Quote from Sarah4 on July 7, 2019, 11:53 am

Quote from Bella on July 3, 2019, 7:38 am

@sarah4, I’m just eating about  5 grams of dark chocolate (>70%) to keep kidney pain and other aches at bay. I’m only doing this when my kidney or other pain flares. Sometimes I don’t eat any for weeks and sometimes I need it every other day for a short periods.

The idea is that if you eat a small amount of oxalate containing food it slows the dump and makes it more manageable. I’m certainly not an expert on oxalate by any stretch but it does seem to be a helpful trick if oxalate is causing issues and the intervention seems pretty safe to me.

Best wishes on feeling better!

@Bella  Thank you!  I've tried some chocolate for a few days and noticed an actual reduction in pain in my neck. I'm not sure if the two are related, but I may keep it up for a little while, or try it off and on. It's confusing, because I don't really want to stop the toxins from leaving my body, but at the same time have the concern that they may be doing damage on the way out. The question I have is, are the toxins on the way out, or are they just being moved to different areas of the body?  Joints, then back to the liver, then back to another part of the body?

Sarah4

Quote from Sarah4 on July 7, 2019, 11:54 am

Quote from Liz on July 5, 2019, 11:46 pm

Quote from Bella on July 5, 2019, 7:10 am

@sarah4 it was hard for me to believe about the chocolate but since it helps every single time I keep doing it!

@sophie I have stopped eating potatoes all together for now. I might look into adding them back later though. I know fries, chips and I believe baked russet potatoes can be particularly high and that’s mostly how I ate them so it was simpler for me to just stop.

I have temporarily ditched potatoes too. My guts are a lot calmer now actually. Had potatoes daily for a week, changed to rice and am less bloated. I have found one sort I can have once in a while: organic amardine, peeled. Not a lot else I bloat. Chips are so yum but buhbye flat stomach

Yes, I also am going to stop eating chips (had tried in the last few weeks to try to gain weight). They seem to make my head pressure a little stronger...I'm not sure though...

Quote from lil chick on July 8, 2019, 7:23 am

I'm always tempted to eat chips around 4:00 in the afternoon.  I think my adrenals are really just starved for salt and afterwards I feel naughty about the junk food.  It's probably a great idea to find a salty food that is actually a food, unlike chips, LOL.

I somtimes undulge in  Newman's own organic spelt pretzels and dip them in a mixture of almond butter, salt and maple syrup.    I can talk myself into thinking this is better than a big dose of chips!

Sorry to hear about your vertigo.  I also have vertigo/tinnitus (mine is mild) and even my mild vertigo has impacted our lives a great deal in that I no longer want to travel.     Neither my mother or her mother liked travel either.  However, it's not a phobia-- I like to say.  Because a phobia is an "illogical" fear.   My decision not to travel is based on pure logic. 🙂

Quote from Sarah4 on July 15, 2019, 1:17 pm

@lil-chick sorry to hear about your vertigo!  Yes, it can be difficult to manage during travel.  I have to be the driver on any trip.  I can't be a passenger!

I decided to stop eating the chips, but just tried again yesterday and felt a little more pressure in the head, so I threw them out!

Quote from Sarah4 on August 3, 2019, 11:29 am

I'm at 6 months of low/no VA diet today! 

Thought I'd check in here with a few notes:

Diet in past 3-4 weeks:  

Beef, rice, applesauce, lemonade, salt, raisins, potato chips (about 2 times a week), olive oil very infrequently. 

Before that, mostly just beef and rice. 

Many continued positives and improvements in long-standing issues and some new ones:  I noticed that my legs were stronger and my stamina is better on hikes in the woods. 

Issues:  Still have vertigo, although there have been some changes in the feeling of cranial pressure, and in some ways I feel like my brain is sloshing around in my head. Vertigo has not improved, but I feel less pressure in my head. 

I'm having trouble keeping weight on. Too thin now, which is one of the reasons I added more foods a few weeks ago.

Eyes are always up and down, usually very blurry and with double vision, but sometimes better. I feel pressure on my eyes also, and maybe this is related to cranial pressure. 

Memory and word finding sometimes improves, sometimes worsens again

Detox (comes and goes): 

I had a gout-like event in my ankle (undiagnosed) that has not improved to 100% gets better then slightly worse again. 

Very dry skin on face and lips sometimes peaking for a few days and then improving. 

new varicose-like veins on my legs that I never had before

weight-loss and inability to keep weight on. 

I had a crazy event where I was quite sick but it would be TMI to describe here. 

This last month was a hard-sell for my friends and family on this diet, because of ankle issue and weight loss, etc...but I'm 100% committed and am feeling better in some ways. 

I'm thinking that I may be 1/4 of the way through...maybe it will take 2 years to clear myself of the poison.  

Cheers to everyone! I appreciate all the posts in this forum! 

Sarah 

 

Quote from lil chick on August 5, 2019, 6:51 am

Hi Sarah, I am watching your log very carefully because it seems like so many of your symptoms are my symptoms just farther along!

