Update on the Craziness

August 22nd, 2007

Ok, so things got a bit too busy and overwhelming for me and hence there was no blogging for the past few days. So, basically we went to Paris and ran around seeing EVERYTHING. It was an amazing trip but really exhausting and a bit overwhelming for me. I tried to eat fairly low salicylate while there but I also wanted to be able to enjoy myself and not worry too much about it so I took Benadryl and Sudafed and ate pretty much what I wanted (within reason, of course). I felt pretty good over all – but it’s hard to tell if that was just because of the meds. I did have one major blood sugar crash one day. I had a pain au chocolate for breakfast and a few cashews and then we walked around for about 4 hours – by the time we hit the arc de triumph it was raining and I was feeling really incredibly weak and moody (I totally snapped at my husband and his friend, I felt terrible about it, but near the end there it was like I really couldn’t control myself – it was a weird feeling). We tried to find somewhere to eat but everywhere was really crowded and there wasn’t really anywhere to sit down so it took us a long time to finally get me some food. It was pretty miserable – needless to say I started carrying food in my purse after that. The other big physical thing that I had happen when I was there was one day we were out late at a little café and after sitting there for a little while my feet went completely numb. We were outside and it was a little chilly, but not cold and I was wearing two sweaters, pants and closed toed shoes. The blotches on my legs got really, really bad and stretched up my thighs and were on my arms as well. It didn’t get better until we got home and I was able to soak my feet in some hot water for a while. Other than those two incidents though I felt really good the whole trip. So, we got back home to Prague yesterday and today was the first day I didn’t take any Benadryl or Sudafed – it was a bit rough. I felt really terrible this morning – stuffy/runny nose, headache, achy feeling all over, cramps (I started my period today), and the gland on the left side of my neck was really swollen (painful). But, as the day has gone on I have felt better and better. I think that all the meds and such were just finally being processed out of my system now and that made for a pretty icky feeling. But, it’s better now. The next week will be pretty busy so I’ll try to write at some point but I’m not sure I’ll be able to…so we’ll see. Oh, I’m having my blood tested on Friday so that will be good – I’m curious to see how the tests turn out. And I got a new thermometer yesterday and I started taking my basal temp and taking my temp 3 times during the day to get a more accurate reading on that. Also I got a kit to test my pH so I started that today (testing it 4 times a day) so far I’ve been running slightly acidic – no surprise, right? Well, here’s to hoping some of this will all start coming together in answers … in the mean time I’m learning the importance and life stretching power of “active waiting” J

Health to you and yours –
Beth

Day Two of the Craziness - Visitor Week

August 14th, 2007

Alright, so today was a bit rough. I woke up before 5am and was unable to get back to sleep because I felt sort of wired and my nose was so super stuffy. I got up and watched some TV for a while and drank some magnesium. I felt back to sleep eventually which I was really glad about and was able to sleep another few hours. The rest of the day was ok, really stuffy nose off and on (it would clear up for a few hours and then get bad for a few hours and then clear up for a while, etc). I had hives pretty bad in the evening but it wasn’t ridiculously bad. And I had gas off and on throughout the day. Other than that it wasn’t that bad. I stayed home today so as not to stress my body out more from the environmental things. Let’s see what did I eat today? Romaine lettuce, green beans, milk, cereal, yogurt, green beans, couscous, garlic, chicken, leek, butter, salt, and pear…I think that’s it. Much more variety than normal, which I’m not sure is a good thing or a bad thing. Tomorrow we are going out to some museums and things so I am hoping that will go well. We’ll see. I’m going to go take two Benadryl now so that I can actually sleep through the night tonight…Good night all.

