I've been chatting a bit with one of my most favorite girlfriends about "getting the diagnosis" of food allergies. Her daughter has life threatening peanut allergies as well as a host of other medical concerns that have caused my friend a lot challenges in making sure her little "Pumpkin" is safe and healthy. The last year or so, she and I have developed a great support system through each other and share information about food allergies and the allergen-free lifestyle. To say she has been a great support for me, would be an understatement. She is one of my few friends I actually consider a "safe" friend- meaning I trust she will always be sure that my allergies are considered and observed. Takes one to know one in a way.
Anyway, she and I were messaging about getting the diagnosis of food allergies, and I think her response to the conversation was both profound and elegant. Even though she is not the one in her household suffering with food allergies, she has to deal with this life-altering crisis as well as any person who gets the diagnosis themselves as she cares for her little girl. I have to share this:
I had an incredibly difficult time adjusting to [daughter's] food allergies, but had no choice since my options were life or death, you know? Going to the grocery store gave me so much anxiety, it took me nearly three times as long to shop for "safe" foods than it used to, and even then, the labels were wrong and caused allergic reactions. It's just not truly "safe" out there. We all learn by taking risks of what our bodies tolerate us being exposed to, and depending on the severity of allergy, it can be incredibly stressful and cause stand-still amounts of anxiety.
[Our newly diagnosised friend is] also an adult who can choose whether or not she wants to avoid those foods. Emma Jo has less of a choice; I choose for her, and to me, it wasn't a choice, it was a HAD TO, you know? [Others] may not perceive [their] allergies as a "have to" when it comes to strict avoidance. Also, constantly battling for inclusion and equality while living with food allergies -especially during the holidays!- may cause strain in family relationships while [a person] grows to learn about how to live successfully in spite of them. Also for me, I had to let go of the importance food had in my life. I really didn't want to find alternatives to foods that were so easy and had comforted me so well throughout my life when the truth was it was the people that made the time valuable and not the food. When I finally let go of the power I let food have over me, I was more willing to try new things and settle into our new version of "normal."
My allergy free bagels will never taste as good as Panera bagels, and my snickerdoodles will never be the "same" as the ones I had growing up, but that had to be OK, you know? For a long time, it wasn't, and I was angry because I had to find a new way to cope with the emotions I was eating for all those years. I still over eat from time to time, but I feel much worse nowadays when I don't value myself enough to take better care of my eating habits than I ever did before. This also doesn't mean I'm not going to balloon up to 300 lb.s if Pumpkin ever outgrows her food allergies!! I have a list of things that are on my top "must buy and scarf immediately" if/when she passes a peanut oral challenge :o)
Maybe [friend] just needs some time to grieve her old foods. Food has a significant role in our lives and culture. Letting go of that may take a long time.
Couldn't have said it any better myself. I think that is one of the things that food allergies does for us- teaches us how to view food in a whole new way then we did before, and it's importance becomes less of a festivity but more of what it aught to be in the first place- nourishment so we can live and breathe and do what really matters in life. If the whole country took that viewpoint on food, we could solve this healthcare crisis pretty quick... well, that, and some excercise. :)
Monday, December 14, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Getting the Diagnosis
I remember when I first confirmed that, yes, I did in fact have food allergies. I was in Chicago, and it was the summer after my first year in grad school, 2003. I had just gone to a new allergist about a mile south of my apartment on inner Lake Shore Drive. I did two rounds of allergy scratch tests- environmental and food. I asked them why I was doing the food allergy testing- it wasn't something my previous doctors had ever done before. They told me they did it with all of their patients, so I went along with it thinking I wouldn't have any reactions. Boy, was I wrong- and all of the little light bulbs in my head starting going on when I saw the results. Apples, carrots, peas, cantaloupe, berries, egg, and the list goes on. The struggles of the whole last year came crashing over me- all of the strange lip rashes, hives and other unexplained "reactions." I couldn't believe it, but I finally had my answer to making my mouth stop hurting and swelling. Granted, I had one good friend (he was fabulously gay, I loved him) told me people paid good money to have lips like I got after eating foods I was allergic to, but theirs probably didn't puss and itch in quite the same way.
