my health history

[Cheryl E]

Hello! I’m trying to work my way through all the threads here. My brain is a bit overwhelmed with all the information, which is great on one hand (the information is great!), but on the other hand I’m having trouble piecing it all together. I wasn’t sure where to post this thread, so I hope I chose the right category. I’m so sorry this is so long, but I didn’t know what to cut out.

General info: I’m 39, married, no kids.

Current health issues: endometriosis, a 3-inch uterine fibroid, suspect ovarian cysts, gluten intolerant (react strongly to wheat), gut imbalance, fatigue, excess weight, and react to salicylates, amines and (I think) glutamates. I thought I might have been reacting to oxalates, but now I seriously doubt it.

Childhood and family history: Mother was in poor health when had me. At age 2, extreme sickness/fever after pesticide exposure. Heart murmur at age 4/5. Moved into a brand new house (off gassing!) at age 9. OCD tendencies began at age 9/10. Age 7 to 12, lots of dental and orthodontic work for very crowded teeth; several amalgam fillings. Mononucleosis at age 14, followed by a school year of numerous bouts of the flu, a secondary infection and strong antibiotics.

Family history: Various family members with digestive weakness (including gluten intolerance), epilepsy, depression, extreme shyness and agoraphobic tendencies, muscle and skeletal anomalies (i.e. I and two of my siblings have an extra vertebra), and a brother and nephew with ASD.

Current/adult years: Menstruation became very problematic again at age 19, exacerbated by binge drinking and exposure to chemicals (including plastic powder at a kayak manufacturer). Accidentally swallowed a broken amalgam filling at age 24/25, with frequent UTIs and vaginal yeast infections for a few years following. Over last nine years, all amalgam fillings have been replaced with resin or porcelain crowns. Took Paxil for six months at age 24. Diagnosis of “moderately major” endometriosis at age 23; took Depo Lupron for six months and then took birth control pill continuously, but felt horrible so stopped and did Chinese herbs for 8 months. For many years, mostly controlled endometriosis with diet, herbs and exercise. Eventually learned about TF eating (took CLO, soaked grains and decreased sugar) and health noticeably improved. 2.5 years ago, after an extremely stressful family situation, period became very painful and irregular again and I eventually began having extreme dizzy spells, nightmares, brain fog and fatigue; at the same time, helped brother build a house, so had exposure to off gassing. After much research and trial/error, I discovered that avoiding grains/starches and decreasing salicylates/amines/glutamates made my life manageable again. Salicylate tolerance has noticeably improved, but amine intolerance has only slightly improved. Still have OCD tendencies.

Current diet: mostly avoid grains/starches and lactose-containing dairy per SCD/GAPS (fall off the wagon A LOT in the starch department), eat gluten-free, lots of veggies, apple is main fruit, pasture raised beef, some free range chicken and some awful Costco chicken, eggs that are somewhat pasture raised, some nuts and seeds, some seaweed (dulse and kombu kelp), and lots of butter. Trying to include coconut oil, green smoothies and bone broth in daily diet but this has been hit and miss. I’m trying to decrease my probiotics and add kefir, kombucha and sauerkraut. I have to be careful with nuts – too many will upset my liver and they usually pass out my stool undigested (nut butter is fine). A few months ago, I did the beet test and failed. For a while, while doing SCD/GAPS, I had no pink in my urine or stool, but the pink has returned.

Supplements: fairly consistent with taking CLO, iodine, probiotics and certain bitter herbs to help my liver. Have done various experiments with betaine HCL, enzymes, B vitamins, vitamin C, Methyl-Guard by Thorne, calcium, magnesium and molybdenum. The probiotics helped increase salicylate tolerance and decrease abdominal bloating. The iodine increased energy and libido, and seemed to decrease the horrible pain I was having during days 8-12 of my cycle. The herbs help with liver issues, my period, acne, and seem to increase salicylate and amine tolerance. The HCL and enzymes helped with digestion, and the other supplements helped to varying degrees (though sometimes hardly at all) with salicylate tolerance, energy and the OCD. Epsom salt foot soaks are VERY helpful with salicylate intolerance and insomnia. S. boulardii, although causing quite a die off reaction, really helped increase salicylate tolerance.

