Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[mftnchn]

Yep, I was most disappointed not to be like Carla with the milk. And of all the foods I have tested this summer, milk seems to have caused the most upset in terms of the intestines--this week I have had a lot more bloating, nausea, and diarrhea.

I agree Donna about only one change at a time. The problem has been that it seems like I have normal ups and downs with the gut healing process. Also ups and downs with the lyme disease as I don't have the clear herx schedule like Carla has had. With the milk I had symptoms then got better then worse then better if you know what I mean. So I am still not completely sure this is all due to milk, just suspect it might be.

I'm trying to adjust my buffered C but can't hit on the right amount. When I skipped 2/3 of the dose one day because of diarrhea, the next day I didn't go at all. When I went back to the full dose, I had diarrhea again. So I am going to cut back half a dose and see what happens. Before trying milk this wasn't so sensitive, though I have been gradually cutting back magnesium and Vit C (yeah, I think it is a sign I am healing.)

Also I am coming into the usual period where my allergies are the worst here, so that is another overload on the body. I have been managing mostly without Allegra, but had to use it today and I am betting here on out for 6 weeks.

Carla, I am 15 hours different from the west coast during daylight savings time, so I think that makes me 11-12 hours different from you on the east coast.

[mftnchn]

Susie, I have in the past tested allergic to everything, virtually every food, plus chemicals and environmentals.

So at this point I have to just try to choose foods that give less problems. Years ago I hadn't been too successful figuring it out, and gradually was better enough that I didn't worry too much about most foods. Of course I lived with the big "C", lyme and stuff. And I had never gone fully gluten-free for long enough to see improvement (I was only thinking of wheat allergy not celiac).

This summer it has been interesting to me that the most problems foods for me after going gluten-free have been milk(casein) and soy. On this board I have learned that these two have proteins more like gluten, and soy is the only other non gluten food that has been proved to cause blunting of the villi.

Donna my allergist told me not to try goat's milk as it is too similar.

Whatever tests you do, I think it is important to see them as guidelines but your dietary response as the most accurate.

[covsooze]

  mftnchn said:

Susie, I have in the past tested allergic to everything, virtually every food, plus chemicals and environmentals.

So at this point I have to just try to choose foods that give less problems. Years ago I hadn't been too successful figuring it out, and gradually was better enough that I didn't worry too much about most foods. Of course I lived with the big "C", lyme and stuff. And I had never gone fully gluten-free for long enough to see improvement (I was only thinking of wheat allergy not celiac).

This summer it has been interesting to me that the most problems foods for me after going gluten-free have been milk(casein) and soy. On this board I have learned that these two have proteins more like gluten, and soy is the only other non gluten food that has been proved to cause blunting of the villi.

Donna my allergist told me not to try goat's milk as it is too similar.

Whatever tests you do, I think it is important to see them as guidelines but your dietary response as the most accurate.

Thanks for that. It's interesting actually because I think dairy and soy are probably 2 of my biggest problems too, despite them not showing high on my ELISA test. Anyways, I've now cut them out, so we'll see what progress I make.

Susie x

[dlp252]

First the really important news....I have neon blue toes with pink flowers. (Well, not neon in MY definition, but that's the name of the color, lol)

I slept better last night...well, at least until 2:36 am. Then not at all, but hey, got 5 hours of sleep in in one shot.

The not so good news is that I have really bad D today. I don't know what's causing it, but I'm really thinking it's not good. My gut is really noisy too. I did the stool tests this morning so it will be interesting to see what that shows...it was a good day to do the test if you know what I mean.

  mftnchn said:

Yep, I was most disappointed not to be like Carla with the milk. And of all the foods I have tested this summer, milk seems to have caused the most upset in terms of the intestines--this week I have had a lot more bloating, nausea, and diarrhea.

I agree Donna about only one change at a time. The problem has been that it seems like I have normal ups and downs with the gut healing process. Also ups and downs with the lyme disease as I don't have the clear herx schedule like Carla has had. With the milk I had symptoms then got better then worse then better if you know what I mean. So I am still not completely sure this is all due to milk, just suspect it might be.