For me, the results were both a relief and a knife in the heart. Carrots, peas and apples were my most favorite, coveted foods. I ate them all the time and had been since I was little. I was relieved to know that I could finally stop the swollen lips (which were quite uncomfortable, I might add) and hurting esophagus, but I was at a lost for what to eat. With so many foods taken away from me, how could I ever eat again? And what would I eat? Surely nothing could be healthy, because they just don't make healthy food without those items?
Obviously, through this blog alone, I think we have shown that healthy comes in a million different varieties, and I can do it all allergen free. But, we are also talking about a good 7 years experience under my belt, and a lot of label reading and trail and error behind it.
I've also gotten quite good at responding to people about my long list of food allergies. For example- and I've been meaning to share this one!- at my work holiday party last weekend (which was a blast), my coworker who organized it was diligent and had given my list of food allergies to the catering company. The catering company assured her that at least one dish would be safe for me to eat. I got to the party and watched the catering staff in the kitchen preparing the food- it looked absolutely scrumptious and poisonous all at the same time- carrots were everywhere (yikes!) and what didn't have carrots in it was slathered in cheese (double yikes!). Clearly the catering company chose to ignore my food allergy list completely. My coworker was mortified on my behalf and I assured her that I knew she had given the list and it was okay (she's a bit of a people pleaser). So, being the responsible allergenista that I am, I spoke to the caterers to double check ingredients and see what we could make happen for me. One of the caterers happens to also be a coworker so I talked to her. After having to painfully explain to her that I "no, I cannot eat the beef tenderloin wraps with the carrots if you just take the carrot out because the carrot has already gotten it's juices on the food and made a lovely sauce in the pain that, subsequently is filled with carrot juice," she asked for me to list off more of my allergies. After giving her the cliffnotes version, she looked at me and said, "girl, what do you eat?" My response? It's brilliant- "I eat food just like you and everyone else, it just doesn't have things I'm allergic to in it." I thought that was good, no? I was proud of myself for not only standing up for myself, but, I felt, for everyone who has food allergies like mine.
She ended up scraping cheese out of one of the chicken phyllo dough wraps they made (it was at least not so heavily covered in cheese so I could eat it without fear of spending the whole night in the bathroom), and then she whipped me up a great spinach salad with zucchini and pear. I have to say, the dinner was quite satisfying and tasty.
Anyway, after 7 years of experience, and especially after going through the last year and a half with my new found food restrictions/sensitivities I can look through my allergenista lenses with a positive, fulfilled frame of mind. I no longer see the restrictions, I only see the opportunities. And that's kind of fun!
The reason for this post is because I have a friend who just had blood tests done to determine if she had food allergies and the results were a definite "yes." She is definitely grieving for her losses right now, and I understand where she is coming from. I just hope that by sharing information with her and all the great resources I have discovered she can find the same level of excitement and contentment I have of life with food allergies. There are so many foods out there, the possibilities are endless even if you can't have a few of them. Here is her official diagnosis:
Basil, Blueberry, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, coconut, crab, GLUTEN, lettuce, Cows Milk, peas, pineapple, white potatoes, safflower, strawberries, tomatoes, wheat, bakers and brewers yeast, yogurt, buffalo, blue cheese, cranberries, flaxseed, kiwi, goats milk, nutmeg, paprika, radish, red snapper..., vanilla bean, whey, some molds
The list seems long, and there are quite a few zingers on there (lettuce, vanilla, etc), but my brain is already going to a million places of the wonderful things she can eat without these items in them. It will be GFCF diet, and she definitely has some extra challenges because of the potato allergy (a common ingredient in GF foods), but manageable nonetheless.
So, to my girlfriend Liz. Welcome to the food allergy club, I promise we are a friendly bunch. Love and hugs!
For me, the results were both a relief and a knife in the heart. Carrots, peas and apples were my most favorite, coveted foods. I ate them all the time and had been since I was little. I was relieved to know that I could finally stop the swollen lips (which were quite uncomfortable, I might add) and hurting esophagus, but I was at a lost for what to eat. With so many foods taken away from me, how could I ever eat again? And what would I eat? Surely nothing could be healthy, because they just don't make healthy food without those items?
