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Bruising
It could be that it isn't necessarily a sign that EPO is hurting her, but rather that perhaps the work the body is doing is causing some other nutrient to bottom out?
@puddleduck I probably have B12 deficiency even though I take the spray regularly. I used to use B12 patches but they worked very slowly. I've had low B12 for as long as I can remember in general and used to get injections. Honestly, I don't know anymore. Feel like giving up. Sorry. Just overwhelmed. I'm not consuming any flax or chia. I've only recently been able to eat more nuts like cashews, Brazil nuts. Sometimes I crave peanuts.
Thanks everyone for your replies.
I feel your pain, Audrey! Don't be sad, we are here for you. :).
I think, for myself anyway, that my body is telling me changes are happening too fast and I need to back off a bit.
Quote from Audrey on July 5, 2023, 8:38 am@puddleduck I probably have B12 deficiency even though I take the spray regularly. I used to use B12 patches but they worked very slowly. I've had low B12 for as long as I can remember in general and used to get injections. Honestly, I don't know anymore. Feel like giving up. Sorry. Just overwhelmed. I'm not consuming any flax or chia. I've only recently been able to eat more nuts like cashews, Brazil nuts. Sometimes I crave peanuts.
Well peanuts have niacin, so maybe your body asks for that sometimes.
Ah, so you have trouble with low B12 the way I have trouble with low iron. It’s our “weak point,” I guess. I don’t blame you for feeling overwhelmed...It can be so enormously frustrating trying to figure all this out on our own, and then to run into the same deficiency is so disheartening...And so exhausting! 😓
Do you know if your genetics are affecting methylation in an abnormal way and if that indicates you need a particular form of B12? If you’re not sure, I know a forum member who has a lot of knowledge about that and B12 deficiency in general... So if you want her advice I’ll see if I can figure out how to tag her for you. I hate to see you feeling unwell.
I have considered lately if I should go back to eating normally again, or if I should keep tweaking my diet and continue on with this experiment... Sometimes people have quit and end up feeling much better, of course, so I am tempted lol. Anyway, I do think restrictive diets often do lead to deficiencies, but it’s hard to know exactly why and what.
I feel like many of us here could be running into an omega 3 deficiency, so I’m trying to read as much as I can about it lately. Taking more flaxseed daily for the past couple of weeks, I find it to be quite soothing to the gut. Maybe it would help improve absorption, too? And support the microbiome. I dunno, but flaxseed seems to really help with inflammatory conditions:
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/benefits-of-flax-seeds-for-inflammation/
I hope you feel better soon, @audrey.
Quote from Audrey on July 5, 2023, 7:19 amQuote from Inger on July 5, 2023, 6:37 amThat is such a delicate balance maybe and taking extracted oils for a longer time might disrupt it. Maybe it then gets too much?
I tried the essential oils and it made me feel off somehow, really heavy. It was weird so I stopped it.
Now I just use the EPO on my skin until the bottle is gone.
Karen Hurd tells to stop all supplements when healing, and that might in fact be quite wise I guess. The body can finally be able to find its own true balance with real food. I have become so careful with supplements... I realize often they just cause me troubles. Sooner or later. Somehow it feels real good to get the nutrients from real food. It feel so right, somehow. Like the food becomes the medicine. Its so much more gentle and less risky. And it tastes better too 🙂
@inger I felt really good with EPO at the start of it, my skin improved from brittle to soft, a bit of eyebrow growth happened... but now I just feel so heavy and sore in my body.
@audrey, maybe thats a sure sign your body says you should stop taking the oil. Now its enuf 🙂 Our body is very wise so better listen to it 🙂
Thank you everyone for your support... I would like to respond to a few replies here, I just need some extra time.
@puddleduck I don't know anything about my genetics and I've always taken methylcobalamin. I'm not sure what type of B12 the injections are but they never seemed to help much anyway and I always got nerve pain, maybe from low folate. The patch works, only it is a bit slow, but I have tested this and have seen my B12 rise. These days I find B12 spray the easiest and I hold it under my tongue for as long as I can. Not too long ago I finished a bottle of Solgar which is also methylcobalamin, so you'd think I have a bit of B12 in me lol. Do you know how I would figure out if my genetics are affecting methylation?
@jessica2 I see you've mentioned that adenosyl- and hydroxycobalamin are better absorbed. I will search for them. A question I have for you: are you also taking activated charcol? I wonder for myself if it is displacing oxalate somehow (maybe I need to take more of it?) bc I too have been experiencing awful lower back pain, mostly in the mornings. Haven't felt this pain for years, more when I was a chocolate addict. But it could easily be the nuts I am consuming! I hadn't worried too much about the nuts bc I seem to be tolerating them well, no nausea, and I have been craving them and happy to have something extra in my diet. However, I think I will eat less of them for now and see. Back to tweaking my diet '_'
Quote from Jessica2 on July 5, 2023, 11:10 am@audrey regarding your original comment about oxalates...I have also been delving into oxalates and as has been said here before, many oxalate dumping symptoms overlap VA dumping symptoms and it can indeed cause joint/arthritic like pain. I have increased intake of nuts as well and the caveat is that nuts (not extracted nut oils) are high in oxalates. The oils do not contain the oxalate portion of nuts. So perhaps you're feeling the issue from that?
I always make sure to get some dairy these days, for the calcium to combine with the oxalate before it does so in the kidneys. I (and you of course) could just cut the nuts out but I choose to keep a varied diet. I've never suffered any negative symptoms from cheese or yogurt so I eat them. I'm actually starting to think that my persistent foot cramps are probably due to decreased calcium over a year or so when I cut out calcium sources such as leafy greens, cheese and yogurt. I've been making sure to get every other conceivable electrolyte with no abatement of cramps (zinc, sodium, potassium and magnesium [and selenium if that is an electrolyte]). Perhaps my supplementation of all of these but NOT calcium is an issue here. So I am about to buy 2 tubs of yogurt and a boatload of cheese today to make sure I get calcium every day not only for that but any oxalate binding I may need.
@jessica2 the other thing on my mind these days, and I think I mentioned it to Jenny months ago, is taurine and its relationship to maintaining electrolyte balance and hydration in the cells. Who knows how much taurine this detox is using up. I remember eating some tuna last year and I had an intense reaction to it. At the time I thought it was the fat but who knows, maybe it was from the taurine? Anyway, I'm thinking of foot cramps, and hand stiffness (my own) and electrolytes. Apparently, which you already may be aware of! taurine also regulates calcium in the cells. I do like the idea of adding a bit more dairy to bind oxalate though! I sometimes experiment with a bit of raw kefir each morning. So I'll try to do that again and see if it helps. I do feel my kidneys need support.