Well, first of all THANK YOU to everyone who has reached out to me since I had blogged about not feeling well lately, that post informs this one so go check it out: I’ve not been well…
So many people reached out with ideas and suggestions and some people who were feeling the same as me. There were also a few more symptoms once I got thinking about it a little harder – BLOATING being a big one I left out and loss of appetite -nothing tastes good or sounds good anymore. Like today I made a big breakfast and only had a few bites.
Some people suggested COVID symptoms kind of dragging on and on – possibly however this is how I used to feel ALL the time – I’ve felt this way for most of my adult life EXCEPT for the past 6 months. These symptoms are not new to me but now I know what life is like without them and I’m determined to get rid of them again!
Some people suggested my blood sugar may get low when I’m fasting – I’ve done several 24 hour fasts without ever having a blood sugar issue and honestly I haven’t been fasting much lately. When I do fast, I feel so GOOD not bad. Fasting actually relieves the symptoms in some ways.
Some people suggested OSA or obstructive sleep apnea – I actually have this. I was diagnosed when I was 19 and I do have a sleep machine that my mom keeps nagging me to give another shot. I just really don’t sleep well when I wear it unless I take medication to help me sleep and I hate doing that. Also, I know my symptoms are much WORSE when I’m heavier and I’m the lightest I’ve been in a long time so I don’t think that is the issue but worth a shot.
Some people have suggested a gut yeast overgrowth after antibiotics – THIS is something I’m looking into. There’s a ton of research on how bad antibiotics can really be for you and the relationship with the gut, and something called the microbiome and the gut brain axis. I’m on supplements to support my microbiome already but this is something I’m looking into especially since my symptoms worsened since I was on Augmentin for a sinus infection.
Some people suggested I’m under too much stress – I feel the best I’ve felt mental health wise, work life balance wise, anxiety wise, than I have in a very long time. Other than some winter blues, I’m feeling great and I feel like my stress is well managed.
My blood work came back today – we checked thyroid, CBC, folate, B12, ferritin, vitamin D – ALL TOTALLY NORMAL. So that isn’t the issue.
I have a few thoughts now that I’m thinking back – I really was working to cut sugar out the past 6 months so I hardly had any chocolate – but in March I’ve been making chocolate cashew clusters with some sugar free chocolate I found and they’ve been so good! Maybe I am not tolerating chocolate?
Which got me thinking a little harder and I decided after some research that my symptoms align with a food sensitivity or intolerance. I think I’m going to try an elimination diet starting, well, today to see if that improves any of my symptoms and then slowly introduce foods back in to see how I feel.
Lots of fruits and veggies and meats coming my way! I just put in a Walmart pickup order so I can stock up. It’s all temporary, honestly I hardly have an appetite anyway but hopefully this next month will be very telling.
Any tips, tricks, or recipes on elimination diets are GREATLY appreciated! I’ll keep you all posted, thank you for your kind words, comments, and suggestions.
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25 years ago I worked as lab and x-ray tech at local medical clinic. One of the doctors firmly believed that food was a culprit in many issues such as ADD, behavioral issues, irritable bowel syndrome and many others. He went to a conference in Canada and came back and started ordering a new blood test for these patients. IgG4 food sensitivity test. My daughter (5years old at the time) was one of the first. It took less than 48 hours of removing the foods she was sensitive to and we had a totally different child in our home!!! I saw patients with IBS start to feel so much better. Some kids got off Ritalin. This test is not used enough. At that time Mayo had to send it out to Florida to be done so it was an unusual test at that time. See if you can get your provider to order this test. ITS NOT A FOOD ALLERGY TEST.
So sorry Kalissa! The best elimination diet I know of is the Diagnostic Elimination Diet that was developed by the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) in Australia. We used it for my daughter when she was small to diagnose her food sensitivities. I wouldn’t discount Covid’s influence though; my whole family had Covid in November and since then my eldest is lactose intolerant, and I am both lactose and gluten intolerant. My doctor had me eliminate them both, while also sticking to my migraine diet and I feel so much better. Apparently not only can Covid cause cell damage to the digestive system, it may also change the gut microbiome. I definitely recommend working with your doctor to do a proper elimination diet though. Good luck and hope you feel better soon!!
Wow! You’ve done some major introspection and history work. Good for you.
Elimination diet: One of my staff needed to do this for a new Lupus diagnosis. She started out hard core vegan and slowly added 1 item per week back into her diet. I think you’re a carnivore as am I, so this method could be a bust.
Eating whole foods with very little added may be the ticket for you. Nothing processed-perhaps the issue is a preservative of some sort?
