I'm Back!

[Courtney]

Hi all,

Well, I've been checking in and reading posts for the last few weeks or so, but with this being the busiest time of my year, I have not had time to post. But things should be slowing down for a little while anyway. My students turned in their final work today, so now I've just got to get it all graded, which will take forever but is not terribly stressful.

To update you, I have now been GF for about four months. I have been CF/DF for about a month and a half, and man do I miss cheese! I decided to go SF and corn F, too, to see if I can get this figured out. I did EF, too, for awhile, but found I had to eat something, and I noticed that not many of you have a problem with eggs. So far, I have yet to see any improvement, which is frustrating, but I keep reminding myself that it can take months. I have ordered the Enterolab tests for casein, eggs, soy, and yeast, and the kit is sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me to stop procrastinating.

Another reason I haven't posted much is that I've been dealing with really painful arthritis in my hands and wrists, probably made worse by the days on end of typing I've been doing. I was supposed to see a rheumatologist in November, but I had to cancel bc I was too busy. (I know, I should take care of my health...it seems like a constant battle between my health and my job, which I know most of you can relate to.) My mom saw some "arthritis gloves" advertised that are supposed to help and leave your fingers free to type (anyone tried anything like that?), so I might try those. So days on end of typing and the freezing cold, wet weather probably not helping with that. Today my whole right arm felt like my bones had been replaced with metal dowels. And my hair is falling out more than I think it should, and I have yet to gain any weight. (Still at 5'6'', 110 lbs.) I've also been quite fatigued, due largely to being unable to sleep through the night or stay in bed on mornings when I can sleep in.

On a good note, though, I think (hope) that this whole experience is making me a mentally healthier person. My whole life I have been very Type A, etc, thinking that I was only as good as my last grade. I am still like that, but I have been trying consciously not to be such a perfectionist and not to let other people make me feel like I am the scum of the earth if I get a comma in the wrong place in a manuscript. (Academics are like wolf packs--they'll turn on the weakest member, so you learn quickly to never, ever, show a weakness. Apologies to any of you who are/know academics, but for anybody pre-tenure it's pretty much true, although there are certainly exceptions.) I keep telling myself I am more than my punctuation, as MC reminds me frequently, but sometimes it's hard to remember. I keep reminding myself that it's okay to be "good enough" against all logic to the contrary.

Well, that's probably enough venting from me. Thanks for being here. I don't know what I'd do without you all.

Love,

Courtney

[Gloria]

Hi Courtney,

I taught high school mathematics and I know what Christmas semester break is like. I'd spend most of my break grading papers because grades were due immediately after break was over. I hope you get the grading done quickly and can enjoy the holidays.

I was GF for about 6 weeks after I was diagnosed and didn't notice any improvement at all. Once I began taking Entocort, I had a formed stool within 4 weeks. Some people can't or don't want to take a steroid, but it usually will take longer to return to a normal life if you go the diet-only route.

It sounds like you have eliminated the most common foods that are triggers. You're correct that most here can tolerate eggs. I'm one who cannot eat eggs and I know that it's difficult to go without them. Every breakfast, I wish I could eat them again. Once you can get the Enterolab testing, you'll have more information which will help in your quest to eliminate all of your intolerances.

Gloria

[tex]

Hi Courtney,

It's good to see an update, though I wish it were better news, of course. Your diet looks OK, and I agree with Gloria that once you have the Enterolab results in hand, you'll have a better handle on the situation, and you may even be able to add one or two food groups back into your diet.

You're pretty young to be having arthritis issues of that magnitude. Hopefully, when you get your other symptoms under control, the arthritis problems will fade away, too.

Your comments about the academic wolf packs made me smile. I had never thought about them in quite that way, but that's a pretty accurate analogy. LOL. When they are gregariously inclined, they do indeed form wolf packs, while individually, a prima donna personality seems to be de rigueur for so many of them. At one time, I seriously considered an academic career, but to be honest, after sitting through so many seminars, where most of the material presented was basically a "snow job", and seeing so many of my peers slowly but surely turn into academic prima donnas, I decided that I wasn't cut out for that sort of life.

And the tenure thing - you have to sweat blood, until you finally gain tenure, but once you've got it, you're virtually invincible. I'm not sure what the rules are now, but back when I was in school, a tenured prof could literally murder the dean of the college, and not loose his or her tenure. LOL.

I agree with you that perfectionism is a mighty tough habit to break, and a huge time waster. I find that after struggling with it for most of my life, I'm able to escape it's clutches on some projects, but not on others.

My hat's off to you if you can stand the pressure. As you say, it's a good life, if you don't weaken.

I hope you start seeing some substantial benefits from the diet, pretty soon.

Please keep us posted.

Love,
Tex

[JLH]

Thanks for the update, Courtney. I hope things start turning around for you soon.

Send off your sample to EL so you know your intolerances. That will help you. It isn't very difficult either. LOL

Feel better soon.




Love,