uh...

[Jane Bertone]

My main question: is this fatigue and general weirdness some kind of detox I'm going through after a week or so on my best version of the specific carbohydrate diet? I'm not thinking clearly right now at all. Are there reactions to the initiation of a "better" diet that cause things to feel worse for a while. I mean, I know there are things like this in general but I don't remember it like this before. And if so, how could that be affecting my breast milk? Is there something I can do to ameliorate? And if it is affecting the bm, could that be connected to Sam's sleeplessness (see below)?

Samantha and I went gluten free about three weeks ago and then a week ago I eliminated all grains and most dairy (not that I had much dairy before anyhow), plus potatoes and looked at the illegal list here:
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/legal/legal_illegal_a-c.htm
but haven't yet become as strict with all the details as I want to get.

Two weeks after Sam (2y4m) went gluten free, she got hit hard with an ugly intestinal infection that barely even touched the rest of us in the house. It's her third in two months. This time it was the worst with vomiting for two full days and then mean diarrhea for days after (still mild now). Could there be a connection?

I hate the gluten free substitutes for things like pretzels, cookies and breads. Full of starch! blegh. So I'd love to either go back to whole grains (imagining soaking, sprouting etc.) for her or find a way to go gluten free without the subs. She loves bread and pasta though.

OK, so the reason I'm doing gluten free isn't that clear to me. It's more of a guess than a real plan. Sam weighs just under 20 pounds. Still. Her weight hadn't changed from October to January and I started to get uneasy. Her height and head circumference are increasing but are still in the 3-5 percentile for her age. When she was born she was well above 50th. (8lb 12oz.) She's a vibrant, intelligent, inquisitive person, makes wonderful eye contact, very alert, very much on track in terms of speech (actually well ahead) and motor skills. Her body temp is consistently low (97.7 or so, as is mine; mine's often lower). She gets cold hands and feet easily. Of course, she has very little body fat. Her ribs are very visible through her skin but she has lovely full cheeks (lots of breastmilk). No shiners, no excema, sometimes she complains that her yoni itches but she doesn't take many baths either and prefers not to change her diaper these days. The other thing is that she wakes up, every day, like clockwork, at 4 AM or earlier. Wide awake. Chock full of energy. This week she was sick so she slept in. Until 5 or so... wow! I had read that low body temp could be connected to hypothyroidism. I went poking around on a website or two and saw ref's to adrenaline spikes in the early morning followed by rising levels of cortisol... She will wake up asking for food and then refuse everything I offer her. She will ask for ice cream and will take a couple bites (this week I've steered her away) and be done. Gradually, she'll have a few bites of this and that until it seems to me like she may have gotten a meal's worth... She will sometimes eat a meal at lunch or dinner but often continues to graze all day. Not too diff from me (I'm 5'2"; Sam's Dad (DH) is 5'8") and my sister at that age apparently but maybe even smaller? My mom isn't quite sure about it but my sister says we weren't that small. One of her daughters was tiny too, but she says, not that tiny. Of course, her husband is 6 feet...

Sam's pediatrician (ND/MD uses homeopath, doesn't vax) wants to do blood and urine work, which I might not have a problem with if it weren't for the fact that Sam is likely to be totally against it. Considering her response to the idea of sitting still to have her fingernails cut, I don't think it's worth it, yet. I'd have to hold her while she screamed. This totally goes against my principles.

Another piece of the puzzle is that although I was on SCD after Selena (other dd, now 4y9m) was born to get rid of candida and other sort of IBS like symptoms, I promptly went off it when pregnant with Sam, *needing* bread, I felt. And then after she was born I've tried here and there to go back on because the candida is back (vaginitis, bloating, anal fissures, sorry! TMI but honest) but have not been able to stick to it like last time. So I've heard that my body/breast milk could have/be sensitizing her ....

I don't know if there is any connection but two days ago Sam had oats at breakfast (organic but probably wheat contaminated) and then yesterday Dad accidentally gave her orzo pasta (mixed with rice, he didn't know) and the last couple of days she has been a bit of an insomniac, despite looking so tired to me, and coming off that wicked bug. She didn't have a nap yesterday (very abnormal for her), couldn't get to sleep until 8:30 pm (also very abnormal), woke off and on all night (nurses back to sleep) and was wide awake by 4:30 am. Oy. (Is it my imagination or is the sleep thing getting worse?)