Food reactions: I haven’t figured all this out yet. I feel like there’s a definite correlation between certain foods and reactions, and in other instances I’m not sure if it’s salicylates or amines or both or something else. Chicken skin, grapes/raisins and red wine cause horrific nightmares. I’m very caffeine sensitive. Soy sauce, mushrooms, chocolate, basil, mint and parmesan cheese cause insomnia and make me feel like my nervous system is on overload (colors stand out more and my hearing becomes sensitive). Spicy Thai food and excess coconut products interfere with sleep and cause wild, colorful dreams (not bad dreams, but certainly fantastical). Homemade soup/bone broth that’s been cooked to long and/or sitting on counter or in fridge too long causes hearing sensitivity, irritability, insomnia and bad dreams. I seem to be sensitive to amines in fermented foods, so I’m introducing them slowly. I could add more, but you get the picture.

Detox pathways: I’ve gone through the lists but am still overwhelmed. It seems that sulfation is impaired. I’m not sure if I’m low or high dopamine, since I have symptoms from both groups. Edit: After more reading, I think my dopamine is a bit high and my serotonin can be low at times.

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. I’m working hard at learning as much as I can. I want to heal as much as possible using food and herbs.

[Pat Robinson]

Your history is very similar to mine, amalgams, antibiotics, endo etc. I have/had endometriosis and had horrible cramping with each cycle. We found the endo when I had an ovarian cyst, had it all cleaned out per laporoscopy and maybe the pain went away? I can't really recall that it did. I didn't realize the hormonal variable at the time. And never had hormone levels tested. After pregnancy and birth, I no longer had menstrual pain for some time. Then I recall it returning but to a lesser degree. Homeopathy has made it go away. I don't really understand how, but there is an emotional-chemical-hormonal component to stress and endo pain, perhaps.

Personally, I'd see a classical homeopathist, and read about adrenal and thyroid issues. I see you are supplementing both iodine and kelp? Are you binding mercury alongside that with Vit C, magnesium and selenium? Doing salt water flushes?

Here is an old post of mine about the hormonal testing, the interconnectivity between our hormones and definitely its impact on endometriosis. The stress hormone of cortisol impacts the other sex hormones. http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showpost.php?p=5178228&pos...

Have you read in the Adrenal Fatigue or Thyroid threads. The long and short of it is that as our hormones change, the other hormones are interconnected and are affected. Saliva testing for thyroid, progesterone, testosterone, estrogen and cortisol are done over the course of the day. Stress, or alterations in nutrients could effect each of these. Same with detox, toxin exposures, pregnancy, diet, etc.

There are specific nutrients which are related to hormonal balance. Have you had saliva testing done? There is commonly an association between androgen levels and estrogen levels. Both can be elevated. Read on the iodine thread also about the relation to thyroid receptors being blocked by bromides also. The hormones are all interrelated. My understanding is that all 5 hormones need to be saliva tested: thyroid, progesterone, testosterone, estrogen and cortisol, multiple times during the day. I've learned hormonal imbalances are associated with gut dysbiosis also.

This is my Cliff's Notes to thyroid stuff: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showpost.php?p=13805072&po...

Also, consider researching PCOS issues and the related hormonal imbalances: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=13936257&...

Adrenal fatigue is also interconnected with stress, cortisol exhaustion, and thyroid levels.

Check out the Thyroid Thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=493320

And the Adrenal Fatigue Thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=685848

The Iodine Thread: http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=1091794&h...

It sounded like glutamates could be an issue. GABA is an inhibitory (vs. excitatory) chemical responsible for creating the calming, rhythmic electrical impulses in the brain. GABA promoting foods: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/forum/topics/nutrient-dense-foods?commentId=2814160%3AComment%3A1875

What about vit C, magnesium and zinc food sources? Green smoothies, herbal infusions, pumpkin seeds. This is one of my favorite threads related to nutrient dense foods: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/forum/topics/nutrient-dense-foods.

I'd focus on stomach acid, even a small teaspoon of Bubbies sauerkraut or apple cider vinegar or lemon juice before each meal could make a huge difference. Gradually increase. You need adequate zinc, B12, B1 and B6 sources to make stomach acid. Fermented food intolerance seems to be an amine issue, I believe.