Obviously, through this blog alone, I think we have shown that healthy comes in a million different varieties, and I can do it all allergen free. But, we are also talking about a good 7 years experience under my belt, and a lot of label reading and trail and error behind it.
I've also gotten quite good at responding to people about my long list of food allergies. For example- and I've been meaning to share this one!- at my work holiday party last weekend (which was a blast), my coworker who organized it was diligent and had given my list of food allergies to the catering company. The catering company assured her that at least one dish would be safe for me to eat. I got to the party and watched the catering staff in the kitchen preparing the food- it looked absolutely scrumptious and poisonous all at the same time- carrots were everywhere (yikes!) and what didn't have carrots in it was slathered in cheese (double yikes!). Clearly the catering company chose to ignore my food allergy list completely. My coworker was mortified on my behalf and I assured her that I knew she had given the list and it was okay (she's a bit of a people pleaser). So, being the responsible allergenista that I am, I spoke to the caterers to double check ingredients and see what we could make happen for me. One of the caterers happens to also be a coworker so I talked to her. After having to painfully explain to her that I "no, I cannot eat the beef tenderloin wraps with the carrots if you just take the carrot out because the carrot has already gotten it's juices on the food and made a lovely sauce in the pain that, subsequently is filled with carrot juice," she asked for me to list off more of my allergies. After giving her the cliffnotes version, she looked at me and said, "girl, what do you eat?" My response? It's brilliant- "I eat food just like you and everyone else, it just doesn't have things I'm allergic to in it." I thought that was good, no? I was proud of myself for not only standing up for myself, but, I felt, for everyone who has food allergies like mine.
She ended up scraping cheese out of one of the chicken phyllo dough wraps they made (it was at least not so heavily covered in cheese so I could eat it without fear of spending the whole night in the bathroom), and then she whipped me up a great spinach salad with zucchini and pear. I have to say, the dinner was quite satisfying and tasty.
Anyway, after 7 years of experience, and especially after going through the last year and a half with my new found food restrictions/sensitivities I can look through my allergenista lenses with a positive, fulfilled frame of mind. I no longer see the restrictions, I only see the opportunities. And that's kind of fun!
The reason for this post is because I have a friend who just had blood tests done to determine if she had food allergies and the results were a definite "yes." She is definitely grieving for her losses right now, and I understand where she is coming from. I just hope that by sharing information with her and all the great resources I have discovered she can find the same level of excitement and contentment I have of life with food allergies. There are so many foods out there, the possibilities are endless even if you can't have a few of them. Here is her official diagnosis:
Basil, Blueberry, cottage cheese, swiss cheese, coconut, crab, GLUTEN, lettuce, Cows Milk, peas, pineapple, white potatoes, safflower, strawberries, tomatoes, wheat, bakers and brewers yeast, yogurt, buffalo, blue cheese, cranberries, flaxseed, kiwi, goats milk, nutmeg, paprika, radish, red snapper..., vanilla bean, whey, some molds
The list seems long, and there are quite a few zingers on there (lettuce, vanilla, etc), but my brain is already going to a million places of the wonderful things she can eat without these items in them. It will be GFCF diet, and she definitely has some extra challenges because of the potato allergy (a common ingredient in GF foods), but manageable nonetheless.
So, to my girlfriend Liz. Welcome to the food allergy club, I promise we are a friendly bunch. Love and hugs!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Toxic Chemicals
It might not come as a surprise to most who know me, but I have a SEVERE allergy/sensitivity/aversion to disinfecting wipes- namely the super toxic ones that everyone is obsessed with, Clorox and Lysol. One whiff of them is enough to send me in to a full blown asthma attack at times. Somedays, I can tolerate them so long as I'm not touching them, but it snowballs the more exposure I get.
