Prioritizing dietary restrictions

One of the frustrating things about having so many health problems is that it's hard to find things that are good for me to eat. I don't have as many restrictions due to diabetes as most people think I do, since I've got an insulin pump; I can indulge in sweets occasionally. I do try to pay attention to sugar content and glycemic index, and eat whole grains and lots veggies whevenever possible (i.e., when I have the energy to shop for and prepare them). Diabetics are also supposed to eat a low-fat diet, since having diabetes makes them more likely to get heart disease, whose risk can be reduced by eating less fat. I also try to avoid artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame and sucralose, since they can cause cancer (this is somewhat controversial, but I don't want to take a chance, especially since I already have a family history of cancer). These guidelines by themselves are not too bad; this is healthy eating for anyone, with or without disease. However...


I also have hypothyroidism, so I'm supposed to limit soy and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage; for adrenal fatigue, I'm supposed to avoid anything that I crave (I still don't completely understand this even after reading about it); and I just found out that I'm supposed to avoid the following high-adinine foods since the viruses I have feed off of adinine, which is an amino acid: nuts, wheat, oats, rice, oranges, peas, mushrooms, grape juice, chocolate, and anything with vinegar in it, among other things. Not sure how I'm going to do this...I eat most of these ALL the time.


In addition, I've also just been tested, at my request, for yeast overgrowth in my blood, which I'm pretty sure I have (official results not back yet), and will have to severely limit all fruits, grains, milk and milk products for several weeks until the yeast level goes down. Normally, you are not supposed to have these at all when you are trying to get rid of yeast, but since I am insulin-dependent, I get low blood sugar sometimes, and well, you have to consume sugar to fix that.


I have also been tested for food allergies (results still out for another two weeks), and then I just found out from a friend that I should also be tested for food intolerances, which are different from allergies. My cousin, who also has chronic fatigue, was diagnosed with a gluten allergy last year, so it's entirely possible that I have that, too. She's having a hard enough time trying to figure out what she can eat with just that one limitation.

I'm really looking forward to getting the results back on my vitamin and mineral blood levels, although I have no idea how I'm going to coordinate supplementing the foods I need more of with avoiding the foods that will make me worse, because it seems like each food has multiple nutrients in it, and some are good for me, and some are bad for me. It's no wonder that I'm tired all the time...taking care of myself and figuring out how to better take care of myself is a full-time job.

Health update

Friday I had the last of my six Glutathione/ATP shots. Lots of people have asked me if I have noticed a difference, and I guess the short answer is yes, it is doing something, but I'm not any less tired. Here is the more detailed answer:

The first difference I noticed is that my low thyroid symptoms worsened; this made me even more tired than I already was. However, not having seen the doctor for my follow-up yet, I have concluded that it is indicative of an improvement in my adrenal fatigue. Sound weird? Here's why: one symptom of adrenal fatigue is that my body is very sensitive to medication, that I don't require as much of any medication as a doctor would expect someone of my weight to need. Doctors have told me this for years about my insulin (without ever making the connection to adrenal fatigue), and more recently about my thyroid. So the fact that I now need a higher daily dose of thyroid supplement could mean that my adrenal glands are actually functioning more normally than they were before. The interesting thing is that my insulin dosage hasn't really changed, but that could be because of the increased stress that comes with this time of year (stress increases blood sugar).

I have also noticed that there have been far fewer nights in the past several weeks where I have had difficulty going to sleep, but this could be due to either the increased thyroid deficiency, or the improved adrenal function, or both. Or it could also be because I've been getting far fewer naps than I used to, because Rebecca has stopped napping regularly (Yikes!). In the past month, she's probably only had ten to twelve naps. She still gets to hang out in her crib for two hours with her blankets and stuffed animals, while I go lie down with ear plugs so her babbling, however cute, doesn't keep me awake. I only figured out I could use earplugs last week, and I wish I had thought of it sooner. I know I could probably make naps more consistent if I woke her up earlier in the morning (she usually wakes up on her own between 7:30 and 8:30, after a full twelve or thirteen hours of sleep); but that would require me getting up earlier, and I just can't do it. I've tried.

