cjb's log

[cjb]

Main symptoms
acne - adult onset
severe menstrual cramps - started in my early twenties
anemia
fungus'y toenails only on one foot? Started concurrent with the acne

Current diet
I have just begun a gluten-free diet, at my ND's suggestion. I have attempted it in the past, but always ended up eating wheat on occasion, so I've never been able to accurately judge if it's affecting me or not.
Currently, I sort of follow the candida diet, except I have red wine a couple times a week. Will try to quit that, as I just read this morning that alcohol can deplete iron, as well as other nutrients, as we all know.
The only dairy I consume is homemade kefir made with raw goat milk, butter, and occasionally, cottage cheese.
I avoid any sugar, as I KNOW this triggers acne for me.

Basic foods I eat:
-protein shakes with kefir, eggs, berries, blackstrap molasses, stevia, cinnamon
-juice carrot, beets, all types of greens, apples
-fish about once a week
-a wide variety of vegetables. Every day, I either have green juice, or a salad of bitter greens, sometimes both.
-mung beans, or lentils with spices and herbs and butter
-black beans, aduki beans, chick peas, kidney beans
-sweet potatoes, and other root veggies, like celeriac, turnips
-quinoa
-rice/brown rice pasta
-eggs
-pumpkin seeds, occasional spoonfuls of cashew butter as a treat
-avocado
-tofu or tempeh about once a week
-I use ACV, coconut oil, and olive oil liberally

I have been a vegetarian since I was 17. I was a vegan off and on for about 3 years, and then pretty strictly for a couple of years, during which time the acne developed.
The fish and eggs are a fairly recent addition to my diet. I have been contemplating eating meat to help correct the anemia, but I have quite an aversion to it. I have access to locallly raised, gass-fed, organic meat, which I don't think I would feel too guilty about eating. It's more that the taste of meat just does not appeal to me at all.

I'm a Pitta.


Current Supplements
-Iron, prescribed to me by my ND
-"Intestinal repair caps" contain vit A palmitate, vit E succinate, folic acid, zinc, l-glutamine, n-acetyl glucosamine, okra, cat's claw, mucin, quercitin, gamma oryzanol. Also prescribed by my ND
-Digestive enzymes w/meals
-Fish oil
-emergen-c
-Wheat germ oil, although those intestinal repair caps have 100IU of vit E, and I have also read that vit e should be taken separately from iron, so I've been taking it less frequently

Cleansing
My ND told me to start colon cleansing again. I did a series of colonics about 6 months ago (which did temporarily help the acne). I have also done several months of fiber in the past, after a stool test showed pathological levels of klebsiella, high-ish candida, and a complete absence of e-coli.

So now.....she says to do another series of colonics + fiber concurrently. I have some colonix fiber leftover, so I'm taking that.

I have done 5 liver cleanses. I plan to continue, since I really haven't released that much crap. The last one was by far the most productive, so I think it just took me a few to loosen up some stones.

Exercise
I do 45min - 1 hr of yoga and deep breathing every morning. I also go to a yoga class at least one evening a week. I am blessed to have a yoga teacher who knows me and my practice well, and regularly gives me input and advice.
I have dabbled in the past with Bikram and Ashtanga yoga, which I like sometimes, but I think it's too much for me, being a Pitta. I find that a gentler practice with lots of concsious movement tied to my breath is really what I need. I think I'm in fight or flight mode during an entire bikram class.
I also walk quite a bit daily, and go for hikes.

Okay....that's me in a big nutshell.
I'll continue to post my progress here.

[cjb]

I have just begun to eat meat again for the first time in 10-11 years. I'm feeling a little constipated, but I felt it even before the meat. I have read that iron pills can often cause constipation, so I'm taking a week off of them to see if it helps. I'm also going for a colonic, taking triphala, and a teaspoon of psyllium twice a day.

I'm going to start eating liver twice a week, and eating one serving of meat every day to build up the iron reserves.