I'm trying to adjust my buffered C but can't hit on the right amount. When I skipped 2/3 of the dose one day because of diarrhea, the next day I didn't go at all. When I went back to the full dose, I had diarrhea again. So I am going to cut back half a dose and see what happens. Before trying milk this wasn't so sensitive, though I have been gradually cutting back magnesium and Vit C (yeah, I think it is a sign I am healing.)

Yeah, I'm really disappointed about the milk too. I miss that more than gluten. I didn't eat much gluten anyway, but milk products...oh do I love my butter and yogurt. I think I knew I didn't do well with goats milk but wanted to try it since I'd been away from it for a while. I thought maybe the sheep's milk would be okay, but that didn't do well either. Stupid gut!

I have the same problem with the Vit C. I'm using crystals and started with only 1/2 tsp at a time, but that was too much. Went down to 1/8 tsp, but that wasn't enough, lol. I've finally worked my way up so that I can have 1/4 tsp 3 times a day. That gives me about 3200mg of vit C.

[CarlaB]

Sherry, sorry the milk didn't work. I was just thinking about you this morning ... that the symptoms you were describing didn't sound like a lactose problem, but a casein problem ... yet it could be the Lyme, you are still pretty new back on the meds.

I'm still dragging from this past herx ... hopefully it will only be a couple more days since it's only 2 1/2 weeks till the next one! I am amazed how dependable this herx cycle is for me. I clearly still have a babesia problem, too, lots of air hunger during a herx, and heart issues -- not as bad as when I had palpitations, but any kind of physical exertion is difficult (including walking across the room).

[NoGluGirl]

Dear tom,

It sounds like the lunch with your former trainee went well! That sounds nice. At least if you decide to work there in the future, you will know someone. There is always some comfort in knowing another person in a new environment. Even if you do not end up working there, at least you got to touch base with someone.

I am going to have to wait until the weather cools down some more before playing some tennis. It is still very hot. I know we will have an early fall, though. I am sure of it. The sun began setting around 7:30 in the middle of July. Now, it is completely set by 7:30!

Marbles may have a great guy, but since I do not have an Adam, I am sticking with chocolate for now! Of course, if my soap guy gets divorced and by some amazing meeting of fate we get married, that may change. For the time being, I am sticking to more realistic ideas. One of which is, making brownies today. I will wait until it cools down tonight before turning the oven on. The house gets too hot during the day.

Dear Carla,

That last herx was pretty nasty. Normally, you have a little more energy than that. I am glad that passed. New meds can really put your body out of whack. I hope the next one you have is more tolerable.

I probably do have a magnesium deficiency. I need chocolate everyday. I can go without it, but I crave it something awful, plus I feel worse much of the time without it. Here is something odd. I noticed that instead of my heartrate increasing when I eat chocolate, it tends to calm it down, and the heart palpitation improve. What do you make of this?

Maybe I need an Adam. A good husband deficiency is a common ailment among women. That could be the trouble.

Men who do housework are very attractive, too. Tony Danza in "Who's The Boss?" sure was desirable. There is just something about a guy with a feather duster.

I would love to see pics of your home! I love Victorian style homes. They are so beautiful! The old fashioned houses were built in an unusual style. No one designs houses like that now. Those were much more elegant than the newer places.

Dear Donna,

Yes, there are many restrictions with Candida. I am trying to reduce things slowly. So far, I have had a difficult time with sugar more than anything. However, yeast has snuck into my food without me realizing in some less obvious ways. They put yeast extract in lunchmeats and numerous other things.

That is a bummer about the chocolate not testing well. Maybe you will do alright with the agave nectar and the cashew butter. The part that sucks about this is, you have to use yourself as a test subject and have to suffer the consequences if there are any. Stevia may be okay for you. I am a super-taster, but could not taste anything but the after-taste when I tried it years ago.

I have a skin reaction to mold as well! I had testing done some time back. Mold is awful to be around. I get this blotchy, red rash from it. I also have the same skin reaction to pollen from grasses and trees, as well as dust, dustmites, ragweed, cottonwood, and I think that was all.

