Heavily Glutened: FEVER

In a week of weakness, I consumed:

Pizza twice. Moderate and local pizzeria, but allergenic nonetheless.

My favorite bakery's cream cheese filled spongy cookie, twice.

A sesame and soy sauce garnished biscuit, twice.

Then my favorite chocolate filled mini-baguettes which my student gifts me every other week or so. And that was the last straw. 10 minutes later I had ringing in my ears.

The next day I felt normal, just a little tired, but after one of my classes suddenly had terrible aches and pains like the flu. Also noticed this pain above one of my molars which I get if I have dairy, or dairy-gluten combos which feels like tooth pain but I think it's my sinus. By the end of all my classes I was throughly exhausted and feverish, fever starting around 99 degrees and getting as high as 101! Also, a characteristic feeling where my sinus meets my throat like someone scraped it and post-nasal drip... 

Must be GLUTENING. >.< And after cutting it out for so long, it's only all the more clear when glutening happens. 

It's back to a hypoallergenic diet for me. Sweet potatoes, homemade chicken vegetable soup, and now I have the joy of homemade vegetable juices in my life. Carrot juice is creamy delicious! 

Still feeling like crap... tired and sore.

Sugar, The Bitter Truth: By Dr. Lustig

When low fat is really high fat.

Very interesting.

Dr. Mercola introduced the video on his website. Moral of the story: all sugar is horrible for health but especially fructose and carbohydrates that can only be metabolized by the liver. They are in essence chronic toxins.

No wonder I got PCOS being raised on the government sanctioned school meal plan. Luckily I drive my food choices these days. And if I were not so sensitive, I may not need to try such a low carb Japanese diet. But I stand revised on my previous post about the Japanese diet, as most of the carbohydrates are glucose which the Dr. above asserts gives energy to every cell in the body (besides the fact that it can be metabolized outside of the liver.)

Makes me wish that I had gotten far enough to study biochem. But C- ed my way out of o-chem.

One More Girl Documentary Will Be Made!

http://www.prlog.org/11435516-funded-one-more-girl-exposing-the-other-side-of-mercks-one-less-hpv-campaign.html

The PR Release link is above.

People believe enough in the "anecdotal evidence" to back this film. So if you are a mother, or a daughter, or a woman affected by this vaccine they are now looking for females to show in the documentary. I would, although my own experience is with only one dose of the vaccine and my side effects relatively mild. Thank goodness I realized something was rotten with the vaccine and didn't accept any subsequent doses. I hope girls will continue to refuse this vaccine and/or subsequent doses if they are experiencing side effects so they do not have to experience what the worst affected have.

I'm looking forward to the documentary.

Hypochloridia

Thank-you Truth About Gardasil group! This is the most interesting article I have come across in a long time and it explains a lot!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0ISW/is_2001_Oct/ai_78900837/?tag=content;col1


Hypochloridia, or low stomach acid. This is a contender for explaining all the problems! Luckily right now I'm pretty healthy, I'm digesting my food well, I'm going to ballet class multiple times a week, and coping pretty well with everything in general and have time to hang out with friends, but during the dark times it definitely was not so much this way. Anyway, the article is fascinating and can explain hypochloridia much better than I can in my own words.

Anyway, it's kind of impressive because the acupuncturist told me that I had a stomach yin deficiency and my stomach most markedly was abnormal according to eastern diagnosis.

Maybe it's always been a problem for me... I always experienced heartburn and nausea episodes as a kid. Maybe it led to some of the phenomenon described in the article (high levels of detrimental ions, aluminum, zinc, cadmium etc...) and then the sensitivity to the Gardasil shot. So maybe it's an underlying problem. This is the only condition I have ever seen that explains the waxing and waning severity of geographic tongue. I always wondered about that.

I don't think that hypochloridia is uncommon at all, seeing as how overmedicated for "excess acid" people are these days.

That was interesting. A part of me will always be interested in science.

