deal for me. When we were done with food I walked across the lot again to see my chiropractor. I was starting to get tired and dizzy by this point.
I got home and immediately laid down. I listed to the news for about an hour until hubby came home. We talked a little bit and then I promptly fell asleep for two hours. I just couldn't stay awake any longer.
The nice thing is when I woke up I felt better. My head is clearer. I am walking around the house unassisted and sitting up on the couch. Woohoo!! I wonder if I'm going to be done with my herx by tomorrow. That would be phenomenal!! I would love to do a bit of baking tomorrow.
If this stuff works out the way I think it is going to it looks like I'm going to be more mobile than I have been in months. I'll be able to function in short bursts and then have to lie down to recuperate. This is so huge for me. Once the dosing levels off and I'll be able to adjust my pacing better.
I'm thinking that the IVs are doing the detoxing and I'll keep doing dietary tweaks to allow my body to heal itself. I might just beat this thing. Or at least see some considerable improvement. I'm so happy!!
Now if I could just fix my marriage. Blech. One thing at a time.
On a happier note, I met with my primary doc this week. I told him about the improvements. Of course he wanted to know what I was doing differently. I told him about the IVs and the diet changes. He didn't freak out!! I even told him about drinking raw milk. I'm so proud of him! He is actually okay with my weird diet! How cool is that!?!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Bacterium, Viruses and Your Guts
I've been following with interest the studies coming out regarding gut health and illness. This seems to back up my theory that I can at least partially heal through diet. Here are a couple of articles that I found interesting today:
BBC writer Ed Yong
How do our bacteria help us?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15356016?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Science Daily
BBC writer Ed Yong
How do our bacteria help us?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15356016?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Science Daily
Research Could Lead to New Treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Viral Infections
Curiouser and curiouser.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Food Report
Warning: this post is going to be a bit scatter brained since I'm having a bad day. I did too much as usual.
As you might have figured out my juicer came the other week. So far I've been drinking a simple recipe of 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1 small yellow beet. I love carrot juice so I haven't veered from this yet. I need to mix things up a bit and have found a couple of other recipes from my juicing book that I would like to try.
Anyway, I've been eating grass fed/free range/organic/pastured meats for about two months. I've been grain free and sugar free for about six weeks (and yes I cheat a lot on these two). I've been drinking raw milk for about a month. While I got my juicer over a week ago I'm still not using it on a daily basis but this is my goal for the upcoming weeks. Here is what I tend to eat daily. The schedule is off because I get up at 11am and go to bed at 3am.
Breakfast @ noon: eggs with either spinach or herbs and raw milk cheese, black tea with milk
Snack: yogurt and fruit or cheese and vegetable or fresh juice
Dinner: grilled meat and two vegetables, kombucha or water with lemon
Dessert: raw milk or piece of fruit
Late meal @ 10pm: salad with protein or soup
Late snack (not always eaten): fruit or nuts or cheese or a combination if really hungry or instead of late meal if I'm not very hungry
I try to drink at least two glasses of filtered water a day. If I'm having stomach issues I add lemon. For some reason it is much easier to digest than plain water. I have three cups of black tea with milk in the morning and an assortment of juices and Kombucha during the day. If I've talked someone into making me some carbonated water I have home made ginger ale which has way less sugar than commercial stuff and it is raw cane sugar not the processed white stuff.
So far I've stopped taking Prilosec all together. I don't need it. I'm not even bringing up stomach acid at night any more. Woohoo!! The few odd times I do have stomach problems I can trace it back to a cheat on my diet. I might have eaten out or had some wheat product or cupcakes. My bad. However it tends not to be too bad and easily controlled with Tums or activated charcoal. Yay!
My head is much clearer most days. I've started reading again. I've managed to drive short distances a couple of times. I can read complicated material some days. I'm not as dizzy. I can stand for longer periods of time. I'm in less pain and have cut back on the steroids as a result.
My energy is slowly increasing and my recovery time slowly decreasing. On my good days I have fallen into the routine of doing something for 1-2 hours and then laying down for half an hour then getting up and doing something for another 1-2 hours and then laying down again. This seems to work for several days in a row before transmographying into a couch sloth again. It is hard to tell how long I could keep this up since the glutathione IVs interrupt this rhythm and puts me in bed for a day and a half each week.
It is difficult to tell how much of my improvement is from diet and how much is due to the glutathione. Since some of the improvements were occurring prior to the IVs and I feel crappy if I cheat on the diet, I do know the diet changes are doing some good.
