Elimination Diet

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A little of this, a little of that… and some more of this…

July 6, 2010 in Animals, Celiac, Elimination Diet, Jacob, Paige, sleep problems by Petra | 3 comments

How was everyone’s long weekend? I think this was the most low key July 4th we’ve ever had! I got ‘glutened’, Andy sprained his ankle really bad, and we treated the house for fleas. Sound exciting? It was. Despite our maladies, we actually got a lot done this weekend! But we didn’t really celebrate like usual. Other than sitting on the porch watching our neighbors shoot off some fireworks. Which scared Paige and was too loud for Jacob, so I ended up sitting inside watching through the window with them. Do you like all the fragments? I’m such a stickler for grammar in certain areas, but apparently not when I blog. Eh.

Oh, the getting ‘glutened’: I got careless, plain and simple. I know I have celiac and that I’m SUPER sensitive to the slightest hint of gluten and that I need to be careful all the time. We still have 5 people in the house that eat the stuff, so it’s around. And Paige has been eating gluten since she turned one. So on Saturday, I made her a sandwich for lunch and I washed my hands thoroughly afterwards. I usually avoid contact with things such as gluten-filled bread, but I figured “eh, I’ll just wash my hands”, and THEN Saturday night, Paige was up for about three hours in the middle of the night (fun stuff for me) and she was hungry, so I gave her some gluten-filled cereal to snack on. I thought I got her all cleaned off, but then when I was holding her she grabbed my mouth, I tasted cinnamon, and thought “I hope that doesn’t do any damage”… then Sunday morning I woke up with a migraine but went to church anyway. By the time we got home from church it was completely awful, I couldn’t see straight or tolerate anything louder than a whisper, and then my stomach started cramping up, I got nauseous, and proceeded to spend the next two days having um – ‘indigestion’ – problems. Ugh. Some medicine finally worked on my pounding head by Monday afternoon (thank God!), and my stomach finally feels better this morning.  All from a crumb that Paige put in my mouth. So – I’m cutting back on the amount of gluten that Paige eats since her hands are still near my face so often. I definitely won’t be feeding it to her, and if she does eat it, someone else can clean her off! That was the worst I’ve felt from gluten in a while. It was a bad one!

I pretty much did nothing on Sunday, other than going to church, but on Saturday and Monday I got ridiculous amounts of things done!! I had to force it on Monday, but I drugged up and pushed through. There was a time that getting ‘glutened’ would have put me on the couch for four days, not just half of a day! I definitely think my immune system is up and that taking dairy out of my system was that last key. I’m still figuring out a few things that I need to not eat more often than once every few days, but other than that my diet is going well, and I feel like the elimination diet worked (is working – there are still some foods I haven’t added back in yet).

In other news, we’ve been ripping out the carpet in the basement. And by ‘we’, I mean Andy and Justice. My job was to clean everything (and I do mean everything – cat urine was on my desk, on my leather CD case, on my scrapbook table – UGH!!!) and I moved all the furniture and things off the carpet in the office area.  They got the carpet off the stairs and out of the office, and now we only have Brittany’s room left. Andy said the carpet in the office area was SO nasty underneath and it wasn’t just from our cats. The people who lived here before us had a big dog that stayed down there and it was kind of stinky – now we know why!!! I didn’t see that carpet, as I was upstairs cleaning kids’ bedrooms and getting the floors and beds ready for vacuuming.

Both cats live outside now. Luna hasn’t ventured beyond the deck and under the deck. We go out and play with her and she is SO much more pleasant to be around now that she isn’t spazzing out and climbing in the ceiling and peeing everywhere (and her fleas are completely gone – yay!). Chili, who was our favorite inside cat, took off as soon as we let her outside and we haven’t seen her since (*sad face*).  We’re hoping she comes back!!! She was always by the window trying to get the birds and squirrels though – she is such a hunter, we could tell. So I’m sure she is having a blast exploring the woods behind our house. It’d be nice to see her and know she’s okay, though!

