Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[Rachel--24]

Yes, and don't forget all the gut components to this picture. Many digestive enzymes, the balance of flora, impact on immune system, development of toxic compounds by bad bacteria, plus in general the ability to excrete.

Yes, definately the gut components play a big role. I dont believe that they are seperate issues......but more likely its all occurring because the body is out of balance. If methylation is impaired I dont think its possible to maintain a healthy environment in the gut. A mercury burden will also have a negative impact on the gut flora. Lots of things have an effect on each other....once the bacteria nd yeast become an issue....these toxins put an even greater burden on the body.

I think that by the time we start really experiencing the symtoms of chronic illness....most likely all body systems have been affected in some way. Some obviously more severely than others.

[Rachel--24]

Shopping......something we did a lot of yesterday (Saturday). I got to Seattle around 12:30 and was told my hair appointment was at 1:15 and we had to get going. We didn't get home til around 10:30. Had a pedicure (blue nails ). Went to dinner at the Melting Pot which took 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. Good though.

Today was more laid back, but still running around. Got salads for lunch at WF and went to the park to eat. Beautiful weekend over here. I got home around 8:30 tonight. Was ready to go to bed over an hour ago, but T is wide awake, so here I sit.

Andrea,

Sounds like you had a good time.

It also sounds like you now need some rest after having such a busy weekend.

I would love to have a manicure/pedicure again!! Right now I think the chemicals in those salons would KILL me though.

I did go with my friend not too long ago....and I was fine sitting in there....but I was in the waiting area (near the door). I think it would have a bigger affect on me if I were actually getting "painted".

[Rachel--24]

There is just something about pink!

I think I might be onto something.

So I started wearing pink again yesterday. Its been a whole year but I bravely put the pink back on and headed for work. I was looking exactly like I look everday....except for the pink shirt.

There's a customer who comes in about 3 times a week....with VERY strong perfume. Everyone tells me she's French...so that why her perfume is so heavy. Ummm.....I think I will have to tell my friend in Germany that I definately dont wanna take a trip to France while I'm visiting. Not if the whole country smells like this customer....I dont think I'll make it to the Eiffel tower with my brain still functioning.

Anyways, she's one that I normally run from....although since my tolerance has improved I find that I can deal with it. I just instinctively hold my breath when she gets near me. She knows I'm sensitive to the perfume (told her a long time ago). I figure she probably still thinks I'm the rudest employee in the store since I never look her way and I never speak to her (kind of hard to speak when you cant breathe ).

She never speaks to me either (in 3 years).....until yesterday.

It was first thing in the morning and I had my pink shirt on. So she smiles and says "You just look so beautiful this early in the morning!".

All I could think of was that it must be the PINK!! There's no other explanation for the sudden change in people. I think I just look "sunnier" in pink....or something.

I felt like anyone would at 7 am on a Monday morning.....and I'm pretty sure I wasnt smiling.

This has nothing to do with pink.....but today a customer approached me and said "You're the YOGURT girl arent you!"

I said...yeah....that would be me.

He then said..."I was tring to think of a nickname for you the other day (yes, I have too much time on my hands) and all I've been able to come up with so far is "Gurt"...because you're the yogurt girl."

All I could do was laugh....he said it didnt really "fit" and he would try to come up with something better.

Ummmm....yeah...its bad enough that I'm the "yogurt girl"......dont really wanna be known as "Gurt". Lets hope he can come up with something else.

I'm already known as "cheesy" at work....I think one nickname with a reference to the dairy dept. is good enough.

[AndreaB]

I'm already known as "cheesy" at work....I think one nickname with a reference to the dairy dept. is good enough.

That's is so interesting about you and pink!

[tabasco32]

I had to wear pink last week when I went to the old spaghetti factory. My mom wore pink also. It was a birthday bash so we had to wear our birthday colors. I like pink. It use to be my favorite color in high school.

