The Doctor Treadmill & Day 5, Phase 1

Once my Mystery Symptoms started appearing, it felt to me like I started seeing lots of doctors.  I don't remember exactly who I saw, in what order, and for what.

I do remember that a general practitioner was convinced I was having trouble with my GI tract and ordered a test where I had to swallow barium and then they x-rayed it.  Nothing showed up.  I also remember seeing a homeopath who said I had Lyme Disease.  I saw another cardiologist who said I was fine.

During this time, I was in high school.  The doctor treadmill had just begun.  No one found anything "wrong" yet I remember not feeling well.  I can't remember exactly what my symptoms were, 20 years later.  This is where I started to get the label of hypochondriac.  My friends were (mostly) kidding, I think.  But I did get the senior class award for "Most Likely to Call in Sick".

Thankfully I was able to keep up with my studies and graduated near the top of my class in 1996.  And I was off to college that fall!

Day 5, Phase 5

So here I am starting Day 5 of the LEAP diet.  I can't say I've had any moments of revelation yet.  I don't feel like one area is significantly better... I'm only starting to wonder - "Am I feeling better?"  What I mean by that is sometimes I think that I'm experiencing less abdominal pain.  I can't quite put my finger on it yet though.  And then sometimes I think my fatigue is lessening.  But then I slept until 10:30 AM this morning.  So there are contradictions to the clues I'm getting.

I feel like my joint pain will be the thing that will be easiest to recognize.  And actually, even more than that:  My ankle stiffness.  Every morning when I get up, and anytime I've been sitting and get back up, the stiffness and pain in my ankles is very noticeable.  My god, I hope that goes away!!!

As for what I'm eating, it is pretty simple fare.  I rarely make recipes, mainly just use whole ingredients (for instance:  beef roast, turkey breast, steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, etc.).  I have a couple recipes I've been enjoying - the Sweet Potato, Carrot, Apple Soup, and my homemade granola.  I've also been enjoying a "dessert" of sunflower seed butter mixed with a little bit of honey, some unsweetened raw cocoa powder, and some of the granola mix.  That definitely satisfies my cravings for dessert.

And yesterday I made Lemonade with Honey.  My husband was a fan, and it was all raw (fresh squeezed lemon juice and raw honey blended with water and chilled), so it was pretty darn healthy for us.  On a hot day like yesterday, we really needed something to replenish our reserves, and this is a MUCH healthier alternative to an energy drink.

Mystery Symptoms & Day 4, Phase 1

When I was in junior high and high school, I started to get "Mystery Symptoms".

One time, after running a mile in gym, I "kind of" passed out.  I remember drifting in and out of consciousness for probably 45 minutes - my friends just thought I was really tired or something.  I felt like I couldn't talk or explain what was happening... like I was suspended in cement or something.  Eventually they got worried for me and a friend's mom took me home.  I of course recovered and I think the consensus ended up being that maybe I hadn't eaten enough that day.

Another time -maybe in 10th grade?- I was in cross country skiing, and at the first ski of the year, we took our heart rate after a quarter mile.  Mine was 220.  My coach didn't believe me so he retook it himself and came up with something over 200.  He immediately had me sit down.  He refused to let me ski until I got the all clear from a cardiologist.  I didn't know it yet, but this was the start to my saga with cardiologists, neurologists, gastroenterologists, ENT docs, and every other specialist under the sun.  That first cardiologist told me "young women don't have heart conditions", but humored me with a Stress Test because my coach demanded it.  It came back all clear, and I was told that I should stop looking for attention like that.  (As if I could control my own heart rate?)

Then there was the time I woke up for school, and was too dizzy to get out of bed.  This just happened to be on a day when there was a HUGE test for AP government (that would determine whether or not I would earn college credit for the course or not).  After a lot of investigation with doctors and chiropractors, my docs said maybe I had Vertigo (which is just a medical word for dizziness!), and told me it was probably because I was nervous for my test and it was probably all in my head... and my chiropractor thought that my neck was out and adjusted my spine.  Honestly, that seemed to fix it at least for that day.  Now I think it was coincidence.  But at least they didn't tell me I was making it up.