Foods to Help Phase I and Phase II Detoxification:
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/forum/topics/nutrient-dense-foods?page=2&commentId=\
2814160%3AComment%3A655&x=1#2814160Comment655

check out www.eatingcultures.com to try and guess on some of your detox pathways, and to figure out which nutrients will be important for you. And www.detoxpuzzle.com to identify some of your detox pathways, nutrient deficiencies/needs. I'm still sorting out the different pathways myself.



HTH, Pat

[Cheryl E]

I’ve wanted to see a classical homeopath for quite a while. Finances are extremely tight right now, but I’m considering doing a trade with a local homeopath, if she’s willing (I’m an acupuncturist). I’m taking 1,000 mg Vit C, 400 mg magnesium and two brazil nuts per day. I’m not sure how much of the Vit C or the magnesium I should be taking. I have to read up on salt water flushes – I’ve never done one before. I’m assuming you have a web link regarding this type of flush? I tried to find the info on this forum, but haven't tracked it down yet.

Long ago I became convinced that the emotional component to my health needs to be addressed. I’ve been making changes in this area and I can tell it’s helping. More to do, though, always more to do. I come from a long line of workaholic overachievers, and though I'm a bit more 'type B' than some of my family members, I have a long history of pushing myself too hard on many levels.

Thank you for all the links. I have lots of reading to do, which means I’ll eventually have a bunch of questions! The hormone testing is on the 'someday' list. What lab do you recommend? I’ve heard good things about the Canary something or other lab. I need to use a lab that doesn’t require an authorization, since I don’t know when I can afford to go see my NP again.

Regarding foods, I’m exploring this more. When I started having all the sals/amine/glutamate reactions, plus all the bloating and edema and weight gain with grains/starches, there was quite a list of foods that I stopped eating. I’d stand in the kitchen looking dazed, not knowing what to eat and not always having an appetite because I wasn’t always excited about cooking. I was afraid of having a reaction (pain, nightmares, insomnia), and I was grieving the ‘loss’ of so many foods I loved to cook and bake. Things are much better now. I’ve made good progress in my healing, and I became more creative with cooking. For many years, I’ve had strong cravings for green foods (when I see really green grass, I joke that I wish I was a horse so I could eat it). The green smoothies taste great to me.

I’ve experimented with ACV at mealtime and it helps, especially when I’m eating a meal heavy in meat. I need to make more sauerkraut, too.

Thank you for all your help! In case you didn’t know, I’m surely5 on the cookingtf forum.

[Pat Robinson]

I'd look at 4-8+ grams of Vit C a day. They say "to bowel tolerance". Some have taken 3x that amount over the course of the day. The more mercury you excrete, the more you need. Ultimately, you need less and less. Again, I'm doing mostly food sources for nutrients; but I didn't have mercury fillings removed (with/without proper removal protocols and chelating though.)

Magnesium can be 200-800mg in divided doses depending upon your tolerance. 800mg is a HUGE dose. I would not recommend doing that much. But, some folks are taking that much total over the whole day. Take divided doses. It too causes diarrhea when you've had too much. It can also cause some serious cardiac issues with too much at once. So, take caution.

Epsom salt baths, along with the vit C and selenium will help a lot with relaxation, sleep and energy, ime. And Omega fatty acids, too.

I don't know about testing resources much. The medical alternative for imbalanced hormones is synthetic supplementation. So, that hasn't been something I've researched. There are some herbs which have similar hormonal effects (such as licorice), but I'm not schooled in herbs much. The testing is informative. Probably, symptomatically you can identify some hormones which you might could alter with lifestyle changes. Stress and cortisol is a huge one. Sleep and melatonin is another. Getting to bed by 10pm is very valuable for improving hormonal balance.

Adding whole food probiotics is another.

I find a green smoothie the most approachable 'fast food'. I blend organic baby spinach and frozen tropical fruit and some mineral water and it is delicious and nutritious and Easy.

Salt flushes help to clear bromides which are excreted (and mercury) from the thyroid when you supplement iodine.
http://www.drshevin.com/patient_education/nutrition_hygiene/salt.php
http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/bromidedetoxsymptomsandstrategie...

I can't say enough positive about the emotional component of an effective classical homeopathic consult. Elisabeth, an administrator here does consults. She is very gifted. Our homeopath locally does phone consults too. I have a ton of childhood baggage which is just benign now due to homeopathy.

Glad to meet you surely5. :-)



Pat

[Cheryl E]

I think I'm past bowel tolerance with the 400 mg of magnesium, but I also do epsom salt soaks. I was guessing that my Vit C intake was low, given my circumstances. I'm loving the epsom salt soaks; I can feel myself 'shift down' (as I call it ) while my feet are soaking. I hate taking baths, so I soak my feet when hubby and I are watching a movie or a show in the evening.

Many of my problems are lessened when I'm on vacation. It's quite a striking difference, actually, especially when I go to Europe for three weeks (which I try to do every two years, since I have family there). I'm putting a lot of work into re-engineering my life and my thought processes to not stress out, to set realistic expectations of myself and to be more consistent with things like bedtime, cooking meals ahead of time for the work week, and exercising consistently. I started doing T-Tapp last summer and I'm hooked.

I read up on the salt flushes. It looks like I should take a couple days break from the iodine, then start taking it again. Do I take the iodine, wait a day, then do the salt flush? Or do I do the salt flush on the same day as I reintroduce the iodine?

Regarding detox stuff, I took a test to see if I'm under or over methylating, and it looks like I'm under methylating.

Many thanks!

[seedstarter]

Cheryl,

What test did you use to see if under or over methylating?

My basic understanding of stress causing hormonal imbalance is that stress releases cortisol (a hormone made by the body when under stress). Progesterone is a precursor for cortisol, but also for testosterone and estrogen. So if there's a lot of stress, more progesterone will be shifted towards cortisol instead of towards estrogen and testosterone. Of course, if progesterone levels are low, there's an earlier problem in the cascade. Don't know if that's too basic to help.

Cheryl E said:

I think I'm past bowel tolerance with the 400 mg of magnesium, but I also do epsom salt soaks. I was guessing that my Vit C intake was low, given my circumstances. I'm loving the epsom salt soaks; I can feel myself 'shift down' (as I call it ) while my feet are soaking. I hate taking baths, so I soak my feet when hubby and I are watching a movie or a show in the evening.

Many of my problems are lessened when I'm on vacation. It's quite a striking difference, actually, especially when I go to Europe for three weeks (which I try to do every two years, since I have family there). I'm putting a lot of work into re-engineering my life and my thought processes to not stress out, to set realistic expectations of myself and to be more consistent with things like bedtime, cooking meals ahead of time for the work week, and exercising consistently. I started doing T-Tapp last summer and I'm hooked.

I read up on the salt flushes. It looks like I should take a couple days break from the iodine, then start taking it again. Do I take the iodine, wait a day, then do the salt flush? Or do I do the salt flush on the same day as I reintroduce the iodine?

Regarding detox stuff, I took a test to see if I'm under or over methylating, and it looks like I'm under methylating.

Many thanks!

[Cheryl E]

Here's the link for the test. I found it on one of the MDC threads.
http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/articles-content.php?...

I've been reading a lot about hormones the past several months, and the scenario that you are describing with the cortisol and progesterone is one that I've been pondering for awhile. It seems to fit me. One thing in particular that stuck with me is when I was reading (somewhere . . . don't remember) that for those of us with gut issues and inflammation, anytime foods or other substances are causing inflammation in the gut, the body is using cortisol to calm things down.

[seedstarter]

I like the test, but half my responses were in over-methylated and half in under-methylated. So no clarification for me.

BTW, does over-methylating correspond to faster phase 2 or is that different? One of Pat's links to Dr. Amy's site has some articles on excess methylation of DNA/RNA, but I think that's different than excess methylation in the detox pathways. Just trying to figure all this out.

Interesting about the inflammation in the gut and increased cortisol. Makes sense though since cortisol decreases inflammation. (Reason corticosteroids are use for asthma).

[Cheryl E]

I wonder if scoring half and half on the test means something specific? I don't know about the phase 2 part. I've been reading and reading, but I'm still trying to soak it all up. The trouble with having detox issues is that brain fog comes with the package. Ugh! I'll have to check out the Dr. Amy articles (Amy Yasko?).