Good luck with the stool tests! I hope it all goes smoothly. Maybe the D will settle down soon. I hope so. You just take it easy in the meantime!

It was good to hear you got more sleep for a change last night! Maybe things will get better with that soon. I am sleeping well off and on. My shot is Tuesday. I see my doctor. I am going to talk to her about what to do with this tooth and the Lyme testing.

Dear Susie from the UK,

I am not surprised the zinc deficiency might have contributed to the miscarriage. Lack of nutrients is often a major issue for fertility. Like Donna said "Stupid gut!" If things worked right, none of us would have these issues. Unfortunately, our bodies are different than other people's.

You asked about the Candida Diet. It is extremely strict. I have done extensive research on it, and in pretty well every book I read, or most of the Web sites, they had some major components in common. No sugars, refined carbohydrates, edible fungi such as mushrooms, truffles, or yeast, vinegar, alcohol, fruit, dairy (except possibly plain yogurt with live active cultures), no leftovers (all food must be eaten within 24 hours or else frozen to inhibit mold growth, and some people react even then and must freeze their foods immediately) plus no dried spices, and it is said you need to limit your daily carbohydrate intake to between 60 and 80 grams daily. This is tricky to do. Fermented foods also are not allowed, and they include soy sauce and cheese.

Molds are a problem for Candida sufferers. I react terribly to them. It is difficult to deal with at times. Nuts and seeds both can harbor molds. It is recommended in the Candida books that you purchase raw seeds and nuts in the shell.

You take them home and immediately toast them on a cookie sheet until fragrant and lightly toasted. Then, you freeze them until you are ready to eat them. Mold growth can be inhibited this way. Each person tolerates different things, though. One person may be able to get away with just eating small amounts, while others still cannot tolerate them at all.

Potatoes are difficult to give up. They help my blood sugar when it dips. Plus, I am of Irish descent. You know how we are about our potatoes! I know the problem is the carbohydrates. I am glad Donna does not eat them so much. She is probably better off.

Money is a huge problem. You cannot get treatment for anything without money. Diagnosis is impossible without it, too. Money really does make the world go round. That is the truth.

Dear Andrea,

I hope Rachel is alright! Let us know if you hear from her! I wonder where she went? I hope the new supplements did not make her sick or anything. Maybe her PC had something happen to it.

What all foods did you have show up in your ASYRA? I was wondering about that. I think I would go crazy living off a diet that basic. I am one of those people who cannot stand to have a lot of variety. Tastebud boredom is seriously a problem for me.

Dear Charlie,

I really hope your sister will recover. The procedure needs to work! It sounds like she has a lot of those "Please kill me" days. I have them, but for a different reason. My misery normally has to do with Fibromyalgia, unbearable nausea, and digestive issues. Please keep us updated!

Dear Sherry,

I am sorry you never found the zinc. I suppose with everything else, it is probably a small part of the spectrum at the moment. Your situation seems to be improving. That is wonderful! The Lyme causes so much trouble, it is unreal!

I am sorry that dairy did not test well. I cannot tolerate lactose. Casein does seem to be the issue for me. I had some soy cheese with casein and I was fine, but yogurt or pudding makes me sick. Cheese has no lactose most of the time, so I do well with it. However, I do not eat it more than twice per week. Milk Chocolate is alright, too. I feel better when I eat it.

Wow, I had no idea about soy and casein having the ability to blunt villi like gluten! Who would have expected that?

I knew that the casein was similar in structure to gluten. I did not ever hear that about soy before. That would explain the trouble tom had with it.

Dear Laura,

You lucky duck! Spending the weekend at the beach sounds wonderful! One day, I will get to do that! Feeling the sand between your toes while the waves crash must be nice. It is so relaxing!

Sincerely,

Jin

[tom]

  covsooze said:

Should have added another question to my post above - is being sensitive to mold indicative of candida overgrowth?

Absolutely

  covsooze said:

I ate some nuts a few days ago and one tasted moldy. My stomach griped up almost immediately and is still struggling to feel right. Are nuts with their shells on still likely to be moldy? I think I might have to be nut free for the duration.