I appreciate you typing in your updates and I'm pulling for you!

I was noticing something about my ears.  The one that "honked" doesn't "pop" any more.  The one that hasn't honked still pops and crackles a lot.  I guess I always thought that was normal for ears, LOL.  I assume this has to do with inflammation not allowing the clearance of pressure that needs to go on day in and day out?  I also wonder if flying might be especially hard on vertigo because of this (and not just because of balance). 

There do seem to be capillary things changing for me and others:   the cherry angiomas arising here and there.

Do you do some facial/head stretches for the cranial pressure?  It seems to help me.  Make a lot of weird faces!  I truly think this might be about architecure (for me).  In the past I have felt the brain sloshing feeling, and also a teeth moving feeling too, and don't know if things were actually sloshing or moving but I get ya.  I've also lost weight. 

Sorry to hear that your acute sickness event.  It does seem like a thing that happens...hard to know if it was something that came along or the process!

Several of my joints seem to have something "in them" (crystals, excess calcium or?)  and I believe in the ability for raw dairy fats to keep me limber!   I worry to be off it for long.   I will probably post about it on my log.

Quote from Sarah4 on October 26, 2019, 10:20 am

Checking in at about 8 months on the low A diet. 

First, I want to apologize quite profusely for my rudeness in not responding to last messages people left for me. I was in a pretty difficult "detox" time and having difficulty understanding what was going on and what to do about it. 

A number of things have changed for me and I wanted to update this log. 

I am doing very well in relation to the last post and very well in general.  

I have removed almost everything but beef and rice from my diet.  

I am eating:

1lb or more of beef steak a day

1 cup (dry weight) rice

sometimes, tsp. of maple sugar

very rarely, potato chips

removed:

apples, and apple products, and everything else I was trying. 

I have increase my meat consumption and I am VERY happy about this. I am feeling really pretty good in general.  

It is a very unusual state for me.

When I cut out everything but the beef and rice and increased the beef, I started feeling better and better. Stronger, and less pressure in my head. Less change in pressure in my head. 

In some ways I feel the strongest I have ever been. 

I am not taking any supplements now (I stopped vit. C a few weeks ago). And stopped Zeolite and activated charcoal. 

1. the gout-like problems I was experiencing have resolved.  I realized I was having trouble with salt, and my salt intake had increased sharply from my habitual lifetime diet. I stopped eating salt and have not had any more problems like this. 
2. I have MANY long-term symptoms that have resolved or greatly improved. One of the best things (that happened very early on) was that my major neck pain (diagnosed with a disc impinging on spinal cord), is almost gone.  It is a very good indicator of which foods are bothersome now. This neck pain has been my constant companion and took amazing amounts of time from my day just trying to find a way to be more comfortable and grapple with the pain (pain levels at 6-8 or 9 for years) 
3. My neck is straightening--it looks taller and better
4. kidney concerns are improving
5. eyes are improving (sometimes no double vision, and mostly double vision is less pronounced. Less fluctuation in eye situation)
6. No food cravings especially since i removed apples and apple products (apple sauce, apple cider)except for meat. Increased meat consumption about a week ago and noticed craving more steak!
7. The biggest recent change is that my thyroid medication has had to be lowered 2 times in the past 4 months. I had my thyroid removed over 10 years ago and take replacement thyroxine.  My thyroid medication is being utilized better apparently and I need less of it. 
8. sleep is improving in a very hopeful way! Went from insomnia (my whole life) to narcolepsy-like (while very toxic) to mix of both while on the diet. Now sleep is starting to change for the better (complex issue). 
9. Vertigo has not improved. However the pressure in my head is better and less changing and I am hopeful for the future. 
10. gut issues are really improving!! 
11. other improvements I notice every day: inflammation is very low (maintaining changes that happened early in diet), hair is less grey (haha my eyebrows are pretty dark now and have no grey), cuts heal faster, and much more....

Notes: 

I don't think my body can handle any plant matter other than rice. I started adding apples back in when I heard about the pectin and apples being good for detox. I was losing weight from the thyroid and needed more calories. Within about 3-4 days of me eating one peeled apple a day, the brain inflammation was intense, and my memory issues increased, and vertigo sharply increased. when I removed the apples, this improved. But I needed the calories still so I increased meat. This was the best thing that happened!  

I have been trying to get as much sun as possible because it feels so good and I take that as a good sign.  The detox after I am in the sun is VERY predictable now.  Similar to when I first started the diet. Dry swollen lips, and lower face, dry hands and need for drinking much water. 

All along in the diet I had been trying foods in addition to the beef and rice and had much "detox". Maybe that is inevitable, but I now personally wish I had just gone with beef and rice. 

All of my A issues are from vegetables and fruits.  My mother was orange from carrots when was pregnant both times (with me and my brother). I never ate much eggs, no liver, very few vitamin supplements. Correction:  Vegetables, fruits and huge amounts of supplemented milk and cereal. 

I have felt in the last 4 days, some kind of different energy and good feelings that make me very hopeful for the future and that feels like I'm healing something.  I have simply never gotten spontaneous good feelings from my body throughout the day, and I've had that now! 🙂 

My most heartfelt thank you to @ggenereux2014     whose work completely changed my life.  Thank you to all you awesome forum people for sharing here and following/ supporting each other-- great!  

 

Sarah 

 

Quote from DWL on October 26, 2019, 12:13 pm

Quote from Sarah4 on October 26, 2019, 10:20 am

Checking in at about 8 months on the low A diet. 

First, I want to apologize quite profusely for my rudeness in not responding to last messages people left for me. I was in a pretty difficult "detox" time and having difficulty understanding what was going on and what to do about it. 

A number of things have changed for me and I wanted to update this log. 

I am doing very well in relation to the last post and very well in general.  

I have removed almost everything but beef and rice from my diet.  

I am eating:

1lb or more of beef steak a day

1 cup (dry weight) rice

sometimes, tsp. of maple sugar

very rarely, potato chips

removed:

apples, and apple products, and everything else I was trying. 

I have increase my meat consumption and I am VERY happy about this. I am feeling really pretty good in general.  

It is a very unusual state for me.

When I cut out everything but the beef and rice and increased the beef, I started feeling better and better. Stronger, and less pressure in my head. Less change in pressure in my head. 

In some ways I feel the strongest I have ever been. 

I am not taking any supplements now (I stopped vit. C a few weeks ago). And stopped Zeolite and activated charcoal. 

1. the gout-like problems I was experiencing have resolved.  I realized I was having trouble with salt, and my salt intake had increased sharply from my habitual lifetime diet. I stopped eating salt and have not had any more problems like this. 
2. I have MANY long-term symptoms that have resolved or greatly improved. One of the best things (that happened very early on) was that my major neck pain (diagnosed with a disc impinging on spinal cord), is almost gone.  It is a very good indicator of which foods are bothersome now. This neck pain has been my constant companion and took amazing amounts of time from my day just trying to find a way to be more comfortable and grapple with the pain (pain levels at 6-8 or 9 for years) 
3. My neck is straightening--it looks taller and better
4. kidney concerns are improving
5. eyes are improving (sometimes no double vision, and mostly double vision is less pronounced. Less fluctuation in eye situation)
6. No food cravings especially since i removed apples and apple products (apple sauce, apple cider)except for meat. Increased meat consumption about a week ago and noticed craving more steak!
7. The biggest recent change is that my thyroid medication has had to be lowered 2 times in the past 4 months. I had my thyroid removed over 10 years ago and take replacement thyroxine.  My thyroid medication is being utilized better apparently and I need less of it. 
8. sleep is improving in a very hopeful way! Went from insomnia (my whole life) to narcolepsy-like (while very toxic) to mix of both while on the diet. Now sleep is starting to change for the better (complex issue). 
9. Vertigo has not improved. However the pressure in my head is better and less changing and I am hopeful for the future. 
10. gut issues are really improving!! 
11. other improvements I notice every day: inflammation is very low (maintaining changes that happened early in diet), hair is less grey (haha my eyebrows are pretty dark now and have no grey), cuts heal faster, and much more....

Notes: 

I don't think my body can handle any plant matter other than rice. I started adding apples back in when I heard about the pectin and apples being good for detox. I was losing weight from the thyroid and needed more calories. Within about 3-4 days of me eating one peeled apple a day, the brain inflammation was intense, and my memory issues increased, and vertigo sharply increased. when I removed the apples, this improved. But I needed the calories still so I increased meat. This was the best thing that happened!  

I have been trying to get as much sun as possible because it feels so good and I take that as a good sign.  The detox after I am in the sun is VERY predictable now.  Similar to when I first started the diet. Dry swollen lips, and lower face, dry hands and need for drinking much water. 

All along in the diet I had been trying foods in addition to the beef and rice and had much "detox". Maybe that is inevitable, but I now personally wish I had just gone with beef and rice. 

All of my A issues are from vegetables and fruits.  My mother was orange from carrots when was pregnant both times (with me and my brother). I never ate much eggs, no liver, very few vitamin supplements. Correction:  Vegetables, fruits and huge amounts of supplemented milk and cereal. 

I have felt in the last 4 days, some kind of different energy and good feelings that make me very hopeful for the future and that feels like I'm healing something.  I have simply never gotten spontaneous good feelings from my body throughout the day, and I've had that now!  

My most heartfelt thank you to @ggenereux2014     whose work completely changed my life.  Thank you to all you awesome forum people for sharing here and following/ supporting each other-- great!  

 

Awesome report!!  Thanks for sharing!!!

 

Quote from DWL on October 26, 2019, 12:21 pm

Awesome update,  Sarah!!  Thanks for sharing!!!