Sometimes 9:00 am until noon is the only *real* sleep I get. I’m so thankful that I can actually sleep then when I need to!! Paige’s bottom molars are RIGHT under the gums poking up; I’m sure they’ll be cutting through any day now. And I cannot wait! And Jacob is doing better about sleeping in his bed all night, but last night he did not do well – Paige actually slept better than Jacob last night. Instead of letting him sleep in a “bed” on our floor though, we made him go back to his bed and he cried, but then finally went back to sleep. Hopefully he’ll learn that it is actually okay to go right back to sleep in his bed if he wakes up to go to the bathroom or stirs out of his sleep for some reason. He has had more nights lately, though, where he doesn’t wake up at all – hopefully that’ll become the ‘norm’ before too long. :)

I totally got spoiled with Brittany – from the time she was 5 months old, she slept 12 or 13 hours every single night and the only time she ever woke up is if she was sick, which has been extremely rare. Justice slept through the night by 6 months old, and once he was in a big bed and could climb out, he’d sometimes come get in our bed in the middle of the night (and wouldn’t wake up when we carried him back to his own bed), and that ended when he was 3 years old. Jarvis had a similar story to Justice, as did Darby – only she came into our bed in the middle of the night until I was pregnant with Jacob – when she was 4 1/2. Jacob is 4 1/2 and he’s never really slept through the night on a regular basis. Ever. And Paige seems to be following in his footsteps. I’m old now – don’t they understand that? I need more sleep now than I did when I was 17 and Brittany was a baby!! Yeesh!! ;)

I have so much laundry to do. I kept it going ALL day yesterday and changed my last load around midnight. It’s going again and I’m *hoping* it’ll be done by tonight. Washing ALL the bed linens and all the throw blankets and the stuffed animals, plus the regular laundry from six people (Jarvis and Darby are still in Knoxville), will create large piles needing to be washed though. We do NOT want to have to keep treating for fleas, so are determined to do it right and get rid of them. We’ll spray again in a week to make sure we got any flea eggs that were lingering and didn’t get killed and then hopefully we’ll be done. We didn’t have a big infestation on the main and upstairs floors though, and the carpet where the cats ‘lived’ is mostly gone (and will be all gone as soon as we get all Britt’s furniture out of her room and rip that up – planning on doing that today). Am I talking about fleas again? Sorry.

Okay, I feel like this has been the most boring post in the world. I’m falling asleep writing it, so if you are still reading, I feel like I should say something witty for you – to reward you for getting this far, but honestly, I’ve got nothin’. Other than this nugget: The next time I go to Wal-mart, I am totally going to dress like a complete and utter freak. So I’ll fit in. I took Paige and Jacob there last night while the flea spraying was happening (had to get the little ones out) and while we were wandering the toy aisles, we saw some real winners. I mean, some people must not have mirrors in their houses. And I don’t mean the people who are just trying to be comfortable or who obviously don’t have a lot of money for clothes. I mean the people that are putting real effort into looking as insane as possible. But you’ve all been to Wal-mart. You know.

Oh, speaking of Paige and toys. I let Paige and Jacob each spend a couple dollars on toys (I’m so generous – I know ;) ), and Paige picked out a baby doll (and yes, SHE picked it out) and she hugged it all through the store, all the way home, while at home, and she went to sleep hugging it last night. She LOVES it. She has been hugging little stuffed animals and one of Darby’s dolls lately, but she needed a soft baby doll that she could sleep with, and now she has one. And she thinks she is it’s mommy. It’s the most adorable thing ever. SHE is the most adorable thing ever. Of course, I said that about all my babies. But seriously. She’s cute. I’ve got to videotape her dancing – she has a wide range of moves and she mixes it up during songs – so cute.

Apparently I’m chatty this afternoon. I’ll stop now.

Here’s two photos to make up for the rambling. It’s the only things I could find to take pictures of right now. :)

Um yeah, this is blurry. But Jacob wasn’t holding real still. And I didn’t feel like multiple tries? But he’s still a giant cutie. And yes, we are still in our pajamas. We’ll get dressed in a few minutes before getting back to work – gotta get the rest of that carpet ripped up!

And Luna. We brought her back into the woods a couple of times, thinking she’d enjoy it if she’d just venture over there, but she comes back to the deck every time. She likes being around us, apparently. lol

And now, I’m really stopping. Goodbye!

