SIBO Stuff and a Possible Graphic Photo

**not a sewing post

Update on keeping Kathy healthy:


I rarely talk about the medical crap I go through in order to stay functional. It's so negative and this blog needs to be a positive place for me to be.

 I have a stressful job (benefits), a stressful family (don't we all?) and precarious health as my body does not manage stress well. Anything I can do to minimize stress is a good thing (EFT, meditation, mindful meditation, creating and sewing).


I had a SIBO test last January (2014) and we all remembered about it back in October. The lab never sent my results which turned out to be positive.

Many of the symptoms listed are spot on: Food sensitivities, bloating, gastric distress, skin rashes, chronic fatigue, brain fogs,  migraines. Leaky Gut, Blastocystis Parasite - I've found out a few things over the years but could never quite identify/name/diagnose what was wrong with me.  The good news is there is a treatment available for SIBO.


So, this January, I am following up on the SIBO (see siboinfo.com).

Early January, I took Rifaxamin - an antibiotic. This was to kill off the bacteria overgrowth in my small intestine.
Initially, I felt great. The bloating was way down. But as soon as a few days afterwards - starting bloating again.

Following the GAPs diet. Which is difficult.
I figure, I will keep starting over on the GAPs diet till it becomes natural to eat this way. Essentially, a more liquid diet to get nutrition to the upper small intestine so lower part can heal. There are three stages and I get stuck at stage 1 and 2.

SIBO says that the small intestine is not doing it's job, motility is hampered or not happening.
Which leads to fermentation of bad bacteria in the small intestine and food particles going thru intestinal walls leading to immune responses (i.e. Leaky Gut).

GAPs diet tries to starve out the bacteria by eating every 4 -5 hours (3 -4 meals/day) instead of snacking. This is also supposed to help get intestinal motility back in action. I get about two days in and my head hurts and I don't want to drink any more broth or green juice. This is probably the bacteria die-off. I also have trouble eating fermented foods like sauerkraut but this is supposed to be a great pro-biotic in the GAPs diet.  Dealing with that now.

I retook the SIBO breath test a week ago - waiting on results. Probably still positive.

Also doing some intravenous vitamins like zinc and others to help provide healing nutrients.
Also doing acupuncture to aid in regaining motility and healing.

Too graphic?

The plan is to possibly re-take rifaximin in early March before I leave to Japan on the 16th.

Since the first round of Rifaximin, I have felt less (constant) bloating - a bit more intermittent. The inflammation and the bloating are really difficult to live with.

One of the things that has helped since last October is L-Glutamine. I have lost 10 lbs (4 months) using this everyday.
I have only been able to lose weight when I took foods out of my diet (food sensitivities/allergens). But there is no more food to take out. I am in constant vigilance to get enough food to be functional while minimizing my immune responses.

And that's why we are trying the Armour Thyroid right now - to see if that will help as well.
My thyroid for the last 15 years has been 'normal', 'low normal', etc. depending on how I feel when I do the blood tests.  My naturopath and my voodoo hippie doc both think, "let's try this too."  Although, the first week on it was constant headaches as my body got used to this new thing. This is my first day not waking up with a headache.

My main concern is being healthy enough to manage Japan in March. I plan on taking quite a bit of emergency food. For most of the time, I will be staying with a friend, so it will be as easy as I can make it, 'enjoying' 2 weeks of Japanese food. This friend also sews, so we will be talking sewing 24/7 which will jump-start my creativity.

The sense I get from reading anecdotal stories of the treatment plan are hopeful and may not cure forever but give me some relief from the horrible food sensitivities and all the other symptoms.

Currently, most of these doctor visits are out-of-pocket. They are not covered by insurance. I am spending what time I feel good in working on my online sales listings to generate income to pay for these necessary helpful healing steps.

I will say, these last couple of weeks, I have had sales that have paid for the intravenous vitamins and acupuncture visits in a way that makes me think - serendipity - meant to be - I'm on the right path for healing.

Revelations

I had a revelation last night.
Convoluted, but the reasoning seems sound.

