All About Me

[neveryoumindthere]

I finally have a moment to post my story, I hope I can be coherent (a big annoying symptom for me).

Not sure where to start. I guess I'll start with the current troubles first.
UGH, I'm trying to concentrate, but I really don't have the mental energy..I'll just do it point-by-point

-ds reacting to high-sulfur foods (red peppers, eggs, dairy, gluten)

-Had thrush for about 2 months after ds was born

-Have had a UTI for the past 2 months (also had one while preg with ds, but it was group b strep in the urine)

-had anti-c-antibodies present while pregnant with ds (i'm Rh+, but basically my immune system was attacking ds' red blood cells)

-reacted with reflux, trouble burping (severe), nightwaking every 30-60 min on the worst nights, every 2 hours at best (we did have a couple 5 hour stretches in his first month or two)

-ds was "tongue-tied", we had trouble nursing, clicking up until 4.5 months old *chiro helped, tongue has full mobility now!!*:

-I have Celiac and so does my older dd (whose medical/psychological issues mirror mine so much it's scary)

-had SEVERE postpartum depression after both girls and currently feeling depressed but more the flat, blah kind, no joy, rather than the suicidal (and homicidal) thoughts I constantly fought after I had the girls

-having so much trouble concentrating and understanding--like everything is taking way too much mental energy

-VERY irritable--I'm exactly the kind of mom I don't want to be, snapping at EVERYthing, but a lot of it I realize is because of 'messes'...anything that will require me to put in more energy I will lose it on my kids

-I'm homeschooling so I don't get a break, but I still feel I should have a bit more patience!! and I certainly deserve to feel joy despite the stress

-fatigue, no motivation

-my world has been upside down since dd1 was born, and it's been downhill and stagnant ever since.

-I nursed dd1 for 25 months, dd2 for 29 months (both weaned when I was 5 months pregnant)

-NON-existent libido, to the extent of extreme aversion..I honestly have no idea what it feels like to even want to, it's like "why would anyone want that?' --so you can imagine how stressful my marriage has been on top of all of this internal turnmoil

Past:
-depression my WHOLE life, since I was very young

-exact same behaviours as dd1 (hiding, unable to speak, tightness in my throat, eyes glazed over...I know now it was gluten/dairy since my dd did the EXACT same things until I took her off both last summer)

-went on Zoloft in highschool, had a really bad rx to it, so went on Effexor for 9 months before I weaned myself off of them. HONESTLY, looking back, that is the only time in my life that I remember being truly happy inside and able to feel joy. *lightbulb* Effexor acts on norepinephrine, epinephrine and is a (weak) dopamine reuptake inhibitor

-I was force-fed as an infant. I wouldn't nurse or take formula or food. My poor mom *lightbulb* Dairy intolerance --didn't know until last year when the ND recommended I go off it

-postpartum thyroiditis after dd2 and ds (possibly with dd1 too)

Family history includes:
-hypothyroid (at least 15-20 family members)
-diabetes (last onset, around age 40)
-probably celiac, no one wants to test

so quite a bit of autoimmune stuff going on

not sure what else right now..

Here's what I think but am stuck:
-I probably have high sulfur levels so ds is reacting
-I'm low in molybdenum
-not sure how to increase Mo without eating sulfur too
-low dopamine (at this point I really feel like i need meds)


here's what I'm taking daily for the past month:
-milk thistle tea
-dandelion root tea
-multi-b-plex with plant enzymes, biotin, folic acid
-selenium
-kelp
-vitamin C 4000mg
-vitamin D 4000IU
-probiotics 3 x a day for the past week or so becuase of a persistent UTI
-once in a while evening primrose oil
-I was drinking nettles until sometime last week when I found out it's high in sulfur
-lemon water in the morning
-fermented cabbage, beets, pickles with lunch and dinner
-lots of lentils

and just last night decided to go off garlic/onions because of high sulfur and I'm NOT happy about that!

I'll be back to post some links I read last night that might pertain to me and my ds.

thanks if you've made it this far

[kjbrown92]

Sorry I have nothing to offer, but these in-depth ME stories are really fascinating. So I'm subbing.
Are you doing something for the UTI yet?
And what foods are you avoiding right now?
how old are your kids (it might be in your sig, which I can't see on this page)?

[kjbrown92]

And then I forgot to sub. duh.

[neveryoumindthere]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Sorry I have nothing to offer, but these in-depth ME stories are really fascinating. So I'm subbing.
Are you doing something for the UTI yet?
And what foods are you avoiding right now?
how old are your kids (it might be in your sig, which I can't see on this page)?