It’s time for healing, time to move on…

July 1, 2010 in Andrew, Darby, Elimination Diet, Health, Jarvis, Justice, Love, Marriage, Paige by Petra | 7 comments

It’s July 1st?! How is 2010 halfway over?! Wasn’t it just 1999??? I’m really beginning to understand what my father-in-law meant when he said “the older you get, the faster time goes.” *sigh*

Yesterday’s menu:
breakfast – sliced strawberries, dry Rice Chex (yum?), hot green tea (not the best b’fast, but my energy levels are just starting to return after being sick, so I had something that one of the kids could easily grab for me ;) ).
lunch (see photo above) - baked wild alaskan cod filet (olive oil, fresh lemon and lime juice, minced garlic, sea salt, pepper, dried cilantro), fried sweet potatoes (fried in olive oil with sea salt to season), more sliced strawberries, water
dinner – stir-fry [shrimp, broccoli, onions, garlic, zucchini, carrots] served with quinoa, fresh sliced pineapple, water

~snacks were things like peanut butter, carrots, and… I can’t remember anything else though I’m sure I had more than just that~

So yesterday was my first experience with quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). I’ve been meaning to try it for a while since it cooks up quicker than rice and it’s also more nutritious. I liked the taste, it was similar to rice. But there was something no one warned me of! When quinoa cooks it leaves small circles along the top of the pan that look like something you’d find at the bottom of the sea, and the actual cooked quinoa looks like a big pile of bug eggs or something grosser. That was difficult for me to get past. I had to chant “this doesn’t look disgusting, this doesn’t look disgusting, this doesn’t look disgusting” in order to get that first bite down. lol. I’ll eat it again though. I’m all about getting more nutrients out of my food!! :)

Obviously I’ve added some things to my diet since my last elimination diet post. Peanut butter and rice don’t seem to bother me. Potatoes don’t bother me either. Last night was my first foray with shrimp since I started this diet and it didn’t seem to bother me. I have discovered that dairy definitely bothers me (!), which is what I suspected was the main culprit but had been in denial. That makes me a sad panda, but it’s nice not to be in a fog! There are a few fruits that I can only eat every other day, but I can live with that. I’m trying to have more of a variety in my diet anyway. Oh, I added another snack in as well – Kettle barbecue chips. They’re my big treat. :)

In other news, Paige still isn’t walking or trying to walk. She has her 15 month checkup on July 9th. I’m pretty sure she *could* walk if she wanted to – she just doesn’t want to. She’s perfectly content to be carried or to crawl or to walk alongside furniture as she holds on.

She is saying a few more words now and then (‘uh-oh’ is her latest favorite word), but she really doesn’t talk very much. I mean, she makes noises and she grunts and points as she demands we bring her where she wants to go, but actual ‘talking’? She can’t be bothered. She does understand a LOT of what we say though. And she knows the signs for “eat” and “bird” so she can tell us if she’s hungry or if she sees a bird. Both very practical. ;)

Jarvis and Darby are hitching a ride with our good friends, Mark and Kim Lilley, to Tennessee tomorrow. They’ll be visiting my parents for a week, and then Grandma and Grandpa will bring them home. They’re excited to be going someplace without the rest of the family (as are most kids that age). I am not a huge fan of having my kids gone, but I like for them to do fun things so I’m happy for them that they get to go on a little vacation. :)

Justice shoots ball as often as possible. I actually took a couple of photos today. He starts drivers ed in a week and a half. Oh yeah, and I need to call again about the basketball camp next month. They weren’t organized last time I called and told me to wait a month and try again.

Andrew is home for a four-day weekend so I’m super excited about that! I love having him here. He still rocks my socks after all these years. I don’t think we’ll ever run out of things to talk about or stop being attracted to each other. I love our marriage. Love it! I’m still so amazed and grateful when I think of all we overcame. If you are reading this and you think your marriage is over and there’s no hope – please call me! I have a story of hope for you. Us! Nothing is impossible for God!! He heals – not just illness but relationships. So awesome! :)

In case I don’t get a chance to blog again over the weekend (although I have big plans to blog every day – hahahahaha), I hope you all have a wonderful weekend of celebrating our country’s independence!! Happy July 4th! :)

Process of elimination – Part 2 (and other stuff)

June 21, 2010 in Christianity, Elimination Diet, Fibromyalgia, Health, sleep problems by Petra | 3 comments

I think you all probably get the gist of the type of things I’m eating from the three days I spelled out my diet for you. I have made a couple of discoveries in the last few days, and am continuing on with the basics of the diet.

