Healing the Gut Tribe: October - Page 9

[JaneS]

Whew! I'm caught up! :LOL

[crunchy_mama]

Welcome to All!!!

we are still plugging along here, wanted to post another recipe for ya'll

Pumpkin Pie

2 c. pumpkin cooked and mashed (or other squash I used butternut)
1 c. milk(I used homemade yogurt)
1/2 c honey
2 eggs beaten
cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves- I used Pumpkin Pie Spice with a little clove

Puree in blender, pour in pie pan, cook at 350 for about an hour until knife inserted comes out clean. Very scrumptious! Dh even liked he thought it was "real" pumpkin pie!

I still haven't received my book yet! I am getting a bit discouraged. My hormones are so out of whack, I have been depressed and grumpy. We want a baby so bad! But with trying to get him healed it really isn't possible right now I am thinking it might never happen... Luke is supposed to be ebf'ing, but keeps find crumbs of whatever on the floor- I do sweep everyday!

[mimi!]

Hi everyone,
I just heard of this tribe and thought I'd join! What a great discussion

I've had problems with candida and allergies for a long time now, on and off, at times I'm able to quash it. I'm bf'ing right now, so no major killing can go on, and I'm finding that enteric coated bacteria are working best, but I'm going though a bottle a week just to keep the good bacteria numbers up. Its a bit of a battle, and I'm avoiding all my allergy foods too (dairy, corn, wheat, rice). I've tried Garden of Life probiotics and they worked for a bit but no longer. What are some of your favs?

[Pookietooth]

Jane, I sure wish ds would eat squash, he won't go near it unless it's in the form of pumpkin pie, and I'm even wondering about that now. And he hates pureed food of any kind, will not eat applesauce or any other sauce. He sort of eats steamed apples and pears, but much prefers them raw, likes to chew things. Sigh. He will eat the cashew and pecan muffins I've made, maybe I could try a pumpkin muffin.
I made some beef stock, and even though I cooked it overnight, it still didn't gel when cooled. Also, I had some today, and I think it triggered a migraine. The beef bones were from a regular supermarket, could they have had MSG added to them?

[arcenciel]

: Hi. Just subscribing while I hope for time to read through at least this month's thread....

[zanelee]

Crunchy mama-
On the pumpkin pie...Is there any sort of crust? Oris it kinda like a cooked pudding?
Sounds wonderful!

[TopazBlueMama]

Hey Pilgrim! Glad you're joining in. Let us know how the other appointment goes!

Crunchymama I hope your book gets there soon! So did you mean that you are wanting to ttc again?

Ugh! I've been MIA for the past few days--going through major detox! Dang. I guess that means it's working? I didn't eat all day yesterday, just water and a little broth in the evening. This morning I made the homemade jello and had a little of that. I think I might have jumped into things to quickly this time.
The x-factor butter oil came the other day too, and I took some of that, so maybe that stuff is powerful too and caused the healing detox to come on.

We've been unable to conceive since I had my 3 yo. So I'm hoping that healing will help with that too. Although I may have some blocked tubes or something like that from a surgery I had, so I might go to the doctor in a few months to check that out too.

Carry on!

[sarahariz]

Originally Posted by JaneS

How's your bunny's face today? Any effects from the yogurt?

Moneca and Sierra are still dealing with some physical digestive issues, she's been MIA lately.

Hi Jane,

Her face looks pretty good... I've noticed my nose was stuffy so I wondered if it was the yogurt... I was mixing it w/ homemade granola-not SCD legal-but I haven't taken that plunge yet. But the last two days, I didn't eat any yogurt, and it is just as stuffy! So maybe it is due to yeast?

I feel sad to hear that about Moneca & Sierra. I hope they are okay!

Love the recipes! That pumpkin soup sounds fantastic!

[Gale Force]

Intro

Hey ladies. I read this thread when I can and have posted a time or two and thought I'd put in a proper intro.

I had my son in April of 2002, c/s, 2 rounds of antibiotics, one the usual round, one because of an infection brewing in my abdominal tissues. Very bad BFing issues. Didn't get him to latch until 3 1/2 weeks postpartum. He had a jaw problem as it turned out so he didn't even bottle feed well. I had depression in pg and then postpartum on top of it with a baby who couldn't feed.

By 4 weeks postpartum, I had read everything there was to read about problems in BFing that I realized my son had thrush even though he didn't have the white spots in his mouth. It also explained why it hurt so much to pump. The BFing is a whole other excruciating story, but we worked it out with a great deal of stress.

From one month postpartum for the following 9 months I treated the thrush as a topical problem -- Nystatin, GV, cut down on grains and sugar. It kept coming back. I would wash all of the laundry again, boil the bras, etc. Every 4-6 weeks, there it was again.

