Follow-Up Appointment #2 with Dr. D August 2012

Last year I started chiropractic care to "fix" a slight curvature of my spine (scoliosis), lack of c-curve in my neck (as in NONE), and my head being too far forward. A week ago I went over my before and after x-rays with my chiropractor who recommended another year or weekly adjustments and doing exercises at home. I wasn't sure what to do and decided to discuss it with Dr. D and since we were talking anyhow (and they charge for a minimum of 15 minutes) I asked a few other questions.

I know that some doctors think chiropractic care is too harsh but Dr. D said she is in favor of it, "if the chiropractor is good". I got the impression she was saying that my situation really hasn't changed all that much (based on before and after x-rays) considering I was in treatment for a year. She said that it might be a good idea to get a second opinion. I have to agree, I was a little disappointed myself that things hadn't changed more.

Last week, during the last 5 minutes of a coffee enema, I started having some pain in my pelvic area. It was all over -  intestines, ovaries, etc. After about 20 minutes it went away and it wasn't very bad either. However, at 1:30 that night I woke up and the pain was back and it was horrible. I walked downstairs very slowly because every step hurt and took a Percocet. Waited about 45 minutes then went back to bed still in pain. The next morning it was better but it took a full 3 days for it to go away completely. I asked her if I could have damaged something and she said she did not think so. Her take on it is that I may have disrupted some scar tissue and/or adhesions and that would be a good thing.

One thought I had had with the pain was that I might be retracing the pain from my hysterectomy. I know that during the healing process you can sometimes experience pain from old illnesses. I decided to ask her about the theory that we retrace all old illnesses and that we do so in reverse order they occurred. I always thought that theory was kind of hokey and I am glad she she seems to think this does not happen. She said what does happen is that we break through and work through old layers of fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc. but that we try to stay ahead of that by taking a lot of binders. Sometimes we may not be taking enough binders and as we break through a layer we might experience the symptoms of that virus or bacteria for example, but she does not believe the retrace every illness and in reverse order they occurred.

During a previous conversation she had said that she has no problem with me eating nuts and seeds, except peanuts and cashews. This time I asked her if the reason for that is that those are not really nuts. She said yes and also because they are high in fungi. I asked if fermented cashews would be ok and she said it should be but to bring some with me and she would test me for it.

I mentioned that I seem to be getting dry mouth from Ignatia 30C (the homeopathic remedy she recommended for grief) and she said that is an odd reaction. Her recommendation was to dissolve it in water and sip it slowly. I like that idea because those little pellets taste really sweet to me.

Last but not least I asked if there is any kind of gum that is ok to chew. I am still dealing with bad breath and I hate, hate, hate it. When I am around people, like at church, I feel so self-conscious that I end up chewing sugar-free gum (with aspartame). She said not to do that but that I can have any gum sweetened with Xylitol like Spry for example. Incidentally that is the brand I was going to ask her about. She said that they actually encourage people to chew gum with Xylitol because Xylitol rebalances flora in the mouth and also helps to prevent cavities.

Chimichurri with Kombucha

what you need:

• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 1/2 cups flat leaf parsley leaves
• 1/2 onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup Kombucha (I used homemade)
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• black pepper to taste

what you do:

Chop cilantro and parsley in mini food processor and set aside. Chop onion in mini food processor. Add all remaining ingredients and process until well blended.

Serve as a dip or topping or use as a marinade. I dipped mushrooms and pork rinds in this chimichurri and loved it.

Guten Appetit!

This post is shared on Monday Mania, Monday Link Up, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Keep It Real Thursday, GAPS Friendly Friday, and Freaky Friday. 

Fire Roasted Salsa Verde

 what you need:

• 1 3/4 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, washed
• 4 jalapeno peppers (or serrrano or a mix of both)
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 medium shallots
• 2 green onions, chopped, tops included
• 1/4 cup Kombucha (optional)
• 1 large or 2 small limes 
• 1 teaspoon salt

what you do:

Line baking/cookie sheet with aluminum foil and place tomatillos, unpeeled garlic, and peppers on foil. 

Red Wine Cake

I have been trying to turn "normal" recipes into Paleo and/or GAPS friendly recipes. Red Wine cake is a typical German cake that my mom used to make all the time and I did as well when I was still eating grains. Here is my Paleo/GAPSish version

what you need:

• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts
• 1.5 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder or baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

what you do:

Mix all ingredients in an Omniblend or other high  powered blender or with an electric mixer. Grease a loaf pan, pour batter in, and bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.

