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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 10:05
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
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Default Autoimmune book centers on low carb diet

A book I just read, The Hidden Plague: A Field Guide For Surviving and Overcoming Hidradenitis Suppurativa by Tara Grant, is about overcoming her autoimmune issue: and by extension, all of them.

The cutting edge doctors she consulted for the work agree that such disorders are all the same disorder. The reaction expresses different ways in different people. Which makes this book valuable to anyone with autoimmune issues. She is also familiar with, and references, the work of Dr. Terry Wahls on multiple sclerosis.

She carefully does not say "cure" because she doesn't believe one can change their genetics. She is an advocate of "managed remission" which makes a lot of sense to me.

Her approach is that autoimmune diseases are from Leaky Gut. While she covers an impressive range of science that explains the most common trigger foods, and why, she also does a good job of sharing her own experience, which resulted in a dairy test that showed this particular food does not affect her symptoms, but that certainly doesn't mean someone else is not affected. She covers probiotics and is a big fan of how helpful they can be.

She outlines the AutoImmune Protocol of food elimination (cheap, easy, and reliable if testing is difficult to access) and how to construct a livable diet within one's own needs. Since her handle is PrimalGirl, she is very much an advocate of Mark Sisson (of MarksDailyApple), who I also read and recommend.

She is Paleo in approach. Judging from her recipes, she shuns sugar but does use somewhat starchy vegetables and certain fruits. Since she is a young mother with twin toddler boys and works out, it is not surprising that she gets away with a higher carb level

I think anyone can benefit from her learned discussion of the science involved, how it affects a sensitive person, and dealing with trigger foods. Her recipes look wonderful. She has ways of working around nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet and hot peppers) which are probably the most common trigger food. Her recipes for Not-Ketchup and No-Tomato pasta sauce (she uses vegetable noodles) sound intriguing for those who would miss such items.

She sweetens her recipes with fruit instead of artificial sweeteners like sucralose, which she is VERY down on. (I use monkfruit sweetener, approved by Dr. (Wheatbelly) Davis, and very sparingly for lemonade.) She cooks for her husband and two children, so if anyone is dealing with a family not as committed or more fussy about what they will eat, these recipes can be an excellent way of adapting to these challenges.

It is a fun read and an eye-opening look at the incredible range of autoimmune conditions. They not only masquerade as different diseases, but also results in many people hiding that they have one. It is so misunderstood and there is very little help from the medical professionals. So they tend to suffer in silence, or get used as lab rats for attempts that end in them being worse off. I appreciated her discussion of the drugs doctors turn to which have terrible side effects while not being very good at suppressing symptoms.

I know what it's like to have a baffling chronic condition. Like her, I wound up forging my own path. I have gone back to Atkins Induction and have already seen improvement.

Currently testing nightshades. I've done other eliminations in the past with certain high-likelihood trigger foods. I went years without dairy through what I think was a misdiagnosis, and when I started Atkins, I added in cheese, yogurt, and heavy cream without any issues. I went gluten-free back in 2010, and experienced immediate improvement, and now, when accidentally "glutened," I know it pretty quick. (FYI, anyone with gluten issues should get a medical ID bracelet: it can actually affect your treatment in an emergency and afterward.)

The only food which might be suspect in my case, under my present plan, would be eggs. I might try eliminating them when the present two cartons are gone

I give this one an A+.
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 10:55
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Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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I read that book a couple of years ago after one doctor gave me such high doses of antibiotics for no reason and it doing nothing but screwing up my gut. I found her web-site first and read that, then I ordered the book. I wish it had the a magic cure, the answer, a reason.
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 11:01
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meme#1
I wish it had the a magic cure, the answer, a reason.


So do I.

Mind you, while my condition manifests as autoimmune (currently battling some psoriasis that is horror movie level) I discovered that I'd already DONE most of what she discussed... which means this angle is unlikely to be the game-changer for me that it was for her.

I'm convinced my angle is Acquired Cortisol Resistance, and for that, there is only ONE source: Dr. Jack (Madman) Kruse. He gave me my sleep back, he helped me get some energy back in my darkest hour, so I'm going back to his plan of Epi-Paleo. I also have his book on that, and will post a review after I re-read it.