2 days ago I was swallowing chopped garlic and taking lots of black seed oil for my UTI. Within 2 or 3 hours all symptoms were GONE. No blood, no burning, no urgency and on the strips no leukocytes. I continued to do it for the rest of the day and the next day when I ran out of my black seed, and I felt ds was reacting to the garlic because of a new type of rash on his chin/side of his mouth (but I vaguely think it was there before the massive garlic overload)--so anyway, today I'm feeling symptoms again. I never did have pain, just the urgency/pink pee

Right now I'm off dairy, gluten, eggs, red pepper, sulfites (we both reacted to the dried apricots I ate a couple months back), walnuts (not 100% sure, but in case)

My kids are 5.5, 3, and 5 months

The extra garlic also coincided with me feeling like I was in "crisis" mode, and I even headed to the walk-in clinic to get antidepressants last night and bawled my eyes out in the waiting room and while talking to the doc. So did some reading last night about sulfur and though I can't grasp it all it seemed like I should lay off the onions/garlic for a bit (I eat them EVERY day. I am having a hard time even thinking of foods I'd enjoy without it)

[tinyblackdot]

what about SAM-E?

My Dr said that it helps give the brain the extra amino acids do make dopamine. Maybe that might help? Could you get your amino acid levels checked?

Nothing more to offer. You are all way above my mental abilities and understanding with all of this! you women amaze me!

[WuWei]

I would add magnesium, 200mg is the 1 tsp dose of Natural Calm. I'd take it 1-3 times a day, work up.

Zinc supplement. Not sure on dose. less than 50mg a day for a while.

Take the evening primrose EVERY day, 1300mg twice a day, imo. Helps me with patience. Dh knows when I run out and offers to go to the store to buy me more.

CLO, any kind a couple times a day. Whatever you have is better than none.

Melatonin to help you sleep, if you have to nap and someone is watching the little ones.

Protein for breakfast.

A lot of water.


Rescue Remedy all day long. Four drops in water, sip all the time, as needed.


Pat

[lil_miss_understood]

Subbing for now.

[riomidwife]

Hi Mel. Its sounds like you have a LOT going on right now. I PMd you. If you intuitively feel like you should go back on meds right now that is worth listening to.
Some of your symptoms can trace back to weak digestion and low gut flora. Here's my midwife self chiming in.....In pregnancy, GBS is often found in mamas with flora imbalance (can be corrected with probiotics and fermented foods), and GBS in the urine tells us that there is even greater imbalance in the flora because the unfriendly (GBS) bacteria has made it's way into the urethra or beyond.

[lil_miss_understood]

Remind me if you have amalgams, never?

[neveryoumindthere]

Yes I do. I have 3, but I just remembered today, that the 4th one broke/fell out while I was pregnant with ds : I had to have it filled (white resin)

I PM'd you back riomidwife.

[neveryoumindthere]

No idea if this is at all relevant, but it might give someone some clues, I just remembered some stuff:

-in highschool, I was anorexic AND bulimic (yes, at the same time)
-at 16, I OD'd on oxycontin and tylenol 3's in a suicide attempt. I don't remember anything except having to drink some charcoal and something about my liver
-HUGE chunks of memories are gone. I don't remember ANYthing from a 3-4 year span, mostly surrounding anything about dd2 (traumatic unplanned UC and traumatic PPD)
-I never went on any antidepressants after any of the kids though i should have. All those years wasted
-I was on antibiotics for the GBS urine infection while pregnant with ds
-dd1 was a hospital birth, I was induced, had the epidural after 16 hours of unmedicated labour, so I'm sure they did antibiotics then too

[tanyalynn]

Zinc was the biggie that I noticed you're not taking. Zinc's really big for digestion, and it's also huge for depression. Lots of depressed moms are really low in zinc. Something like a zinc citrate or even better zinc picolinate (and not zinc oxide unless there's nothing else), take it with/after food (to prevent nausea) and in the morning or at lunch. At minimum, don't take a lot right before bed. 50mg at dinner gave me insomnia, but 25mg at dinner is fine (not sure how variable this is person-to-person).

And I second that if you need meds to get you through for a while, do it. I've been on them, and while I now realize they were a band-aid, I'm not sure I could've been functional enough to get a different plan together and wait for the healthy changes (diet and/or supps) to make me actually feel better. But if you think that you'd prefer the diet/supps approach, I'm not saying don't do that--listen to how you feel, how your life is going, what you need.

Melatonin helps with sleep--I felt like I slept extra hard the first few nights, and it could feel really drowsy if you have to wake a lot for your LO, but if falling asleep is a problem (separate from LO's needs) then it's something to consider. Or Kathy's better with a 5-htp product, which I have zero experience with.

