Afraid I sabotaged my healing :(

[GrammyLou]

I am so sad today. I was doing so, so well. After about a month on SCD diet, I was feeling so much better. Cramping and weird woozy-head symptoms were just about gone. Even my puffy poo was almost normal. Then I got cocky. I read a post somewhere by someone who said she had done SCD for a month and now could eat anything she wanted. So I decided to try a recipe I saw for an oatmeal alternative breakfast...pumpkin, coconut milk, coconut flour, gelatin, and I added some ground walnuts for extra thickener. Yikes! What a HUGE mistake! Last night I was hit with explosive liquid D and awful cramping. Now I fear I have undone all the good healing I had achieved and am back to square one. I could just cry :( This, after I had done so well all through the holiday weekend. I know my mistake was jumping in with both feet, rather than testing small amounts of the new foods. And I know...one new food at a time. My brain knows all this, but I guess I secretly have not given up hoping that I am different, and I will magically heal quickly and be able to go back to a "normal" life. I just can't quite accept my diagnosis, since I have been so healthy all my life. And I am losing so much weight it is beginning to make me nervous. I was not overweight to begin with, and have already lost over 10 pounds. I have a very high metabolism, which is how I got away with eating all the processed sugars I consumed over the years without getting fat! (Sugar was my cocaine). Now, on this very limited diet, I am having a very hard time getting enough calories. Anyway, I don't really know what the point of this post is, except that I needed a shoulder to cry on. Thank you all for being here. :*(
~Louise

[tex]

Hi Louise,

Not to worry. You're not back to square one. As long as you haven't eaten a bunch of gluten you have just had a minor setback. Sometimes we just need a reminder to help us remember that the reality of the situation is that until we heal, our digestive system is really sensitive and has to be treated with care at all tomes. Things will get better as your digestive system continues to heal.

Please don't beat yourself up. We all have moments that we regret as we recover. There'll be good days and bad days, but as long as we don't get too adventurous with trying to find foods that we can safely eat, the occasional setbacks will be small. And as we heal, those setbacks will get smaller and farther between.

Tex

[Martha]

Dear Louise,

I was not able to gain weight until I started using topical magnesium. I didn't change what I ate, but that seemed to help my body enough that I gained weight. I'm still thin, but people don't look at me in alarm any more. I used Ancient Mineral magnesium oil, but I also like Life-Flo magnesium lotion. It's less drying.

It's annoying not to be the exception to the rule, isn't it? I kept hoping I wasn't really sensitive to gluten, but of course, I was! Just like all of us.

Love and hugs,
Martha

[tasmtairy]

I was hungry today, a rarity, so after being with dad in the hospital for a stress test, i came home and ate an avocado, small amt. of rice with peas and bits of chicken and 10 min later....boom.
I went two days with just D in the morning. Ugh
I'm thinking just a couple bites here and there. I don't know.
Diagnosed 25 days ago.

[Marcia K]

Hang in there, Louise! We've all been there, done that. I've gained all the weight back except 5 lbs. and I'm okay with that. Things will get better for you, just keep on keeping on. Hugs to you.

[tex]

Hi Tas,

If you are sensitive to soy, the peas could have been the problem. Or you might be sensitive to chicken. Or you might still be reacting because of gluten if you have been avoiding it only a few months. It takes a while for the inflammation to recede.

But a reaction in 10 minutes is not an IgA reaction. It's a histamine reaction. Chicken quickly becomes a high-histamine food when it is not frozen.

Tex

[carolm]

Hi Louise- my first thought too when I read your post was that you have not gone backward or harmed yourself, but Tex beat me to it. It could be that your pumpkin dessert was a little too rich for you system right now. We all get tripped up unexpectedly when trying new things. I can eat things now that I couldn’t eat a couple of years ago so it does get better. But add in fatigue, or a hectic pace or a new stressor and that, combined with a new food, can throw a me off track. Now, however I might just feel rough for 1/2 day instead of 1-2 days. Your resilience will improve as you heal.

Best wishes,
Carol

[carolm]

Hi Tas, even though I could tolerate chicken I found I definitely wanted it to be as fresh as possible to keep histamines low. Also, I think avocado is a high histamine food. Somewhere on this board I know we had list of foods that can be high in histamines. You may want to consider keeping a food diary to see if you notice reactions consistently after certain foods.