Case in point: today. Part of my responsibilities at work at to clean the office at night. Everyone chips in, but due to my work schedule, the bulk of the responsibility falls on me. Yes, this allergic girl is responsible for cleaning. Stupid right? When I got hired that wasn't the case, we had a part-time cleaning person, but as the economy would have it, to save cost we let him go at the beginning of the year. Hence, I am now responsible since I work the late shift when there are less people in the office. Well, I have managed to continually pawn off the vaccuuming duties to other coworkers (which makes my nose bleed from the dust) for the most part, but the one job that continually falls on me that is most irritating to my nervous system is sanitizing the doorknobs and adjusting tables. For a long time we had these great hospital grade, fragrance free, germidical wipes. I loved them! They didn't irritate my lungs or skin or eyes. However, we stopped purchasing them because of cost and switched entirely to Clorox/Lysol wipes. A month or so ago when the last of the good fragrance free wipes started running out completely I mentioned to our person who orders supplies that I really needed the non-toxic wipes and could he please buy the Green Works or Method "natural" disinfecting wipes. Well, he forgot and then when he went to look he said he couldn't find them. How he missed the large section at Wal-mart, I'm not sure.
Anyway, cut to the last few weeks. Most of the time I wear gloves while using the disinfecting wipes (did you know that it actually says on the box that, basically, because they are so toxic you should always wear gloves while using them? Makes you wonder if you should use them around your children then, huh? Oh, wait, it says they aren't safe for children right on the box as well!), however I didn't few times last week because I was feeling brave. Go figure, ever since then I've been having issues with occassional asthma symptoms as well as some other strange feelings in my body- my liver seems to be kind of upset with me, but in the "attack" sort of way I usually get. Today, was apparently my body's last straw. Less then five minutes after I was done using the wipes, I developed asthma, my esophagus started spasming, and a large rash began to develop on my chest. My nervous system went in to full blown freak out mode- hence the uncontrollable crying that followed a few moments later.
Thankfully, I have an understanding supervisor and I told her that I was not disinfecting anything anymore. She is going to personally talk to our supply manager to make sure the natural wipes are purchased so I can still do the job that is asked of me- but safely. Fingers crossed everyone follows through and I can breathe safely at work again. And for the rest of my coworkers' sakes who have to use the wipes several times throughout the day, I hope they get the more natural wipes too.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving- Doing It A New Way: Healthy!
First, I have to comment that I am currently on cloud nine. Not only did I have a very fun and successful Thanksgiving (did I mention it was my first year hosting), but I just watched my all-time favorite Christmas movie, Love, Actually. How can you not feel good after watching this movie? Warm, fuzzy feelings abound and I can't stop smiling thinking about it!
Like I said, this was my first year hosting Thanksgiving. I had the in-laws over and even though it was a small crowd, I had an excuse to break out my China and to FINALLY eat the Thanksgiving meal I want to eat after five long years of eating their food. Thanksgiving dinner is alright at my in-laws, but it's neither anything remotely the same as what I grew up with or healthy. Sure it features the same foods-- turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and some sides-- but the quality and flavor of the food just was never there for me. And did I mention that they use whole milk in everything? I'm pretty sure I have been sick every year since I started eating Thanksgiving with them- one year was so bad I had to drive home with the window rolled down in 20 degree temps so the cold air would keep me from feeling like vomiting. Gross, gross, gross. Needless to say, when the opportunity arose to host this year, I jumped at the chance- and not just to show of my culinary prowress.
The suprise of the day for me was that everyone liked- make that LOVED my food! Even my hubby's grandmother who is an extremely picky eater, asked for seconds and took some home! I couldn't believe it! I wish I had taken pictures of the feast, but completely forgot and I could kick myself for it. So I will attempt to describe the food as best I can.
The turkey was a Giada de Laurentiis recipe that I have made before with herbs d'Provence and citrus. The flavor and moisture of this turkey is second to none. I can't say enough about this recipe, and even though I usually alter recipes I make, this one I do not. It needs no changing. Mouth-watering.
The stuffing/dressing was a Clean Eating magazine recipe that uses whole wheat sourdough bread with sauteed portabello mushrooms, leeks, and celery (recipe orginally called for carrots, I left them out as an good food allergic person should do, naturally). Healthy, and fresh and the sourdough gave a whole new dimension to the dish. Turns out sourdough is a favorite of my hubby's grandmother, hence her attraction to the recipe! And did I mention it is far lower in calories, sodium, and fat than a traditional stuffing? Oh, and lots more fiber! This recipe is a keeper!