Susie x

I beat candida (well, maybe only 97% beat right now) while eating certain nuts, under certain conditions.

In fact, having whF almond butter was a godsend as it often replaced actual sweets as my 'dessert'.

So much conflicting diet info for candida, it's ridiculous.

But 5 nut types were often said to be fine and they all were for me - when bought raw & baked. (Usually 250degF for 10-20min) Also fine in a "1 ingred" nutbutter, for me.

I would react back then if eating them raw, but not baked & cooled.

The 5 are almonds, hazels, brazils, pinenuts, & cashews. Oh, pecans are supposed to be fine too but I just never liked them.

So I must ask - what were the specifics of the nuts you ate????

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Susie,

I did not mention in my earlier post something that tom just reminded me of. Peanuts and pistachios are very moldy! They must be avoided. I do not think Valencia peanuts are even allowed, although they do not contain the aflatoxins like peanuts grown elsewhere. This is frustrating for me, due to the fact I am terribly addicted to peanut butter. The woman at the healthfood store said no more of that!

Dear tom,

I was wondering how to toast nuts in the oven. I had not done that before. I have trouble even finding any in the shell around here. I enjoy eating them, but I think you still have to freeze them afterwards, don't you? I think it is the same with seeds.

Sincerely,

Jin

[tom]

  mftnchn said:

Donna my allergist told me not to try goat's milk as it is too similar.

I've been off dairy for 3+ yrs I think, because of casein, and had heard quite the opposite about goat's milk (it being very different from cow) for so long and so often that I finally tried goat cheese.

It's been a rousing success thus far!

Is it possible the goat lactose is similar to cow, so then your allergist and my recent experience (and all I'd heard) don't contradict?

(Only if the allergist was referring to the lactose side in the 1st place, regardless of the actual casein issue) uh oh now I'm not even making sense to ME!

Anyway - I have weird things happen w/ cow's milk or cheese, and NO problem whatsoever w/ goat cheese. :)

[tom]

  mftnchn said:

Donna my allergist told me not to try goat's milk as it is too similar.

I've been off dairy for 3+ yrs I think, because of casein, and had heard quite the opposite about goat's milk (it being very different from cow) for so long and so often that I finally tried goat cheese.

It's been a rousing success thus far!

Is it possible the goat lactose is similar to cow, so then your allergist and my recent experience (and all I'd heard) don't contradict?

(Only if the allergist was referring to the lactose side in the 1st place, regardless of the actual casein issue) uh oh now I'm not even making sense to ME!

Anyway - I have weird things happen w/ cow's milk or cheese, and NO problem whatsoever w/ goat cheese. :)

[AndreaB]

  dlp252 said:

I slept better last night...well, at least until 2:36 am. Then not at all, but hey, got 5 hours of sleep in in one shot.

That is fantastic. Getting 4 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep is crucial.

  CarlaB said:

I'm still dragging from this past herx ... hopefully it will only be a couple more days since it's only 2 1/2 weeks till the next one! I am amazed how dependable this herx cycle is for me. I clearly still have a babesia problem, too, lots of air hunger during a herx, and heart issues -- not as bad as when I had palpitations, but any kind of physical exertion is difficult (including walking across the room).

Boy Carla, I sure hope you get a break soon. These new meds really threw your system for a loop.

  NoGluGirl said:

What all foods did you have show up in your ASYRA? I was wondering about that. I think I would go crazy living off a diet that basic. I am one of those people who cannot stand to have a lot of variety.

The children tested for different compounds so there was a huge list to avoid for everyone due to that. We are all looking foward to tomorrow night. The children have not been eating much this week and we've all probably lost some weight. Hubby didn't need to.....he's now down to his high school weight. I'm sure hoping the foods cleared but I'm not so sure.

Oh, and I knew about soy and the villi as well. Found out last year researching some stuff. If you find my topics I did post the one article I found (Subtitle something like applying to children). The other stuff I posted was between page 400-405 on here.