Also, in my experience, stress is the unknown trigger. Anything that makes us worry or takes us out of our routine can trigger a gut reaction. If you were just at the hospital with your Dad as he goes through medical tests, that may be all that’s needed to trigger D. Just something to consider.

Best wishes,
Carol

[GrammyLou]

Thank you all for the kind words and insight. I am back to my boring same-old same-old foods and feeling much better today. Also caught up on my sleep after the loooong holiday weekend with a house full of guests. I'm sure the stress contributed to my woes. But no more pumpkin or nuts for me for a while! I actually woke up this morning dreaming that I was eating a bowl of cereal....*sigh*. Probably never again :(
I sure would like to stop losing weight, though. I'm currently on the SCD diet and am having a hard time getting enough calories with no grains/carbs. I'm down about 13 lbs and my clothes are starting to fall off. I don't want to have to go buy new clothes...thinking I'll just go buy some belts to keep my pants up and hopefully I will start to regain some weight soon!

[tex]

Corn Chex and Rice Chex cereals are gluten-free and safe for most people. With almond milk, they make a safe breakfast or snack for almost any of us.

Tex

[GrammyLou]

Oh...Someone here had warned me that the vitamin E tocopherols in Chex might contain soy, which is a trigger for me. But I just found a post on a food allergy site where someone said they had called General Mills and was told the tocopherols were from corn, not soy! I am sensitive to almonds, but maybe someday, when I'm off SCD diet and back on grains, I will be able to have Rice Chex with coconut milk! yay!

[Gabes-Apg]

I dont want to rain on your parade per say - be cautious of corn based products, corn is high GMO type crop and high risk for glyphosate ie roundup being the chemical being proven as the reason for intolerances and allergies with food - it is not always gluten.

this is one of the many reasons why I encourage people to avoid process flour items (baked goods, cereals etc) in the early stages of healing, as they contain multiple high risk triggers, far more than whole foods like proteins and safe veges.

[tex]

Recognizing that there is a lot of false information floating around the Internet, since there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that either GMO or salt of glyphosate is harmful to human health, I only worry about the issues that actually matter. If you look in the right place (or the wrong place), you can find a reason why you shouldn't eat any and every food available. So are you going to starve just to be politically correct? So far, everyone I'm aware of who is sensitive to almonds has no problems with almond milk, including me.

Tex

[Erica P-G]

Due to the amount of weight loss I experienced in the beginning changing my diet, I looked at the SCD and decided it wasn't for me at that time....I was at 145 pounds and dropped to 134 during my elimination diet to find my safe foods....albeit it has been a journey and I'm now 2.5 years into in...I have gained my 10 pounds back and doing pretty good...I would think by giving yourself a good time period of finding safe foods you may not revert back to the SCD only if you intended to perhaps lose weight again.

I eat yellow potato, white minute rice, pork, turkey, chicken, carrots and I use Just Mayo, or Veganaise (yes there is some pea protein in those but it doesn't seem to affect me as long as I don't over indulge with it).

I have a fast metabolism, and I don't metabolize caffeine very quickly either but I can have it and I have a cup of coffee every morning with almond/caramel creamer.

Hang in there....and this is to anyone who may need the encouragement at this time

[GrammyLou]

Thanks Erica...you sound so similar to me. I was sitting at about 147 lbs before the proverbial sh!t hit the fan! I tried just an elimination diet in the beginning, but it didn't seem to help...after a couple of weeks avoiding gluten, dairy, and soy I wasn't feeling any better. It wasn't until I totally cut all grains and potatoes and severely limited my diet that I finally seemed to turn the corner. I have dropped from 147 down to 134. (And I also metabolize caffeine very, very slowly, so I avoid it whenever possible). I am trying to add more foods. I am thinking I will try to stay on SCD until the first of the year, then try adding white rice and potatoes back in. When you say "yellow" potatoes, do you mean something like Yukon Gold? Is there a reason you don't eat russet or Idaho?

Tex, my son and I both have issues with almond milk. It makes us both very gassy. I do best with rice or coconut milk.