  • I added green tea back in, but haven’t had it every day.
  • I made an exception when I went on a date with Andrew the other night. We went to Qdoba and I got a naked burrito. I did not get any cheese on it, but I did get the rice and chicken and tomatoes in the form of pico de gallo. It didn’t seem to bother me at all.
  • Of course, with intolerances, unlike allergies, I wouldn’t necessarily have an immediate reaction from eating a food one time. The more I do this, the more I really think it’s dairy that has been the root of my issues. And probably eggs. I mean, I haven’t had a bit of dairy – not even butter – in a week, so yeah, I can go without it, but ya know – milk and cheese just add so much to my life. I felt that way about gluten though, and corn… and beef (have I mentioned that beef bothers me and I gave it up about six months ago or so?). Anyway, I’m thinking I can handle it if dairy ends up on the “never” list as well.
  • I had mahi-mahi last night, and had forgotten how much I love it! I think I’ll break open the salmon tonight – maybe I’ve acquired a taste for it in the couple of years since I’ve tried it. lol
  • Aside from my Qdoba exception, I haven’t had any rice or white potatoes in the last week – I think those will be the first foods I add back in, though. I’m hoping those don’t bother me!
  • I have put pineapple and coconut on the “every other day” (or less) list. I don’t really eat those fruits that often anyway, but apparently, when I eat them all the time, they make my tongue feel weird.
  • I guess not eating the things that were really bothering me has made my body more sensitive to the things that only mildly bother me. That’s usually how it goes. Gotta get rid of the big things before one can figure out the little things…

Which, on a side note, is kind of like the Christian walk. When you have a really big sin in your life, you might think everything else is a-okay. Until you get rid of it. Then you start seeing all these “little” things that you didn’t even know you were doing.

Anyway…

I’ll try to keep you posted since I know there are at least a few people who are keeping up with the diet and my symptoms – I’m hoping my experiments can help someone else who is trying to figure out what’s going on in their own body.

As far as symptoms go – that baaaaaad lamb (I can’t not say it that way – remember ‘goat boy’ on SNL? – Oh, I amuse myself…) set me back a few days, but over all, I have had more energy, fewer headaches (the caffeine headaches were gone before I added the green tea back in), and fewer GI troubles. I still have a lot of pain from the fibromyalgia and myofascial issues, and I have had to keep taking painkillers here and there - but I plan on starting my yoga back today and then slowly adding my walks, and evenutally runs, back in… and of course, if Paige starts sleeping through the night on a regular basis, that’ll be HUGE. I hope you people that get 8 or 9 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night don’t take it for granted! :)

For those of you who are wondering “why the heck is she blogging about this stuff?” – I think I’ve said it, but it’s because in my research on what is going on with my body, in trying to figure out all my symptoms (because doctors have pretty much been good for only eliminating possible serious issues with some blood tests, etc., and shoving buckets of prescription drugs at me), I have found it extremely helpful to read other people’s blogs where they have identified symptoms and what has helped and not helped them. So I figure I’d give a little back. I actually am not a fan of talking about all my pains and problems to the general public. I’m one of those people who usually answer “great, how are you?” when people ask me how I’m doing. And it’s not a lie – I really am doing great aside from the pains…

My life is awesome! God has blessed me with a loving husband, six healthy and obedient children, a lovely home, two vehicles that run well and get us where we need to go, food in the pantry, and much, much more. My goal is to get healthy and energetic so that I can serve the aforementioned husband and children better, and others. You know, when I took those spiritual gifts tests several years ago, I scored extremely high in the “server” category, so it’s been kind of a shock to my system (and personality) to not be able to serve for so long. I have learned a lot of lessons these past several years though, and have learned how to be served (which was also a lesson in humility), and my children have learned how to serve more since they’ve had to step it up and help out a lot – especially during the last two pregnancies where I was on bed rest. I thank God for all He has brought me through, and for all the things He has taught me.

Okay, so this has been a rabbit-trail filled post, but my brain is kind of all over the place today anyway. I’m going to take some photos of Darby’s braids later (Britta put 127 braids in her hair, until she ran out of the little rubber bands), and I have other things to post as well, including a movie review post – I know how much you guys appreciate my stellar reviews. ;)

Aaaaand, that’s all I got for ya now – let me know if you have any questions. Have a wonderful rest of your Monday!