[NoGluGirl]

Dear tom,

I think I understand what you mean. (Donna, hold me I am scared, I am understanding tom! )

There is a possibility that cow's milk is the only kind of dairy with casein. Goat's milk may still have the sugar in it, however.

Lactose could be an issue still. I agree that makes sense.

Dear Andrea,

I hope the children clear for the foods! It is not good they are losing weight! They need to be able to grow! They are so young. We will keep our fingers crossed for you guys.

I am glad Mitch is going good. He is in shape again, huh? That is a great accomplishment in itself! I want that 6 Week Body Makeover. It is really easy for Celiacs to do.

I am going to look up the soy article. I am not sure if I was here for that. I do not know which page I joined on. November was probably when I joined. It could have been October, but November sounds right to me.

Sincerely,

Jin

[tom]

  NoGluGirl said:

Dear tom,

I think I understand what you mean. (Donna, hold me I am scared, I am understanding tom! )

There is a possibility that cow's milk is the only kind of dairy with casein. Goat's milk may still have the sugar in it, however.

Lactose could be an issue still. I agree that makes sense.

You'd deny Billy the Kid Goat his protein!??

There's got to be SOMEthing analogous to cow's casein in goatmilk. But for some, it has no effect - similar to corn or rice 'gluten' not affecting the gluten-free.

Bah I have to ride lightrail today to the festival.

But it'll be great I bet!

. . . . . . .1/2 hr l8r . . . . . SKA!!!!!!!!

[dlp252]

  NoGluGirl said:

(Donna, hold me I am scared, I am understanding tom! )

There is a possibility that cow's milk is the only kind of dairy with casein. Goat's milk may still have the sugar in it, however.

Lactose could be an issue still. I agree that makes sense.

Yes, goat milk does have casein. It's structure is enough different from cow casein that some people can have it without issue...I was hoping I was one of them, but don't think so. Sucks big time.

On a different note...made it through so far today without 1 nut, lol. No nut butters, nothing. Didn't buy any cookies, no chocolate chips, nothing.

I'm hungry.

I did, however, have my very first piece of chicken since January! Too soon to tell how THAT's going to work for me since my reactions are almost always delayed, but so far so good, and it really tasted good.

[jerseyangel]

Donna,

Were you able to find the Empire Chicken? I just had that tonight

[dlp252]

I didn't see any out, and didn't ask this time. I figured I'd try the regular ole Rocky first. Next week I'll ask specifically for the Empire or any other kosher chicken they may have.

[AndreaB]

  dlp252 said:

I didn't see any out, and didn't ask this time. I figured I'd try the regular ole Rocky first. Next week I'll ask specifically for the Empire or any other kosher chicken they may have.

I'm not real fond of Rocky.

Hope everything goes well with the chicken though.

[NoGluGirl]

Dear tom,

There might be another kind of protein we do not know about. I wonder if I could do a bit of research to see. It could not hurt! I am sure I can find something. Cows and goats are probably similar with their milks for some reason.

Riding the rails might not be so bad! I hope it worked out well for you. The positive attitude you have will make a difference regardless. I am glad you are enjoying the travel. You have to go back to Phoenix soon, right?

Dear Donna,

I hope the chicken goes well! We will all keep our fingers crossed for you! It would be nice to add something back to your diet. I know you probably get bored. No cookies definitely sucks. I love cookies. Chocolate is another thing I love.

You are doing better than I am on the no treats. I am trying to go without unhealthy stuff.

I do alright sometimes, but other times not. I make sure to compensate for it, though when I do have a treat. This is important to do, so your system does not get overloaded.

The casein issue is a major problem for a lot of people. I am not sure anyone having the issue with cows' milk can handle goats' milk. I suppose it depends on the person. I also think there could be a common link between the two that is not yet known, or not published at least.

I wonder what it is?

Dear Patti,

Hello Angel Spice! How are you? Well, we have not heard from Rachel. I hope she is okay. Have you heard anything from her?

Dear Andrea,

Have you heard anything from Rachel? I know she probably had LED yesterday. I hope she is not sick. That new regimen she was going to be on sounded pretty strict. It could really be a shock to the system.