It didn't taste like the "real" red wine cake I used to make, but it had a nice flavor. A little frosting of some sort would make it even better.

Guten Appetit!

This post is shared on Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, and GAPS Friendly Fridays.

Fermented Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing

what you need:

• 1 medium vidalia onion (mine weighed 9.25 ounces peeled)
• 3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup kombucha
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 20 grinds black peppercorns
• 2 gloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon gelatin (I used Great Lakes)

what you do:

Place all ingredients in blender. I have an Omniblend but any blender will do. Blend until all ingredients are liquified and well blended. Let sit at room temperature for 5 to 6 hours then place in refrigerator. Sweet goodness without using honey or any kind of sweetener. You could use apple cider vinegar in place of Kombucha but you would need to move it to the fridge right away and it would not be fermented.

Use on salads or as a dip.

Guten Appetit!

This post is shared on Monday Mania, Make Your Own Mondays, Fat Tuesday, Whole Foods Wednesday, and GAPS Friendly Friday.

Tomatillo-Parsley Salad

I tried tomatillos for the first time a few months ago - I know, shocking - and fell in love them. I bought a few too many the other day and decided to make a salad.

what you need:

• 4 to 5 tomatillos (about 14 ounces by weight)
• 3 sprigs of parsley 
• 1 green onion, top included
• 1/2 small to medium onion
• 1 1/2 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon homemade Kombucha (or vinegar works, too)
• 10 to 15 grinds black peppercorns
• 3/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Coconut Aminos

what you do:

Cut tomatillos into bite sized chunks and place in a bowl. 

Chop parsley, onion, and green onion in a mini-chopper.

Add all remaining ingredients to tomatillos.

Mix everything really well and serve immediately. If you used Kombucha instead of vinegar you can let it sit at room temp for a few hours to get a little healthy fermentation going.

I ate this salad with left over Slow Cooker Chicken Gizzard and thought it was a good combination.

Guten Appetit!


This post is shared at Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, and Freaky Friday.

April 2012 Update

It's been almost two weeks since I got back from Seattle and I have seen some good changes. Dr. D added Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula to my treatment plan since I still had some and she says they are good probiotics. For a long time I could not tolerate any CP at all but now I am up to 1/4 of the adult dose a day, in addition to various ferments including Kombucha, plus Pro Calm, Acidophilus, and Supernatant. Just a few months ago I could barely tolerate a drop of Sauerkraut brine so that's a definite improvement.

Last week I had several days where I felt joy. There was no dark, gloomy feeling and I was able to just enjoy the day, be happy, and have fun, despite all the other nasty symptoms, including the daily, and very uncomfortable abdominal distention. For the longest time I felt that the negativity was out of my control and having those days where I didn't have to try or work very hard to think positive was proof that I am right.

On the days I felt more joy I also had more energy. I even did a mini-workout on a few days in addition to cleaning the house. That is a HUGE improvement for me and I am so looking forward to when I can work out on a regular basis again.

A few days before I went to Seattle I had started taking Ivermectin and Pyrentel Pamaote. On those two anti-parasitics I felt that I was even hungrier than before and I was craving sweets again. Luckily I am done with those and have been taking Albenza for three days now. The second day on Albenza I started getting a headache, yesterday it was worse than the day before and I also started feeling like I was getting a sore throat and an earache. This morning the headache is improved, but the throat pain and earache, mostly on the left side, are still there. I also have a runny nose and my teeth are sensitive to hot and cold only on the left side.

Shortly before ending my fast I started getting chest pain on the left side and my arms hurt sort of like they did after the blood donation last year. The pain wasn't bad but I was a bit concerned thinking it might be an issue with my heart. I had called CMC and since Dr. D was out I ended up talking to Dr. Z. She ordered a CMP and CBC and also asked me to get a stress EKG. I got the blood tests the next day and my electrolytes were fine. I still haven't gotten the stress EKG, but once I started eating, the chest pain improved and some days it even went away.

Monday and Tuesday this week I didn't get to eat all day and by mid-day the chest pain was back and worse than before. When I finally got to eat something in the evening the pain would go away after one or two hours. Dr. D thinks it's Babesia and not my heart itself (but she still wants me to get the stress EKG just to make sure) and said that it's very common with people who have Babs. The fact that it improved when I broke the fast and ate something those two nights also makes me think it's Babs/die off but like Dr. D I want to make sure that my heart is ok. I went to see a cardiologist on Monday and they had initially told me that they could probably do the stress EKG the next day, but they had to do a pre-cert with my insurance company first. So they had scheduled me for today but I never did hear back regarding my insurance coverage so I re-scheduled the stress EKG for 05.09.2012 since I am heading to Orlando tomorrow.