I've also been trying to be better about taking my supplements. I had gotten into the habit of skipping a lot of them or not taking enough doses. I'm very good about taking my morning pills but for some reason I never get around to taking the stuff at dinner and I never touch the oils/essences I'm supposed to take. Hopefully the better diet will start making up for the lack of supplements.
Food goals:
Eat 9 cups of vegetables and fruit a day: 3 have to be leafy greens, 3 colored veg, and 3 whatever
Juice daily
Shift over from commercial yogurt to home made
Try sauerkraut
Make more Paleo bread (yummy and satisfies my carb cravings)
Add kelp and brewer's yeast
As you might have figured out my juicer came the other week. So far I've been drinking a simple recipe of 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1 small yellow beet. I love carrot juice so I haven't veered from this yet. I need to mix things up a bit and have found a couple of other recipes from my juicing book that I would like to try.
Anyway, I've been eating grass fed/free range/organic/pastured meats for about two months. I've been grain free and sugar free for about six weeks (and yes I cheat a lot on these two). I've been drinking raw milk for about a month. While I got my juicer over a week ago I'm still not using it on a daily basis but this is my goal for the upcoming weeks. Here is what I tend to eat daily. The schedule is off because I get up at 11am and go to bed at 3am.
Breakfast @ noon: eggs with either spinach or herbs and raw milk cheese, black tea with milk
Snack: yogurt and fruit or cheese and vegetable or fresh juice
Dinner: grilled meat and two vegetables, kombucha or water with lemon
Dessert: raw milk or piece of fruit
Late meal @ 10pm: salad with protein or soup
Late snack (not always eaten): fruit or nuts or cheese or a combination if really hungry or instead of late meal if I'm not very hungry
I try to drink at least two glasses of filtered water a day. If I'm having stomach issues I add lemon. For some reason it is much easier to digest than plain water. I have three cups of black tea with milk in the morning and an assortment of juices and Kombucha during the day. If I've talked someone into making me some carbonated water I have home made ginger ale which has way less sugar than commercial stuff and it is raw cane sugar not the processed white stuff.
So far I've stopped taking Prilosec all together. I don't need it. I'm not even bringing up stomach acid at night any more. Woohoo!! The few odd times I do have stomach problems I can trace it back to a cheat on my diet. I might have eaten out or had some wheat product or cupcakes. My bad. However it tends not to be too bad and easily controlled with Tums or activated charcoal. Yay!
My head is much clearer most days. I've started reading again. I've managed to drive short distances a couple of times. I can read complicated material some days. I'm not as dizzy. I can stand for longer periods of time. I'm in less pain and have cut back on the steroids as a result.
My energy is slowly increasing and my recovery time slowly decreasing. On my good days I have fallen into the routine of doing something for 1-2 hours and then laying down for half an hour then getting up and doing something for another 1-2 hours and then laying down again. This seems to work for several days in a row before transmographying into a couch sloth again. It is hard to tell how long I could keep this up since the glutathione IVs interrupt this rhythm and puts me in bed for a day and a half each week.
It is difficult to tell how much of my improvement is from diet and how much is due to the glutathione. Since some of the improvements were occurring prior to the IVs and I feel crappy if I cheat on the diet, I do know the diet changes are doing some good.
I've also been trying to be better about taking my supplements. I had gotten into the habit of skipping a lot of them or not taking enough doses. I'm very good about taking my morning pills but for some reason I never get around to taking the stuff at dinner and I never touch the oils/essences I'm supposed to take. Hopefully the better diet will start making up for the lack of supplements.
Food goals:
Eat 9 cups of vegetables and fruit a day: 3 have to be leafy greens, 3 colored veg, and 3 whatever
Juice daily
Shift over from commercial yogurt to home made
Try sauerkraut
Make more Paleo bread (yummy and satisfies my carb cravings)
Add kelp and brewer's yeast
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Glutathione IV: Week Four, Part Two
Saturday seems to be the magic day. My head is clear. I'm only moderately fatigued. Hence I went on another cooking binge.
But first, my Friday:
Still tired. No energy and my head is fogged. I found a stash of bentonite clay which hubby had bought last year for reasons unspecified. Looks like Friday has become detox day. I feel like crap from the IV so I had a bath with a cup of baking soda in it. The bath was as hot as I could stand the water. It was the first time I felt warm all day and it certainly got the blood flowing. I had to be careful getting out of the tub. Totally light headed and hubby wasn't home to help.