For mashed potatoes I took a slightly different approach and added parsnips to the mix. Also, rather than using milk, I substituted chicken stock which actually gives them a different dimension of flavor that is quite nice. No one noticed the lack of whole milk (or dairy altogether, with the exception of butter- which actually is very low in lactose so is tolerable for people like me) and the parsnips in the mash got rave reviews.
Wanting a solid vegetable with the meal I made Clean Eating magazine's green bean with shallot recipe. This recipe called for chestnuts, but I left them out because of my allergies and whatnot. Honestly though, I'm not sure why they needed to be in there in the first place? I often wonder this with recipes-- frequently recipes will have nuts or cheese or other garnishy-type additions to them that you can just leave out and not notice an ounce of difference in taste. So my question to these recipe writers is, "why?" Why do we need to keep throwing cheese and nuts on every dish known to man? It's getting harder and harder to find dishes without dairy in the grocery store, have you noticed? But I digress... back to green beans. One of my favorite tricks that CE mag does is to put fresh lemon juice on sauteed vegetables. Brightens the flavor right up, and did not go unnoticed in this dish. It was quite good, though I think everyone forgot about them with the other food offered!
Finally, cranberries. I wanted cranberry sauce with the dinner so I made the CE mag recipe for it that has ginger and lemon and honey- so refreshing! I think I didn't put quite enough ginger in, but I used everything I had left on hand so it was good enough without having to go out and buy more. I also am known for my signature cranberry-pear pie as the holidays, so I found a recipe to make it a little healthier and lighter as a crisp. Excellent substitute for the pie, and it was gobbled up by everyone, even though they were hesitant at first to veer from the pumpkin pie comfort zone (I don't care for pumpkin pie so I had someone else bring it). Once everyone had a bite of it they were sold, as I knew they would be.
So the holidays don't have to be unhealthy? Who knew, right? I think the highest compliment today was that everyone loved the food but no one felt so overstuffed they were uncomfortable- even though A LOT of food was eaten!
Like I said, this was my first year hosting Thanksgiving. I had the in-laws over and even though it was a small crowd, I had an excuse to break out my China and to FINALLY eat the Thanksgiving meal I want to eat after five long years of eating their food. Thanksgiving dinner is alright at my in-laws, but it's neither anything remotely the same as what I grew up with or healthy. Sure it features the same foods-- turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and some sides-- but the quality and flavor of the food just was never there for me. And did I mention that they use whole milk in everything? I'm pretty sure I have been sick every year since I started eating Thanksgiving with them- one year was so bad I had to drive home with the window rolled down in 20 degree temps so the cold air would keep me from feeling like vomiting. Gross, gross, gross. Needless to say, when the opportunity arose to host this year, I jumped at the chance- and not just to show of my culinary prowress.
The suprise of the day for me was that everyone liked- make that LOVED my food! Even my hubby's grandmother who is an extremely picky eater, asked for seconds and took some home! I couldn't believe it! I wish I had taken pictures of the feast, but completely forgot and I could kick myself for it. So I will attempt to describe the food as best I can.
The turkey was a Giada de Laurentiis recipe that I have made before with herbs d'Provence and citrus. The flavor and moisture of this turkey is second to none. I can't say enough about this recipe, and even though I usually alter recipes I make, this one I do not. It needs no changing. Mouth-watering.
The stuffing/dressing was a Clean Eating magazine recipe that uses whole wheat sourdough bread with sauteed portabello mushrooms, leeks, and celery (recipe orginally called for carrots, I left them out as an good food allergic person should do, naturally). Healthy, and fresh and the sourdough gave a whole new dimension to the dish. Turns out sourdough is a favorite of my hubby's grandmother, hence her attraction to the recipe! And did I mention it is far lower in calories, sodium, and fat than a traditional stuffing? Oh, and lots more fiber! This recipe is a keeper!
