HELP ! My (bad) digestion is keeping me away from happiness!

[mosaic01]

Read this and you will understand your condition Your Eatopia - Blog - Phases of Recovery From A Restrictive Eating Disorder

 

[French.cat]

Read this and you will understand your condition Your Eatopia - Blog - Phases of Recovery From A Restrictive Eating Disorder

Thank you but I don't really recognize myself in this article, It's been almost 3 years since my last binge (bulimia). I am born with depression, actually.
My (crazy) mother told me I've always been different. I don't trust her in general, but for that I can.

 

[OliviaD]

Hi everyone

I'm French and new to Peat... Well, I have to admit that I post really often, because I'm afraid of going in the bad direction and need some friendly advices :)

I had lifelong depression, ADHD, anxiety and brain fog. 15 years of eating disorders, healed for 2 years now.

During the past 12 days I have eaten decent amount of calories (2500 at least) and have been trying to do my best not to freak out with my bad digestion (worsened by eating disorders and low carb dieting, but I'm born that way) ! Thanks to sugar, saturated fat and good salt, my anxiety and insomnia stopped (except while taking pregnelonone), and I feel grateful

The thing is : I can't think properly.

I don't remember things I've lived, things people told me a week ago, and it's so hard to focus on a book.

Most of the time, when I have a meal, I get sudden blurry vision and enormous bloating (to the point that I hold my belly like a pregnant woman because I am ashamed...).
Fatigue follows... and brain fog is massive. I know my blood sugar level is maybe related to that issue.

I tried fasting and I got almost no brain fog. I had sharped mind. I tried keto and the same happened.

My TSH is 2.8 so it might be du to slow metabolism, that leads to not being able to digest food normally (that's what I've learned from Kate Deering's book).

Anyway, I find it hard to know what to do about it.

Should I try thyroid supplement (I have one at home, never tried) or searching for food that cause intolerance ? I want to live a normal life !

I think BAD DIGESTION is keeping me away from happiness!

Yesterday I spend the day with my bro in museums but I was so spacey that I did not really understand what I read and my vision was horribly blurry

The first week felt great but now I'm desperate.

Can you help me ?

Hi - I've read a couple of your posts - and you do have a lot going on, so likely there is not one simple solution.
Can I ask how old you are?

Also, you did right a lot about how being on a keto diet has made you feel much better. In another post, it sounded like it put your depression at bay, and greatly improved your mental clarity and other health issues. To me - that is a clear sign that it is helping you! I'm wondering why you would want to change?

One thing I have come to believe (I'm 63) is that there does seem to be some individual differences in how people respond to different dietary approaches - AND in addition, there is a wide range within some dietary styles - keto being one of the most diverse. I know of many people sharing your experience. I also believe that it is reasonable to expect that our dietary needs might change over time.. i.e one could get benefit from a keto/carnivore diet for awhile and then decide to expand and add in other foods. Ultimately, you are the only one who can know what is best for you. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to experiment. So - do not feel like you need to change something because of other people, or what is working for them. I don't get hung up on labels - i.e my current 'diet' plan does not fall into any strict dogma; and I'm still in the process of working out what works best for me. (GI issues are my primary 'thing').

A couple of things just from this post (and this is not exhaustive by any means). Are you keeping a journal of your eating or good records? I'd get a notebook and start doing that for sure, if you aren't already. If you are getting so bloated, etc. you are eating things that are hard for you to digest. I'm not sure what you are eating, but that would be the place to start.

You also say the bloating goes away with fasting (no food to cause trouble, so that is to be expected) or keto. So, we could say that what you are eating on keto seems to be okay for your GI tract. So, let's call that your baseline.

Most often if people make a drastic change too fast, there will be digestive issues as the body adjusts to processes new foods. i.e when you started keto, you had to upregulate enzymes involved in digestion of protein /fats; your microbiome had to adjust (I'm not big on that, but it does exist to some extent). So, let's say you are adding some fruits - you will have to do the same. What I would suggest is to go back to that baseline where you had no bloating and felt good. Do that for as long as you need to get back to the 'good' state : a week, 2 weeks, or longer. I'm not sure how long you have been off of keto. Then, I would try adding in new things very slowly. Ideally , one thing at a time; although I know this is often hard. This is where your journal will be very useful. For example, maybe you will add an apple (just making that up..) . You eat an apple and you notice bloating. Depending on how you feel about apples, you could just forget about them, OR if you love them, try eating 1/4 of an apple. Or without the peel (I would always not eat peels if possible) , OR cook the apple, to make it easier to digest.