I tried the clay for the first time instead of the usual activated charcoal. You mix a tablespoon of it with water and drink it. You can also bathe in it but I don't have enough for that. I know I'm not taking enough charcoal because it is in capsule form and I really need the loose powder form so that I can take a lot of it at once in water instead of a handful of pills. I spent the evening watching Star Trek Enterprise since I couldn't even focus my eyes to read never mind getting my brain to interpret the words. My son helped me make dinner since I was a total scatter brain and couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a shot.
Saturday:
Ah bliss. Clear head. I can stand up. I can read. I can get stressed out. Yup, as soon as I feel okay I feel this urgent need to do everything at once. Cook. Clean. Sew. Read. Ferment. Etc. I finally just sat down with a cup of tea and reminded myself that I'm ill. I can't do all that stuff and I shouldn't be expected to. I told myself that I would attempt to make sauerkraut, which I've been meaning to do for weeks, and that I can sit down and rest anytime I wanted to. So I made the kraut with no problems. I even took a photo, of course I never got it off my camera but my first jar of sauerkraut has been photographed. Then I made some carrot juice since I haven't used my juicer since Sunday. Ugh a whole week but I shouldn't berate myself. I crashed pretty hard after my friend came for her visit. I had a sit out on the deck with my juice. Caught the odd ray of sunshine that managed to peak out from behind the clouds. Not a good sunbathing day but hey I was outside!
Back in to the house. Got Pandora running on the computer so I had some music to listen to. Cracked my Nourishing Traditions cookbook and found a recipe for stuffed cabbage. I had set aside some cabbage for my dinner. I was by myself and I love cabbage but never have it since the guys hate it. A plot was hatched. I was going to make myself some rice, savory beef and cabbage. Sort of stuffed cabbage without the stuffing step and no icky tomato sauce. I got busy. Using the spicing from the NT book and a little ingenuity I threw together dinner. It was AWESOME!! Best food I've had in a long time. I'm loving this real food diet. It is taking me back to my cooking roots. The food is like I remember as a kid. Lots of flavor and extra yumminess when I get to put grass fed butter on my veg.
I was so excited I decided I had to write a food blog post, see Fast Foodie. Then, since I made wicked good chicken soup on Wednesday, I had to write those recipes out as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening writing blog posts while listening to cool music on Pandora. I've had a great day. I loved the cooking once I got past feeling obligated to do it. I loved writing about it as well. The kitchen is an absolute mess but I don't care. I'll take care of that tomorrow. I ended up having fun after all. I think over the years because I've made food to make my husband happy instead of food to make myself happy I've lost the joy of cooking somewhere along the line. Today I remembered how much fun I can have in the kitchen. How much I used to love it as a kid. I used to bake for funzies. Now that I have made a commitment to cook for myself for health it is becoming enjoyable again. I just have to remind myself that I can stop and sit down anytime I want. I can pace myself. I can cook in steps. It doesn't all have to be done at once. I'm getting some fun back in my life one hour, one cooking bender at a time. Smiles and happiness.
But first, my Friday:
Still tired. No energy and my head is fogged. I found a stash of bentonite clay which hubby had bought last year for reasons unspecified. Looks like Friday has become detox day. I feel like crap from the IV so I had a bath with a cup of baking soda in it. The bath was as hot as I could stand the water. It was the first time I felt warm all day and it certainly got the blood flowing. I had to be careful getting out of the tub. Totally light headed and hubby wasn't home to help.
I tried the clay for the first time instead of the usual activated charcoal. You mix a tablespoon of it with water and drink it. You can also bathe in it but I don't have enough for that. I know I'm not taking enough charcoal because it is in capsule form and I really need the loose powder form so that I can take a lot of it at once in water instead of a handful of pills. I spent the evening watching Star Trek Enterprise since I couldn't even focus my eyes to read never mind getting my brain to interpret the words. My son helped me make dinner since I was a total scatter brain and couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes at a shot.