For mashed potatoes I took a slightly different approach and added parsnips to the mix. Also, rather than using milk, I substituted chicken stock which actually gives them a different dimension of flavor that is quite nice. No one noticed the lack of whole milk (or dairy altogether, with the exception of butter- which actually is very low in lactose so is tolerable for people like me) and the parsnips in the mash got rave reviews.
Wanting a solid vegetable with the meal I made Clean Eating magazine's green bean with shallot recipe. This recipe called for chestnuts, but I left them out because of my allergies and whatnot. Honestly though, I'm not sure why they needed to be in there in the first place? I often wonder this with recipes-- frequently recipes will have nuts or cheese or other garnishy-type additions to them that you can just leave out and not notice an ounce of difference in taste. So my question to these recipe writers is, "why?" Why do we need to keep throwing cheese and nuts on every dish known to man? It's getting harder and harder to find dishes without dairy in the grocery store, have you noticed? But I digress... back to green beans. One of my favorite tricks that CE mag does is to put fresh lemon juice on sauteed vegetables. Brightens the flavor right up, and did not go unnoticed in this dish. It was quite good, though I think everyone forgot about them with the other food offered!
Finally, cranberries. I wanted cranberry sauce with the dinner so I made the CE mag recipe for it that has ginger and lemon and honey- so refreshing! I think I didn't put quite enough ginger in, but I used everything I had left on hand so it was good enough without having to go out and buy more. I also am known for my signature cranberry-pear pie as the holidays, so I found a recipe to make it a little healthier and lighter as a crisp. Excellent substitute for the pie, and it was gobbled up by everyone, even though they were hesitant at first to veer from the pumpkin pie comfort zone (I don't care for pumpkin pie so I had someone else bring it). Once everyone had a bite of it they were sold, as I knew they would be.
So the holidays don't have to be unhealthy? Who knew, right? I think the highest compliment today was that everyone loved the food but no one felt so overstuffed they were uncomfortable- even though A LOT of food was eaten!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Returned from the unknown... or something like it
I've been a bit delinquent. Ok, "a bit" might be an understatement, I've been very delinquent. It's been a few months since I've updated ye' old blog, but I promise it's because I was achieving beautiful and wonderful things. Which is actually totally true- I spent from August to October checking off a major item on the bucket list. The pride and sense of accomplishment I feel at having done that are immeasurable, and it has propelled me forward in my life with momentum I had lost somewhere along the way. It feels good to be back. :)
Over the past few months I've had the usual ups and downs with my health, but nothing too traumatic. I actually even spent a few weeks experimenting with/testing my food allergy to apples. At first, things went really well! I did several food challenges, spaced days or weeks apart eating organic apples. I was excited to discover that perhaps the food allergy had been a sensitivity to the pesticides and chemicals sprayed on the conventional apples!
And then, the itching started. A few weeks in to the challenge, when I was starting to eat the apples more closely together (days vs weeks) I noticed my ears starting to get itchy every time I ate one. Then I started to notice that I got full very quickly while eating them- just like with seafood when it's not cooked completely or I've been eating it to frequently. My body started to let me know it was at its breaking point. Wanting to give it one more go, I decided to test apple juice.
The taste of the juice on my lips was like pure gold and I gulped it down with a delight I can't explain in words. The taste was a symphony on my tongue- an old familiar friend coming back in to my life with a warm embrace.
Well, that warm embrace lasted less than two minutes. My right eye started to feel like it was bulging out of my head and an intense headache started to develop. About fifteen minutes later I felt like I needed to sleep and was so drowsy I headed straight for bed (thank goodness it was a Saturday). I was out cold. The puddle of drool that I awoke to was probably fit for a world record title of some sort. It was probably a good two-three solid hours that I slept (and drooled) after drinking the juice. Grouchy and groggy doesn't begin to explain how crappy I felt-- food allergy hangovers are unforgiving.
It was just over two weeks ago that I did the apple juice challenge and my body has not been the same since. Hives on my body, renewed sensitivities to body care products (even the hypoallergenic ones), irritation in my eyes that appears to be at some points like a mild form of pink eye from allergies, and continued sensitivities to food. Needless to say apples are out.
I was so looking forward to drinking apple cider or making an apple pie, but I guess I will have to stick with pears. But you know what? Pears are pretty darn good too!