Best of luck !!!!
I have suffered from food intolerance and when I read your post, I almost commented , but because some food intolerance are not widely recognized by medical profession I decided not to. So I am glad you have researched this and looking into it. I have been on two very strict elimination diets a few years ago. Look into Salicylates sensitivity. Salicylates are found in many fruits and veg. So when you think you are eating healthy and eating more of these foods, you actually feel worse. The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia are leaders in this type of intolerance. They have a handbook RPAH Food guide that is my bible. Could be your problem.
Regards Jodie
That sugar free candy type stuff really raises havoc with my guts! Cramps, bloating, gassssss! Are you gluten free? Sure helped my guts! Take a good probiotic after a round of antibiotics also helps.
We r a mess here…hubby is allergic to yeast (migraines). His elimination diet was really strict. Pork and potatoes all meals for two weeks! Then he introduced oatmeal for 2 weeks, and add a new thing each two weeks. It worked but it was hard! He did that for three years (this was 30 years ago). Now he can have yeast occasionally and it doesn’t bother but if he does it too much he gets miserable . Reading labels is a game!!
Have you been tested for SIBO? Formal diet helps.
That should be FODMAP diet!
I think you should keep a food diary of everything you eat on a daily basis. Thank goodness your bloodwork came back as normal so you can eliminate several diagnoses. Sugar and alcohol are the first things I would give up. Good luck to you.
This sounds so much like what my daughter has gone through. She has found that gluten seems to be the culprit. When she cuts it out or greatly reduces gluten, her symptoms go away.
When you mentioned bloating, I thought of food sensitivities. I became gluten and dairy intolerant after a cellulitis infection treated with antibiotics (including IV) over the next month. Fatigue and brain fog, too. I still have issues and now have to watch FODMAPs as well. Your chocolate-cashew-sugar-free clusters probably contain at least two FODMAPs (cashews and sugar-free substitutes). Good luck in continuing to sort things out.
Also, are you taking anything to restore the gut microbiome disrupted by the course of antibiotics? Florastor and other probiotics might be helpful.
Maybe look into no gluten and low FODMAP? Most vegetables are hard to digest and can cause bloating. I am currently doing both things and it has helped me enormously.
I am another one that says to try and stay away from “sugar-free” because there are some added ingredients or substitute sugars that have been shown to cause issues. Try them carefully as part of the elimination diet if you have to have them.
Do you use artificial sweetners? I had constant headaches for years and when I stopped the aspartame, the headaches stopped too.
Several years ago, my stomach was so bloated (something fairly new to me), I looked 6 months pregnant. I went to a kinesiologist and he told me that I had gall stones. I did a gall bladder cleanse, I had LOTS of stones! My gall bladder must have been full. Now I try to do a cleanse once a year, and just have a few gall stones. Now if I get bloating, it is because of something I have eaten, such as processed food.
Good luck finding some answers to your problems!
When I did the elimination diet a year ago I also elimintated all nightshades. I was really amazed at how much they were affecting me…..lots of brain fog. My Dr. told me to go gluten free too….that was harder but I finally did and i found it also was contributing to the brain fog. My Dr. said that 6 weeks isn’t long enough to test for gluten intolerance and to stay off it for 3 1/2 to 4 months. I have now been off gluten 6 months and am still improving! I also had headaches and was taking ibuprofen every day. I found out it was the pain pills that were causing the headaches. You could try a few days with no pain meds and see if it helps. Good luck!
Do NOT eliminate gluten before testing for Celiac Disease. Please get tested for Celiac Disease ASAP to rule that out. If you eliminate gluten and feel a lot better, you won’t know if it’s a gluten sensitivity or actual Celiac Disease and you may not take cutting every bit of gluten out of your life forever quite so seriously.
If you’ve been off gluten for a while (and “a while” can vary) and THEN you want to know for sure if you have Celiac Disease, a doctor would normally ask you to go back on gluten for a few weeks before testing, and most people don’t want to do that since if you DO have Celiac Disease, by definition that will harm your small intestine.
Unfortunately, I know a fair amount about Celiac Disease because I have it and 2 of my kids have it. The 3rd kid has the genes for it but doesn’t have it (yet, but might develop it at some point). If you do end up having it, your mom, siblings, and children should be tested as well, as it does run in families, and people don’t always realize they have it.
I hope it’s NOT that, and I hope it’s something super-easy and not life-changing to deal with!
It could be the cashews & not the chocolate.
I with MPV61. Don’t eliminate gluten until you are checked for Celiac disease!