___________________

If you think you may have low stomach acid (I'm sure it's fairly common) I've been thinking of what you can do to fix it.

1) Eat small, frequent, meals. You will better digest your food, it is better for your sugar metabolism which may be compromised because of the condition, and have time to regenerate and digest everything more effectively.

2) Don't drink too much water with meals. It will dilute what acid is in your stomach. Wait until a little while after your meal to drink.

3) Eat unprocessed foods. Try to avoid refined flours, sugars, etc. This is a good step for all health conditions.

4) Betaine HCl (to supplement the HCl which is the acid for your stomach): BUT be cautious with it. Sx of hyperacidity and hypoacidity are really similar. Start out with a small dose, monitor its effects carefully. This is a good site about Betaine HCl
http://www.modernherbalist.com/betaine.html

I'll add more as I think of them.

Coming Up

Well... this weekend has been fun so far but I'm still having gut woes since taking that probiotic. Then again, seems like a lot of people in my Korean class were complaining of gut things keeping them from doing homework... so there's the chance that I caught something. But my fire drill: magnesium, taurine, 5-htp is in place to cope with the creepy crawlies I get when my digestion isn't absorbing the nutrients I need to mentally function. So far so good. Didn't make it to ballet today :( BUT the rest is good for me :-D

Max made a ballet barre so I can catch up at home

The Hayao Miyazaki Marathon that I was looking forward to this week happened after all. I watched both Ponyo (Gakke no Ue no Ponyo) and Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)

Coming up:

-Are cows really fed plastic hay?

-How to make an affordable ballet barre at home

-Writings on Japanese acupuncture (in Japanese) 日本針治療について（日本語で）

-Norwegian Wood response (the Haruki Murakami novel... it will become the subject of my research project to be finished by the end of the term... only 6 weeks left until that point! Crap!)

-Pictures of Eugene's Spencer's Butte

-Some belated holiday pictures

On Probiotics

So, the medical world: "conventional" and "alternative" alike is all abuzz about Probiotics... and the idea of replenishing intenstinal flora to combat the assaults on our systems of the mix of yeast, sugar, and refined flours resulting in what is an overgrowth of candida (everyone's favorite YEAST infections) and a lack of friendly bacteria for most people.

Scary, I know. ;) Oh the horror.

Both my primary care MD, naturopaths, and my acupuncturists recommend probiotics but the fact of the matter is that they can be painful for us whose systems are out of whack (and also, the way they are cultured among them are different and people, depending on sensitivities and allergies, will have different reactions to different strains.) There are herxheimer reactions (worsening of symptoms occurring when positive changes are happening), as well as just having general side affects. Looks like probiotics produce side effects for me.

Having a healthy balance of flora in the gut can help with these conditions: (and yet, for most, is not the silver bullet answer)

-allergies (of all kinds)

-fatigue

-IBS

-leaky gut and nutrient absorbtion

So I don't know if the discomfort I'm in is because of some good vs. evil bacteria/fungi in the gut or if probiotics are a no-no for me.

It's gonna be a while until I try taking one again.

Happy 2011 Blogspot

Courtesy Stumbleupon~~

________________

Not much to report from this front. I'm feeling better pretty consistently. I get a little "wired" at times but magnesium, taurine, and if necessary a little 5-HTP seem to help right away. Or sometimes I just have to go a night with not so great sleep. But I've been able to be reasonably active and have done a lot this week. I went ice skating twice (last night was the best, the local team had a game and there was a free skate afterward, ideally for those that had bought tickets but they allowed us to come in...), on a drive up around Spencer's Butte but never did get off at the park... we passed it... but it was a nice drive.