Ya know what? Sonnambula said that there's a decent link between anorexia and ZINC. This could be a long-term issue for you.

[neveryoumindthere]

Thanks Tanya. Zinc is on my mind too, I forgot to add that was going to be part of my plan.

For some reason, your post jogged my memory. My primary doc is actually working the walk-in clinic tomorrow morning!, AND I have the car tomorrow. I'm going to head over and see what she says about the meds. If she's not ok with it or whatever, I'm really going to take it as a sign that God does not want me taking them and wants me to find a better way.

fwiw, I don't get enough sleep at all, but I have no trouble falling or staying asleep. My problem is situational. I stay up after the kids sleep because I am researching/dying for alone time and ds wakes up too much for me to get a good stretch of sleep in.

[neveryoumindthere]

what about calcium?
can someone help me figure out the whole calcium/mag/zinc thing? Like recommended dosages/times of day/take them together or separate etc?

i also read that molybdenum deficiency is linked with copper toxicity..any thoughts?

[Theloose]

I'm seeing low serotonin, low dopamine, hypothyroid, and adrenal fatigue. It looks like you got to the end of the road I was heading down and desperately wanted off of

I'm putting in a HUGE vote for B6, and normal votes for folate foods, thyroid meds (armour/iodine?), and adrenal support. Are your nails strong or weak? Do you have KP? (I'm keeping it simple to not overwhelm, I'll happily explain anything I can!)

And since you've been so low for so long like others, I wouldn't hesitate to see a professional about any of this.

[neveryoumindthere]

See, I knew I forgot smthg. I am hypothyroid (not enough to show up on lab tests ) and I do have adrenal fatigue. I tested with canary club a year(ish) ago.

I am taking 60-120mg of B6 daily (1-2 tabs)

my nails are quite strong since starting to be consistent with my supps. and no KP

[Theloose]

Originally Posted by neveryoumindthere

See, I knew I forgot smthg. I am hypothyroid (not enough to show up on lab tests ) and I do have adrenal fatigue. I tested with canary club a year(ish) ago.

I am taking 60-120mg of B6 daily (1-2 tabs)

my nails are quite strong since starting to be consistent with my supps. and no KP

If you're doing fine with 120mg, you might want to play with going higher. I started high (200mg), not knowing any better, and I think what happened is that it took months to correct a deficiency. I don't know how our body prioritizes it while you're doing that, though...

Next focus then, is folate foods (or folapro) and vitamin c and B3. And magnesium.

Can you test for MTHFR or pyroluria?

[neveryoumindthere]

my B6 is in a B-complex..would it be bad to take more than 2
This is what I'm taking.

Folate foods, I eat a lot lentils, almost everyday the past few weeks.
Vitamin c..what do i need to know. I'm doing ester-C at least 4000mg/day
and B3 i'm getting 20-40mg niacin and 50-100mg niacinimide
Magnesium I just picked up today and I'm returning it. It cost me 32.99 and I found it online for 12.99!
HOw much mag should i take, and can i get it all in a ca/mag/zinc supp or should i do it separate?

i'm kinda assuming i have the MTHFR thing b/c of a sacral dimple and ds' lip tie

pyroluria, I'm goin to read up in my mood cure boook. I semi-recall thinking I could have that, but I read into it a couple years back.


sorry nak with a wiggly babe

[tanyalynn]

You said celiac... when did you learn of this? And when did you go off gluten?

Some of this stuff seems really similar to stuff I've dealt with, but I'm wondering if it's a different cause. It was my nutrition being so darn depleted that was involved in so much of this. I've got a big, honkin' multivitamin I take, but I don't know if it'd work with whatever your dietary restrictions are. 6 tablets have, say, 75mg of zinc, lots of manganese, a good variety of Bs (600mg), 1200mcg folate, 300mcg molybdenum (I forget if you wanted molybdenum or wanted to avoid it), 150mcg selenium.

Perque2 Life Guard, if you want to check it out. It needs a separate mineral supp, it's heavy on vitamins and a few minerals like zinc (zinc needs to be taken separate from calcium)...

I do zinc at breakfast and lunch, cal & mag together (which sonnambula says NO to, but I'm okay on mag so maybe it doesn't mess me up much) at dinner and bedtime. An alternate is zinc at breakfast & lunch, calcium at dinner, mag at bedtime.

[neveryoumindthere]

what about HCl? I have blood type A+ and I read that they can have lower hcl than others
could it be a clue that i've been taking supplements for 2+ years without changes to my health??
the only time i felt a noticeable diff is when i went off gluten last year