February 24, 2013

A good week ending on a good note

A few people have asked me this past week how I'm doing, so I thought it would be good for me to write up a quick update for the record.  This past week, in particular, has been wonderful in that for most of it, I've actually felt close to normal.  It's amazing how easy it is to take feeling normal for granted!  But for me, for now, feeling close to normal and feeling relatively healthy again is simply spectacular and something I am cognitively extremely grateful for. 

My days still revolve around that funky chicken stock (a new batch is simmering as I type), super-incubated homemade yogurt (made using local, cream-top milk from grass-fed cows), as-raw-as-possible honey (I even found some that is an actual slice of the honeycomb itself - beautiful!), hot green tea, and mega doses of probiotics.  I continue to focus on using as many organic, local, and/or fresh foods as possible.  Every day, I add a different food or two to the mix, and so far, it's gone very well.  I haven't had a negative reaction to anything I've added back in, not even that giant dark chocolate peanut butter cup I couldn't resist getting on Friday!  It's been over two weeks, probably close to three, since I've had any of that severe abdominal pain, tissue loss, or bloody mucus.  And while I can still feel the inflammation flare up from time to time and while that can be quite uncomfortable, I've found ways to alleviate it.  Pretty regularly now, I'm eating cottage cheese, vegetable quiche, bananas, and applesauce.  I've also had some cherry tomatoes, cooked snow peas and asparagus, pizza (yay!), raw milk cheese with crackers, naan, and a turkey sandwich (on a soft kaiser roll).  I've snuck in a few cheez-its, chocolate squares, and pita chips.  And last night, I had a whole vegetable samosa!  I'd really like to try a tuna or carrot slaw sandwich on 12-grain toast, nuts, or an apple, but I'm still a little nervous that too much fiber will be hard on my system right now.  And I haven't even started considering yet chia seeds, ground flaxseed, or beans.  Hopefully I'll get there though.

When I write it down, it sounds like my diet has been pretty limited, and I suppose it has been.  But it hasn't really felt that way at all, especially compared to not being able to eat anything!  Even if I were to stay like I am (knock on wood, I really hope I don't get worse again), I think I'd be able to accept and be fine with it - in large part because I feel absolutely nourished again.  I swear that broth has been nothing short of a miracle.  I feel as if it literally feeds life and energy into me.  Made with the chicken feet, it contains a ridiculous amount of collagen and gelatin.  When it cools, it becomes almost solid and you could cut it with a knife if you wanted to.  I don't keep any chicken or veggies in it anymore; I strain them out and drink the hot broth from a mug.  My nails have become so thick and strong that I had trouble getting the big nail clipper through them the other day!

When this first started happening, I was terribly dismayed and couldn't even comprehend it.  I could have been a poster child for what to do to have a healthy colon.  How could mine be diseased?!  The thought of my having to see a digestive disease specialist seemed pretty ridiculous.  After a while, though, I realized that if seemingly wacky foods and diet can help you get through it, I'm your girl.  I already had enough experience in the kitchen to tackle anything that needed to be tackled in that regard.  Sometimes I feel happy and guilty about that at the same time.  Happy that I I'm in a position to do as much help for myself as I can but guilty realizing that not everyone, for whatever reason, can do the same.  I fully understand how some people could be too overwhelmed to even try (make my own yogurt - what? who does that?! what's wrong with the yogurt in the store?!; chicken feet - seriously?  where in the world does one go out and get chicken feet?! and then I have to boil them and cut their toes off?!; prepare this soup/broth every week - do you know how incredibly long that takes?  that would take an entire day!; hot green tea - I don't want hot green tea, I want my coffee!).  I truly believe they would find the effort SO beneficial though.

I have not yet rescheduled my tests, and I'm not sure when I'm going to do so.  I have to admit I'm in no hurry as I am still very, very worried they'll end up throwing my system back out of whack, and I'm terrified of going back to being as sick as I was.  Not sure what to do about this one.

