"You Have Died of Dysentery" -- Oregon Trail, The Game
Hey it's your girl here from Oregon (and yeah I did move here from Missouri - Oregon trail ya' know? Okay anyway...)
Last week I wrote a Manifesto on protein. I was always short amino acids (L-Glutamine, L-Tyrosine and L-Tryptophan in particular) so figured -- "okay not enough amino acids? They come from protein, so I'll supplement protein." But I still had to take amino acids on top of the protein shakes etc. so eh' wasn't that effective. (I was far worse on high protein diets too being my very worse and declining rapidly on Keto) ... Incidentally, there are people in my family with the same deficiencies in aminos who perk up within minutes of supplementing them. We do not know why or if it corresponds to fatigue. It might be a separate issue entirely.
For me personally, I believe this is a metabolic issue. And there is actually a lot of neat information on this forum (deep diving with search) and off about CFS and metabolic ailments (you know, if you didn't develop it from Mono, Lyme, EBV, or another specific reason that you know where it came from....we all landed here in the same spot but no doubt by various mechanisms...)
On Health Rising there is this interesting metabolic article:
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2...ell-us-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-fibromyalgia/
So I've gone Vegan, and have been Vegan since May first, Vegetarian since February 9th (2018) -- after trying a wide array of diets this suits me best.
I have had better recovery time (PEM), better sleep, and better energy levels, no brain fog (!!) -- but the improvement is almost incidental still because my energy envelope is pretty darn small still even if I'm clear-headed and I've developed severe pain (see below). No miracles yet. Added is a certain pressure lately that I really need to be working and bringing in money.
In this second week of my experiment of 1, N=1, I've embarked on the 6 week challenge outlined in Dr. Fuhrman's book, "Eat To Live" which is a little tedious since I already agree with eating plants, don't need talked into it, and just needed the nuts and bolts of his plan. I came about looking up the book by a random online claim that it effectively helped restore a person with CFS to full function. Since I already eat a lot of plants - well why not give it a try?
Dr. Furhman's plan, a rough outline
1 pound of fresh raw veggies per day (more or less, thing big veggie salad with a no oil dressing)
1 pound of cooked veggies (more or less, think stir fry but no oil or sugar)
4+ fruit per day
max 1 cup of starch food per day (but not white flour or anything refined)
no sugar, no oil
(I have also cut back supplements! I just take the amino acids I require & magnesium)
I already follow Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen (NutritionFacts.Org) and have been at this for a bit so this wasn't quite as overwhelming to me as I think it would naturally be to anyone trying to switch over from a standard diet or a diet with processed foods.
Morning: Bananas and fruit for breakfast
Lunch: SUPER GREEN smoothie
Snack: Raw carrots with salsa (mix of raw veggies here whatever I like, maybe part of a banana or apple or something)
Supper: Something with beans, tonight is butternut squash chili with pinto beans, tomatoes, onion and no fat or meat.
Drinks: I usually drink a cup of unweetened Soy Milk per day and herbal tea
Okay so there you have it, the weekly update. I weighed in this morning at 166.8 -- I'll post in next week on Monday to let you know how it's going.
A small hitch I have is I seem to be allergic to B12 vitamin, which being Vegan is required to supplement. I'm still working through this. I do take Chlorella which is supposed to have active B12 in it naturally.
Yesterday I went out and hiked and didn't crash - until much later and I needed to lay down for a bit - but it wasn't nearly as bad as I would have expected and I went really far (5.5 miles) without totally melting into a puddle from muscle weakness. I even went up some hills and stuff. It's clear I've lost a lot of muscle and packed on some fat to my frame, but my body did putter along for most of the afternoon without getting sick. I didn't have PEM today although I also haven't gotten a lot done.
I have had neuropathy lately though and it seemed exacerbated by the exercise. It feels like my toenails are getting pried up with something sharp on and off. I have very padded good shoes but it makes no difference, the pain feels real but there is no damage to my toes. I also have a crawly sensation with the skin on my face and often pull and tug at it in the night. The crawly sensation is also on my scalp and caused me to cut my hair very short but it still bothers me all day every day, kinda wish I could shave my hair completely off but it's not actually going to help so I talk myself out of that drastic step. It reminds me of my grandmother with her Alheimerz, she kept getting her hair shorter and shorter and pawing at her facial skin saying that it was 'blackheads' it must be blackheads on her skin but no one could see anything. I also mix up names the same way she used to and get confused. It's one thing to be in your 80's and have that happen but I'm just 43. ((BTW -- I have no idea what this crawly sensation is, if it had a name, if it's part of CFS, or WTH is going on, if you have info please comment below!
)
So I'm having some nerve issues and that's pretty scary. After going through lots of doctor exams all I was left with was 'fibro' as my diagnosis and I'm not sure they even wrote it down in my chart. I'm back at the "you don't look sick" and "just go back to running and working out you'll be fine" route.
Well - until next week - to your health -- I'll be eating Greger's Daily Dozen and seeing what happens along with the Furhman plan
P.S. -- Stopped most supplements because I was worried that something is triggering the neuropathy and I felt like with 2lbs of fruit and veggies a day I didn't really need to supplement vitamins. I do try to get in a wide range of items, I do greens every day but various varieties and so forth -- trying to to over eat any one item.
