I needed to disable self sign-ups because I’ve been getting too many spam-type accounts. Thanks.
Need some help with thriving
Hi everyone, I’ve been on the zero/low A diet since May 5 and I haven’t yet shared my story. I keep putting it off until I feel better than I do now, but I do try to keep up with the posts/stories here whenever I feel well enough. I have ever so slowly seen some positive changes but it feels like a constant struggle of feeling slightly better, reaching a plateau and then feeling worse… some of my main concerns now is my balance, though it’s much better it is still off, and I am just not thriving, my skin too has lost its resilience. Four to 5 weeks into the diet I felt pretty positive, esp my mood which was remarkable. I was able to feel joy and tenderness again. Other big changes is that my body temp went up, severe neck pain/arm pain is mostly gone, but ever since I have been struggling. I have/had all symptoms of vitamin A toxicity for a while now, but the main “bucket tipping over” was in December 2017 after 5 years of regular cbd oil use. Ever since I have been dizzy 24/7 with severe panic attacks (which have actually lessened quite a bit), lots of chronic pain, chronic cough (diagnosed lpr), blood sugar issues, tinnitus (much better), eye/vision problems, esp the nerve in my right eye, lots of head pain (which has lessened), skin rashes too, sun sensitivity, and weight gain (sometimes it feels like my cells are filling up with water! and then it goes away.) I should mention that I was/am also dealing with severe oxalate issues for 7 years until I discovered that chocolate was causing all of my horrendous gut pain. After 7 months of no chocolate (3 years ago) and a low oxalate diet my severe pain lessened significantly each month and is mostly gone. I do believe that I am still dumping oxalic acid on this diet, just less and less of it. My balance is still quite off but i am managing to go for walks, but I have not returned to work yet. I owe such deep gratitude to Grant for researching and sharing his story and for opening up this new path. I may have left some information out, but it’s still difficult on my head to type without messing up my balance and making my vision worse. If anyone can offer any tips on how to thrive a bit more I would greatly appreciate any input! I have cut out certain things like coconut oil (gives me rashes) and oats, and also things like milk thistle (never gave me problems before this diet) because it is just too overwhelming for my body right now. I’m trying to take a bit of extra C and B12, otherwise it’s mostly cauliflower, cucumber, courgette, raisins, sourdough gluten free chickpea bread, black beans, apples, peaches, blueberries, sometimes potatoes, lentils, olive oil, fennel, parsnips, egg whites, sunflower seeds, rice and mushrooms. I was a vegetarian for most of my life but introduced wild salmon into my diet a couple of years ago along with chicken and broth. Right now I am not eating fish. To anyone who has read this far, thank you! Audrey
Hi Audrey! I'm a May beginner too! It sounds like you really have made some good progress!
I also have a bit of vertigo-- not as bad as yours. I do believe that low level vertigo can be interpreted like "anxiousness". It makes you feel "butterflies in the stomach" or a "falling feeling". The moment I realized that I wasn't actually "anxious" but "dizzy" my logical mind somehow felt better.
(I also feel like a person's brain might interpret a bit of a bad breathing episode as anxiousness in a similar manner)
I'm super interested in meats fats and juices and wonder if you are keeping and consuming those (as an ex-vegetarian, it might be a big change for you!). I'm doing raw pastured skim milk, but that might not be for everyone, but I feel it fills some sort of niche for me.
And also are you doing a bit of exercize or getting some physical chores done? Some days I've felt that it was just the ticket. And gosh I'm getting ripped, LOL. Is that thriving? Takes pressure to make diamonds? Although it makes you more tired, it helps! Raise a good sweat and then soap up and shower off! Do you know about oil pulling and skin brushing? Also good detoxes. Spa life for the win.
Ginger does help me with the vertigo on travel. Could it help your stomach?
Hi @audrey, I wish there were things that could help more with thriving, but sadly no magic pills! I found the first 6 months were highs and lows. The real variable is time under low VA, I hope that month to month you progress further and further. The lower in VA intake I go, the worse flares got, but there is a underlying progress forward, and the flare ups lessen.
That said, I think making sure you get adequate animal protein(B vitamins, zinc, taurine, glycine, etc), is probably the most important factor, at amounts that provide least say 50grams protein or more per day(300gram or ~1/2 pound beef by day).
Quote from lil chick on July 15, 2019, 5:37 amHi Audrey! I'm a May beginner too! It sounds like you really have made some good progress!
I also have a bit of vertigo-- not as bad as yours. I do believe that low level vertigo can be interpreted like "anxiousness". It makes you feel "butterflies in the stomach" or a "falling feeling". The moment I realized that I wasn't actually "anxious" but "dizzy" my logical mind somehow felt better.
(I also feel like a person's brain might interpret a bit of a bad breathing episode as anxiousness in a similar manner)
I'm super interested in meats fats and juices and wonder if you are keeping and consuming those (as an ex-vegetarian, it might be a big change for you!). I'm doing raw pastured skim milk, but that might not be for everyone, but I feel it fills some sort of niche for me.
And also are you doing a bit of exercize or getting some physical chores done? Some days I've felt that it was just the ticket. And gosh I'm getting ripped, LOL. Is that thriving? Takes pressure to make diamonds? Although it makes you more tired, it helps! Raise a good sweat and then soap up and shower off! Do you know about oil pulling and skin brushing? Also good detoxes. Spa life for the win.
Ginger does help me with the vertigo on travel. Could it help your stomach?