I read a book written by Ann Louise Gittleman written in the 90s called "Your body knows best." She mentions that after several years of being a vegetarian in college, she got acne. I follow the "model" veggie diet, so I'm obviously missing something here since I have the symptoms that I do. She talks about all the women she saw as a nutritionist who were following the popular nineties diet advice to eat lots of carbs and very limited fats, and the many problems they were experiencing because of it. I don't necessarily agree with everything she says, but much of it makes a lot of sense. I appreciate that she recognizes that appropriate diet is an individual thing.

I was actually thinking of following her "Fat Flush" plan for several weeks even though I don't need to lose weight. During the first couple weeks, you basically just eat meat, eggs, whey and non-starchy vegetables, drink unsweetened cranberry juice and supplement with flax oil, ACV and psyllium. I think it might be a good way to ease my digestion into accepting the meat, and it might be a good candida protocol - as long as I can properly digest the meat.

If anyone has any input, I'd love to hear it.

[cjb]

I just read my above post. I'm not doing any "fat flush." I'm sure it's useful for some people, but I figure I know enough that I can customize my own program.

I think I need to address candida seriously. I ate some lovely goat milk ice-cream because it was my birthday and was rewarded with 3 mosquito-bite sized pimples. I KNOW sugar does this to me. By *mostly* following the candida diet, I can keep acne at bay to some extent (at least the huge ones), but I'll have a little cheat here and there and so I always have a little low-grade, pesky comedonal acne going on.

Here's my plan for the next two weeks:

Eat vegetables, one meal/day with meat/fish, eggs, homemade broths and sauerkraut.
No fruit except lemons/limes. Avocadoes in rotation every few days if desired.
No dairy except for my homemade raw kefir**. I'm making ghee today.
One serving of well-soaked mung beans, lentils, quinoa or amaranth allowed every other day.
All good oils allowed.
A small amount of nuts allowed
Flaxseed tea and triphala daily
1 tsp of fiber with GSE and an oil once daily
Weekly colonics

**I'm wondering if I should even not eat kefir for these two weeks, but I have some made, so I'll use it. I seem to be able to tolerate it pretty well, so I'll keep it.

After the initial two weeks, I'll add in more "friendly" carbs - like berries, grains - slowly, one at a time and monitor symptoms. I'll take a break from GSE, and in a few weeks do caproil, assuming I can find it.

I'm also going to keep a food journal, as I know this will help me stick to it and monitor symptoms.


Input welcome and appreciated.

[cjb]

Well, I must say I'm feeling pretty defeated. I used to be able to control my acne by just avoiding sugar and wheat and keeping dairy to a minimum. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore. I've either developed new food sensitivities or I have some other underlying thing going on.

The diet outlined above hasn't made a shred of difference, whereas previously, a diet like that would pretty much guarantee no pimples.

I have been cleansing since September; bowel cleansing with fiber, herbs, colonics + kefir, 6 liver flushes, good diet - and nothing has changed. All my symptoms are still present and just as bad as they were when I started.

I've had a stool test, that showed high klebsiella, but that was months ago, and it's either not fixed, or it wasn't causing my symptoms in the first place.
Blood test showed anemia, but thyroid and testosterone levels were normal.
Ultrasound showed an ovarian cyst. I have had bad cramps for about 6 years. Can a cyst last that long?

My naturopath has had me bowel cleansing, and on intestinal repair caps with l-glutamine, and on a gluten-free diet. Every single supplement and diet modification I've taken hasn't made symptoms any better. We tried natural progesterone for awhile, digestive enzymes (still taking those), iron, adding meat, broth, eggs, homemade kefir and sauerkraut to my diet, going gluten-free, lowering carb intake.

It's pretty frustrating to do all these things for months on end and not see one iota of improvement. I just want to know what's wrong with me.

Can anyone suggest any other tests I may want to have done, or any other avenues to pursue? Thanks.