So yeah, my fatigue is also lack of sleep. But I'm not sure that's all of it. I went to bed with her at 8:30 last night, in fact I was dozing for a couple hours before that as she was wanting to watch tv, I slept all night with her, and Dean let me sleep-in a little when she woke at before the crack of dawn. And I still feel like a slug.

No, I'm not taking the CLO I have in the fridge. Not sure why. I'm not taking any supplements. I'm trying to eat organic whole foods. Bought the stuff to do my green juice (oh that reminds me, isn't a juicer better than a blender?) but haven't done it. Haven't bought the chlorophyll, or floradix. Haven't bought brazil nuts! Maybe I should do all that and then start asking questions. ?? I am eating more yogurt than before (raw organic) but still not enough. Getting some kefir grains tonight.

I have a mouth full of amalgam fillings that I got as a kid. :( I have some composites too and got sealants when I was in my 20's (36 now). But yeah, mercury. fun.

BTW, Sam was born at home, unassisted (gentle waterbirth, she was asleep when she arrived), no vax, no abx, ever. We keep our house stocked with lots of whole foods, some processed stuff but free of: additives, HFCS, artificial anything, preservatives, etc. She has had candy though... I try to keep organic stuff around but at halloween and xmas she had plenty of your basic off the shelf goo.

So, maybe that's a full pic, maybe not. I'm not sure what I'm asking (hoping someone out there is like, yeah, that happened to us, your problem is XXX). I have tons of other questions about stuff on this network. What's ecc? and other acronyms (I could set up a list if you want). What are the general criterion you (anyone, pat, owners) use to vet your resources? What, if anything, is the thing/thought/idea (wap, mercola, mcbride, raw, etc.) that is a/the underlying starting basis of your journey. I don't think I need all the answers right away... ;) Just throwing out my thoughts I guess, from behind this fog I'm in, and maybe without one or two of my normal filters.

haven't had enough time to edit and clarify etc. gotta run though. sincere TIA

Love,
Jane

[Pat Robinson]

What fats are you eating? (coconut oil kill candida, so do lots of probiotics and kombucha) What carbs (processed carbs feed candida, simple carbs don't, so the candida dies off) and what protein (complex protein is easier in some ways, some ways meat is easier with detox, ime)? What liquids? (you need lots of structured water, with mag/sulfate, sea salt; mineral water) What supplements? (these can be helpful or create an imbalance, especially the B-vitamins) For each of you.

But, the brain-fog will be helped with vit C, selenium (Brazil nuts) and magnesium (Natural Calm or nuts) and extra water, ime. It sounds like "die-off". Basically, when we don't feed the candida, it dies off. Unfortunately, with a mouth full of mercury, you need to go slow. I'm not an SCD fan. Many love it. It sounds a bit too harsh for those who have mercury stores, IMO. Candida binds with mercury to keep it from being in the blood stream, sorta. (not a scientific explanation, will try to explain more later, heading out in a bit). But, you don't want the candida and you don't want released mercury. So, you (and I) are between a rock and a hard spot.

Baby gets mercury toxin dumps as you kill off your candida. She'll feel like crap, insomnia. Releasing stored mercury makes you have a horrible headache, achy body and joints, foggy headed, irritable, sound sensitive. Btdt. But, a supported liver will help to detox and excrete a portion of it. That is why slow and nutrients are important. Homeopathy helps too.

Gut healing with mercury and nursing is a special situation. We are all working through that. You might want to read this online book or it is $10 on Amazon: breastfeeding/detox book: http://books.google.com/books?id=RNfgy0bdyIkC&pg=PA111&lpg=...

Be back later.

Pat

[Jane Bertone]

Would you refrain from milk thistle extract? While it supports the liver it also will encourage the detox process, right?

[Pat Robinson]

Jane Bertone said:

Would you refrain from milk thistle extract? While it supports the liver it also will encourage the detox process, right?

I haven't read up on it yet. But, everyone seems to believe that milk thistle is ok for nursing mamas. I don't know, about mamas with mercury in their teeth yet, though...


Pat