Freyasam's Log: Elimination Diet of Fruit + Meat only

freyasam

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Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
619
Day 13 of my Elimination Diet.
Meat + Fruit only (plus carrot / mushroom)

Woman, 43
Following Peat's recs for 9 years, off and on
Partially disabled from health problems

Symptoms I'm hoping to address:

* ME/CFS (debilitating fatigue, very low stamina and post-exertional malaise)
* Joint pain esp. hand, finger wrist
* Depression, Anxiety
* 30 pounds overweight
* Unstable blood sugar -- get hungry easily bc don't store glycogen easily and /or inefficiently use sugar. This causes heart palps, anxiety, insomina, mood swings.
* Stress hormones are high, as evidenced by the way I store fat in my middle, cold feet, waking up to pee and feeling super hungry, etc.
I seem to be powered by stress hormones. I'm self employed and work from home, so I can lie down to take a rest as needed. I always feel worse after lying down 30 minutes. It feels as if when my body finally gets a chance to relax, I actually feel the effects of cortisol and get super "crashy" (any movement feels difficult, feel like I'm in a lead suit, extremely fatigued) .
* Very frequent urination
* Edema - very swollen fingers
* Difficulty tolerating milk despite trying every kind available for 10 years + antibiotic experimentation. (Anxiety is main symptom)
* Difficulty tolerating thyroid (get overheated and anxious when try to increase)
* Some acne
* Constipation, lifelong. Need large amounts of cascara sagrada to be regular.
* Tooth decay, eroding gums despite extensive dental hygiene

Food on 'Phase 1' of Elimination Diet:

5-10 bananas a day (very ripe, either raw or cooked in coconut oil) * I did stop the bananas for 2 days to see if it would change things. It didn't. Very hard to get enough carbs and blood sugar stabilization without bananas. OJ / berries are not filling enough nor do they stabilize blood sugar for me.
fresh OJ
Grape & cherry juice (from concentrate, Fast Fruit brand)
oranges
strawberries, blueberries, cherries
Ground beef (maybe 8 oz a day)
Raw carrot or in carrot salad, most days
Cooked mushroom off and on
oxtail soup (5 days a week)
liver (4 oz, once a week)
shrimp (twice a week)
oysters (once a week)
extra salt thru day

Previous Diet:

Most of the above, except bananas. Was eating less fruit because a lot of carbs came from starch.
For the elimination diet, I cut out milk, cheese (was only eating parmesean), coffee (a month prior), oat bran, nixtamalized tortillas, and sometimes potatoes. I was also eating Minute Maid OJ concentrate, and now I'm only drinking fresh squeezed OJ.

Supplements:

Started eggshell calcium, 650 mg, at Day 8, since I've stopped all dairy.
continue thyroid of 1/2 cynomel, divided doses thru day + 1/4 grain WP
Continue cascara 1/8 tsp daily
Continue Vit D 10k-30k topical
Continue Vit K, orally, a few times a week
Continue Mag Bicarb water, 1-2 c day
Getting sun and grounding when I can, live in the US South

Macros:

will update asap

Observations:

* Not much of a reduction in symptoms. Fatigue / PEM maybe somewhat improved but not sure

* More depression.

* Not much improvement in joint pain. Even after liver. My hands and fingers hurt less after supplemental Vit B6 and B12, and sometimes after eating shrimp. So you'd think liver, with its B vitamins, would help, but it doesn't. The supplemental B6 and B12 cause other side effects so I'd like to avoid them but can't seem to get enough from food alone.

* For the first time ever, a black coating on tongue. Plus terrible taste in mouth. Why??

* Acne improved. It actually improved the week before the elimination diet, when I was still drinking milk and eating oat bran. So maybe the tortillas and potatoes were contributing to acne? Those were the main foods I cut out the week prior to the Elimination Diet. (I cut out coffee a month before)

* The first week especially I had trouble sleeping because my blood sugar is less stable without starch. Eating fried bananas before bed helps a little with sleep and blood sugar, but I've always struggled with blood sugar dropping without starch.

* The diet does not seem to be helping much and is causing new problems. I suspect it's because I need the nutrients in milk and eggs. Jury's still out as to whether starch causes problems (I was eating oat bran, corn tortillas and sometimes potatoes before). I suspect bananas are causing problems but it's impossible to do this diet without them.

* Not sure what effect coffee / lack of coffee (it's been 6 weeks since I stopped) has on me.

* Pretty sure I need more thyroid but stress hormones (anxiety, overheating) increase when I try.

* General life stress is high which isn't helping. (Worry about work, living situation, family). Doing my best to deal with that but only so much I can do. I'd have much less stress if I weren't basically disabled from health problems. I need to move in a few months and don't know how I will with my current state of fatigue and PEM.

* I noticed when I was camping long term and living outdoors in 2019 I could tolerate thyroid better, though not milk.

Next Steps:

I'll see if eating cooked mushrooms more regularly will help the black tongue. I don't think a black tongue is a good sign.
This week will re-introduce eggs (hard boiled).
Second food to reintroduce: milk.
 
Last edited:
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freyasam

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2014
Messages
619
@Ania are you still eating meat and fruit only? Your experience was an inspiration to me in trying this diet. Unfortunately eliminating dairy for 2 weeks hasn't helped my joint pain, though.
 
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