::cleaning house::

So much has happened since I last blogged - it always does. I wish I could keep up with writing daily or every 2 to 3 days.

I finally got rid of the daily headache, backache, and calf pain after wearing custom made orthotics. The only time I get a headache and backache now is if I go off diet - that would be sugar, alcohol, too much fruit, grains, etc. It's a pain in the ass and I am not happy about it but I can't change it overnight either. I learned about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) which is what I am trying next after a 7 (or 10) day cleanse which I am starting today. Immediately after the cleanse I will go on the SCD which starts with chicken broth for 3 to 5 days. I have a multitude of symptoms right now, probably too many to list, but the most bothersome are weight gain and daily, non-stop abdominal distention for 45 days now. On 11/17/2008 I had a flat stomach and on 11/18/2008 I woke up with a pregnant looking stomach and it has not gone away since then. Normally this happends during "PMS" and goes away after a few days but it has never lasted this long. My doctor suggested an intestinal/liver cleanse. Other people who have similar problems have suggested bacterial overgrowth (which was already confirmed by a stool test back in April and apparently it has gotten worse). So in doing research and also signing up at a gluten-free forum I found the SCD. In a nutshell, it cuts out all disaccharides and polysaccharides which are grains and any sugars except honey.

I am hopeful that THIS will finally get me back to where I need to be. There are many people on the SCD who have had the same problems as I have. Most notably multiple food allergies which despite food rotation do not go away. Much like me they get rid of one allergy by avoiding the offending food for several months but by that time they have become intolerant to another food that they have been eating despite rotating that food every 4 days. The SCD supposedly starves out bad bacteria while still nourishing the body. If this does not help I am not sure what I am going to do. I can't even think about that possibility because as it is I am struggling through each day.