DH is at a conference in Orlando (since last Sunday) and we are meeting at the airport tomorrow. We are taking a shuttle down to Cocoa Beach and Sunday we are getting on a 7-Night Western Caribbean Cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I am looking forward to it but I am also hoping the die off from Albenza and all the other stuff I am taking will subside a bit before I leave tomorrow or at least before we leave Sunday.

Our friend L is staying with the dogs while we are gone which I much prefer over them going to a kennel. Unfortunately Mojo is not doing so well this week. What seemed like just constipation turned out to be an infected and swollen anal gland. I took him to the vet Monday and Dr. McCormick drained it and put him on antibiotics. It was awful....poor baby was in so much pain and it broke my heart to see him hurting so much. Dr. McCormick said infected anal glands respond really well to abx treatment and that he should be back to normal by the time I go on vacation. Well, he's not back to normal. Right after the vet appointment he was finally able to move his bowels several times, and since then he has been back to having a hard time. I have been giving him the antibiotics, I increased his NuVet Pet tablets to strengthen his immune system, and yesterday I did several warm compresses, but just like before he tries very hard to have a bowel movement but nothing happens. I called the vet yesterday and they suggested that I bring him back in today. I was really hoping he didn't have to go back to the vet again and I am praying that he doesn't have to go through the same thing as he did last Monday. I am also worried about going on vacation tomorrow with him not feeling well. Praying that today will be a pain-free vet visit for Mojo and that he will be feeling great by the time I leave tomorrow.

GAPS Re-Intro: Day 3

Woke up with the usual symptoms (headache, right eye lid swollen, tired, not really cognitive, heart racing, etc.) but overall not too bad. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?!

Anyway, sometime after lunch I started to get a headache and felt really tired and out of it. I thought the Nystatin increase yesterday (from 1/16 tsp to 1/8 tsp) must have done it but around 2:30 PM I realized I hadn't taken my mid-day dose of 7.5 mg hydrocortisone. Since it was a bit late already I took 5 mg then and within half an hour the headache was almost gone. That's good but the pain in my right wrist and knuckles continues and it flared up in my left wrist as well until I took the HC around 2:30 PM.

I went to the lab this morning to get blood drawn. Can't wait to see what the RA factor and ANA indicate. If the pain in my wrist is RA then the RA factor should be elevated - at least you would think it would be. What is odd though is that the pain started sometime after the blood donation and low blood volume. I don't understand it and Dr. Cowan didn't have a possible explanation either.

I also had a free 15-minute consultation with Chris Kresser yesterday. I had read some of the articles on his blog and like them. In addition, at least one couple from the GAPS Yahoo group is consulting with him. After listening to my chief complaints he feels I have parasites. Since I have done several herbal parasite cleanses and my diet is extremely strict and limited, he suggested I take medication for them and then rebuild gut flora once the parasites are gone. He said since he can't prescribe medication he can't really help me right now but would be happy to consult with me after I am done with the meds (should I decide to take them). Incidentally I had just ordered another stool test kit from Parasitology Center Inc. the day before. Chris likes Metametrix for parasite testing and that's who I did the last stool test with. However, I was told that this place is even better. Chris also felt that the difficulty I am having taking probees and ferments could be an indication of parasitic infection since parasite can feed off of them.

I really didn't want to do more tests (or spend more money on tests), but I am desperate to feel better. Right now I am not living. I am merely making it through the day as best as possible and there is no joy in that. I am praying that Dr. Amin from the Parasitology Center Inc. will find something IF there is something to be found which needs to be addressed. As much as I hate taking medication, I probably will give it a try considering that everything else I have tried has not worked.

GAPS Re-Intro: Day 2

I took a tiny amount of Nystatin yesterday as well as 1 drop of fermented carrot brine. I can't say I feel great today but no increased headache or other die off symptoms either. That's good...I am more hopeful.

It's only been one day and I am already tired of boiled meat. It just does not taste good to me. Yesterday I had boiled salmon and boiled chicken thighs. I admit though that I sauteed the skin of both in a cast iron skillet and some tallow. There is no way I can eat boiled fish or chicken skin and I didn't feel like pureeing it into my broth. Today I am having boiled chicken breast (it's skinless) and a ton of tallow. I will try a little bit more Nystatin but will keep the fermented carrot brine at 1 drop. It seems crazy that such a small amount could potentially cause die off.