You should’ve seen by the look in my eyes, baby…

June 19, 2010 in Darby, Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, Paige, Random by Petra | 3 comments

Randomness
{and I don’t know what’s up with the REO Speedwagon reference in the title today… apparently I’ve got the ’80s on my brain? Maybe it was in my dream last night? There’s no telling. Sing it with me now… “there was something missing… You should’ve known by the tone of my voice, maybe… but you didn’t listen…” Okay, I’m done.}

  • Paige’s two molars have finally broken through! Hooray!! I’m sure the next two  molars will be trying to come through soon, but for now, she is sleeping much better.
  • I’m recovering from the baaaaaad lamb. Whew. That one set me back. I think the diet is going well though – aside from the lamb episode, I’ve had more energy – AND my skin is clearing up!!! Breakouts, flaky skin, and itchiness are all usually symptoms of something in one’s diet that is disagreeing with them, and I have always had all three of those things. So I’m thinking whatever the offending food item has been must be gone since those three things are not bothering me for once. I mean, my skin started clearing up after a day and a half of the new diet!! It’s the little things.
  • Andrew has been working so much! And when he’s not working, he has massive amounts of homework (he’s now in school for his new MOS – until September). He did get to come home early yesterday after passing his test, though, so we are enjoying a long-ish weekend.
  • I’m especially enjoying that while I’m sitting here blogging, he is mopping the kitchen and dining room. ;)
  • Justice comes home from his mission trip today! I really miss him! I’m not going to do so well when my kids start moving out of the house. I like them too much!! Yes, I’m one of those rare breeds of mothers who actually *likes* her kids and likes having them around, even the teenagers. ;)
  • Darby is done with her swimming lessons! They had been jumping off the diving board at the end of class, and on the last two days, the kids that wanted to were allowed to jump off the high dive. Two boys in the group wanted to… and Darby! She jumped off several times and swam over to the side after she jumped in. She’s always been kind of a daredevil, and she definitely learned a lot in her two weeks of lessons. $20 well spent! :)
  • I guess I need to get off my rear and get back to helping clean the house. More elimination diet posts to come, and I’ll try to do a post with more photos soon – I’ve been lacking in the photo-posting area.
  • Happy Father’s Day to all the dads that read my blog. :)

Elimination diet – Day 3

June 18, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | No comments

June 18, 2010

Paige slept from 10:00 pm until 8:00 am!! She’s never done this with any consistency – she’ll sleep all night for 1, 2, or 3 nights, then it’s back to waking up. I’m patiently waiting for the day that she just sleeps all night, every night! :)

I got up with Paige this morning – I slept from 12 to 8, only interrupted once by Jacob and once by a weird dream. A few more nights like this and I might actually feel caught up on sleep! :)

Breakfast, 9:15 am -
halibut
strawberries and blueberries
garlic and honey

I ended up taking a nap when Paige did – for three hours (!), so I ate lunch late. Was really weak and shaky going five hours without eating. I may add the green tea back in. I haven’t had issues with my blood sugar for a long time, and I know when I did, the green tea helped regulate it. It coud be that it was helping all along!! I’m sure the green tea isn’t one of the foods that has been bothering me, and I gotta say – the caffeine would be helpful in the mornings. :)

I woke up with a horrid headache that was making me nauseous. I took a painkiller before my nap and the combo of the drugs and the sleep helped. It’s just a dull headache now, but I’m still a little nauseous (and I hate being nauseous). And I’ve burped up lamb several times. I don’t think I’ll try the lamb again for a while. I had never heard of lamb bothering anyone – but then, Timberly said it bothers her, so there ya go.

The foods I suspect could possibly be the culprit(s) that were still making me feel bad: dairy (I drink a lot of organic milk), eggs (I do get free-range, cage-free, organic eggs, but still – these are high on the suspect list), white potatoes, rice, bananas.

At first, I was just going to cut *those* foods out, but I ended up finding this diet that seemed like a pretty good plan.  And actually, this diet allows some other meats, but they were things that didn’t interest me, such as quail, rabbit, and other obscure animals. Uh, gross. I’ll stick with the fish for now. :)

Lunch, 2:30 pm -
salad – spinach, spring mix, carrots, cucumbers, sea salt
pineapples
plantain chips

———————————————–

So, around 4:00, my headache got much worse and I was so nauseous that I wished I would vomit. And if any of you know me at all, you know how much I hate to vomit. I used to say I’d rather give birth than vomit, but then I gave birth to Paige, and uh, vomiting is better than that was. Whew. I was just wishing to get it all out of my system!