________________

Some resolutions for 2011:

-graduate in Spring (figure out how to get out of my science major and honors college... mostly because I feel they are not preparing me for the jobs I'm applying to and are just extra money and hassle, forcing me to take grad requirements instead of classes I'm interested in or I think would be helpful for me)
-think positively

-make some friends, reconnect with who's left in Eugene and keep in touch with everyone who has escaped

-have a wonderful time with Tomona when she comes to visit

-start getting stronger with dance and yoga

-apply and get accepted to various companies in Japan

-maybe I'll be in Japan by September? It all depends on the companies' schedules

Acupuncture, Beads, and Ballet

So I'm loving acupuncture. I get instant relief everytime I go. Not all my problems are gone, but there have been so many it wouldn't be realistic to expect an instant cure and especially without addressing the emotional stuff the problems stirred up in me. I got a funky little bruise on one of the points this time, but i was having fluish body aches all week and sinus symptoms... and the treatment with moxibustion was instant relief for the pain... and even a little bit for the sinus stuff. I think I'm allergic to my birds. Always get tingling and some "anxiety" symptoms during treatment. The energy balance is just stubborn I suppose.

_______________

Having a lot of fun with beads, but gotta get up throughout the day. I feel yukky if I sit around too much.

_______________

Thinking of starting up in ballet again. Looking back giving up ballet back in h.s. was a difficult thing for me. I didn't miss the competition, but I think the physical activity and core focus was really important and kept me healthy throughout my youth. It was after I quit ballet that I started going downhill. I guess for me it's sort of like yoga. I'm doing a little bit of that too, but there's nothing like the feeling I used to get when I was a kid and I could just melt into the music. I'm starting to stretch in prep for it. I remember all the technique and what my body is supposed to be able to do but know that my ankle and core strength and flexibility are definitely not what they used to be (flexibility has always been a problem) I'll talk to my parents about it over Christmas, otherwise I'll just have to figure out a way to pay for it. And it's good, it's sort of on a pay as you go system at Ballet Fantastique in Eugene. You can pay for 20 classes... which takes off the pressure of having to make it to every class in case there is a big paper, exam, or reading assignment.

Here's the clincher though, I stopped ballet in h.s. to take difficult classes, when in reality the physical activity probably would have helped me better cope with the stress of the classes. So I guess this is an early New Year's resolution to go back to ballet. I'll miss prancing on pointe now but I guess that is something spared for my feet in my "old age." ;)

_______________

My school friend Tomona is likely coming at the end of February into March. I'm looking forward to the girl time after sort of getting stuck in Eugene with boys only. Haha boys only talking in Korean. Gotta admit it gets on my nerves sometimes when I can't understand anything. Or I understand and I'm just a mute because I can't express myself intelligibly in Korean. I can get my point across with confidence in Japanese but I've got a huge mental block for Korean. I don't know why. We'll see what happens when I get back to Korean class in January, and see what happens since my Japanese friends in Eugene (Tomona, and my student) both study Korean. They'll be excited to work on it... haha BUTTTT *ahem* I'd like to keep it in English or Japanese. Ugggh I hope then Max will know the frustration I feel. But if (WHEN) I relocate to Japan for work he'll definitely get it real close. He's so maddeningly easygoing at times I'm sure he'll adjust great.

A Familiar Story

An Anxiety Experience, and What Helps:

http://www.derealization.org/my-experience/derealization-cured-my-story

Great story. Kind of sounds like when I have my descents (well I have had 2 major falls with this anxiety... and a few short-lived minor ones)

Interesting that it came on after this individual was trying psychadelic drugs. I have never done any drugs... I'm such a pansy among my friends... usually the only one drinking water at the college parties...

It's interesting BECAUSE my anxiety started after the Gardasil + Menactra + Hep vaccines. It's as if I received a brain-chemistry altering drug!

And the story is EVEN MORE INTERESTING when the things the individual writes down helped their condition are uncannily the same things that have been helping me, that functional medicine and this whole unsettling but (hopefully) strengthening journey has brought me to. That is, magnesium, l-theanine (which I have been prescribed but seldom need to take, said to help with "brain chatter"... I get that feeling when I am hungry, and it is usually greatly helped by eating something, a little bit of complex carb with protein)... AND, optimistically, acupuncture. I'm getting really excited about doing some acupuncture.