So, given all of the above, I don't really feel any more energetic than I did before, and my neck and shoulders still really hurt a lot, and I still get headaches every day. I have tried using the computer less (hence no blog postings for several weeks), but that hasn't helped. So I don't know if getting my thyroid regulated again will help, or if I just need more ATP, or if I need a different medication, or if I have yet another condition (nutrient deficiences/allergies/food sensitivities?) that is of yet undiagnosed. Please pray that my doctor will be able to help me when I see her in January. In the meantime, I'm hoping all the activity of Christmas will help distract me from how I'm feeling, or even improve how I'm feeling. I'm also open to other suggestions of how to take care of myself, if anyone has any.

Newly diagnosed illnesses bring total to seven

So, for the last decade(+), I have had so little energy. It's been frustrating to try to explain to friends, acquaintances, and even doctors, and to know that they just don't get it. Few people understand what my physical limitations are and how that affects the rest of my life. It's disheartening to be 28 years old, look like I'm 17, and feel like I'm 78. I am thrilled to finally be able to point to some concrete evidence that explains why I am always exhausted, and that the exhaustion is exceedingly beyond what most young mothers experience.

My lab results finally came back last week, and I had a follow-up visit with Dr. Salvato yesterday. In addition to the three chronic autoimmune diseases I was already aware of (diabetes, hypothyroidism, and adrenal fatigue), I also have the following conditions: three highly active chronic viral infections, each of which would have qualified me on its own to be diagnosed with chronic fatitgue syndrome (EBV, CMV, and HHV-6). The doctor said its like my body has mono and the flu 24/7, and that it's likely been that way for all these years. Even more significantly, I also have an ATP deficiency of 40% (normal is 30; mine is 18). For those unfamiliar with ATP, one of the doctor's handouts described it this way: "ATP is the universal energy source of the body, in the same way that electriciy is the univeral energy source for a computer."

So, considering all this, is it any wonder that I can't function like a normal person, that I never have enough energy to complete basic household tasks (much less have time or energy to maintain relationships), why I was never able to be gainfully employed more than five or ten hours a week (unless you count my two-week subbing I did for a biligual third-grade class four years ago), and that I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of a major meltdown? My mom says it's really quite amazing that I am even functioning at the level I am, and I agree.

The doctor prescribed glutathione/ATP shots, even though my glutathione level came out in the normal range. She said that her patients have had more success with these shots than with the ATP pills alone, and that you can't have too much glutathione anyway. So I have to have one shot a week for six weeks, and then she will reevaluate my blood levels, along with how I'm feeling, before prescribing anything else. She said that the supplemental ATP should improve every one of my other conditions...not cure anything, but at least make them less severe.

I am grateful for this seemingly simple solution, but I'm not assuming that it will be a quick fix and that I won't need anything else. The reverse T3 test that my doctor ordered was somehow not taken by the lab when it should have been (at the same time as everything else that was tested), so I had to get my blood drawn again yesterday. I think it very likely that my doctor will end up changing my thyroid medicine, and I'm guessing I will eventually have to have more than just the ATP to fix everything else. But I am still excited about the breakthrough of having identified more problems that need to be addressed. Maybe now I will be better understood.

I do want to say how incredibly grateful I am for my husband, who has not only understood my limitations since early in our marriage, but who has poured himself out to serve me and take care of me and our daughter and our house, at the expense of his own need for solitude and relaxation. I know that this situation is wearing on him, but he has held up so well, by God's grace. As you pray for me, please pray for him, too.

I would also like to thank my mom for developing my interest in medicine, for teaching me to pay attention to my body, to ask questions when I don't understand (although she might argue I was born with that trait), and to be my own health advocate and not to accept apathy from any medical professional. She has been a wonderful listener when no one else listens.

And thanks to my friends who have asked "How are you doing?" with sincere interest and patiently listened to my answers; especially my cousin Heather, who shares many of my ailments, and Laura, who referred me to this helpful doctor. And thanks to my friends who have upheld me in prayer, and have pursued friendship with me even though they know I cannot give much back right now; especially Susan and Tricia, for the meals they have provided for us. I don't know what I would do without God's grace manifested through all these people!