Put "Atkins Induction" on my profile, but I had that kinda wrong, so let me change it again!
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 11:07
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
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Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
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Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
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I do know that since eliminating all nightshades that must have helped a lot because I had noticed that when I eat eggplant, the roof of my mouth begins itching so there's that. She also mentions that the common thing between almost everyone is smoking.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 11:17
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Posts: 14,605
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
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Progress: 136%
Location: USA
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For those Kruse curious, the book is:

Epi-paleo Rx: The Prescription for Disease Reversal and Optimal Health by Dr. Jack Kruse

His website is: Reversing Disease for Optimal Health
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 11:43
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Posts: 14,605
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WereBear
I'm convinced my angle is Acquired Cortisol Resistance


To expand a bit for those not familiar with my journey (detailed in my journal): my health crash in which began in 2009 had its roots in a lifelong, undiagnosed, genetic condition which can be managed, not cured. With my own self-diagnosis being confirmed about 2.5 years ago, I am revamping most of my life to allow me the self-care I need. A work definitely in progress, but I have moved within my employment organization to a new job that does not stress all my challenges the way my old job did, expanded my living space -- which destroyed my writer's block! -- and completely changed what I do for relaxing and recharging. This led to a giant collection of supplements I still experiment with. This week I'm heading back to basics with Dr. Kruse's Epi-Paleo food plan.

Fortunately, I kept the husband

Essentially (and Dr. Kruse is the ONLY person on the planet who understands this in my experience) what happens with Cortisol Resistance is the same thing that happens with Insulin Resistance, only more dangerous. As Dr. Kruse says, "the next stage is death."

Without cortisol able to get into the cells, so many things go so very wrong. I had serious levels of most of the symptoms of early Addison's disease, but testing showed I had plenty of cortisol, so doctors stopped listening. Even though they should have caught what I caught: that my cortisol was too high and the peaks and valleys were coming at all the wrong times.

I corresponded with a couple of nice research scientists who said that Cortisol Resistance only existed from birth. This could not be me, because I was okay (if shaky here and there) until a bad doctor stopped my hormone supplementation and crashed my entire metabolism. So that wasn't it, but it was close.

It led me to Dr. Kruse, who was right about that and a lot of other things

It LOOKS auto-immune because without cortisol getting into the cells and doing its life-giving work, people get a lot of issues. Just like auto-immune. But it's not because the immune system is "attacking the body" by misreading leaky gut contamination with wrong proteins and such. Things go wrong and exhibit illness because the cortisol isn't there, and healing and other important cell work can't happen without it.

In my case, it was that I needed to reset my cortisol cycle so it was being released in the right amounts at the right times, the same way low carb resets insulin resistance. And I started Dr. Fung style IF towards the same goal: hormone resetting.

Just an alternate pathway for those in need: it turned out to be MY answer.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Jan-16-19, 11:59
WereBear's Avatar
WereBear WereBear is offline
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Posts: 14,605
 
Plan: EpiPaleo/Primal/LowOx
Stats: 220/125/150 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 136%
Location: USA
Default

In case it helps, here are the symptoms of Addison's Disease, which is caused by adrenals who can't make enough hormones. I have starred the ones I had:
  • *Chronic fatigue and muscle weakness
  • *Loss of appetite, inability to digest food, and weight loss
  • *Low blood pressure (hypotension) that falls further when standing; this causes dizziness, sometimes to the point of fainting
  • -Blotchy, dark tanning and freckling of the skin; particularly likely to occur on the forehead, knees, and elbows or along scars, skin folds, and creases
  • *Blood sugar abnormalities, including dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
  • *Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea
  • *Inability to cope with stress
  • *Moodiness, irritability, and depression
  • *Intolerance to heat or cold
  • *Craving for salty foods

Any reader can see how I thought I had it NAILED. I was right, just not in the way I thought. Demanding specialist attention was the only way I got the right test, so that part worked out. Eventually.

Googling such symptoms also brings us to something called Adrenal Fatigue, and that is where I started, and while it was some help, it was NOT a game-changer, and there's a lot of BS out there I had to sort through.

Another way to distinguish autoimmune from Acquired Cortisol Resistance is whether or not someone "flares," as an attack is known. Autoimmune cycles, as people experience stress, eat the wrong thing, or otherwise "trigger" their vulnerabilities.

While I had the same problems all the time. They never let up.
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