The pain in my right wrist, knuckles, and fingers continues. I am not sure if I hurt my wrist somehow without noticing and the pain is radiating to my hand or if this is arthritic type pain. I hope it's not the latter. Dr. Cowan ordered some blood tests and among them he is checking for rheumatoid arthritis and also for mycoplasma pneumoniae. I have had the latter in the past and he wants to see if there's a lingering infection.

GAPS Re-Intro: Day 1

I was going to start over once again with GAPS Intro today. Unfortunately my day started crappy like so many days. I woke up with a headache and backache, tired, tachycardia (up to 137), fluid retention, and I had abdominal distention from the start before eating or drinking anything. Drinking coffee made it worse - this could be "PMS" or rather hormonal. It's too hard to tell these days but I hate it.

In my last email to Dr. Cowan I asked him to address the abdominal distention. His reply was that it's probably just "bad gut ecology but we can try a course of Nystatin". So this is about the 4th or 5th person who is indicating that I have fungal overgrowth. Maybe God is trying to tell me something!!!

I told Dr. C that Nystatin gives me the same symptoms as I get from probees and ferments - headache, backache, fatigue, anger, constipation, etc. I assumed those were die off but during our last phone consult he indicated that I probably just don't tolerate those strains of bacteria. That doesn't really make sense to me especially since I am getting the same symptoms from coconut oil, palm oil, GSE, oil of oregano, Nystatin, and other anti-fungals and anti-bacterials. I still think it's wicked die off what I didn't understand is why it just won't stop, then I started reading Dr. Myhill's free E-book on CFS. According to her research CFS is caused by mitochondrial failure. Mitochondria supply energy to all the cells in our body and if mitochondria fail all organs are affected and everything slows down. It can even lead to POTS which is something I have been dealing with as well. Reading her book was like reading about myself. I finally had an explanation for all the weird symptoms I seem to be having, including the fact that I am SO toxic despite a clean diet and clean lifestyle. Since all organs are affected in mitochondrial failure that means your skin is affected. In the book it states if micro-circulation to the skin is shut down, the body cannot detox. It also explains heat intolerance, something else I have been dealing with, because the skin is responsible for controlling the temperature of the body. When the blood supply to the skin is shut off, the body cannot loose heat through the skin and the core body temperature rises.

Dr. Myhill recommends a Stone Age Diet, 9 hours of sleep every night, plenty of rest and pacing oneself, and a supplement regimen for people with CFS/mitochondrial failure. Some of the supplements I already take, some I can't get here (she is in the UK), and some key supplements (d-ribose, l-carnatine, CoQ10, and niacin) I ordered and they should get here Friday. I am hopeful yet I am afraid to be hopeful.

Back to GAPS Intro - so I was going to start over today but I am wondering what the point is. I mean, I am still on Stage 2 minus egg whites/gee/butter. Of course as usual, the perfectionist in me wants to do it right, go through the stages, add one thing at a time, etc. I am not sure what to do and I am also torn about adding ferments back in - maybe one drop at a time - and now also adding Nystatin. Dr. C said to start with a pinch and work my way up. I was thinking about using the baby scoop from my Custom Probiotics. That's about 1/16 of a teaspoon or less which is a small dose.

I am trying to find joy, be happy, and enjoy life but it's not easy right now. I feel overwhelmed with all these symptoms and the fact that it seems impossible to find a good doctor - one that will truly listen, take his/her time, not just blow me off because I take Cytomel for hypothyroidism, or look at me like I am insane when I mention some of my symptoms. 

Slowly Figuring Things Out

I skipped the SR potassium yesterday and it seems my heart rate is not quite as high this morning. I find that odd since potassium is supposed to help with tachycardia, but there it is. Diane from the adrenal/thyroid Yahoo group recommended staying off of it for one week, taking in at least 2 tsp of sea salt a day, then adding it back in and retesting after 3 weeks.

My trip to Austin is not happening this week. I couldn't find a free flight with decent dates. I could have left Wednesday and come back Sunday, but we are supposed to have wicked thunderstorms this Wednesday and I can't leave Mojo all day. This is so crazy. We really need to figure something out regarding Mojo's fear of thunderstorms. I cannot re-arrange my entire day because of him every time there's a thunderstorm.