[TanyaL]

If you're getting to bowel tolerance with 400mg of magnesium, maybe you need some more calcium as well? I guess that just seems a bit low to me and I've read that it can signify a need for more calcium but I haven't tried that yet. My DH and my kids get quite a bit, DH needs more than Pat's 800mg/day but he is a bit extreme on that.

Different people react to iodine in different ways. In my ignorance, I just started with high doses and had no issues at all. The salt flushes are intended to help reduce/eliminate side effects from the iodine, and you may not need them.

Certainly a lot of what you've written about is familiar to people who read about mercury toxicity. I'm not saying it's definitely that, but most of these types of problems can be caused by mercury. You don't have any more amalgams, right? Are you considering chelating?

Cheryl E said:

I think I'm past bowel tolerance with the 400 mg of magnesium, but I also do epsom salt soaks. I was guessing that my Vit C intake was low, given my circumstances. I'm loving the epsom salt soaks; I can feel myself 'shift down' (as I call it ) while my feet are soaking. I hate taking baths, so I soak my feet when hubby and I are watching a movie or a show in the evening.

Many of my problems are lessened when I'm on vacation. It's quite a striking difference, actually, especially when I go to Europe for three weeks (which I try to do every two years, since I have family there). I'm putting a lot of work into re-engineering my life and my thought processes to not stress out, to set realistic expectations of myself and to be more consistent with things like bedtime, cooking meals ahead of time for the work week, and exercising consistently. I started doing T-Tapp last summer and I'm hooked.

I read up on the salt flushes. It looks like I should take a couple days break from the iodine, then start taking it again. Do I take the iodine, wait a day, then do the salt flush? Or do I do the salt flush on the same day as I reintroduce the iodine?

Regarding detox stuff, I took a test to see if I'm under or over methylating, and it looks like I'm under methylating.

Many thanks!

[TanyaL]

I admit I get confused by overmethylation, I'm not sure I can describe my understanding of it, or even whether it's right. I _think_ someone can be an overmethylator and still have a backlog of metals and junk to methylate, I think it's just a bit harder to supplement some nutrients (different imbalances happen than with people who don't fall into either the over or undermethylator categories).

But phase 2 is a mix of a lot of pathways, though the thing is, the more chronic, complex health issues are going on, the more multiple pathways can be bogged down, it seems to be a cascade effect. Even though the kids and I don't have salicylate issues, for example, I think our sulfation pathways aren't great, along with all the other pathways.

seedstarter said:

I like the test, but half my responses were in over-methylated and half in under-methylated. So no clarification for me.

BTW, does over-methylating correspond to faster phase 2 or is that different? One of Pat's links to Dr. Amy's site has some articles on excess methylation of DNA/RNA, but I think that's different than excess methylation in the detox pathways. Just trying to figure all this out.

Interesting about the inflammation in the gut and increased cortisol. Makes sense though since cortisol decreases inflammation. (Reason corticosteroids are use for asthma).

[Cheryl E]

Yep, calcium . . . I should have explained that I was experimenting with more magnesium but at the same time wasn't on top of taking my calcium (in addition to running out of cheese, which I consume regularly). I've read that the calcium and magnesium should be taken separately. What does everyone think about that?

I happened to be taking some of the needed supplements when I started the iodine, but I wasn't taking everything I should have. I'm taking the other needed supplements now, so time will tell if things improve for me. I don't have any more amalgams. Chelating? I don't know if I need to. I should get tested first, right?
TanyaL said:

If you're getting to bowel tolerance with 400mg of magnesium, maybe you need some more calcium as well? I guess that just seems a bit low to me and I've read that it can signify a need for more calcium but I haven't tried that yet. My DH and my kids get quite a bit, DH needs more than Pat's 800mg/day but he is a bit extreme on that.

Different people react to iodine in different ways. In my ignorance, I just started with high doses and had no issues at all. The salt flushes are intended to help reduce/eliminate side effects from the iodine, and you may not need them.

Certainly a lot of what you've written about is familiar to people who read about mercury toxicity. I'm not saying it's definitely that, but most of these types of problems can be caused by mercury. You don't have any more amalgams, right? Are you considering chelating?