Anyway, after much rest and some TV on DVD, I’m feeling human again. I didn’t eat much the rest of the day – some fruit, some grape juice, and finally – some natural peanut butter. According to the diet, I can have almond butter or sunflower butter, but I don’t like either of those, and I was NOT up for cooking fish tonight, so I just had some all natural peanut butter for some protein. I don’t think peanuts bother me, but I won’t be eating much of it just in case.

Oh, and I felt so sick because of last night’s lamb! I’m absolutely positive that’s what it was. I was already convinced of it, then Andy went to eat the lamb leftovers (since there was no way I was touching it), and halfway through it, he goes “I think this is really bad meat.” Hmmm. No more lamb for a while.

Elimination diet – Day 2

June 17, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, sleep problems by Petra | 5 comments

June 17, 2010

I got a bit more sleep last night, finally. I slept from 12 to 5 with NO interruptions!!! It’s been a *while* since I slept 5 hours straight without waking up once!!! Then I was up with Paige for a while, and then she went back to sleep. I still have lots to catch up on, so I took a nap for a couple of hours. Finally up around 10:30 or so.

Why wasn’t I asleep before midnight, you ask? (Because Paige did go to sleep around 9:30). Well, because we weren’t home from swim lessons until 8:30, and then I remembered I needed to return the redbox movies before 9. And then I had to give Jacob his bath, since he had been swimming in the heavily chlorinated kiddie pool during Darby’s swim lessons, and then I needed to eat a snack and update my blog and check facebook (of course) ;) , and by the time I spent a few minutes with my husband and took a shower and was able to relax enough to fall asleep? It was midnight.

Breakfast, 11:45 am -
(same as yesterday)
wild halibut with garlic and sea salt, used a little too much olive oil this time
blueberries

Just assume I’m drinking lemon water or plain water all day long.

Lunch, 2:00 pm -
salad again – spinach, ‘spring mix’ (romaine, chard, etc.), carrots, green peppers [note to self: buy some cucumbers and zucchini today!]

I need to go take a shower after laying in the sun right before lunch, but will eat a 2nd lunch when I get out – because yeah, a salad is *not* filling.

Oh yeah – today’s symptoms, 2:05 pm -
Pain in the neck, shoulders, and back (Andy’s been working a *lot* lately, so I haven’t gotten as many massages – that combined with not too much sleep lately has kicked up the pain more than usual in the past couple of weeks)
Not as much joint pain today – moving around a little easier and with less pain (woo hoo)
Mild headache that’s been coming and going – possible caffeine withdrawals
Tired, but I have more energy today than yesterday – functioning is a bit easier
Stomach – some gas (yay?), but not really any pains, so that’s good

Snack, 4:00 pm – (didn’t have time for 2nd lunch)
plaintain chips
blueberries

6:15 pm -
My headache is getting worse. Anytime I’ve had a caffeine headache in the past, it has taken about three days for it to go away completely. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long this time. I have had more energy today than I’ve had in a while, which is nice. I still have a ways to go for the energy levels I desire, but I did get more done today than I usually do. So yay for that. Pretty sure I should have put my lamb in the oven sooner because I’m really hungry. Should be ready in about 20 minutes though. I hope it tastes good. lol

Dinner, 6:45 pm -
Rack of lamb seasoned with rosemary and some other stuff I can’t remember (I got some pre-seasoned lamb from Trader Joe’s – it was pretty good, but I’ll season it myself next time)
steamed broccoli
pineapple leftover from the one I cut yesterday

Snack, 10:45 pm -
strawberries & blueberries

I finally took a painkiller – headache got worse. I’m hoping it’s gone in the morning. I did make it to the store and bought some more fruits and veggies.

One of Paige’s molars came through and she went to bed happily tonight. Here’s hoping she sleeps even better than last night! :)

Elimination diet – Day 1

June 16, 2010 in Elimination Diet, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

June 16, 2010 (I’ll be posting these daily as I go through this process and updating them as I go through the day)

Paige had me up half the night. When Andy got up for work (and I was up messing with Paige), I had gotten about an hour of sleep total. But then she slept from about 5:30 until around 10:30, so we made up for a little bit of the night. So, since I got up late, and I actually had to defrost and cook my breakfast (—), I didn’t eat breakfast until 11:30.