Health to you and yours -
Beth

Day One of the Craziness - Visitor Week

August 14th, 2007

Ok, so yesterday was crazy – hence why there was no post. We were out on the town most of the day with our friend who is visiting and then we were up late talking and catching up and just hanging out. It was nice but I’m feeling it physically today. It’s going to be harder this week to write often but I have been liking having each day recorded on the site – it’s helpful for me to have all my days sort of laid out someplace so I can look for patterns and things, so I’m going to try and continue doing it but it will just be overall updates about the day. So, let’s see, I had a stuffy nose in the morning yesterday which was pretty bad but only lasted for a few hours and then cleared up once we left the house and got out – so, that was good. Other than that I felt pretty good – I had hives pretty bad on my head last night but not really the rest of the day so that was bearable. And I didn’t seem to have quite as many dizzy/loss of vision episodes yesterday so that was good. I was actually surprised by how good I felt even when we were on the public transport and in crowds of people. As for what I ate…well, I wasn’t all that careful…I ate some kidney beans before leaving the house for breakfast so that was good, then I had some French fries for lunch, a pear as a snack, and for dinner I made couscous with chicken in a cream sauces (cream, butter, leek, garlic, salt). After dinner I had vodka in a little pear juice and a piece of homemade short bread (flour, sugar, butter). As for vitamins I had all the normal ones for me – a little zinc sulfate, magnesium, B12, multivitamin, and calcium. And of course I took my birth control pill – from now on it can be assumed that I am taking it until stated otherwise. I ordered a book on a natural birth control method and we had been told on Friday that it was at the post office and we needed to go down and sign for it so yesterday we went to do that and after much confusion found someone who spoke English who was able to tell us that the package had been sent back to the sender – urgh! Oh, well, I guess I’ll just try and pick up a copy when we go to the states next week – did I mention that we might go back to the states for a week to get some blood tests done and see a doctor? It’s not final yet but the more I think about it the more excited I get – it’s been really overwhelming to go at all this in a foreign country away from family and close friends. So, I really hope it works out. So, today I’m not feeling great so I’m going to stay home and send my husband and his friend off on their own. I’ll write about today tonight, but right now I should try and get some work done while the guys are gone.

Health to you and yours -
Beth

Day Thirty of New Elimination Diet

August 12th, 2007

NIGHT: Didn’t sleep very well, felt ok physically but just couldn’t get to sleep and then woke up a lot throughout the night. Dreamed a lot.

11:30am – woke up – nose was clear, didn’t have hives, felt pretty good overall.

12:14pm – started writing in a new journal (it had a bit of a weird smell) - nose got a little runny and stuffy. Husband made tea but took it quickly into the other room to drink it

1:48pm – stopped writing in my journal and ate some kidney beans for breakfast. Also took some zinc sulfate, a B12, a multivitamin, and a calcium vitamin and drank a glass of filtered water

1:57pm – nose cleared up

2:00pm – started cleaning the house – doing dishes, dusting, sweeping, the works – we have a friend coming to stay with us for a while tomorrow so everything needs to be cleaned up

2:15pm – started cooking some pinto beans on the stove

2:41pm – drank a glass of filtered water

2:50pm – put a load of laundry in the washing machine

3:19pm – nose got a little stuffy again but not bad

3:33pm-4:00pm – brushed teeth with baking soda, showered, washed up with baking soda, washed hair with shampoo and conditioner (I hadn’t used conditioner in months and my hair was feeling really dry and brittle), used crystal stick deodorant and got dressed. Had hives on head and face after shampooing, but they didn’t last long

4:15pm – ate a bowl full of iceberg lettuce (was out of Romaine) and drank a glass of filtered water

4:55pm – opened the windows – husband started to clean the bathrooms (using vinegar and salt and some baking soda if needed)

5:08pm – had slight pain in chest

5:34pm – had a bowel movement

5:35pm – had hives on head for a little bit

7:27pm – husband put a steak in the oven for himself

7:43pm – ate dinner – couscous with green peas and a little butter and salt. Drank a glass of filtered water

8:00pm – took birth control pill

9:30pm – drank a glass of filtered water

10:00pm – ate some short bread and drank two glasses of filtered water

11:26pm – felt very hungry – had some more short bread and another glass of filtered water