At 11 months pp, I was nursing and had shooting pains in my breasts. Called the chiro. She put me on a diet: no grains, no fruit, no high starch veggies (potatoes, beans, etc), no fermented foods, no high mold foods. You all know the drill. I followed it for 9 months. (Oh and I looked great because I got into a size 10 for the first time since I was in preschool or some such but that's a whole other story.)

I used some anti-fungals as well, but not that diligently really. I had a bad reaction to GSE so I backed off the anti-fungal angle.

I tried to add yogurt about 6 weeks into the diet. I bought a good organic yogurt and had a bad reaction. Some months later I tried to culture my own, loved it, and ate it in large quantities. I started kefir as well and have given grains out to just about the entire MDC community (until my postmaster made this difficult and that too is a whole other story). The kefir made a notable difference. Or perhaps it was the combo of yogurt and kefir. Who knows. (I use Yogourmet starter as well.)

The approach worked for the most part. A year or so later I would still get occasional nipple pain, but it would go away with one treatment of GV. Sometimes it would go away untreated. Hard to imagine not treating nipple thrush, but it was apparently a mild case at that point.

I'm 2 1/2 years out from the start of the diet now and have stayed fairly diligent in terms of not reintroducing the very bad stuff. I spent a year in there eating a whole lot of fruit and some whole grains and gained back my weight :

In an effort to lose some of my "winter coat" as I called it, that turned into a summer coat and now it's fall, I tried the diet again figuring I lost a whole lot quickly before, why not again. I cut out every smidgen of grain and fruit and just kept in cream and butter in the dairy department. I also had gotten myself seriously caffeine addicted in August so I kept that in too only because you can only drive yourself so crazy with diet changes. Didn't lose the weight. Talked to the chiro. He said it was my Ph level -- too acid. I didn't admit my caffeine addiction : but decided that it was time to cut that too to fit into my pants. But I digress.

My point is that I did the diet again and the die-off symptoms were minimal. I had severe die-off symptoms for over a month back when I started the diet in 2003 and this time it was no big deal. In fact, it was such a small deal that I am wondering why in the heck I ever got off of it. Heck, at least I'd have pants that fit if I had stayed a little more true to it and my gut would be in better shape.

In this current round, I had no nipple thrush pop either until yesterday. I thought I was in the clear. But we've had a lot of stress in Sep and OCt and have been without a hot water for two weeks. Sitting in your own stink for two weeks does not help in the bacteria department. In any case, I still have a bit of a case, and am still a work in progress. But the more I read about all of this, the more I realize that we're all going to be a work in progress, forever.

So I was reading a book the other day "Depression Cured at Last" by Sherry Rogers and she mentioned that the gut can't be balanced if you have some key underlying nutritional deficiencies. I don't have the book here, but I am writing this so that I remember to find the quote and report back to you all. That in itself would mean it's a long road for all of us. It's hard to get nourished with the gut problems, hard to get rid of the gut problems with the malnourishment.

And that's the very short version.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

I made some beef stock, and even though I cooked it overnight, it still didn't gel when cooled. Also, I had some today, and I think it triggered a migraine. The beef bones were from a regular supermarket, could they have had MSG added to them?

When we have had conventional meat, I toss the bones. I doubt they would have MSG, but who knows what. Do you have access to a place that sells organic meat that has a butcher? The Whole Foods 2 hours from us does sell the bones, at $2/lb. Not cheap at all, but that's where I used to buy. We've got our own boy in the freezer now, so it's not an issue.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

My hormones are so out of whack, I have been depressed and grumpy. We want a baby so bad! But with trying to get him healed it really isn't possible right now I am thinking it might never happen... Luke is supposed to be ebf'ing, but keeps find crumbs of whatever on the floor- I do sweep everyday!

IKWYM. The baby planning part is the most painful of all of this. I went through many an emotional turmoil over this issue -- when would I be ready? Does my husband think we're ready? I cried a lot. I gave myself deadlines to be well. I didn't meet the deadlines. I stepped back to relax, decided we wouldn't be having more, gave away baby toys and diapers, and now it's anybody's guess. I'm still not ready 3 1/2 years pp. I had a m/c just over a year ago now at 9 weeks and was probably foolish to get pg in the first place. This all takes so much time and the amount of time is really out of our control to a large degree. We don't *really* know what's wrong exacty so we just forge ahead the best we can and recover in bits and pieces and come out better for it, but probably at a much later date than we ever expected.

And those crumbs on the floor just about put me over the edge many times. But it doesn't take much for a PPD/OCD mix to put you over the edge in the crumb department.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by artisticat

Ok one last question. I am still having my thrush issues. Major pain here and I am about ready to go to the doctor and get diflucan. I just want it gone so that I can nurse without agonizing pain. I am just worried the diflucan will end up making it worse in the long run. What do you all think?
Right now I am treating with GSE and vinegar and coconut oil (I just did a 3 day GV round, but it is a little too rough on my nipples).

Thanks.