So I don't know who all reads this blog of mine besides my small circle of safeties (as I like to call them!) , but my hope is that someday, someone experiencing similar GI issues as I have will stumble upon it and perhaps benefit from some of the same things I have benefited from.  These are the two books I'm using as my primary guides.  Restoring Your Digestive Health is the one that has the broth recipe.  Oh yeah, and yesterday I made a batch of peanut butter cookies using a recipe from the Breaking the Vicious Cycle book - peanut butter, butter, honey, almond flour, baking soda, and vanilla.  They are so good!

  
Heading upstairs now to take a long, hot bath with epsom salts and lavendar, start reading a new novel, and enjoy a nice hot cup of green tea with honey.  :)

12 comments:

  1. It is so great to hear that you are feeling better! You are really challenging me to look at a few things. First, how I treat illnesses, especially in my children. And secondly, how I eat! I always thought I had a pretty decent diet, but I'm learning that I can always do better. Good for you! I'm hoping that your fabulous, healthy ways will heal you completely! I just can't do that soup though :)

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    1. Thank you! And I'm right there with you on the diet and knowing that I can always do better too. One of the things I need to do some research on is grains, especially the ones we're told are superfoods. I've read a few blurbs suggesting that they may not be as healthy as we're led to believe. It's so hard to make sense of it all.

      Doesn't the picture of the finished stock/broth make you think just a little bit about trying to make it?! It really is worth it! I warm it up and drink it plain, but I can't even imagine how delicious it would make any other soup if used as a base. I bet it would make an AMAZING base.

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  2. Yes, the finished broth does look appetizing, but the vegetarian in me can't do it. I have to say I really haven't missed meat over the years, but my chicken soup used to be amazing. I'm going to work on my coffee addiction next, and have done a bit of reading on that. There are so many things that I dislike about drinking coffee daily but I reach for that cup every morning! I am a creature of habit. I also feel much better without grain based carbs, but again, my love of granola, etc. keeps me hooked. I am a work in progress.

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    1. Hmmm. Very interesting. Do you know why? Because a few months ago I would have said there was no reason in the world for me to make chicken broth when vegetable broth was delicious and didn't require any sentient being to die in order to make. But lately I've been reevaluating my thoughts on diet choices, in particular meat-eating and non-meat-eating, and I'm coming to the conclusion that perhaps it's a lot more complicated than just our making a decision about what we think is best on a thoughtful, moral level. Maybe it depends on what our particular body needs, and maybe mine needs (or at least needs at this point in time) what can only be provided by a meat source. I've been thinking about it a lot and have started an attempt at putting some coherent thoughts together for a post about it.

      Early in my illness, I tried healing myself vegetarian-style, depending largely on fruit and veggie smoothies. Because they were liquid, they were certainly easier on my system than solids and no doubt they provided needed nutrients and calories, but I did not *feel* nearly the same sort of healing with them as I've felt with this damn chicken stock (healing that I've literally felt in nearly every cell of my body).

      So I've been wondering if perhaps it's not totally up to my mind to decide what my body needs as far as food as concerned. Maybe my body has its set of needs totally independent of what I can logically rationalize. Maybe each of our bodies has its own set of particular needs that can't be logically rationalized. I don't know - what do you think? If nothing else, it's an interesting contemplation.

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  3. I probably would think differently had I gone through what your poor body did! I applaud your self-healing. But at this point I feel great (for the most part) not eating meat, so I don't feel a need to change that. Other things yes, but I know the effect they have on me and why I want to change or eliminate them. I do think our bodies tell us what we need when we listen or have the capacity to listen. Caffeine, for example, masks or temporarily takes care of what we need so then we ignore what our bodies are truly telling us. I also think where your meat comes from is the main problem with meat-eating, not necessarily the consumption itself. So I do think you should feed your body what it needs.
    There are so many other things that come into play too, exercise, stress-control, sleep. Does my ranting make sense?

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    1. I really wish my body didn't need the chicken stock right now, but it does seems to truly be helping so I absolutely have a new and profound appreciation for it. You know, I had been on a strict vegetarian diet for several years before I was pregnant with Julian, and at some point in the pregnancy I just *had to have* beef. It was the weirdest feeling, but I later ended up testing low for iron. Is that why? Did my body instinctively know more than my brain what it needed?