Thank you lil chick for your tips. I’ve been skin brushing daily but the oil pulling tends to make me a bit more dizzy, so I only do it periodically. I think I can up my exercise game because right now I’m mostly going on long nature walks. I used to row 4 times a week but recently I’ve stopped, so I’ll try to get back into that. I find that cycling is the easiest on my balance actually… kind of strange. But it makes me less dizzy or forget I am dizzy for a while. Raw milk and cheeses I’ve been drinking/eating peridically for years and feel it gradually made me worse, but I’m glad it helps you. I do miss a bit of cheese though. And ginger helps A LOT, I never leave home without it. Also, I think I recall reading that you suffer from some yucky symptoms beginning on the last day of your period… I relate to this strongly as this used to happen to me for years. Quitting chocolate cleared up my symptoms as I narrowed it down to oxalate dumping at the time. Though I can’t verify the actual reason for those symptoms, quitting chocolate and going low oxalate took those symptoms away. I was an every day chocolate eater! Right now I'm really interested in the overlap, if there is one, between oxalic acid and vitamin A and stearic acid!
OMG I will tell my daughter about the last day of period thing! thank you.
Quote from Orion on July 15, 2019, 6:55 amHi @audrey, I wish there were things that could help more with thriving, but sadly no magic pills! I found the first 6 months were highs and lows. The real variable is time under low VA, I hope that month to month you progress further and further. The lower in VA intake I go, the worse flares got, but there is a underlying progress forward, and the flare ups lessen. That said, I think making sure you get adequate animal protein(B vitamins, zinc, taurine, glycine, etc), is probably the most important factor, at amounts that provide least say 50grams protein or more per day(300gram or ~1/2 pound beef by day).
Thank you for responding Orion. I guess a part of me senses too that I need more animal protein... So far being on the low A diet I notice whenever I have animal protein I have a "dumping" period... it felt awful at first but it seems the further I progress the more I am able to handle these "dumps" for lack of a better word.
I’d be a bit suspicious of the oxalate content of the gluten free chickpea bread, black beans and potatoes (depending on how they are cooked). I personally feel much better after giving up gluten free bread, black beans and potatoes (mainly baked russet and occasional French fries/ potato chips). I hated to do it because my original goal was to be have as much variety as possible but I really do feel much better without those things in my diet and no longer feel like I have ‘detox’ symptoms. Your situation could certainly be different than mine though.
edit: I’ve also read from oxalate researcher Susan Owens that anything over 250 mg of vitamin C can be a problem for people with oxalate issues.
Thank you so much for your reply. Like you I am afraid of not having enough variety... I've already given up on tahini and nuts and raisins bc they do make my pain worse. I never suspected black beans though, I've been eating them quite regularly too. I'm also a bit confused about the vitamin C, how much to have... also afraid of not getting enough/getting too much. Learning balance has been a huge lesson here. I'll try removing the bread and beans and see how it goes.
@audrey I'm very sorry to hear about your vertigo and dizziness. I can attest that it is very difficult to achieve a sense of well-being with nearly constant vertigo and dizziness. Sounds as though that's where you are.
Vertigo is one of the most difficult issues for me, along with eyesight problems (double and blurry vision and some sort of drawn feeling in the eyes), and pressure on the brain. I am currently unable to lie down -- I sleep sitting up in a chair. I have had several periods, one for over a year, where I could not turn my head at all and was sick many times each week.
I am 5+ months on just beef and rice and now some raisins and applesauce and lemonade. I have come to understand that it is the pressure on my brain that is causing the vertigo. I also have tinnitus and profound high frequency hearing loss. I believe all of this is from VA now and/or possibly other toxins in plants as I also practiced a near vegetarian diet my whole life.
I'm currently noting the pressure on my brain with different foods I am trying. I had some really good progress at the beginning but I similarly descended into some interesting and somewhat difficult detox symptoms along with an increase in cranial pressure and worsening eyesight again.
With one setback I started trying different foods. I noticed that since I had been on a very limited diet for the last 5 months, I could identify how different new foods made me feel. Surprisingly I found that pineapple either fresh or juice made my head pressure extreme! Wow! It was very unexpected--the raisins and lemonade and applesauce did not do that. I threw away a bottle of pineapple juice. It was almost scary. I had eaten and loved pineapple many many times before in my life.
So one thought I have, is that there may be a food you are still consuming that is not agreeing with you.
Just a thought.
For the vertigo, you have probably tried all the medications...I am not wanting to take any medication of any kind, but the only thing I have ever found that helps with my vertigo is prednisone. Sometimes it can help a lot or just a little.
I had always assumed this was working inflammation in my neck and pinched nerve situation. However, now I wonder if the prednisone is working on the inflammation in the brain for me??
So, I'm giving myself a year to be patient, and watch the pressure in the head, hoping it will ease, and with it ease the vertigo. The pressure in my head has gone through some real changes in the past few weeks. Not all feeling good, but changes...so something is happening.
I don't think my vertigo is as bad right now as yours, and it sounds like you are really suffering. I wish I had some suggestions or help..
I did see some vertigo glasses that were well-reviewed on an ad. I'll look for them and see if I can forward a link.
Also, in the first few weeks of the diet, where I was experiencing some real positive changes, my dizziness did not improve per se, but my balance did, noticeably. I found I could stand on one foot comfortably...very strange!
I hope you will feel better very soon! Hang in there!!
Sarah4
Here are the glasses I saw...I don't have any experience with them. There seem to be many different vendors: