Wow.
Exactly 1 year ago today I was starting the GAPS diet. I was a little bit overwhelmed with all the equipment needed, the various stages, and what I could and could not
eat. Like all diets it got much, much
easier with practice and today I hardly even think about what I am going to eat because it has become very second nature. I would say my diet is mostly vegetable focused
followed by meat/eggs, fat, fruit, and dairy.
It will be really interesting to see my cholesterol numbers when I get
my physical in June. If you remember,
last June my total cholesterol numbers were 270, and the doctors suggested that
I might need to go on medication. Um… right, no thanks.
So can I
say that I have seen significant changes in my ability to eat ‘trouble foods’
(apples, peaches, pears, carrots, etc.)… No, not really. Regardless of this, I don’t see the need to
go off the diet at this point. It is
frustrating though because I want to see changes, but I also have to remind
myself that it took my digestive system many, many years to start to have
problems is so it will take a long time – probably years – to repair. So I just
need to be patient. Plus, if I were to
go off the GAPS diet the only change would be that I would eat gluten free
grains again, like rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, etc. Maybe I would
occasionally have some sweet potatoes or some processed GF bread every once and
a while. Maybe I would eat peanut butter
chocolate chip LaraBars again. Maybe not. I’ve had some lucid dreams where I have gone
into the corner store and bought a jar of nutella, wheat thins and blueberry
scones. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to eat the blueberry scones (my
favorite), but I did have some large spoonfuls of nutella and oddly enough, it
wasn’t that good. I’ve also enjoyed a
large bowl of pasta in my lucid dream before forgetting it is a dream and freaking out that I’ve just eaten gluten!
I’m not asking to eat the standard American diet again, but I am asking to be able
to tolerate an apple and maybe some sprouted bread? Is that asking too much?
Again, patience.
Over the past few months I have been thinking about what else I can do to try and move forward with the
healing. For example, I explored the idea of a coconut oil cleanse (basically a
fast where you just eat coconut oil and drink water for a few days). My attempt at this lasted 24 hours… yeah, I
know, pretty pitiful, but surprisingly, it’s mentally hard not to eat – for me at
least. I also tried a parasite cleanse through Hulda Clark (herb based) at the end
of March. On day 12, about 15 minutes after taking my dose of green black walnut
tincture, I developed pain/soreness just to the right of my belly button that
lasted for 6 days and then moved into my right upper back, with pain fairly constant for 2-3 weeks. Coincidental…I didn’t
think so and that was the last of the herbs for me. I was so freaked out I even
went to the doctor thinking I screwed up my organs! I had white blood cells in
my pee, but no fever or other pain. I even got an ultrasound to look for kidney
stones. There were none (of course). So
yes, another unresolved and bizarre issue that I am not really sure what to do
about. I've been eating lots of food that is suppose to be good for your kidneys (asparagus, cranberry juice, drinking detox tea, etc.) I’ve also been reading a book called Energy Medicine by Donna Eden. The idea is that you can help your body heal
itself by working with its electromagnetic and energy fields. I know....you are thinking I’ve lost it, but
hey, I’m willing to try anything, especially if it doesn’t involve self
medicating myself again….granted, if I am being honest, I’m sure I will do that
again at some point too. I’ve also been doing a QiGong video, which is kind of
a cross between really gentle yoga and meditation and since I started doing
those two things, my pain has gotten a lot better. Coincidental? Maybe. Also, oddly
enough, the two times I have gotten acupuncture since the mystery pain started,
the acupuncture has made the pain return. Not sure what that means.
The
other thing I’ve been debating is working with a Functional Diagnostic
Nutritionist, which maybe since my other two ideas were bust this one would work - you know, third time is the charm type thing? Essentially, this would require that I do some additional tests on the recommendation of the practitioner. For me this would be a test to look at
my hormone levels (which I know are out of wack), as well as a food sensitivity
test called a MRT Food Sensitivity test that would identify foods that cause
inflammation in my body, even if they don’t cause a reaction I can feel. The other test that was recommended was an intestinal
barrier screening test that would show evidence of leaky gut among other
things. Once the testing is done, the
practitioner would design a customized supplement/diet plan that would try to
help fix the problems. I had a
preliminary phone call with a practitioner in Brooklyn, but haven’t agreed to
move forward with it yet mainly because it’s expensive and with the $820 I spent
looking into the petechiae earlier this year and the money for the ultrasound…I
am just feeling broke. This testing and the supplements is going to
run roughly 2k so… yeah I am a little hesitant to move forward without
thinking about it thoroughly. A quick Google of ‘supplements to help heal your
gut” reveals this article. See, tempted to treat myself again…
So that
is kind of where I’ve been lately. It has been a good year though and I feel like I am on a good path diet-wise. Here goes the start of Year 2.
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