Sincerely,

Jin

[confusedks]

Hello again everybody,

I don;t know if anyone has any experience with this, but all of you are so knowledgeable so I thought I'd give it a shot. I am absolutely exhausted and have no idea why. I had allergy testing and found out I am SEVERELY allergic to grass of all kinds. I am now taking Nasonex (nasal spray) to help with that, but it's not really helping much. I live in LA and grass is everywhere, especially Bermuda grass which is what I am a ten on a scale of 1-10. It doesn't seem to be food-related, but I have no idea what it is then. I also have developed what my doctor thinks is acid reflux, pretty bad. I wake up about every other night with SEVER nausea. I start sweating, lose ALL color in my face, the room starts spinning, etc. I am now taking 2 prilosec before bed. I am just exhausted. I feel like I felt when I was really anemic, but I am pretty sure I'm not anemic again. I guess even if nobody has ideas, I just need to vent. This is horrible, I have less energy than my almost 50 year old mom who only sleeps about 3-4 hours every night. I am also getting a lot of sleep, average of 9-12 hours a night. I start school again on Wednesday and I have NO idea how I am going to make it through a school day. Any ideas/ suggestions/ thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Kassandra

I hope everyone is doing well around here.

[AndreaB]

Kassandra,

I don't have much to guess but I would say b12, histamines, mercury, lyme......could be other food sensitivities as well. What type of allergy testing did you have? If you didn't have IgG testing then it won't really tell you much. IgG testing is the delayed reaction. Also, since I think you're in California you could look into having ASYRA testing. That is very thorough and sensitive.

[dlp252]

Slept better last night! Yay.

  AndreaB said:

I'm not real fond of Rocky.

Me either...it's the one I was reacting too several months ago, but I'm hoping if Anna successfully desensitized me that I can have it once a week or so. I will also try the kosher or Empire chicken. I know you order from US Wellness meats...do you get their chicken? (Sorry, can't remember, although I know you've mentioned it)... Anna can order their stuff (saves on shipping or something like that).

  NoGluGirl said:

You are doing better than I am on the no treats. I am trying to go without unhealthy stuff.

Yeah, but the eye socket aching started already last night. That's a herx symptom when I cut out all sugars.

I was taking my shower this morning and probably could have stayed there for hours...just standing under the water.

  confusedks said:

I don;t know if anyone has any experience with this, but all of you are so knowledgeable so I thought I'd give it a shot. I am absolutely exhausted and have no idea why. I had allergy testing and found out I am SEVERELY allergic to grass of all kinds. I am now taking Nasonex (nasal spray) to help with that, but it's not really helping much. I live in LA and grass is everywhere, especially Bermuda grass which is what I am a ten on a scale of 1-10. It doesn't seem to be food-related, but I have no idea what it is then. I also have developed what my doctor thinks is acid reflux, pretty bad. I wake up about every other night with SEVER nausea. I start sweating, lose ALL color in my face, the room starts spinning, etc. I am now taking 2 prilosec before bed. I am just exhausted. I feel like I felt when I was really anemic, but I am pretty sure I'm not anemic again. I guess even if nobody has ideas, I just need to vent. This is horrible, I have less energy than my almost 50 year old mom who only sleeps about 3-4 hours every night. I am also getting a lot of sleep, average of 9-12 hours a night. I start school again on Wednesday and I have NO idea how I am going to make it through a school day. Any ideas/ suggestions/ thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Kassandra, your symptoms sound a lot like mine, well, except for the sleep thing, lol. A few years ago I suddenly developed environmental allergies to just about everything, oak/trees, mold and sage being 10s...I'd never been allergic to anything before that. The rest of the stuff they tested me for were somewhere between 7s and 9s. The allergy medicines (tried all the prescription ones), helped only slightly, with Zyrtec being the most effective (but still not helping much). I started getting sinus infections about every 5-6 weeks. I get one, they'd put me on antibiotics and prednisone for 10 days, I'd feel better for a week and then I'd get another one. Doc thought it was just the "allergies" at first, but when I wasn't responding to the allergy shots, he started exploring other options. One was thyroid, but all my testing came back normal. He also thought candida, but the meds didn't seem to help much. The diet DID help though, and the two times I stayed on the diet, the first time 3 months and the second time 6 months, I wasn't sick once. As soon as I'd go off the diet (which was naturally gluten free), I'd get sick.