Breakfast, 11:30 am -
a cup or so of blueberries
wild halibut cooked in olive oil, fresh garlic, and sea salt
lemon water
clove of garlic chopped up in a spoon of local honey (for the antibiotic properties)

Symptoms, 12:15 pm -
Stomach is killing me – gas, indigestion, bloated.
Foggy brain.
Exhausted, but not sleepy.
Kind of nauseous.
Neck, shoulder, back pain – as always.

In hindsight, “going out with a bang” yesterday probably wasn’t wise, but whatever. I felt ill anyway, so I figured what the heck – may as well let my taste buds have some enjoyment.

Lunch, 1:30 pm -
salad – spinach leaves, “spring mix” which includes romaine, chard and other leafy greens, yellow onion, green pepper, carrots, sea salt
red grapes
lemon water

Snack, 3 or 4-ish pm -
raw sunflower seeds (yuck – I should have bought the roasted/salted ones!)
plaintain chips

I’m starving and starting to get a headache from not having my morning green tea (a.k.a. caffeine).

Dinner, 7:00 pm -
wild yellowfin tuna, cooked in sesame oil with fresh garlic and sea salt (it’s kind of chewy?)
green beans
fresh cut pineapple
more lemon water (been drinking it all day)

The citrus fruits I’m avoiding are in the orange and grapefruit families, also avoiding apples and bananas.

Have I mentioned that I don’t really like seafood? I bought like six different types of fish to try though. I’ve had halibut before, since when I *do* eat fish, I normally opt for a white flaky fish. However, the tuna I had tonight was less fishy than the halibut I had this morning. I bought all my fish (and my lamb and some of my fruits and veggies) from Trader Joe’s.  Oh, I always get my sea salt, olive oil, and sesame oil there as well. Just fyi. the next piece of tuna I eat needs to be cooked a different way, I think.

Final update of the day, 10:00 pm -

I just ate a snack of more blueberries and pineapples, and I sprinkled some shredded coconut on them. It was delicious. And yes, the coconut was natural – I use Bob’s Red Mill coconut.

I realize my diet today was probably a bit too fruit heavy – need to eat more veggies tomorrow. It’s because I thought I had gotten more veggies than I did, but when I went to look for things like cucumbers and zucchini today – alas, there was none. And now I remember it was because those were looking kind of wilty at the first store, and then I forgot to look at the second store. I’ll pick some up tomorrow maybe.

At the end of the first day, I don’t feel worse, but I don’t necessarily feel better.

Aaaaand as I type, my tongue is starting to feel weird? It’s indescribable, but I think I’ll hold off on the coconut for a while!!! It’s like my tongue got scraped and maybe burned? Weird.

Okay – heading to take a shower and hit the hay. Here’s hoping Paige sleeps tonight! Because yeah – lack of sleep most likely accounts for about 60% of my current issues! The last time I had a “good week” with more energy than usual and less brain fogs, was the last time Paige slept through the night for a week in a row. I really think if I can figure out whatever the last foods are that are bothering me, *and* get sleep every night, that my health and energy levels will significantly improve. :)

Process of elimination – Part I

June 15, 2010 in Celiac, Elimination Diet, Fibromyalgia, Health, Natural remedies, sleep problems by Petra | 10 comments

As most of my readers probably know, I have food sensitivities or intolerances, whatever you want to call them (not allergies – allergies are different). I know I cannot have gluten, due to the celiac (see my ‘health’ page for more info on that). I have figured out that chemical-laden foods bother me, and I know that corn and corn products make me ill. However, after ridding myself of those things, I continue to have symptoms. So, since I cannot afford to get an ALCAT test done, I am going to do an elimination diet, the particular one of which I have lost the link so I’ll link you up later when I feel like looking for it. 

Basically, I can only eat certain foods for a while (probably between 2 weeks and a month, depending on how long it takes for my symptoms to disappear), then I’ll be able to add in one food at a time to see if it bothers me. Since intolerances, unlike most allergies, sometimes take a little while to show symptoms, I’ll be introducing each new food twice a day for about four days before I can move on to the next new food. I’ll keep a chart, and if it bothers me right away, I obviously need to never eat it, if it bothers me the 2nd day, then I can probably have it once every four days, and if it bothers me the 3rd or 4th day, then I can probably have it once every other day. It’s not as complicated as it sounds. lol. I’m actually excited to figure it all out. I’m going to keep a record of it all on the blog for those who are interested. If you aren’t, then you can just skip these posts. ;)

The symptoms I’ve been experiencing lately are these:

  • more frequent headaches. They had slowed down a LOT after getting rid of the gluten. However, a lot of people with celiac have other food intolerances as well. Getting the gluten out of my system was wonderful, but then my body became more sensitive to the ‘smaller’ (for lack of a better word) things that were bothering me. I got rid of the chemicals next, then the corn. Now that those are out of my system, whatever else is bothering me is amplified. So the headaches are back. Not like they were a couple of years ago, but enough to where  I’m ready to do something about them.
  • more brain fogs. These are usually due to the fibromyalgia, but fibromyalgia can be controlled by diet, and I notice that the fogs get worse when I have something in my diet that does not belong. If you’ve never had a brain fog, trust me, you don’t want one! Your head feels full of pressure and is sometimes accompanied by dizziness, you can’t concentrate on anything, you become irritable, it’s hard to focus or even get out complete sentences, it takes much effort to try to remember simple things, etc. Not fun.
  • my fibromyalgia pain and also my myofascial pain are worse than ever. I’ve had to take pain killers much more often lately, and I wait until it’s really bad before I start popping pills since me and chemicals don’t really get along.
  • arthritis-type pain, which accompanies the above – it’s not actually arthritis, it’s from the fibromyalgia, but it’s been super bad lately.
  • I’m tired all the time, and seriously lacking in energy.
  • I’m irritable (and it’s not just me being moody – I’m only irritable when my health is uncontrollably causing it).
  • My senses have all been heightened lately. Noises are louder, smells are stronger, the sun is brighter, etc.
  • I’m sure any digestion/stomach issues I’ll ever have now or in the future will never compare to what they were before I gave up gluten (!), but my stomach has been bothering me more lately in the form of (warning: tmi ahead) gas and constipation.  Woo hoo!
  • Trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, trouble waking up once I finally do get into a deep sleep. This has always been an issue for me – my entire life, but it’s been worse again lately.

That’s all I can think of at the moment, and many of the things I mentioned are bothering me right now. Some of my issues I know are due to a lack of sleep, but I’m sure that there are foods that are still bothering me. I’m crossing my fingers it’s *not* dairy. I think that’ll be really hard to give up – as hard as giving up gluten.

Starting June 16th, I will only be eating the following foods that I stocked up on yesterday and today:

  • lamb
  • wild fish, not farm-raised (I bought several types)
  • a myriad of vegetables, but no white potatoes, tomatoes, and a couple others that I’ll have to consult my list again to see
  • some fruits, but no citrus fruits, and no bananas
  • sea salt
  • extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil
  • sunflower seeds
  • a few spices

A couple of nuts are allowed on the diet, like almonds and, I think, pecans, but just the thought of consuming those makes me want to hurl, so yeah – I wont’ be eating them. Yuck. I SO wish I loved almonds, but alas, I do not.

I have never eaten lamb before, so I just bought one package of it, which is supposed to be about 4 servings. I’ll let you know how I like that.

Basically, my plan is to eat for breakfast – fruit, some fish, and my daily garlic, for lunch – a salad and a fruit smoothie (not my old recipe, which included yogurt and milk, but an all-fruit recipe) and probably a handful of sunflower seeds, then for dinner – fish or lamb with lots of veggies. I’ll snack on veggies, fruit, and seeds. I’m planning on feeling very hungry, especially at first! lol. Today, I ate lots of things I love and will miss, like gluten-free pancakes, Trader Joe’s bacon, Kettle barbecue chips, White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, and an extra glass of green tea. I figured I’d go out with a bang. ;) I think my morning green tea will be difficult, but the stuff I read about the diet gave a convincing argument that I needed to eliminate all that sort of stuff and start from scratch for this to really work. I don’t think green tea bothers me, so I’m sure I’ll be adding it back in as I believe the health benefits of green tea far outweigh anything negative from the caffeine.

Wish me luck, or rather, pray for me. I’ll need it! :)

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