      I agree that where your meat comes from is super critical. I'm buying this chicken from a local farmer (the same one I buy eggs from) and it's very expensive, but I feel a lot better knowing it's as healthy as it can be and that the chicken at least got to live a good life. When I think about the chicken's life as a whole from the time it was born until its body ended up in my hands, suddenly that high price seems remarkably fair.

      SG(7) has been really into Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham lately. At the market, I was able to get some solid green eggs (the shells anyway), and he's so excited for us to have them. The other night he asked for ham to go with them, and I told him that I don't buy ham because it's from pigs and I'd prefer the pigs not have to die for us to eat if there were other things we could just as nicely eat with our eggs, etc. He was so funny. He was quiet for a moment, then sighed and said "Oh, alright, fine. Can you at least make me a green egg then?" :)

      I really wish we lived closer to one another!!

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    2. Oh - exercise, stress-control, and sleep - yes!! I think I'm pretty good on all three, but regarding that middle one, I do tend to overextend myself and I've been working on that for quite a few years now. Funny thing is that I hardly ever feel like I'm stressed; it's always manifested itself physically - sore neck, start of a psoriasis outbreak, etc. I'm getting better at noticing the subtle signs, but it's a recurring struggle. I work on "clearing the plate" but over time, without realizing it, I end up overfilling it again. Maybe that's just what moms tend to do???

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  4. I absolutely think your body was telling you something when you craved beef! We just don't know how to listen anymore. I'm also struggling with the "3 meals" idea. Eat when you are hungry. Eat small portions every couple of hours to avoid a dip in blood sugar. Less carbs and sugar that also play havoc with our blood sugar levels. My eldest daughter is diabetic, so I think when she was diagnosed was when I really started to understand food. We did so much wrong initially with her diet.
    I also just KNEW you would be buying the best and most humanely raised chicken :) Good for you, it is expensive but worth it. Funny story about the green eggs and ham. My friend's chickens lay green eggs too. We all think they are beautiful. We need to get together! Maybe when life slows down - ha!

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  5. OK ladies I have been reading your comments, and where do you get green eggs and how do they get green? I always buy the brown cage free ones and I notice a definite taste difference but I have never seen green ones. Anyway, so glad you are feeling better and I agree that each person needs to listen to their bodies and make choices based on that. My husband is always trying to be healthier and he eats several small meals during the day just for those reasons you mentioned Melissa. Now that I am back to work, I do the same thing, but I just can't seem to stay away from chocolate and the sweet stuff. I am totally going to buy those books you mentioned and I may even try to make that soup, the broth does look really good and I have never had long nails before so that makes it worth trying. But the verdict is still out on that, I will have to read the recipe and truly see what is all involved. So glad you are feeling better Teresa, just keep doing what you are doing, it sounds like you are your best doctor at this point. I would love to try to see you this summer when I come home again, we'll have to talk as the summer approaches.

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    1. I can get the green eggs at farmers market, and the man who sells them said they come from a particular kind of bird (but I can't remember its name!). The shells are a very solid, pretty green. I don't know about the taste because I save them for the boys to eat, and I use our regular brown ones. I think they must taste the same, though, because they've never said anything about their tasting different.

      I'm definitely a grazer too, and I don't even know that I could eat a "normal sized" meal without feeling sick. (Well, definitely not now, but even before this mess I don't think I could.) Too much food at one time.

      Do you know when you're going home? Even what month? Keep me up to date with it, and I'll write it in my datebook. So far, the only big time we definitely won't be available is end of June through early July. We're going up to Acadia and Bar Harbor and returning after the July 4th holiday. Other than that, I'm trying to keep our summer relatively flexible this year.

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  6. I am SO GLAD your feeling better!!!!! I was so happy reading this! I hope you will post some recipes here on your blog, the chicken stock and the yogurt please! :)
    xoxo
    Kristi

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    1. Really - you want the recipes? I will post them!

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