Saturday:
Ah bliss. Clear head. I can stand up. I can read. I can get stressed out. Yup, as soon as I feel okay I feel this urgent need to do everything at once. Cook. Clean. Sew. Read. Ferment. Etc. I finally just sat down with a cup of tea and reminded myself that I'm ill. I can't do all that stuff and I shouldn't be expected to. I told myself that I would attempt to make sauerkraut, which I've been meaning to do for weeks, and that I can sit down and rest anytime I wanted to. So I made the kraut with no problems. I even took a photo, of course I never got it off my camera but my first jar of sauerkraut has been photographed. Then I made some carrot juice since I haven't used my juicer since Sunday. Ugh a whole week but I shouldn't berate myself. I crashed pretty hard after my friend came for her visit. I had a sit out on the deck with my juice. Caught the odd ray of sunshine that managed to peak out from behind the clouds. Not a good sunbathing day but hey I was outside!
Back in to the house. Got Pandora running on the computer so I had some music to listen to. Cracked my Nourishing Traditions cookbook and found a recipe for stuffed cabbage. I had set aside some cabbage for my dinner. I was by myself and I love cabbage but never have it since the guys hate it. A plot was hatched. I was going to make myself some rice, savory beef and cabbage. Sort of stuffed cabbage without the stuffing step and no icky tomato sauce. I got busy. Using the spicing from the NT book and a little ingenuity I threw together dinner. It was AWESOME!! Best food I've had in a long time. I'm loving this real food diet. It is taking me back to my cooking roots. The food is like I remember as a kid. Lots of flavor and extra yumminess when I get to put grass fed butter on my veg.
I was so excited I decided I had to write a food blog post, see Fast Foodie. Then, since I made wicked good chicken soup on Wednesday, I had to write those recipes out as well. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening writing blog posts while listening to cool music on Pandora. I've had a great day. I loved the cooking once I got past feeling obligated to do it. I loved writing about it as well. The kitchen is an absolute mess but I don't care. I'll take care of that tomorrow. I ended up having fun after all. I think over the years because I've made food to make my husband happy instead of food to make myself happy I've lost the joy of cooking somewhere along the line. Today I remembered how much fun I can have in the kitchen. How much I used to love it as a kid. I used to bake for funzies. Now that I have made a commitment to cook for myself for health it is becoming enjoyable again. I just have to remind myself that I can stop and sit down anytime I want. I can pace myself. I can cook in steps. It doesn't all have to be done at once. I'm getting some fun back in my life one hour, one cooking bender at a time. Smiles and happiness.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Glutathione IV: Week Four, Part One
Okay, I'm currently flat on my back on the couch. I had my fourth IV this afternoon and other than some slight car sickness on the way home my stomach seems to have come to terms with the IVs. I am crashed. I have no energy. But my tummy seems happy this time around even though I'm now up to 600mg dose. I'm not pushing things though; no dairy until Saturday and a detox bath tomorrow. My head should be clear by morning so I'll probably spend the day reading and resting. I'm looking forward to another week of cooking and juicing.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Crashed But In A Good Way
My best friend from high school that I haven't seen in about 16 years came for a visit. Since she is a chronic chick herself she stayed overnight so she didn't have to drive 5 hours in one day. We spent the last two days catching up on news and having a great time. I loved seeing her again. Childhood friends are so different than the ones we make as adults. They are special. You can talk about everything because we know each other in a way that no other person on the planet can. They've seen you grow up. Seen you with your family. They already know all of your warts. You don't have to hide. It is so different than adult friends and so amazing.
Of course now I'm crashed but it was so worth it. I had a great couple of days.
Of course now I'm crashed but it was so worth it. I had a great couple of days.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Glutathione IV: Week Three, Part One
The herx wasn't as bad this time. I had full blown neuro symptoms after the IV. I had 500mg this time. While I didn't get the nasty taste in my mouth I did have a fair amount of nausea on the car trip home. Yuck. I spent the rest of the day needing my walker to get around the house. I couldn't do anything but lie down in bed. My son had to make dinner. Hubby got all crotchety on me cuz he hates seeing me like this.
The next day though. My head was clear. I was happy. I was still low on energy but I had a wonderful day out on the deck reading and sunbathing. I lumped around and then made a nice easy dinner. I took a detox bath with a cup of baking soda in it. Not sure how much it helped since the hot water always brings on worse symptoms with me but the hot bath felt great.
Today was a bit rough emotionally. I seem to be doing some emotional housecleaning. This also effected my energy levels which were all over the map. However, once I got done crying, I made dinner, loaded the dishwasher and then went out for a car ride. After which I walked back into the house unassisted!! I almost always have to have help back into the house after riding in the truck. Instead I walked all by myself and didn't even feel off balance or dizzy. How great is that!?!
I've got my list of things I want to cook this week: raw yogurt, creme fraiche, sauerkraut, Paleo bread and maybe some cream cheese. My juicer arrived today so once I get all the bits washed I'm going to have to try that out. I loaded up on vegetables at the farmer's market today so I'm having fresh juice tomorrow. Woohoo!!
I'm slowly reading Minding My Mitochondria. I've loaded up the fridge with kale but I'm still not sure what Dr. Wahls recommends doing with it. I'll have to skip to the back and look up her juicing recipes. I've also read chunks of Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing For Life but I'm scared to try it. I'm worried that the herx reaction will put me back in bed and if that happens I won't be able to carry on with my funky diet. Baby steps. Baby steps.
The next day though. My head was clear. I was happy. I was still low on energy but I had a wonderful day out on the deck reading and sunbathing. I lumped around and then made a nice easy dinner. I took a detox bath with a cup of baking soda in it. Not sure how much it helped since the hot water always brings on worse symptoms with me but the hot bath felt great.
Today was a bit rough emotionally. I seem to be doing some emotional housecleaning. This also effected my energy levels which were all over the map. However, once I got done crying, I made dinner, loaded the dishwasher and then went out for a car ride. After which I walked back into the house unassisted!! I almost always have to have help back into the house after riding in the truck. Instead I walked all by myself and didn't even feel off balance or dizzy. How great is that!?!
I've got my list of things I want to cook this week: raw yogurt, creme fraiche, sauerkraut, Paleo bread and maybe some cream cheese. My juicer arrived today so once I get all the bits washed I'm going to have to try that out. I loaded up on vegetables at the farmer's market today so I'm having fresh juice tomorrow. Woohoo!!
I'm slowly reading Minding My Mitochondria. I've loaded up the fridge with kale but I'm still not sure what Dr. Wahls recommends doing with it. I'll have to skip to the back and look up her juicing recipes. I've also read chunks of Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing For Life but I'm scared to try it. I'm worried that the herx reaction will put me back in bed and if that happens I won't be able to carry on with my funky diet. Baby steps. Baby steps.
Overweight Luggage
The last two days have been very emotional ones. I seem to be processing baggage I've carried around for years: a hurtful boss, a spiteful coworker, soured friendships. I seem to have come to a point in my illness where I'm working on getting rid of excess baggage. I'm not ignoring it but actually thinking about it in new ways. Healing ways. I wish I could be more descriptive but this is such an organic thing. It happens when the planets align in just the right way. And the thought process is slightly different for each incident.
It also might be a side effect of the glutathione treatment. Maybe as the liver detoxes I'm also getting rid of the emotional junk heap that has been stored there for years. Strange things have been coming up out of no where and for no reason I can fathom other than it is time to process and heal. Of course this has also meant that I've been crying a lot which has made me very tired. But I'm off to bed early tonight for a change.
You have to move through the darkness to get to the light.
It also might be a side effect of the glutathione treatment. Maybe as the liver detoxes I'm also getting rid of the emotional junk heap that has been stored there for years. Strange things have been coming up out of no where and for no reason I can fathom other than it is time to process and heal. Of course this has also meant that I've been crying a lot which has made me very tired. But I'm off to bed early tonight for a change.
You have to move through the darkness to get to the light.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Cooking Day
OMG I haven't done one of these in forever. Of course everything I did today I wouldn't consider a miracle if I were well. Everything I did was relatively easy but considering I've been just this side of bedridden since winter wowza. I did good today!
I was actually excited and happy when I got up this morning. I was looking forward to making various food stuffs today. I had a long list and knew I wouldn't be able to do all of it. So I made a nice Paleo breakfast of spinach sauted in garlic and butter topped with a poached egg with cheddar on top. Yum! I drank my tea out on the deck and got to enjoy some sunshine.
Then I put all my cooking supplies into the dishwasher and ran it on a short sanitize cycle. Today was bacteria day. I wiped the counter down with a chlorox wipe and laid out paper towel. I got all my cookbooks and cultures out and read my directions. Then I went for a nice lie down. About an hour later I got up and carefully fished everything out of the dishwasher making sure I didn't touch any edges/surfaces that would contact food. Then I made some yogurt and buttermilk cultures. I bought the easy stuff. Mix dehydrated cultures into a cup of pasteurized milk; pour into a canning jar; cover with napkin held on with a rubber band and let it sit on the counter until set.
After that I had to take photos so I set everything up for a picture. Which of course meant clearing off my counter top. Which of course meant I'm making even more work for myself than I need to. Okay now for another lay down.
Half hour after that was pickle time. I cut up my pickles, smashed up some garlic cloves and trimmed up lots of dill (they came with the roots still attached: maybe I'll put some in soil and see what happens but that means more work). I boil some water and mix up the brine and away we go. Dill into the bowl, then garlic, then pickles, more dill, the rest of the pickles, cover with water and brine. Put a bag of rice on top to keep the pickles immersed, cover with a towel and set in a spot for 24 hours.
Next is preparing crispy almonds from Nourishing Traditions (WAP cookbook). Apparently all nuts and grains have to be soaked prior to eating. So the almonds have to soak in salt water for a minimum of 7 hours prior to spending 12 hours in a 100F oven to dry. This removes the bad stuff. I already tried one of the almonds when I checked on them in the oven and OMG they taste so much better! They have to stay in the oven overnight. I'm looking forward to having some for snack tomorrow.
The only thing I'm concerned about is that my house is a tad too cold to properly culture the yogurt and buttermilk. They should have been done by now. They have been sitting for 12 hours and they still aren't set. I was hoping to get them into the fridge before I went to bed but I don't think that is going to happen. I don't really have a warm spot in the house to keep them. They are supposed to culture between 70 and 78F. It is 68F which means it will take longer. Of course I'm also unsure of the milk I used. It is a new brand that is supposed to be single pasteurized at low temp. Apparently the ultrahigh temp pasteurization kills the milk so much that you can't culture it and the mother culture has to be made from pasteurized milk not raw milk. So now I'm waiting. What is going to happen? Will I have yogurt? Will I have buttermilk? Will I have to start over again when the weather is warmer and I have different milk?
Oh and after a good long nap I made dinner. Yes, I made Cowboy Beans. Yes, when I get the recipe perfected I'll post it on Fast Foodie. It is basically sauted ground meat with baked beans and corn. I used the stuff out of a can and it was just too sweet so tonight's version was from Cook's Illustrated but it still isn't quite right.
But I'm floored. Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, showered, went out to dinner and went to Whole Foods. Today I made yogurt, buttermilk, pickles, crispy nuts and dinner. Of course I haven't showered and I'm still in my jammies from last night but I'm so happy that I've managed to do so much these past two days. Wow!! Maybe this glutathione and diet combo pack is doing something good for me!
I'm curious what tomorrow will bring. If I have enough energy and two viable mother cultures it will be raw milk yogurt and buttermilk making day.
I was actually excited and happy when I got up this morning. I was looking forward to making various food stuffs today. I had a long list and knew I wouldn't be able to do all of it. So I made a nice Paleo breakfast of spinach sauted in garlic and butter topped with a poached egg with cheddar on top. Yum! I drank my tea out on the deck and got to enjoy some sunshine.
Then I put all my cooking supplies into the dishwasher and ran it on a short sanitize cycle. Today was bacteria day. I wiped the counter down with a chlorox wipe and laid out paper towel. I got all my cookbooks and cultures out and read my directions. Then I went for a nice lie down. About an hour later I got up and carefully fished everything out of the dishwasher making sure I didn't touch any edges/surfaces that would contact food. Then I made some yogurt and buttermilk cultures. I bought the easy stuff. Mix dehydrated cultures into a cup of pasteurized milk; pour into a canning jar; cover with napkin held on with a rubber band and let it sit on the counter until set.
After that I had to take photos so I set everything up for a picture. Which of course meant clearing off my counter top. Which of course meant I'm making even more work for myself than I need to. Okay now for another lay down.
Half hour after that was pickle time. I cut up my pickles, smashed up some garlic cloves and trimmed up lots of dill (they came with the roots still attached: maybe I'll put some in soil and see what happens but that means more work). I boil some water and mix up the brine and away we go. Dill into the bowl, then garlic, then pickles, more dill, the rest of the pickles, cover with water and brine. Put a bag of rice on top to keep the pickles immersed, cover with a towel and set in a spot for 24 hours.
Next is preparing crispy almonds from Nourishing Traditions (WAP cookbook). Apparently all nuts and grains have to be soaked prior to eating. So the almonds have to soak in salt water for a minimum of 7 hours prior to spending 12 hours in a 100F oven to dry. This removes the bad stuff. I already tried one of the almonds when I checked on them in the oven and OMG they taste so much better! They have to stay in the oven overnight. I'm looking forward to having some for snack tomorrow.