How did you use the GV? When I first started I used too much. Now I just treat once a day after a nursing and before the biggest stretch of sleep for the child (easy for me now with a 3 1/2 year old). Cover your nipples with the GV and then when baby nurses again, baby will get it in mouth. Baby pretty much sucks most of it off which is why you want to put it on before the longest stretch of sleep so it's on your nipples for a while.

On Diflucan: I didn't do it because of the liver issue Jane mentioned. I think there is a 1% chance of some form of liver damage and a 1/10 of 1% or less of serious liver damage. If you go this route, I highly recommend the diet anyway because it is your diet and lifestyle that got you here and it will just bring you back again. Sorry for the bad news. So it might get you out of the nipple burn phase, but don't lose your motivation to treat the underlying problem.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by Pookietooth

Jane, do you keep the soak water for the stock with the vinegar in it? And what do you do with the fat, just toss it?

I just keep the fat in it and make the soup or whatever I'm making.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by artisticat

But my question is this. So apparentely I have yeast issues. Okay major issues. I recall before I got pregnant a lot of vaginal bacterial infections, but haven't had one since.(knock on wood). And I am so addicted to sugar still (but now is no where compared to before I was preggo with the years on Mt. Dew and candy). Well lately the sugar attacks have been raging. I am constantly hungry. And what do I find myself eating. Yup chips and candy bars and craving pop but none in the house, and eating the heck out of my icecream (at least it's homemade right?). I just don't understand why I am having all these issues lately.

I always had my worst cravings right before a thrush outbreak. They were irrational too -- stuff I didn't really think was good, like Supermarket doughnuts. I decided that it was the yeast making me crazy and getting me to eat the stuff. Adding more essential fatty acids to my diet helped with the cravings. Time helped a great deal as well.

[Gale Force]

Jane - Have you posted your son's story anywhere? I've read bits and pieces only.

[crunchy_mama]

thanks for the support Amanda and tweetybird, we are not trying to conceive here, but would desperately like to, I guess it is just as well though as lil' man is high needs. I know dh is dissapointed, as am I. It is nice to hear other people talk about this. No one irl seems to understand this.

the OTHER amanda- it was nice to read your story. I am at the start of this journey and just counting the days until bread and chocolate, so I am hoping that it does get better!!I am still waiting to feel great, hasn't happened yet.... It sounds like you guys are experts with the yeast issues- unfortunately... Yes, the crumbs on the floor drive me nuts, especially since he is not supposed to get anything but bm, so it seems to me that it is ruining everything... which is even more discouraging. The other day I found bits of my yoga mat in his diaper, which he chewed off evidently.

oh, CORRECTION to my recipe-

it is 1/4 - 1/3 c. honey and also add 1/2 t (or more of vanilla) it was the pumpkin pie recipe out of the LLL Whole Foods cookbook, I just baked it without the crust.

That is what I had this am for breakfast, figured really it is fairly healthy for me! Also, I had used the last of my yogurt to make it, which I had been having for breakfast, I have a 3 qt. batch in the oven now. Pookietooth, perhaps the pie woudl be a tool for your lil' one to get some squash?

I feel like we are not having change here and I am feeling very discouraged... I want this done like yesterday... The ND thought the best way to heal his gut was to go back to ebf'ing but of course now he really is nursing all the time and he was only eating a few T's a day before. So, maybe he is feeling better, his poops are erratic.

I hate to hear that about Moneca, we will keep them in our thoughts and prayers!

mimi!- welcome! Honestly I don't know much about probiotics, I am just taking the ones from the ND right now, and I don't even know the brand... terrible I know.

[mimi!]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

I decided that it was the yeast making me crazy and getting me to eat the stuff.

I can totally relate! I too feel like the yeast convinces me to eat sugar. It clouds my rationality, tells me it'll be ok if I eat just this one little thing . . . and the next thing you know, all the killing I've done is for not, and the yeast is back. What is that? Its really controlling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by mimi!

I can totally relate! I too feel like the yeast convinces me to eat sugar. It clouds my rationality, tells me it'll be ok if I eat just this one little thing . . . and the next thing you know, all the killing I've done is for not, and the yeast is back. What is that? Its really controlling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :

It says "Eat the doughnut. Just buy it and eat it in the grocery store parking lot before you drive home. It will just take a minute. Think of the chocolate coating. Who cares if it's loaded with partially hydrogenated oils and processed sugars, you need it now. Just go buy it and eat it real fast and it won't even count. Have you purchased it yet? Because it's time to eat it. It's right over there. Go now. Eat it."

And then you eat it and feel like crap.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mama

The other day I found bits of my yoga mat in his diaper, which he chewed off evidently.

LOL. At the height of my depression, THAT would have driven me bananas. I don't think we had that level of exploration here.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by JaneS

I'm trying these now, let you know tomorrow how they come out.
http://www.grainfreegourmet.com/sandcookies.html

OMG, these are soooo good... taste just like Pecan Sandies.