Over the past few months I've had the usual ups and downs with my health, but nothing too traumatic. I actually even spent a few weeks experimenting with/testing my food allergy to apples. At first, things went really well! I did several food challenges, spaced days or weeks apart eating organic apples. I was excited to discover that perhaps the food allergy had been a sensitivity to the pesticides and chemicals sprayed on the conventional apples!
And then, the itching started. A few weeks in to the challenge, when I was starting to eat the apples more closely together (days vs weeks) I noticed my ears starting to get itchy every time I ate one. Then I started to notice that I got full very quickly while eating them- just like with seafood when it's not cooked completely or I've been eating it to frequently. My body started to let me know it was at its breaking point. Wanting to give it one more go, I decided to test apple juice.
The taste of the juice on my lips was like pure gold and I gulped it down with a delight I can't explain in words. The taste was a symphony on my tongue- an old familiar friend coming back in to my life with a warm embrace.
Well, that warm embrace lasted less than two minutes. My right eye started to feel like it was bulging out of my head and an intense headache started to develop. About fifteen minutes later I felt like I needed to sleep and was so drowsy I headed straight for bed (thank goodness it was a Saturday). I was out cold. The puddle of drool that I awoke to was probably fit for a world record title of some sort. It was probably a good two-three solid hours that I slept (and drooled) after drinking the juice. Grouchy and groggy doesn't begin to explain how crappy I felt-- food allergy hangovers are unforgiving.
It was just over two weeks ago that I did the apple juice challenge and my body has not been the same since. Hives on my body, renewed sensitivities to body care products (even the hypoallergenic ones), irritation in my eyes that appears to be at some points like a mild form of pink eye from allergies, and continued sensitivities to food. Needless to say apples are out.
I was so looking forward to drinking apple cider or making an apple pie, but I guess I will have to stick with pears. But you know what? Pears are pretty darn good too!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Gallbladder Soup
As a follow up to my last post I need to share with you a recipe from gallbladderattack.com. It is called "Green Soup" but I think of it as gallbladder soup. It is recommended to help avoid gallbladder pain and relieve pain. Not to be used when in the middle of an attack, it is more useful to help clean out the system and ease the "load" on the digestive system.
You have never tasted freshness like this. While all of the veggies in it are season it tastes especially good, so even though I've not been having GB pain, I made it last week for fun. SO GOOD! I add extra water to the recipe and a pinch of salt.
Strange Validation
About a month ago I started taking piano lessons. As a singer- who hopefully will do something with the TWO degrees I have in music someday- I decided that it was important for me to get my piano skills up to snuff so that maybe I could consider teaching as an option. Lessons have been going well and my piano teacher is a very interesting person- kind, loving, and always looking for an opportunity to teach. She obviously spends most of her time with young children, and that is clearly her expertise. But, she works just fine for me so if she teaches me like she would a six year old, I'm okay with it so long as I'm learning.
At my lesson last week, she shared with me that after my lesson the week before she ended up going in to the hospital for emergency surgery. Apparently she was driving down the road and all the sudden had massive pain on her right side. Gallbladder. Of course, when she got to the hospital they immediately took her in for surgery and took it out. I wasn't surprised- even though she did not have stones or a previous history of gallbladder attack- as this is the protocol hospitals and "regular" doctors follow. She told me she had never felt better in her life and had not had any pain since.
The red light when on in my head.
While I was happy to hear she was having such great success after a week, I warned her the majority of gallbladder removal patients still have pain after surgery and to watch what she eats carefully so as to avoid any other potential flare-ups. She dismissed my warnings and assured me that she eats a healthy diet, avoids dairy, and eats all organic for the last few years.
Okay. I guess.
I was excited for her apparent returned health and thought perhaps she was one of the small portion of gallbladder removal patients that does not have continued pain after surgery. Yet, looking at her, and listening to her, and knowing that they removed her gallbladder when there were no large stones (only small minuscule ones) I still wondered if there wasn't something else going on with the liver. Nonetheless, I was happy she was feeling so good.