The only thing I'm concerned about is that my house is a tad too cold to properly culture the yogurt and buttermilk. They should have been done by now. They have been sitting for 12 hours and they still aren't set. I was hoping to get them into the fridge before I went to bed but I don't think that is going to happen. I don't really have a warm spot in the house to keep them. They are supposed to culture between 70 and 78F. It is 68F which means it will take longer. Of course I'm also unsure of the milk I used. It is a new brand that is supposed to be single pasteurized at low temp. Apparently the ultrahigh temp pasteurization kills the milk so much that you can't culture it and the mother culture has to be made from pasteurized milk not raw milk. So now I'm waiting. What is going to happen? Will I have yogurt? Will I have buttermilk? Will I have to start over again when the weather is warmer and I have different milk?
Oh and after a good long nap I made dinner. Yes, I made Cowboy Beans. Yes, when I get the recipe perfected I'll post it on Fast Foodie. It is basically sauted ground meat with baked beans and corn. I used the stuff out of a can and it was just too sweet so tonight's version was from Cook's Illustrated but it still isn't quite right.
But I'm floored. Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher, showered, went out to dinner and went to Whole Foods. Today I made yogurt, buttermilk, pickles, crispy nuts and dinner. Of course I haven't showered and I'm still in my jammies from last night but I'm so happy that I've managed to do so much these past two days. Wow!! Maybe this glutathione and diet combo pack is doing something good for me!
I'm curious what tomorrow will bring. If I have enough energy and two viable mother cultures it will be raw milk yogurt and buttermilk making day.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Food
My good friend Dominique of 4 Walls and a View has started a Facebook group based on Dr. Wahls' diet. We have both purchased her book Minding My Mitochondria and I've purchased a juicer and a juicing book written by an exCFS chick who cured herself through juicing. Did I mention that I thought I was onto something here?
Anyway, today was a good energy day so I managed to drag hubby around Whole Foods to load up on organic fruits and vegetables in anticipation of the juicer arriving later this week. Lots of kale, celery, carrots and apples. Also some ginger and dill for giggles.
You are more than welcome to join us on our food journey, click here. Dr. Wahls' diet sounds like a modified Paleo diet. I let you know more after I read her book. It should arrive Tuesday but I'm a slow reader. In the meantime, I'm finally setting up to make mother cultures of yogurt and buttermilk. I can't use raw milk for this but I found some low temp pasteurized milk. My chiropractor says it tastes just like raw so I'm hopeful that this will culture up nicely and then I can make raw milk yogurt and buttermilk later this week. Once that is done it is onto making raw milk cream cheese and raw milk sour cream. I can hardly wait since these will both produce whey which I can use to ferment vegetables such as sauerkraut and ginger carrots.
My next IV is this Thursday so I might be off milk products at the end of the week again. It seems like I can't have any dairy for several days after treatment. Today is the first day since my last treatment that I've been able to drink milk without horrible heartburn afterwards so it looks like a three day waiting period. I'm making a large batch of chicken soup in anticipation of IV related tummy trouble. Most of it will go in the freezer for easy late night meals. It is getting too cold for salads.
Anyway, today was a good energy day so I managed to drag hubby around Whole Foods to load up on organic fruits and vegetables in anticipation of the juicer arriving later this week. Lots of kale, celery, carrots and apples. Also some ginger and dill for giggles.
You are more than welcome to join us on our food journey, click here. Dr. Wahls' diet sounds like a modified Paleo diet. I let you know more after I read her book. It should arrive Tuesday but I'm a slow reader. In the meantime, I'm finally setting up to make mother cultures of yogurt and buttermilk. I can't use raw milk for this but I found some low temp pasteurized milk. My chiropractor says it tastes just like raw so I'm hopeful that this will culture up nicely and then I can make raw milk yogurt and buttermilk later this week. Once that is done it is onto making raw milk cream cheese and raw milk sour cream. I can hardly wait since these will both produce whey which I can use to ferment vegetables such as sauerkraut and ginger carrots.
My next IV is this Thursday so I might be off milk products at the end of the week again. It seems like I can't have any dairy for several days after treatment. Today is the first day since my last treatment that I've been able to drink milk without horrible heartburn afterwards so it looks like a three day waiting period. I'm making a large batch of chicken soup in anticipation of IV related tummy trouble. Most of it will go in the freezer for easy late night meals. It is getting too cold for salads.
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