Think I've come down with "RESEARCHITIS"

[sunny]

I have been on the GAPS protocol (bone broth & chicken ) for the past 4 1/2 months. I also had Cdiff during that time so figure my gut is badly damaged from that pathogen plus the effects of the antibiotics used to treat it.
I get emails from bloggers such as The Healthy Home Economist,Chris Kesser, Weston Price, other paleo folks, etc. All emphasize gluten free but from there the suggestions are myriad. Potatoes... no potatoes! Rice... no rice! No grains of any kinds! Nut butters.... No nuts! Eggs... no!! egg yolks only....
Raw Milk... no dairy ( mute point as I test high on Entero labs with dairy).... the contradictions are dizzying!even the paleo folks don't agree...
I have Hashimoto's, celiac, adrenal fatigue, etc are all autoimmune diseases.... enter the Mast Cell/ Histamine influence...What? This is new for me!

A chiropractor recommended a lab I never heard of and he said he used to use Enterolab but they specialize in fat in the stool...WHAT?? he claims to be a nutritionist and can help my auto immune issues such as thyroid... I am leery... trusting my gut on that one....

The naturopath I went to prescribed Berberine and Activated Charcoal which gave me such severe symptoms of painful gas and diarrhea I could hardly function... "but it couldn't be those..." he uses those all the time with his other patients... the RN at the supplement company who sold me these supplements said they would be contra-indicated with someone with my gut problems and probably further inflamed my gut....sigh.... she suggested I ask my doc for an ALCAT test for food intolerances so insurance would pay for it...

Meanwhile my Hashimoto's is not being helped by the Levothyroxine , just as it hasn't been helped for the past 10 years...
My adrenals must be gasping for life with all the stress I have been under over the years and now trying to find help by myself...
I am exhausted looking for answers.... found some hope in the idea of using Elevil to slow motility down... will ask today about it vs Entocort. She will probably want to refer me to the GI.... the arrogant young doctor who doesn't know that anemia is often found with Celiac patients and insisted on a Endoscopy to look for ulcers...."we can't let you out of the hospital not knowing if there is bleeding." (I was getting 4 units of blood and needed 6 but they couldn't give me that much due to heart failure issues.) I know it would be a waste of time to see him or the one I saw in 08.
After 2 or 3 good days with visits form norman..... boom! yesterday I had so many trips to the bathroom and such severe pain from the cramping and bloating I was wondering if it was Cdiff back. which is always a possibility.
I can't leave the house at this point except for doctor visits so I am pretty isolated. I'm so hungry but not sure which plan to follow...
All that to say .... HELP!!! need feedback.... puhlease... I would love a big bowl of rice.... but it's a grain and has arsenic levels that are pretty high...( some expert told me that...) and I am so stuck right now....
almost Sunny

[tex]

Hi Sunny,

I'm sorry that you're having bad days again. I too wonder if the C. diff might back. Severe pain and cramping are worrisome symptoms. True, those symptoms often occur with MC, but they're more severe with C. diff. Or, you might have caught a stomach/intestinal virus that's going around. We always fear the worst whenever D strikes, but we have to remember that everyone gets D now and then, whether from a virus, or a bacterial infection in a food item. And just because we have an IBD, that doesn't make us immune to the same risks that others in the general population face.

As far as rice is concerned, if you want to eat rice, while minimizing any arsenic risk, buy aromatic varieties, such as basmati or jasmine rice. Basmati especially, from India and Thailand, typically contains minimal amounts of arsenic. We would have to eat a lot of rice, to expose ourselves to a serious risk, in the long run.

Remember the big Alar/apple scare a couple of decades or so ago? Except for those of us who normally eat a boxcar load of apples every day, it was a moot point.

Call me an ignorant old country boy, but I usually don't let government warnings of danger affect my diet, unless I can see an obvious reason that makes sense. (That also applies to news media warnings, of course). For half a century (more or less), the food "experts" and various food police have been screaming in my ears that I should eat margarine, because it's much healthier than butter. And they've been preaching that red meat, eggs, bacon, and animal fats (all of which are paleo foods, that our ancient ancestors safely ate for millions of years), are nothing but a fast track to heart attack and stroke. "Eat whole grains instead", they claim, "Whole grains are soooooooo healthy". All that ear pollution is probably part of the reason why my hearing headed south about 40 or 50 years ago.

All these years I've ignored their advice, and I've continued to eat all that unhealthy stuff, and suddenly I'm back in vogue, after they have finally been forced to reverse their mistaken position on all that stuff. And it turns out that the whole grains that they've been promoting for all those decades (especially wheat) have essentially turned my guts into a disaster area. So much for the expertise of "experts".

Sorry, I tend to get sidetracked, sometimes.

Tex

[DebE13]

Sunny, holy cow! I was feeling quite down today and had to reconsider after reading your post. I know the feeling..... Just what the heck can I eat? I eat rice because it's one of the few things I KNOW is a safe food for me. I mostly use jasmine rice. Is nishiki an aromatic variety? Probably not. I'll have to look again to see where it's made. The same for potatoes and corn. It makes your head spin trying to figure out what to eat.

I've become skeptical of all medical practitioners- any variety. I tend to prefer the naturopaths but even many of them don't understand that MC changes the game. They hear colitis and formulate a plan that often isn't compatible with MC. It's frustrating. My best resource is everyone here.

I hope you find some helpful answers and some relief.

[tex]

Deb,

Nishiki rice is Japanese. The aromatic rice varieties include basmati, jasmine, Texmati, Wehani, and wild pecan rice.

Tex

[sunny]

Tex...thanx so much for your encouragement. I didn't explain that those days of severe cramping pain come along after 2 or 3 pretty good days...and responds to pepto, Imodium, & lomotil. Today ...nothing. So prob.not Cdiff. After all. Good to hear about the fragrant rices as I love Jasmine rice. My daughter is paleo & thinks rice adds to inflammation. I have been eating Protein Power style for years so paleo is on my horizon.
I appreciated the reminder about the food police... The government, the bloggers, etc. I was feeling I needed that "expert" but that is a trap...I'm the only one who knows me & my body.trial & error seem to work. But when damage happens without symptoms, it helps to be pointed in the right direction. The GAPS gal recommends only broth & chicken till symptoms decrease.... So I didn't want to hamper healing with rice.

Deb, thanx for your comments. I share your skepticism about most medical practitioners...have learned the hard way! I think you're right, more help from members here than "out there."
Funny thing, I felt better & clearer in direction after sharing my angst!

[Leah]

I feel for you Sunny. Listen to your body ( not what everyone else is trying to sell you). Once you get your symptoms under control again, try some rice ( rinse it well before cooking). I know that many of us can't eat it, but it is a staple of my diet and is very soothing to my system. Remember that we are all different. Go slow and try one food for a few days to see if you react. Listen to YOUR body.
Good luck
Leah

[Gloria]

A chiropractor recommended a lab I never heard of and he said he used to use Enterolab but they specialize in fat in the stool...WHAT?? he claims to be a nutritionist and can help my auto immune issues such as thyroid... I am leery... trusting my gut on that one....

I've noticed that a lot of chiropractors have added "nutritionist" to their credentials. One came highly recommended, but I'm still leery like you. It almost seems like they want to emulate an MD, but they're still a chiropractor.

I certainly hope your C-diff is gone. Enough is enough.

Gloria

[Lesley]

Sunny - I so feel for you! So sorry you are feeling so, if you will excuse the word, shi**y.

I can't have rice. The only grain I can have is oats. And I do eat them since there is so little I can eat.

As for doctors - I have given up completely. GIs are, IMO, the worst. Who in their right mind becomes a GI? What's the lure? I know OBGYNs also root around in the dark places, but babies come out of there. What comes out of the rooting in the gut? I rest my case.

Leah - I know dogs shouldn't have grains, but when Licorice has a wonky tummy rice really helps her.

[DebE13]

Awe, no more nishiki...... I checked my bag of jasmine rice and it's from Thailand. guess I need to be more careful when shopping. I've tried soaking my rice but it does change the texture a bit. I didn't care for it. Maybe I soaked it too long.

