We've been on the introductory diet for two whole days now. And wow. Just wow.
I read about "die-off syndrome." I even experienced it a little bit a few years ago when I had a candida overgrowth (which was treated with fungicides, not diet, and probably didn't go away completely). I thought it would be really rough for James, but a walk in the park for me, because I'm not the one with the undiagnosed gastrointestinal disease.
I don't think I've ever been more wrong in my life.
Even though the introductory diet is very restrictive, I ate plenty of chicken soup, eggs and gelatin. I drank lots of water and some juice. I was getting cranky by the time evening rolled around, which I attributed to lack of sugar and caffeine. I was exhausted, too. Even though I was hungry, I fell asleep right after Shelby went to bed, between seven and eight o'clock. I'm usually up until after midnight.
Then I woke up. It was around two in the morning. I felt weak and shaky, feverish. I had James get me some juice and gelatin, because he was still up. I went back to sleep for about an hour, then woke up nauseous. Ended up puking my guts out. Then I was too cold, then too hot, then too cold. It was all very flu-like, just the way the descriptions of die-off syndrome said it would be. This morning, I felt like crap. Weak, tired, shaky. The feverishness was gone, at least. I asked James how he felt, and he said, "probably about the same as you." But I'm guessing he felt about 10 times worse than me.
I was going to have eggs for breakfast, but kept thinking I would have one or two bites and stop eating, because what I really, really wanted was an apple, and apples aren't allowed. It took me a while to remember that apple juice is allowed! I busted out the juicer, chopped up five apples, and ran them through. I added some water to the pitcher so it wouldn't be overpoweringly sweet. I drank a little bit, then played with Shelby until it was time for both of us to take a nap.
I woke up feeling a zillion times better. Maybe even a zillion plus one times.
I think I really needed something to boost my blood sugar. Something naturally sweet. Whatever the reason, it certainly did the trick. So I woke up James and gave him a glass. Guess what? Worked for him, too.
I spent the rest of the day a little foggy headed, a little tired, and lacking appetite, but I'll take it over the fake flu nonsense.
I guess it goes to show that even if you don't have Crohn's,celiac disease, IBD, IBS, ulcerative colitis--even if you don't have gastrointestinal symptoms, you can still have a crazy overgrowth of bacteria and yeast bad guys that will starve and die off faster than your body can flush them out. And as miserable as last night was, I'm glad I went through it and stuck to the diet again today, because I have a feeling this will help James tremendously, along with keeping Shelby healthy (bodily and mentally). And if I come out the other side with fewer headaches and more energy, I'll call it a win all 'round.
Tomorrow, I'm going to start adding in other foods, as suggested in the Quick Start Guide from SCD Lifestyle. James had an attack today (but only one!) and will stay on the introductory diet for at least one more day before moving on. Since I'm still breastfeeding, I wasn't planning on staying in the introductory phase for more than the minimum two days. (I'm sure doctors/lactation consultants would say to not even do it two days, but I ate a lot less for a lot longer when I had appendicitis and Shelby is almost one, so I was willing to take my chances. I've never had a problem with supply.)
What's next on the list? Spinach, a few varieties of squash, zucchini, bananas, applesauce, pearsauce, homemade almond milk, and homemade almond milk yogurt. Most of which I already like. I've never been a fan of yogurt, but it's included in the SCD to replace the bad bacteria with good, helpful bacteria. I'm sure I'll find a way to doctor it up so it's not so...gloopy. Or I'll just suck it up and eat it. We'll see.
Also: homemade chicken soup is THE BOMB. And believe me, that's not something I say often. I was never a fan of chicken soup, unless I was sick and it had tons of garlic in it. But now that I've made it twice, I can safely say I would be happy eating it for days and days and days. Good thing, because now I won't feel quite so sorry for poor James, unable to eat eggs and having to stick to the intro diet for more than two days.
Something interesting I learned when I had the candida overgrowth: candida feeds at night. I think that might explain why the die-off syndrome was so horrible in the middle of the night. When I had candida overgrowth, I would crave fruits and melons in the middle of the night. Before I went to the doctor, I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning and eat a whole watermelon. And I'm not exaggerating. That act was only replicated during pregnancy.
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