Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Starting Over....? Lyme's, Low Carb, and More.

I've been rather unable to post these past months; dealing with illness, compounding illness. For myself, and then my teen son. This update was written months ago, in a rare strong moment. They are coming more frequently now, so hope and creativity are sparking again, and may hopefully ignite! Soon!



Official diagnosis-- I had been battling a chronic yet debilitating sinus infection, which did not present in the usual way. (From Jan 4- until early March! I now wonder was this really the case? Given the later diagnosis?)

Then, we both were brought down by Strep-- unusual for us!

Official diagnosis-- he has been out of school since mid-March with Mono, and at that time a complication of the spleen.

I took us the 1-2 hours drive to our very skilled & specialized Acupuncture NAET practitioner, to help dear boy boost his immune system and fight this severe Mono that had him down. I would, I decided at last minute, get a treatment, too, as I knew that there was a point after/beyond which I could not accelerate or excel, and would need to improve my health in order to meet my goals and dreams...

After our practitioner on his own detected the past strep with no info from us, confirmed that, yes, there is Mono that he's been fighting, showed us it's not the thing that's bringing him so low.

UNOFFICIAL (ie, not from our GP) diagnosis? For BOTH of us?

LYME'S DISEASE.

And I had recently had a positive test result, which when "resubmitted" showed negative. What's that mean? I asked my doctor. Don't worry about it was the answer.

Long story short, we have been on an extremely low carb, no nightshades diet for WEEKS NOW. (Hoping that it needn't be forever...) But as I want us to BEAT this thing, OBLITERATE IT, we are both as compliant as we can manage. For now. For this moment & this fight. Which makes it extra hard for us on several counts.

1. We are already Gluten Free!

2. My kids have numerous food allergies, as well, which means I cannot bake with any of the "helps" that many others can, such as soy, milk, eggs, etc.

3. Knocking out Tomatoes, Potatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Paprika/Chili, makes this already LIMITED DIET SUPER LIMITED and difficult. Inspiration is an exercise in mental wrestling.

4. And to top it all off, the most emotionally crushing (especially with few carbs to help me make Serotonin!) is the loss. I dream of having a GF Vegan Allergy Sensitive Establishment. I study. I develop recipes. And lately I HAD BEEN SUCCEEDING! The Pita bread recipe I'd just developed is SO DELICIOUS AND INSPIRING I'D BEEN MAKING IT 5 TIMES A WEEK! ON REQUEST! TO GREAT CHEERS! SOUVLAKI ANYONE? PERSONAL PIZZA NIGHT ANYONE? HEY HONEY, HOW 'BOUT SOME PITA TO DIP IN YOUR FAV HUMMUS?

This outshone even my Dutch Oven Bread for FEEL GOOD ACCOMPLISHMENT & INSPIRATION!

And now. I feel I'm starting all over again. With almond meal. And maybe Coconut Flour. (Did I mention Husband HATES Coconut?)

And these two options, while we may be able to tolerate, are not FANTASTIC. Not yet anyway. And where would they leave me in an ALLERGY FRIENDLY COMMERCIAL VENTURE? Carb conscious, yes, but where do they fit in in terms of my Best Practices? ______

WELL... that's the update. Written a few MONTHS AGO... Anyone out there reading- well this posting is a good sign; that there will be an UPDATED update. Hopefully very soon!

Health and Happiness to all...

xo