I was pondering why I have eaten so much this December.
Since Easter, I have been trying a new food allergy regime that is pretty harsh but when I follow it, I feel more energized and my physical symptoms are less.
One of my food problems is trying to discern when I am hungry. For so long food made me sicker and sicker that I have difficulty in determining hunger pangs.
This December -- I have been feeling hunger pangs. When I get home from work, when I am at work, it hasn't seemed to stop. The net result is I have gained about 7 pounds. The choices of good foods for me to eat are limited and I have been turning to bad choices. I am craving these foods. I am craving any food.
Why?
The biggest difference is work. For Christmas,  I was given a supervisor  for work who allows that each employee is capable of doing their job. Furthermore, he works in a team effort to get the job done and supervises from a position of respect. A lot of work-related stress has fallen by the wayside.
Interestingly, this is when my appetite returned.
A definite A-ha moment.

My nutritionist has said that when I am reaching for chocolate, my body is indicating hunger.
Chocolate does not show up on my allergy tests - only dairy and soy. This  hunger indicator makes sense to me as I perceive chocolate to be a safe food that makes me feel good.

When I am feeling a craving for chocolate and reaching for it, I have been working on reaching for other foods instead.
 Now, with my latest revelation, where stress keeps my appetite at bay, I can try to keep more good foods at hand. Get back to my weekly soup making. Making sure I have more emergency foods at hand. Trying to eat more good choices so there is less room for bad choice foods that suck up my energy and good health.

My other boss will return and I will need every ounce of energy to deal with that so now is the time to optimize that energy.

Almost a resolution but really pondering the ramifications of how stress plays a part in my health.

The actual resolution is to go for a walk every day.

The Brazen Head

Eating in Ireland

I keep running into this conversation where the person I am talking to knows this other person who is so vegan, so allergic, so *insert trendy food disease* , that the afflicted person cannot travel out of their comfort zone.
Despite my dietary restrictions, I am choosing not to be so constrained.
Because of my job that often requires me to work over the course of 12 hours, I have found several foods that are always with me - just in case. Those are the foods I took with me to Ireland for the week. Fresh Cameo Apples, fruit roll-ups,  fruit & nut bars and my dairy-free, soy free chocolate.
I chose to think of the food I was bringing not only as insurance but to create a empty space in my bag to bring home treasures and souvenirs.
Bear in mind that it's not easy. My goals to try and eat 1000 cal. every day and to work on identifying when I am hungry are very serious. Food made me sick for so long that I have lost the ability to tell when I am hungry.

I had such a day when we traveled to Galway on the west coast of Ireland. We had probably walked over 20 miles each of the previous two days in Dublin -looking around and being tourists. We got distracted finding a place to eat breakfast. When we did, the only protein they had was yogurt. We then met up with my daughter and friend and got more distracted, then we hopped a 2.5hr. bus to Galway. Getting there with about an hour or two left of daylight, we decided to explore the town. I let myself get tired and I did not watch my protein intake. I was stopping and looking for somewhere to eat but my sister wasn't hungry yet. I was too tired to insist on eating and then it went too far. I shut down, going back into survival mode. I was only able to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. No street signs in Galway meant we didn't quite have our bearings - where was the hotel? I finally got what my brother-in-law had said about my sister making little bee stings.

But I have been to survival camp before. Albeit, its been over 10 months. Am I really that close to being there again? Have I not made progress? All-in-all, a somewhat frightening concept.
Looking around and finally being able to vocalize that I needed food, now the irrational part took over and rejected this place at 25 euro as too expensive, this place - nothing I could eat, this place - yet another salad. I needed protein and preferably warm.

Finally eating (warm mediterranean salad (chicken)), we were just a few blocks from our room. I went straight to bed and could remember those survival times when I was so tired I would go straight to bed without eating anything. I did get some serious sleep. Luckily, the hotel included breakfast and they cooked to order so I had some bacon (like our Canadian Bacon) and scrambled eggs. I felt better immediately and we were able to continue on our way - taking the great tour with Desmond to the Cliffs of Moher.

Lessons learned: I have to pay attention to eating on a schedule. I am not well enough to get distracted.
It is possible to travel easily to another country where the fish & chips (breaded and potatoes) are everywhere. One can also travel and not go on and on about your particular health maladies.
Get out of your rut - test the waters. 

One evening (in Ireland) with my daughter's friends, we ate at the Brazen Head - the oldest pub in Dublin. Here's my meal - roast of the day. It looked to be the most edible for me. I had already tried the fish &chips and a half-glass of guinness earlier in the trip and was terribly bloated the next day. I stuck with whiskey as the distillery process takes out more lectins than the guinness process. All that guinness barley is -sad. Really. :(
Here were the vegetables - peas with all of their starchy lectins and carrots which are more moderate for me.
The pork was good. I left the gravy and potatoes.