Day 4, Phase 1

So today I'm starting Day 4 of Phase 1 of my personalized LEAP diet.  I missed writing yesterday because of a busy day at work.

Yesterday I *may* have started to feel like I had a bit more energy.  Maybe.  Like everyone else, I have good days and bad days, whether I'm following a diet protocol or not.  One day of slight improvement doesn't make me think this is working.  But it is hopeful, at the least.

Today I woke up without stomach/intestinal pain.  This is fairly significant.  When I'm laying flat, my GI pain is more pronounced, which means I usually go to bed with it and wake up with it.  I've had this for at least five years.  Today I didn't notice anything.  Again, one day is not a trend, so I will keep an eye on it.  Again, it is hopeful.

Here is what I'm hoping to improve with the LEAP diet:

• Stomach/intestinal pain - I have had pain in my belly area for at least five years.  I don't know exactly when it started, because it's usually so non-descript.  But I have been experiencing some degree of GI pain for at least that long, maybe longer. I would say it has gotten more pronounced in the past few years - settling to a horizontal line right under my ribs, and then a pretty sharp pain in my lower right abdomen.  There's other things too - sometimes in the middle, sometimes on the left.  Anyone who's experienced GI pain knows that it is truly hard to pinpoint.  Last year, I was checked for everything from appendicitis to gall stones to colon cancer.  They ran lots of tests and all they came up with was "Inflammation of the Ileum".  
• Joint Pain - Again, I'm not exactly sure when this started.  It has crept up on me over time, but I would say again that it's been at least 4-5 years.  This is incredibly limiting, as almost every joint hurts almost all the time.  Literally every knuckle in my hand, to my elbows, to my ankles, and everything in between, even much of my spine.  It's easier to list what doesn't usually hurt - hips, shoulders.  Maybe that's it?  It does seem to be symmetrical, and yes, I've been tested for Rheumatoid Arthritis.  
• Joint Stiffness - This just seems to be my ankles, sometimes my hands.  Most pronounced in the morning.  I have trouble walking because the pain and the stiffness is so great.  Again, this points to RA, but the indicators came back negative, so we are going on the assumption that I don't have it.  I haven't pushed this with my docs, because I probably wouldn't go on RA meds anyway.  I'd try to find another way (reducing inflammation in my body), and that's why I'm doing the LEAP diet.
• Fatigue - Sometimes it's crushing fatigue and sometimes it's just sleepiness.  But every day I feel like I lack energy.  Considering I'm a Type A person who likes to *get shit done!* this is very concerning and limiting.  I am hoping to get my Mojo back!

Last night, I dreamed that I ate somewhere (a friend's house?  out to eat?  I'm not sure.) and my husband reminded me that night that I had gone "off the plan".  For some reason, this hadn't occurred to me at the time, ....

I interrupt this post to bring you stomach/intestinal pain.  It just started in that horizontal line right below my ribs.  It's pretty mild, but it's there.  

Anyway, back to my dream:  for some reason, this hadn't occurred to me at the time, and when my husband reminded me about it, I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated.  I felt like I had ruined all my work.  I hate to think like that ... like it's either all or nothing.  But with this particular diet, it's kind of true.  If I eat one of my sensitive foods, then my body gets aggravated again and I have to calm the immune response again, which will take time.  I was disappointed with myself and ended up being sad about all the work I had lost, and how much longer it would take to get me to feel better.

I am motivated to do this - I'm all in.  I haven't cheated (even with another "green" non-reactive food) and I don't intend to.  I'm a little nervous about what happens if I don't feel better... then what?  But I try not to get ahead of myself, because that's still at least 10 days away, and a lot can happen in that time.