Hey it's your girl here from Oregon (and yeah I did move here from Missouri - Oregon trail ya' know? Okay anyway...)
Last week I wrote a Manifesto on protein. I was always short amino acids (L-Glutamine, L-Tyrosine and L-Tryptophan in particular) so figured -- "okay not enough amino acids? They come from protein, so I'll supplement protein." But I still had to take amino acids on top of the protein shakes etc. so eh' wasn't that effective. (I was far worse on high protein diets too being my very worse and declining rapidly on Keto) ... Incidentally, there are people in my family with the same deficiencies in aminos who perk up within minutes of supplementing them. We do not know why or if it corresponds to fatigue. It might be a separate issue entirely.
For me personally, I believe this is a metabolic issue. And there is actually a lot of neat information on this forum (deep diving with search) and off about CFS and metabolic ailments (you know, if you didn't develop it from Mono, Lyme, EBV, or another specific reason that you know where it came from....we all landed here in the same spot but no doubt by various mechanisms...)
On Health Rising there is this interesting metabolic article:
https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2...ell-us-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-fibromyalgia/
So I've gone Vegan, and have been Vegan since May first, Vegetarian since February 9th (2018) -- after trying a wide array of diets this suits me best.
I have had better recovery time (PEM), better sleep, and better energy levels, no brain fog (!!) -- but the improvement is almost incidental still because my energy envelope is pretty darn small still even if I'm clear-headed and I've developed severe pain (see below). No miracles yet. Added is a certain pressure lately that I really need to be working and bringing in money.
In this second week of my experiment of 1, N=1, I've embarked on the 6 week challenge outlined in Dr. Fuhrman's book, "Eat To Live" which is a little tedious since I already agree with eating plants, don't need talked into it, and just needed the nuts and bolts of his plan. I came about looking up the book by a random online claim that it effectively helped restore a person with CFS to full function. Since I already eat a lot of plants - well why not give it a try?
Dr. Furhman's plan, a rough outline
1 pound of fresh raw veggies per day (more or less, thing big veggie salad with a no oil dressing)
1 pound of cooked veggies (more or less, think stir fry but no oil or sugar)
4+ fruit per day
max 1 cup of starch food per day (but not white flour or anything refined)
no sugar, no oil
(I have also cut back supplements! I just take the amino acids I require & magnesium)
I already follow Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen (NutritionFacts.Org) and have been at this for a bit so this wasn't quite as overwhelming to me as I think it would naturally be to anyone trying to switch over from a standard diet or a diet with processed foods.
Morning: Bananas and fruit for breakfast
Lunch: SUPER GREEN smoothie
Snack: Raw carrots with salsa (mix of raw veggies here whatever I like, maybe part of a banana or apple or something)
Supper: Something with beans, tonight is butternut squash chili with pinto beans, tomatoes, onion and no fat or meat.
Drinks: I usually drink a cup of unweetened Soy Milk per day and herbal tea
Okay so there you have it, the weekly update. I weighed in this morning at 166.8 -- I'll post in next week on Monday to let you know how it's going.
A small hitch I have is I seem to be allergic to B12 vitamin, which being Vegan is required to supplement. I'm still working through this. I do take Chlorella which is supposed to have active B12 in it naturally.
Yesterday I went out and hiked and didn't crash - until much later and I needed to lay down for a bit - but it wasn't nearly as bad as I would have expected and I went really far (5.5 miles) without totally melting into a puddle from muscle weakness. I even went up some hills and stuff. It's clear I've lost a lot of muscle and packed on some fat to my frame, but my body did putter along for most of the afternoon without getting sick. I didn't have PEM today although I also haven't gotten a lot done.
I have had neuropathy lately though and it seemed exacerbated by the exercise. It feels like my toenails are getting pried up with something sharp on and off. I have very padded good shoes but it makes no difference, the pain feels real but there is no damage to my toes. I also have a crawly sensation with the skin on my face and often pull and tug at it in the night. The crawly sensation is also on my scalp and caused me to cut my hair very short but it still bothers me all day every day, kinda wish I could shave my hair completely off but it's not actually going to help so I talk myself out of that drastic step. It reminds me of my grandmother with her Alheimerz, she kept getting her hair shorter and shorter and pawing at her facial skin saying that it was 'blackheads' it must be blackheads on her skin but no one could see anything. I also mix up names the same way she used to and get confused. It's one thing to be in your 80's and have that happen but I'm just 43. ((BTW -- I have no idea what this crawly sensation is, if it had a name, if it's part of CFS, or WTH is going on, if you have info please comment below!
)So I'm having some nerve issues and that's pretty scary. After going through lots of doctor exams all I was left with was 'fibro' as my diagnosis and I'm not sure they even wrote it down in my chart. I'm back at the "you don't look sick" and "just go back to running and working out you'll be fine" route.
Well - until next week - to your health -- I'll be eating Greger's Daily Dozen and seeing what happens along with the Furhman plan
P.S. -- Stopped most supplements because I was worried that something is triggering the neuropathy and I felt like with 2lbs of fruit and veggies a day I didn't really need to supplement vitamins. I do try to get in a wide range of items, I do greens every day but various varieties and so forth -- trying to to over eat any one item.