It was at that point that I discovered the gluten/casein issue, and once cutting those out, the "allergies" definitely got better, but I was still exhausted all the time. Absolutey no energy, dizzy all the time, extremely low blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea...I WAS sleeping better during that time but still not great. I started seeing some doctors (I refer to them in my posts as the HN doctors), who did some better testing and found that my adrenals were exhausted. That was pretty much a given, but was glad they did the testing. They found a lot of hormones and body functions out of whack.

I started improving once I started taking supplements and making some lifestyle changes to address the adrenals, but that still wasn't it. I improved a bit more after discovering many of the foods I thought were supposed to be safe, I was actually intolerant to. That took enough burden off my body, and that together with the nutritional supplementation helped give me back some energy.

I started seeing a lyme doctor who did a bunch more testing and we've discovered a bunch of other serious stuff, that probably account for most of the "allergies" that I have, and I'm hopeful that once these issues are addressed the allergies will take care of themselves. Hope, hope, hope.

All of this makes sense to me, especially since in the last few weeks I've binged on some of those foods I shouldn't eat, and I've cut out some of the supplementation...I can almost feel my adrenals getting sluggish again and I can feel the return of some of the congestion, etc. that I used to feel.

[mftnchn]

Hmm, wish I could try goat milk cheese but can't get any here, at least I've never seen it. Maybe I can get some in Beijing.

Kassandra, hope you figure it out soon. Just a heads up, I was on a series of acid blockers including prilosec last summer and fall. I had horrible pain from the prilosec and reactions to all the others I tried. I discovered that lots of people do not tolerate them well.

[NoGluGirl]

Dear Kassandra,

I am allergic to many grasses and trees. It is difficult to deal with. I have tried every prescription allergy medication, and they did not do anything for my symptoms. I get severe sinus headaches that are like migraines, so I take OTC sinus pills. They work well most of the time.

The breaking out in a sweat, nausea, and acid reflux are all too familiar to me. I began getting it at about your age. I have to take twice the dosage of Prilosec as well. My low blood pressure tends to make me feel weird. I do not exactly get dizzy, but have the feeling of nearly passing out frequently. There are times I can stand up or stretch and begin to blackout.

I am always tired it seems, too. I get so exhausted sometimes. No matter how much sleep I get, I feel like I have been hit by a train. Lyme can cause this, as do many of the co-infections associated with it. I went through school feeling like this at your age for a while. Eventually, it got to the point I could not go to school anymore. Later, we found out my gallbladder went bad. Are you getting any pain in your right abdomen below your ribcage?

Dear Donna,

OMG! Your body sounds like mine. I feel like that all the time. I bet my adrenals are exhausted. One of the symptoms is always needing caffeine and sugar or carbs to get energy. That fits me well.

You are like me. If it is not one thing, it is another! Once one thing improves, another seems to get messed up. What the heck is that about? There should be a limit on how much can go wrong with a single person, you know?

I am sorry your eye socket pain is back. That is something I get, too. I have no clue what causes that with me. When I eat sugar, it is the same is when I have not eaten sugar. Bravo on the resisting treats, though! You are strong!

Yesterday I did not get to comment on your pretty toes! I had so much to reply to, I thought I would do that today. My posts can be too long sometimes for some people, I think. My toes are still bright blue. It looks like I squished a bunch of smurfs and painted them onto my toes! My mother got us a new polish that is a watermelon pink. I can only put it on my toes, since I do not know if it is gluten-free.

Dear Andrea,

I think some of my trouble could be vitamin deficiencies. I do not take a daily multi. Maybe I should start. That is on my small improvements I can make list. Nature Made is probably what I will get. I hope they make one without iron that is gluten-free.