Anyway, looks like I am re-starting intro TODAY. I think I am just not going to worry too much about boiling meat for every meal and will focus on getting some of the ferments in. Incidentally there are messages going around on the GAPS Yahoo group regarding using fermented foods only and no commercial probees. I guess it's worth a try. I have Beet Kvass, fermented carrot ginger brine, and sauerkraut brine in little dropper bottles so I will start with one drop a day. It seems ridiculous to start with such a small amount but hey - whatever it takes. I did eat 3 medium sized water kefir grains yesterday and I have a headache and backache this morning, feel worn out, swollen eye lids, etc. - all the usual die off symptoms. A friend from GAPS had an interesting theory about me feeling worse. She said the following, referring to the blood donation:

"I think something happened in your system- maybe by concentrating your blood and getting rid of extra iron storage- it got some critters out of hiding since critters love love feasting on iron and now they are on the surface causing you misery and you are flaring.  I think the way we define flare for every individual body is withing a given context to that specific body.  Knowing you after all this time- this is one of the ways you flare."

See, I think this makes sense and is very possible but I know if I say something like this to Dr. Cowan he will think I am nuts. I never did have my appointment with him yesterday. Apparently he was out sick so it was rescheduled for tomorrow.  

I did get my blood test results from last week yesterday. My iron is slightly higher but ferritin has dropped from 75 to 44, RBC, hematocrit, and hemoglobin are back to normal but at the low and of the range, sodium and potassium are both still low normal. I noticed that my WBC was 5.2 the day I went to the ER and now it's back to 3.8 which is too low. I do wonder why my WBC fluctuates so much.

GAPS Intro: Day 3

I took no probees or ferments at all yesterday yet I still had a slight headache and backache when I woke up. Other symptoms - right eye lids swollen, tired, fatigued, not really cognitive until the hydrocortisone kicks in, and my heart rate was still high. Actually, it went all the way up to 152 as I was standing in the kitchen waiting on my coffee. I am thinking it's safe to say that it's not from die off and I need to reduce Cytomel even more (I went from 87.5 mcg Cytomel back in January to now 37.5 mcg Cytomel and 1 Grain Naturethroid).

Last Sunday when I woke up my heart rate was hovering around 89 which was the lowest it has been in a long time. It felt so good. No dizziness when standing or feeling like I need to sit down. I had reduced from 50 mcg Cytomel to 37.5 mcg the day before. That day I went back up and since then it's been pretty high again. Going back down to 37.5 mcg has not done the trick so maybe the T3 started pooling in my blood. I really don't know - it's all speculation. I am thinking about just taking the 1 Grain of Naturethroid today and no Cytomel at all to let the T3 clear, then going back to 37.5 mcg Cytomel with Naturethroid tomorrow.

I am crazy hungry, too, and I don't know if that's from die off or too much T3. In addition, I am feeling very warm, my temperature went up to 99.3 after eating lunch yesterday, I sweat at night, and I am waking at lot during the night. All that seems like too much T3.

Food today is Mahi Mahi boiled in water. I will drink the resulting broth and will add some pork gelatin since there are no bones in the fish and I normally have bone broth. I will add pork fat to the fish. I think I will go back to taking my probees today (L. reuteri, Symbioflor2, Custom Probiotics 11-Strain Formula) and skipping the fermented veggie juice. I know the latter is very important but the die off yesterday was brutal. If that works out ok then I may go back to adding the fermented veggie juice but a smaller amount - maybe 1/8 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp.

Day 1 (for the 2,357th time)

Fell off the wagon again yesterday and paying for it today. This time it was the nut butter bars I made for Bob. I figured since they have Splenda in them I would be able to stay away from them, knowing what Splenda does to me. Nope! Ended up c/sing after lunch and after dinner then, as usual, totally regretting it. I didn't feel too bad when I woke up today but around 10 AM the oh so familiar headache, upper backache, and lower backache set in. Haven't gone away yet!

So far today has been good as far as eating is concerned. I had lamb and shrimp for lunch and will have the same for dinner. Our friend and petsitter L. is coming over for dinner tonight. We are grilling jalapeno stuffed shrimp wrapped in bacon, ribeye steaks, and some lamb steaks for me.  L. is bringing a tossed salad and I am making haricot vertes sauteed in butter with spices I brought from Germany. The salad and haricot vertes are for L. and Bob. I am still doing ZC with fermented veggie juice.

Speaking of fermented veggies, I just started another batch of Sauerkraut. I have one batch that has been in the fridge for about two weeks now. In another 4 or 5 days I should be done with the juice from my fermented carrots and by that time the SK in the fridge should be perfect. I am planning on always having a batch in the fridge ready to go. It's just better if you put it in the fridge for 2 to 4 weeks after you are done fermenting it at room temperature.