I really liked my chiropractor/functional medicine doc. At least he knows food effects everything. I felt he was on the right track but just didn't have the background in MC but I guess who does besides us? I didn't care for the tons of supplements since they didn't work. I always planned to get in touch with him to tell him about Enterolab instead of the blood testing for food sensitivities because he'd be open to new information. Maybe once I start feeling better......

I just bought grain free food for my two cats. There was very clear language on he bag not to over feed or D could result. I mixed it with their old food, Iams to transition. My one cat got D (no fun) and a day later my other started puking. I don't know if it's coincidence but I'm afraid to use it now. It was disappointing doing something good for my girls and getting stressed out over what surprises I may find. I postponed their vaccinations because I didn't want to aggravate them when things are already touchy.

[tex]

Who in their right mind becomes a GI? What's the lure? I know OBGYNs also root around in the dark places, but babies come out of there. What comes out of the rooting in the gut? I rest my case.

Good question. I've always wondered about that myself. One thing's for sure — doctors who choose that specialty are bound to view life very differently than most of the rest of us on this planet, and they surely have totally different personalities, priorities, and motivations. It's not easy to visualize them bouncing out of bed every morning, and thinking to themselves, "Wow! . . . What a beautiful day — I can't wait to get to my office to see what's on the agenda for today".


Deb,

Cat chow should not cause cats to have D or to regurgitate their food, just because they eat more than a minimal amount. There's something mighty suspicious about the product that you bought, and it may or may not be in the ingredient list.

Tex

[JFR]

Who in their right mind becomes a GI? What's the lure? I know OBGYNs also root around in the dark places, but babies come out of there. What comes out of the rooting in the gut? I rest my case.

Good question. I've always wondered about that myself. One thing's for sure — doctors who choose that specialty are bound to view life very differently than most of the rest of us on this planet, and they surely have totally different personalities, priorities, and motivations. It's not easy to visualize them bouncing out of bed every morning, and thinking to themselves, "Wow! . . . What a beautiful day — I can't wait to get to my office to see what's on the agenda for today".

Tex

I saw the local GI doc about 7 years ago. He's the only one in town. I would have to travel more than an hour if I wanted to see another one, which I don't. What went through my mind when I saw him was that he really didn't like his job. He just seemed unpleasant, not specifically towards me but towards life in general. I actually thought "I bet he wishes he went into some other line of work".

Jean

[DebE13]

I tried Natural Life salmon meal and pork. It seemed like a good choice- no grains at all. I only mixed half a bag in with what was left of the Iams, which wasn't much. I thought maybe I rushed it with the new food proportionately too big for the transition. It's always hard to tell.....coincidence with possible hair balls and eating too fast? That's my fat one, eats in a frenzy and it all comes back up. Not always but it happens. The other one is my older runt. I feed her regular meat everyday as she has come to expect it. Thought maybe the hamburger was too greasy and caused D. They both had soft stools for days so it could also just gave been a bug. I've brought in all my outdoor plants to my basement greenhouse area so it could have been a plant, but there's nothing new I brought in that I haven't had out in previous years.

Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to blame the food but I'm hesitant to give it a second try. I have half still in the bag and was thinking about returning it.

[lorimoose]

Deb,

My cat lived to be 18, on purina cat chow. As she got older, I did get her the food for older, indoor cats. When she was younger I used hairball control formula. Is there a reason why you want to change the food? It seems like too much a coincidence that both cats are reacting to the new food. I would be afraid to try again.

Lori

[JFR]

When I switched my dog's food I started out with about 3/4 old food and 1/4 new food and then slowly upped the proportion over 2 weeks. Any faster seems to result in digestive upset of the D variety.

Jean

[Rosie]

I agree with Jean. A slow transition is important to avoid digestive upset.

That's my fat one, eats in a frenzy and it all comes back up.

One of my dogs is a real food guarder and bolts his food in an unhealthy way. There are food dishes that can help with this. I have a bowl that has lumpy bumps that force Pippin to eat around them. I have to feed him in a separate room from my other dog because otherwise he will get worried that he can't eat fast enough and frantically stand over the bowl growling and not eating......

Rosie