I think about 25% of the women there were born in October.

I even had pink converse shoes once upon a time.

Gurt, I don't know, doesn't sound attractive. Maybe he should call you yoggie.

I catered a party a few weeks ago. It was at someone's house, in thier backyard. It was cool because Jamie Lee Curtis was thier. She told me and these other six girls thank you for everything and that we were doing a great job.

I felt star struck.

I'm still pounding the pavement though looking for a better job.

[AndreaB]

I catered a party a few weeks ago. It was at someone's house, in thier backyard. It was cool because Jamie Lee Curtis was thier. She told me and these other six girls thank you for everything and that we were doing a great job.

That's neat!

[confusedks]

I'm feeling better and better every day pain wise!

I am having a really hard time eating still though. I am barely getting up to 900 cals a day...and that's a PUSH! I feel like I'm eating 24/7 to get to that. I'm losing a pound a day which sucks because I worked so hard to gain a couple pounds. Dr B said I'm starting to look too thin again...

I have been drinking Starbucks Lattes every day...sometimes 2. But they have to be fat free so they're not very high in calories, but it's something.

I had a follow up with the GI Dr yesterday. He rx'ed Reglan for my nausea because he doesn't want me to keep losing weight because my body needs to spend the energy elsewhere. It seems to be helping, but it's not helping the pain from eating. I tried almond butter (only a 1/2 teaspoon) yesterday in my protein smoothie and I couldn't eat the rest of the day. I was in a lot of pain, so I told Dr B today and she gave me some enzymes for fat digestion because she said my body will have to get used to not having extra bile there from my GB.

Also, the GI Dr said I definitely have Celiac and he thinks that the reason I'm iron deficient is because I'm still getting some sort of gluten in my diet without knowing it. He told me to re-check every single thing I put in my mouth and to not eat anything made in a facility that processes wheat. He said based on my symptoms and the fact that I'm not absorbing oral iron, it's malabsorption from unhealed villi.

So, I guess I have more work cut out for me.

[Rachel--24]

That's is so interesting about you and pink!

Yeah....apparantly pink is good for me.....I just never knew it.

I'm the only one wearing pink though ....its the second day....looks like I'm on my own so far.

I got alot of donations for breast cancer research today.

[AndreaB]

Kassandra,

I wouldn't be surprised if villi were damaged, I still wonder if something else in addition to celiac is adding to the body burden, iron and healing.

Glad the pain has lessened. Hoping for continuing improvement in that area as well as some more help and answers for the iron.

[mftnchn]

Yes, I agree, having experienced that myself. Well--I don't have *proof* by biopsy, but from all indications I have had problems healing. And I have been quite strict gluten free. I can't get anything processed so I make everything. That reduces the potential of CC a lot.

Still I think it is a good step to check everything, call every company, etc.

[Rachel--24]

I had to wear pink last week when I went to the old spaghetti factory. My mom wore pink also. It was a birthday bash so we had to wear our birthday colors. I like pink. It use to be my favorite color in high school.

I think about 25% of the women there were born in October.

How do you know what your birthday color is??

My favorite color is green. Its also my traditional birthstone (emerald).

Is the birthday color something different?

I even had pink converse shoes once upon a time.

I always wanted a pair of converse but never got any for some reason. My brother and his girlfriend got me a pair this past Xmas. They're navy blue low tops. They slip on....no laces.

Gurt, I don't know, doesn't sound attractive. Maybe he should call you yoggie.

LOL...Yoggie is definately a better choice. Gurt might just be one of the worst nicknames I've almost had.

It seems like everyone at work calls me something different.

One girl calls me "Joey". She's been calling me that for awhile now. I dont know where it came from....but somehow I became Joey.

Then I'm also "Cheesy".

My new boss sometimes calls me "Squirrel" (long story )

Then there's Rachita, Ray, Sunshine (thats one I've had for years) and various other names.

...and then theres a few people who probably have names for me that I wouldnt wanna post here.

Those would be the ones who watch my every move....you know....every workplace has them....the "spies".

Every time the boss tells them anything they gotta come back with..."But how come RACHEL...." Rachel this....Rachel that...."

Yeah....they dont have nice names for me I'm sure.

Gurt might be better.

I catered a party a few weeks ago. It was at someone's house, in thier backyard. It was cool because Jamie Lee Curtis was thier. She told me and these other six girls thank you for everything and that we were doing a great job.

I felt star struck.

Thats cool Lisa!! I think she's the "scream queen" from her role in Halloween. Thats one of my all time favorite scary movies. Good thing I wasnt there.....I might have asked her to scream.

I'm still pounding the pavement though looking for a better job.

Good luck with this. I think its great that you're able to do the catering...and plus on top of that you've got the Zeolite thing. You're on a roll girl.....something else will come your way soon.

[mftnchn]

Carla, by any chance have you picked up any info about Enula causing constipation? Just curious.

[Rachel--24]

I'm feeling better and better every day pain wise!

YAY...thats good news Kassandra. I was getting worried....it sounded real scary!

So, I guess I have more work cut out for me.

It sounds like it! Well....I'm sure you'll get your diet sorted out and hopefully things will improve.

With all the different issues going on its very likely that other things are contributing to the malabsorption.

I still have malabsorption issues....even after I was gluten-free for 3 years. I know I'm not Celiac though......just have bad malabsorption for other reasons. I still have a hard time keeping my weight up. Fortunately, I've been able to maintain....but I'm still a size 0 or 1.

People think this is good ......its definately not....I was small when I was healthy and I was wearing size 3 or size 5. Trying to gain it back is frustrating! I decided its just not gonna happen until I can do some healing.

[CarlaB]

Carla, by any chance have you picked up any info about Enula causing constipation? Just curious.

No, I haven't.

[Rachel--24]

Andrea,

Just wanted to let you know I havent forgotten about the SCD book.

I have to make a trip to the post office when I'm done with my urine test. Its gotta go through the post office....all the way to France. I plan on shipping the book at the same time.

I had to wait for my monthly visitor to go away so that I can finally take this test. Hopefully I'll remember to take it tomorrow morning.

[mftnchn]

Okay thanks. Enula wasn't causing that before I left the USA so I am not really suspecting it. I am tracing down the problem, the most likely culprit is that the local almonds are not raw. Apparently they soak them in salt water and flavorings then dehydrate them. I am still looking for raw. I thought I had found some with only salt added.

Due to seeing undigested food, increased constipation, more bloating and a sudden weight gain of 5 pounds that didn't change, I decided to retry the SCD intro to see what would happen. After 3 days of SCD intro (homemade grape juice/jello, lots of carrot-chicken-ginger soup, hamburger, yogurt with honey) I lost the 5 pounds of water weight that I had picked up over the past 2 weeks. (This is about the time frame for using local almonds). On the intro, the constipation didn't improve, but there were not huge changes like when I did the intro in July, and no worms. So I think that shows a lot of progress. Yesterday I added apples and a muffin with the local almonds. So basically added apples, almonds, eggs to the mixture. I had abdominal symptoms after the almond flour muffin, and this morning have the 5 pounds of weight again plus still bloated from yesterday after I ate the muffin.

Also, this is complicated by what looks like a herx after re-starting Zith. Not as bad as a month ago, but clearly some symptoms.

So my plan is to stop the almond stuff, and add in more variety of veggies this week, then after 4-5 days, retry eggs. If okay, retry the muffin and see if I can have a repeat of the symptoms to confirm the almond is the problem. Also I am being very careful to cook my veggies more, and remove the seeds. So much work but I am wondering if the stir fry wasn't cooked through enough--hence the undigested food.

Sherry

[AndreaB]

Rachel,

No problem. Thanks.

Sherry,

We had stir fry tonight and I can tell you I overcooked it. Still tasted good to me though. The kids weren't too enthused.

[mftnchn]

Yeah, it isn't so great overcooked, LOL. I'm steeling myself--hoping I don't have to eat mush for 6 months. But I think prior to the local almond switch, it was not a problem.

SCD info as I recall says beware of flour/starch on the almonds, used to help the flavorings stick or whatever.

Its not like the symptoms are severe or anything, but my gut symptoms have usually been so subtle, I'm trying to read the clues better because obviously the damage is not subtle.

[nora-n]

I had time to look at the bionic 880 and Dr. Woitzl information, and it is a device that: (copy and paste)

"14.17 x 6.73 x 3.35 inches, height with placed radiation head 4.92 inches

Weight: 2.3 kg

Radiation source: 84 (LED) diodes 880 Nm

Wavelength: 880 Nm, pulsed

IMF:

2.471 cyc./sec., 4.942 cyc./sec., 7.833 cyc./sec., 9.844 cyc./sec., 28 cyc./sec., 80 cyc./sec.

Power density:

approx. 3.000 mW on the surface of the treated fabric and/or. approx. 150 mW/cm2

"

When i searched, I found that one guy in the U.S. is trying to boild one for himself just to see if it will work. A comment on this blog Open Original Shared Link

The doctors in Germany also use herbs and other treatments along with this infrared treatment (they keep calling it fotonic, not infrared)

Now about the same time yesterday I read in a health magazine about this infrared textile thing, fotonic fibres, invented inapan, PP or Photonic platinum. We can buy clothes and bedding from it here under the name of Vivitex, and abroad it is better known under PP or Photon Platinum.

I found two threads in cfs forums here in this country, and some reported that they had been bed-ridden and had been up within a week after getting the t-shirt. They have to keep using those things. I guess it is not as strong as the lamp device.

I think I will post about these things in the local thyroid forum, as we have a few people there who obviously have a lot of other things going on than just thyroid. Thyroid patients tend to blame everything on thyroid....I guess they had someforehand, and then when the thyroid failed, the immune system got screwed up so much that it could not keep up with keeping at bay those things (lyme or related things, c.pneumoniae, other cell-wall deficient bacteriae, things that change forms so doctors deny they matter)

nora

[nora-n]

Kassandra, I seem to remember your tests showed you have some occult blood loss in the gut, and a simple medication like proton pump inhibitor might do the trick according to what I found. Just thinking.

nora

[dlp252]

Kassandra, glad to hear you are doing better!!

[confusedks]

Kassandra, I seem to remember your tests showed you have some occult blood loss in the gut, and a simple medication like proton pump inhibitor might do the trick according to what I found. Just thinking.

nora

Do you by any chance remember which test? I have no memory of this...

I was supposed to start Protonix which is a PPI, but since I started on Reglan we want to see what helps me...so I will wait until I see the GI Dr again next week. If the Reglan isn't working by then, we will start Protonix to see if that helps.

[ShadowSwallow]

Kassandra,

I hope the Reglan works well for you, I've been on it for several months now, and it's worked wonders for me.

I'm also considering going back on a PPI. I need to get at the h.pylori bugs that are partying in my stomach, and to do that I need a PPI. Although I haven't had any reflux for a while.

Birdy

[mftnchn]

Birdy a PPI doesn't treat h pylori, only helps the symptoms. Reduction of stomach acid isn't really a good thing according to what I have read.

Mastic gum is good for h pylori if you want something more natural. Otherwise there are a couple of antibiotics that work, along with pepto bismol or something with bismuth in it.

[ShadowSwallow]

It was explained to me, Sherry, that I needed to be on a PPI to reduce the stomach acid so the abx could get to it. I can't do the bismuth as it's related to aspirin and I'm allergic to NSAIDs. I have an herbal thing I'll be taking along with it, too.

Birdy