11:53pm – took some zinc sulfate and some magnesium in hot water

12:00pm – brushed teeth

Today was another really good day over all. I only had a little bit of hives and a little bit of a stuffy nose and I got a lot done. So, it was nice. I tried wheat today so I’m curious to see how it goes. Tomorrow a really good long time friend of my husband’s is coming to visit. We will be showing him around Prague for the next few days and then on Friday we are all going to Paris. I’ve never been to Paris and it’s someplace that I have always wanted to go so I’m really excited about it – my husband and I will be there over our second wedding anniversary as well – so that will be really neat. I’m really looking forward to the trip a lot but I’m kind of nervous about it and nervous about what I will eat. I’ve looked forward to going to Paris for years and I really hope that it’s not ruined by not feeling well. So, I’m going to take a lot of Benadryl with me and maybe some Sudafed to (it used to be the only thing that worked for my nose but I haven’t taken it in a while because for a while I think I was kind of addicted to it). So, yeah, I probably won’t be able to give up to the minute daily reports this next week or two because of travel and having visitors and just being more busy but I am still going to try and give daily overall reports or at least as often as I can. I am feeling hopeful and it looks like I will get some blood tests done after Paris so I’m hoping that will give us some new answers as well. Day 30 comes to a close and so does my 30 days of trying an extreme elimination. I’m trying other things now and working on getting more balance in my overall health. It was a good month but really difficult at times and I’m ready to move on to something new. Hopefully the next month will give me more answers and bring a greater increase in health then this last month has.

Health to you and yours -
Beth

Day Twenty Nine of New Elimination Diet

August 11th, 2007

NIGHT: After going to bed last night I had a really difficult time getting to sleep – my heart was racing, I kept crying, I got a bad cough and then I had a lot of difficulty breathing. I kept trying to calm down but it was hard. Eventually I took two Benadryl and then watched some tv until I could fall asleep. Once I did fall asleep I slept really well.

12:40pm – woke up – nose was clear, didn’t have hives, felt pretty good

1:00pm – husband made tea and took it to the other room to drink so it wouldn’t bother me as much

1:07pm – nose got a little stuffy but not bad

1:16pm – a load of laundry was started in the washing machine

1:40pm – nose cleared up

1:50pm – took a teaspoon of zinc sulfate and drank a glass of filtered water and ate some kidney beans

2:10pm – mouth felt sort of soar and cut up even on one side after eating

2:15pm – drank a glass of filtered water

2:30pm – cried for a while (seems like I’m doing this a lot lately)

3:15pm – drank another glass of filtered water

3:50pm – got up felt dizzy and lost peripheral vision

3:51pm – brushed teeth with baking soda

3:54pm – put another load of laundry in the washing machine

3:59pm – drank another glass of filtered water

4:10pm-4:40pm – went to the park next door and went on the swings for a little while then went to the grocery store

4:43pm – heart was racing a bit

4:44pm – took temp and it was 92.9 degrees Fahrenheit – thought there must be something wrong so I took it again and it was 93.0 degrees Fahrenheit — that’s dangerously low, but I feel ok – maybe there is something wrong with the thermometer

4:46pm – toes felt numb so I put some socks on

4:53pm – ate some Romaine lettuce (plain)

5:53pm – drank a glass of filtered water

7:06pm – took temp and it was 97.2 degrees Fahrenheit

7:15pm – took some zinc sulfate, B12, calcium, and a multivitamin

7:43pm – ate dinner – green beans, potatoes and left over chicken with butter and salt. Drank two glasses of filtered water

8:00pm – took birth control pill

8:57pm – drank another glass of water

9:15pm – had bowel movement

9:24pm – ate some pear (peeled)

11:30pm – felt really hungry so I ate another pear (peeled)

11:49pm – brushed teeth with baking soda

11:58pm – took another teaspoon of zinc sulfate and took 200mg of magnesium

Today was a really good day. My nose barely bothered me (just a little bit in the morning) and I didn’t really have hives all day. I did have some dizziness and loss of peripheral vision but that didn’t seem quite as bad as yesterday at least. So, yeah, it was a really good day.
I had a little bit of an emotional breakdown but once I stopped crying I felt better and then the rest of the day my husband and I were able to have some good quality time together and that made me feel a lot better. I am looking forward to tomorrow.
I think I will try adding wheat back in tomorrow and see how that goes. I am not sure and there is a chance I will react to it but I’d rather know for sure – so I’m going to do a bit of a challenge and eat a good decent amount of wheat tomorrow and if I feel worse then I’ll know I should probably avoid it or at least not have as much of it. So, I’m looking forward to figuring it out. So, tomorrow brings day 30 and a new question for me…is wheat a problem?…or not? We’ll find out.

Health to you and yours -
Beth

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