Saturday, November 17, 2007

Derailed

I know, I know, it seems from the blogosphere that things were going so well, but the last few days have been rough for two specific reasons. One, fruit gets old. I mean, it's really not my favorite food, not even close. In fact, after eating it almost exclusively for weeks, it becomes just about one of my least favorite foods. Yesterday afternoon, I once again got to the point that I just couldn't do it anymore. I felt like I would throw up if I ate more fruit. How do you get around that on the 80-10-10 diet?? So I jumped ship, at least momentarily.

The other thing -- the real clincher for my decision -- is that all is not rosy with my endocrine system. Although I had thought that my worsening the last time I stuck this thing out for 10 days or so was due to a missing dose of my thyroid meds some time before, now I'm not so sure. Although I feel good in some ways -- clearer (but still bad) skin, feeling strong -- my energy has been plummeting once again. My feet, hands, and now forearms are cold, like there's no circulation there anymore. I'm having to sleep in progressively more blankets every night. It feels like a slow death, and like this "perfect diet solution" just isn't. Once again, I'm getting worse, not better.

One theory is that this diet is lacking in some essential nutrient that is out of balance in my system. Well, maybe not that it's lacking per se, but it's lacking in the amounts that I need it, due to my imbalance. But it could have nothing to do with that. It could be simply that nothing I do, NOTHING, will even touch this thing, that I'll just have to deal with this constant downward spiral for the rest of my life. Sounds depressing, but I have to accept that possibility. The one other possibility is that it's the coffee that's having a bad effect, but I actually kind of doubt that that's it based on past experience. Still, it's something I might try.

But back to the hatred of fruit, I really can't figure out how to get around that one. The just eat more idea kind of backfires here.

In case you're wondering, I had a low fat cooked vegan meal of stir fry, brown rice, and tofu, and enjoyed it immensely. It sure beat bananas, for the meantime.

Where to go from here???

9 comments:

Carol H. said...

Hey, I just found your blog yesterday and find it really interesting! I also suffer from hypothyroidism (as well as adrenal fatigue), but I haven't been a follower of the 80/10/10 diet, due to what you mentioned above: I actually like fruit, but I know I would hate eating lots and lots of it. I'll sometimes go on jags where I can eat loads of apples or grapefruits or peaches, but it doesn't last forever. I really applaud you for trying!

As for the endocrine balance, I personally have come to the conclusion that I'm going to be stuck on pills for the rest of my life. I did quite drinking coffee, though, and after about a month I did feel better, so maybe if you can give that a shot...

I feel your pain! Good luck on whatever you try.

Stacy said...

Thanks so much for posting, Carol. I'm very down today, as the spiral just goes down and down, and my dr. won't even give me a higher dosage without going in to see him (even though I can't even get an appt, he's so busy), so it basically means I'm going to feel like crap for the next few weeks, which is not easy when I have two little kids to deal with (and be patient with).

I appreciate your support.

Stacy

Sarah said...

((hugs)) Stacy, I'm sorry that you're feeling so badly. I'm not even gonna pretend to know what you're dealing with here, but I was wondering - have you ever considered getting a consult with Dr. D?

About the sick-of-fruit thing - that did happen to me occasionally from time to time (esp last year) and the thing that always helped me with that was to increase my physical activity. When I "earned" my fruit, I just really wanted it more and craved it naturally.

You already sound like a fairly active person but I thought I'd throw that in just in case.

HTH and have a great weekend!

Stacy said...

Sarah, I appreciate your continued support. I have WANTED a consult with Dr. D, but the man charges SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS AN HOUR, and it's a bit outside my budget (caps not meant to yell at you, per se, but just to express general frustration). I totally respect his viewpoint, but that's a significant outlay, and, quite honestly, I'm not really sure that he's got any specific experience with this one. Who does? It almost seems I should stop spending money trying to figure it out at all because it's all money down the drain, because nothing makes any difference. Maybe I should just put money into my kids' education fund or something, 'cause mama's never gonna be well.

Sorry to sound so down. That's my reality. Very frustrating.

Hugs,
Stacy

Anonymous said...

(((((BIG HUGS!)))))

I don't understand the medical part, but I so understand the rest! This diet/lifestyle is DIFFICULT! I am only trying to do it slowly, because all me attempts at 100% right now have failed. I figure the more I incorporate, the better i feel.

Oh, I remember how yummy that cooked vegan meal is after a few weeks.. heck, even after a few days! :)

RVM

Sarah said...

Okay just in case this helps - my hubby got a consult with Dr. D this year, and although it sounds like he charges $600 an hour, the reality is that we only ended up paying about half of that, AND, he will work with your budget - meaning, if all you are willing to pay is $100, then he will give you what he can for $100.

He emailed my hubby daily for 30 days. During that time my hubby was free to ask him any questions. I figure it was probably more like a total of a 2 hour consult!

Also, I think it's worth asking him about his opinion or experience with your illness (you can email him for free and ask, he will respond within his scope of time and expertise) and you will at least know if he has experienced this w/ others or not. My gut feeling is, he probably has worked with others with thyroid problems. He will tell you outright if he doesn't think he can help you.

Why not just email and ask? At least you'll know for sure then.

((hugs)) and hope you feel better soon!

Stacy said...

Thatnks, Raw Vegan Mama. Nice to hear others have some of the same struggles.

Stacy said...

Hey there, Sarah. I was thinking after I posted my follow-up comment to you that maybe I should just ask him, as you suggested. I think part of my initial hesitation is that when I've posted to the message board with specific questions about this issue he seems very much like, "Whoa, I can't offer medical advice ..." etc., etc., because obviously when you start dealing with real problems you start also dealing with the potential for real liability issues ... which, I have to say in his defense, I can totally understand. It's frustrating living in a litigious society when I'm not a litigious person (and he probably feels the same). The AMA infests our lives, even when we really want nothing to do with it (i.e. thou shalt not "practice medicine" without a license; not allowed to make health suggestions to people unless you're somehow connected to a pharmaceutical company).

It is all quite confusing to me though: Why I do the best I can do and yet seem to get worse.

I might contact Dr. Graham shortly, and will keep you posted.

Thanks for your continued reading of my ramblings! It does mean a lot to me. :-)

Am on a frustrated hiatus from trying to "solve" everything for now, and probably through Thanksgiving (to be realistic), but you and the others reading this are definitely helping me to not give up completely, and I thank you for that.

Stacy

Rachel said...

ditto on the fruit thing. not my fave food at all. but i press on. lol sometimes i think this diet is the perfect punishment for overeaters...now instead of overeating other foods, you must eat fruit out the wazoo and still try to get enough calories so your metabolism doesn't shut down. ok, so that is how i feel on a bad 811 day.