Dear Sherry,

Going toward the North of China would be your best bet. Mongols often consume goat cheese and milk. I recall in this special about the living link to the Amazon Warrior Women the girl they found was the descendant of them was a member of the Kazak tribe of nomads. They mentioned a traditional snack for them was goat cheese and goat milk.

I have been on acid blockers since 1999. I am scared because I have heard they are linked to stomach cancer. I have tried to go off of them, but the rebound effect is the trouble. I am afraid of getting cancer from being on them. Of course, I have yeast overgrowth, which really tends to set off reflux in people. I was doing much better for a while, but after doing some antibiotics last year, everything went downhill again.

Sincerely,

Jin

[CarlaB]

Kassandra, I'm sorry you're feeling so lousy. Don't give up until you find out what's wrong.

First I would get tested again for anemia, including B12. I take Blood Builder, which is a complete supplement for the blood. It helps me a lot. It has both iron and B12, plus folic acid and vitamin C ... with other whole foods. Google it if anemia is your problem.

The other thing that comes to mind (besides Lyme, which is always in my mind, but I know not everyone has it, LOL) is thyroid ... also candida.

I would check those two things out first. If they aren't the problem, then maybe get tested for bacterial dysbiosis (Google it, I think it matches up with your symptoms pretty well), Lyme Disease, and heavy metal toxicity. I am taking Oregano Oil for my intestinal issues (article - Open Original Shared Link). I also take massive probiotics ... you might look into Theralac and Ultra Flora.

[Rachel--24]

Hi everyone!

I havent been sick (thankfully)....just taking a bit of a break. Actually I got sucked into another vortex.

So heres an update on me.

I researched a ton on Hypercoagulation earlier this week. I think its a major component in chronic illness. Not treating it can definately slow down or prevent healing.

Studies show that 90% of people diagnosed with Fibro. or CFS have coagulation problems.

90% of those diagnosed with Lyme have coagulation problems. It pretty much goes hand in hand with chronic illness and its one of the factors which greatly contributes to the state of illness.

Under normal circumstances when there is an infection in the body an immune response is triggered and fibrin is produced to "wall off" the infection and prevent it from spreading. Fibrin is a sticky coating which is involved in the clotting process when we are bleeding. Fibrin seals off the wound and stops the bleeding.

When there is an "invader" the fibrin walls off the infection in our blood vessels.

When we have chronic infections the immune system is continuing to produce fibrin and the "bugs" are also working to trigger this response from the immune system....it creates a favorable environment for them.

The blood becomes thicker than normal....sometimes it obvious (making blood draws difficult)....other times it goes unnoticed.....but with chronic infection its a common occurance.

When the blood is thicker than normal it cannot effectively distribute oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. The infections favor the lack of oxygen....and obviously we would suffer from that.

The microbes can use the fibrin to hide from the immune system. The immune system cannot attack what it does not see.....often the bugs are hiding underneath layers of fibrin.

I'm wondering if this is one of the reasons why people who are very sick are not producing detectable antibodies...too much fibrin??

The immune system depends on excellent circulation to efficiently move white blood cells throughout the body so it can fight these agents. The immune system cannot attack infection if it cannot deploy its troops to all areas of the body.

So when the thick fibrin layers that make up hypercoagulation in the blood are dissolved, the immune system can finally attack the infections that are lurking there.

We cannot get to all of the bugs while we are in a state of hypercoagulation...nor can we get effective delivery of nutrients. The environment will remain favorable for the microbes as long as the blood is too thick.

My Dr. is addressing the hypercoagulation issue with me. I saw him on Monday when I stopped by to pick up a supplement that got left behind and I was able to talk with him for a few minutes. I asked him if *everyone* pretty much has this problem with hypercoagulation??

He said "Well...everyone who's chronically ill does."

He said the situation corrects itself once the infections are dealt with....but in order to get to the infections we need to use something to break down the fibrin and thin the blood.

So I'll post more scientificness about hypercoagulation....for anyone interested.

He also said that they have discussed the toxic foci area in my jaw/head and the fact that stuff is getting "hung up" in that area. So he wants to try a couple sessions of acupunture in that area to see if things can be loosened up.