This Monday I showed up for my piano lesson at the scheduled time. She wasn't there. I thought perhaps I went to the wrong location as this was the week were supposed to start doing lessons at her regular studio instead of her house. The receptionist at the church thought it was odd that she wasn't there, wasn't like her to not be there for a lesson. We called her on her cell. She was in the hospital.
Gallbladder flare-up.
She told me that at 2 AM she had gone to the hospital because she was in such severe pain and had been there since. She apologized profusely for not being there, and I assured her it was okay and that she needed to concentrate on getting better.
I left the church, got in to my car, and it hit my like a ton of bricks. What strange validation? The path I chose- the path less followed- was right. I am doing the right thing. I have saved my health and my gallbladder. Had I listened to that doctor just over one year ago, and had my gallbladder removed, I would have been in the same situation as her-- wondering, "why am I still in pain? Why has it not gone away?"
This is the second time on my journey that I received such validation. About two months in to it, right after I started working for my chiropractor/acupuncturist, we had a patient with almost the same exact story. Had the surgery, and two weeks after gallbladder removal she was in as much, if not more pain than before. I can remember the pain in her voice and the confusion she had as to why it still hurt so much. I had told her about the gallbladderattack.com website before her surgery and urged her to follow it's advice, but she had brushed it off because she had already chosen to have it removed and that was going to be the "answer" for her. When I talked to her those two weeks later, I told her about the website again and she eagerly wrote it down. I haven't seen her since, but I can only hope that she did go to the website and follow its advice. Doing that saved my health, and taking that path has made all the difference in my life.
At my lesson last week, she shared with me that after my lesson the week before she ended up going in to the hospital for emergency surgery. Apparently she was driving down the road and all the sudden had massive pain on her right side. Gallbladder. Of course, when she got to the hospital they immediately took her in for surgery and took it out. I wasn't surprised- even though she did not have stones or a previous history of gallbladder attack- as this is the protocol hospitals and "regular" doctors follow. She told me she had never felt better in her life and had not had any pain since.
The red light when on in my head.
While I was happy to hear she was having such great success after a week, I warned her the majority of gallbladder removal patients still have pain after surgery and to watch what she eats carefully so as to avoid any other potential flare-ups. She dismissed my warnings and assured me that she eats a healthy diet, avoids dairy, and eats all organic for the last few years.
Okay. I guess.
I was excited for her apparent returned health and thought perhaps she was one of the small portion of gallbladder removal patients that does not have continued pain after surgery. Yet, looking at her, and listening to her, and knowing that they removed her gallbladder when there were no large stones (only small minuscule ones) I still wondered if there wasn't something else going on with the liver. Nonetheless, I was happy she was feeling so good.
This Monday I showed up for my piano lesson at the scheduled time. She wasn't there. I thought perhaps I went to the wrong location as this was the week were supposed to start doing lessons at her regular studio instead of her house. The receptionist at the church thought it was odd that she wasn't there, wasn't like her to not be there for a lesson. We called her on her cell. She was in the hospital.
Gallbladder flare-up.
She told me that at 2 AM she had gone to the hospital because she was in such severe pain and had been there since. She apologized profusely for not being there, and I assured her it was okay and that she needed to concentrate on getting better.
I left the church, got in to my car, and it hit my like a ton of bricks. What strange validation? The path I chose- the path less followed- was right. I am doing the right thing. I have saved my health and my gallbladder. Had I listened to that doctor just over one year ago, and had my gallbladder removed, I would have been in the same situation as her-- wondering, "why am I still in pain? Why has it not gone away?"
This is the second time on my journey that I received such validation. About two months in to it, right after I started working for my chiropractor/acupuncturist, we had a patient with almost the same exact story. Had the surgery, and two weeks after gallbladder removal she was in as much, if not more pain than before. I can remember the pain in her voice and the confusion she had as to why it still hurt so much. I had told her about the gallbladderattack.com website before her surgery and urged her to follow it's advice, but she had brushed it off because she had already chosen to have it removed and that was going to be the "answer" for her. When I talked to her those two weeks later, I told her about the website again and she eagerly wrote it down. I haven't seen her since, but I can only hope that she did go to the website and follow its advice. Doing that saved my health, and taking that path has made all the difference in my life.
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