Sometimes it's a quantity thing - i.e. 1/4 of the apple might be okay.. and you gradually adjust, and then can increase. I think you get the idea. (by the way.. Apples are not something I tolerate from a GI perspective. they are high in sorbitol, a sugar alcohol.. I don't know if it is that; but they seem to aggravate my GI issues, so I avoid them these days, and that's fine. However, that doesn't mean I need to avoid all fruit!

I am working to shift my diet to a more 'bioenergetic approach' after having tried carnivore for 8 months. The reason is that for me; carnivore (which is keto), didn't give me any improvement - in fact; I think I got less motivated, less energetic, more fatigue, I gained weight and definitely no more mental clarity! If I say this amongst that crowd, it would be that I am doing it 'wrong' or b/c I drink coffee still :) (I wouldn't function without it!). I don't believe that - by this time , I would at least have SOME benefit and positive signs; even if not perfect. However I have heard hundreds of stories of people like you, who get fabulous benefits. If I had the results you do, I wouldn't change!

As far as some saying it might be detrimental in the long run - no one knows that for sure. And, when it becomes detrimental, you can deal with it. Or, you can very slowly try to add some carbohydrates if you worry about that. Ultimately your body will tell you what is best for you.

A TSH of 2.8 is not bad but also need to know your other values - T3, T4; temperatures. While hypothyroid can affect digestion, there isn't necessarily a correlation between TSH and digestive issues - i.e I know a lot of people with much higher TSH who have no digestive issues. I don't know if jumping right in with another variable - i.e a thyroid supplement would be the place to start.

Perhaps first, cut out everything new that you added that has made you bloated and unable to think properly, and start over. I also read that you had recently been taking anti-depressants? Are you taking anything else? You mentioned pregnenolone? Those of course would be other factors to consider.

 

[OliviaD]

Lifelong depression ADHD anxiety
And 15 minus two years of ED requires a lot more consistency and time and trust than just 12 days


You have already said some things you have implemented are beneficial

Keep at it


In the meantime
Go out and volunteer in your community
Read to shut ins
Do puzzles at care homes with the residents
Etc
But be with people
Not dogs. Not gardens.
But go love on some people
You probably have so much love to give

What a great reply, Peatful.
I remember you from my past visits here, and you are wise. Interesting.. not dogs.. I think they might be better than nothing; but I get the point.

 

[OliviaD]

Semantics game. Dysbiosis=digestion problem. Dysbiosis = thiamine problem in all likelihood.

SIBO, IBS, and Constipation: Unrecognized Thiamine Deficiency? - Hormones Matter

Is it possible that small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is simply a symptom of an underlying vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency?

www.hormonesmatter.com

Gastrointestinal beriberi: a forme fruste of Wernicke's encephalopathy? - PubMed

Gastrointestinal symptoms, such as anorexia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, are very common in patients with Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE). Mild thiamine deficiency may have only gastrointestinal symptoms. We are reporting two patients with thiamine deficiency who predominantly had...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

There is no way that anyone could determine, nor should suggest given this very complicated and incomplete history that "this is a thiamine problem".

 

[OliviaD]

Stop pushing this rabbit hole to people. What's going on there isn't very complicated - it's simply a case of malnutrition.

I don't know that is the case either - but I agree with your reply - last thing needed here is a 'wallet biopsy' by a functional medicine type, or the supplement pushers. Seems like she has already identified some patterns, and some strategies that are helping. I'd keep moving in that direction of listening to her body. I've found there is no magic pill - no one supplement or food etc that is going to magically solve things.

 

[OliviaD]

I am open minded, like I said I started the thiamine today, and I feel good so far so you may be on to something! Though 30-40% chance it is placebo :)

How is it working? I just realized how old this thread is.. it seemed to show up on the "new" list. I have a decade long history of IBS, constipation, etc. etc. and tried thiamine.. all forms; for months. Did nothing for me.

 

[charlie]

A low "vitamin A" and low toxin diet fixes digestion. We are seeing profound changes in my family with the low toxin lifestyle.

 

[Healthseeker]

To fix your digestion. Take andrographis and laxative with eating a salad everyday, make your own dressing from vinegar/olive oil and cut out out all carbs except fruit/veg. Do this everyday for a week. Then try pudding for a carb. Instant pudding that is cornstarch to test.

 

[OliviaD]

A low "vitamin A" and low toxin diet fixes digestion. We are seeing profound changes in my family with the low toxin lifestyle.

What exactly is a low Vit A diet? Sorry, I realize this forum has changed to this focus, but I've not been around for awhile. Are there any links for quick overviews, etc. ?