When I was in Japan my host mother did acupuncture on me. She gave that up to pursue allopathic nursing, but it's nice to know that someone in the allopathic realm would have that experience. I know that it might not do anything, but there are so many problems I don't see how at least one might not be helped, especially with how it's effectiveness in treating nausea (from chemotherapy, etc...) and pain (effective nerve blocking) is touted. Very interesting stuff.

And look! Here's my blog offering another testament.

My one other dream? Kicking mono's butt.

Grumpy Takes a Vacation

Grumpy Takes A Vacation:

Not feeling so grumpy today. I contribute that a lot to doing some deep breathing exercises last night... chilling... and eating well today: that is, on time and with the right protein to veg to carb ratio. I definitely start to feel worse if I'm getting hungry. I'd settle for a stomach growl but I really start to get anxious and my mood drops.

At any rate, couldn't make it to my friends going away party tonight ; - ; Max's last final is tomorrow... and he hadn't even finished the take home portion by the time the party started so here I am. She said she'd come visit with another friend of ours this weekend. I'm not sure if it will go through, and I feel really bad about not being able to go. But at least I got to see her a few days ago.

Urggg finals.

I'll just look forward to the weekend and hope my two friends make it to visit. Or maybe I'll ask if we should just meet up somewhere... my house is pretty far from where everyone lives.

I'm Back

I'm back after the (short) Thanksgiving Break. Actually, it felt pretty long (because there are basically no breaks at my university...) I think I've been seeing some improvement. This is all I'm taking now:

If you have any issue this does not substitute for seeking treatment from anyone. It is merely a description of what is happening in my life. When in doubt always seek help from a qualified provider.

-fish oil, breakfast/dinner

-low dose B-vitamin with C (Solgar), 1 at breakfast

-magnesium glycinate (1 50 tablet, breakfast and dinner)

-taurine 1000 mg, breakfast and dinner

-zinc citrate 15 (mg?)

-vitamin D3 drops for kids (low dose)

-5-HTP, 50 mg, 1x a day, when I sense that I'm getting tearful and on edge again

ALSO... trying to avoid copper

So far so good on that. Vitamin D3, despite my deficiency in it, consistently seems to give me an on-edge sort of feeling. I try to take it earlier in the day. It's been about 3 weeks since I have seen any doctor so I am doing better. I have not had one night where I could not fall asleep for a few weeks now. Things are slowly but surely stabilizing... I really don't know what happened. It was probably a combination of the detox diet I was doing (even though it was not extreme! I was following a paleo diet... lean proteins, light on carb, rich in vegetables and fruits.) Fruits can set me off I guess. Then I tried an herbal mixture... I still think there is something really wonky with my immune system and that there is probably some kind of toxin left from the vaccine, or even if the toxins don't bother people, not all people have the same immune response to those toxins. There is a protocol outlined by Dr. Baylock (Blaylock) for treating negative vaccine reactions advising against any mushroom/immune stimulating extracts. Something there is still dysfunctional, which is evident because I have had a low-level mono infection for more than 2 years. He's really good, he wrote one of my favorite books: "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills" all about MSG and aspartate... not the BEST book in the world but it was pretty good.

Let's see... what else is working...

-prayer and meditation

-avoiding googling my symptoms (for the health anxiety that all these symptoms started... I'll admit it is there but I really don't think it's everything...)

-www.anxietyzone.com-- a bunch of people with crazy symptoms... who are surviving... it helps with my feeling of being all alone in this

Max's brother is here. There's a lot of getting acquainted we still have to do but just like my health, I'll just take it slow and natural. I really want things to work out but it has stirred up some anxiousness and requires some adjusting but nothing too crazy. I have a speaking final in Japanese tomorrow (so I'm going to take my studying to the net and just write out some of the potential dialogues/things I may say tomorrow to help me study) and if you have fun reading Japanese, by all means

どうぞ、読んでもいいです。