[Laney_Rae]

I know I am somewhat of a newbie to this forum and that you are a lot more informed than I! but one thing I want to suggest is heavy metal chelation. Have you had many vaccinations? They all contain mercury as well as many other metals which can all make you toxic. I have done about 8 cycles of chelation (and plan to do many more) but so far it has been the only thing that has really helped my acne. If you do it though, you must follow the protocol VERY CAREFULLY. The supplements are incredibly crucial. I don't think there is much about it on this forum, but if you do want to pursue this, let me know and I will tell give you the exact protocol. (I follow Andy Cutler's) Chelation also takes away a lot of food sensitivities/allergies etc. I kind of think there might be a connection between metals poisoning and liver congestion in the first place; as in, the metals cause the liver to function less than optimally, thus causing it to clog. Thats just speculation, but I am planning to switch between liver cleanses and chelation. Whatever you choose, best of luck to you! You have been so helpful to me for which I am extremely grateful. I truly hope and pray that you will be relieved of your condition!

[cjb]

Thanks, Laney. Chelation isn't something I've read a lot about. All I know I've learned by 'osmosis' from reading about every aspect of cleansing I can possibly get my hands on! I figure it will have to wait until I have the means to get my amalgams removed. I have 2 of them, and I fully intend on getting them removed once I'm done with grad school and have a 'real' job.

I'd be interested to hear anything you have to say about chelation. I've heard of the protocol, but have never read any of it. How's the process going for you?

[cjb]

I have had occasional non-specific (never in the same spot) abdominal pain and bloating for as long as I can remember. I don't remember exactly when it started becaue I always just mostly ignored it. The bloating has always bothered me, but the only thing that makes me not bloated is not eating!

The abdominal pains have gotten more acute, so I started recording the episodes in my food journal. Looking over it, the days I've had the pains are the days I ate some kind of grain or flour - even non-gluten and well-soaked grains.

From what I've read about klebsiella, it eats starch. As a vegetarian, and especially as a vegan, I ate a LOT of starch. I'm quite certain that's what led to the imbalance, combined with the stress of going back to school.

So....starve the klebsiella? I have yet to figure out the particulars, but I am going to embark on a grain-free diet, and also avoid things like sweet potatoes.

[Laney_Rae]

Ohhhh those amalgams could be a major source of your skin problems. Silver amalgams with mercury continually release mercury into your body, thus continually poisoning you. I know it is expensive to switch them but I would suggest doing that as soon as possible.

Chelating has been going well for me. It is a slow process but I have no doubt that it is helping my skin, as well as cured me from several allergies (including milk!) Right now I am alternating between liver flushes and chelating because I think I need to be doing both. I am pretty sure my acne will be cured for good within the year, or at least that is the time frame I am shooting for. Good luck with whatever route you pursue!

[cjb]

Okay, so I have gone on an essentially grain-free diet. I was on vacation at my grandma's for about a week and so I didn't worry so much about what I ate, but tried to keep it to mostly meat, eggs, dairy, veggies and fruit, but I did eat the occasional piece of bread or Grandma's cookies.
Now that I'm home, that is essentially how I'm eating.... no grains or beans, except for the occasional bit. The results....? I haven't had a single pimple. I've even found I can eat the occasional bit of sugar or even piece of bread, but so long as the majority of my diet is meat, eggs, dairy and veggies, I'm FINE. I've even been eating a considerable amount of raw cheese, kefir and cottage cheese, but no breakouts. I've been keeping a food diary, and the most uncomfortable stomach moments are when I eat any type of grains.

[kaleidoscope]

That's great CJB!!

[cjb]

Thanks, Leah!

I'm still doing great on the grain-free diet. A couple of micro zits in my hairline is all I've gotten during the past month.

I'm optimistic because in addition to being pretty much acne-free, within a couple of weeks of being grain-free, the keratosis pilaris on my upper arms DISAPPEARED. One day it was there, then it wasn't. It was amazing. My arms are completely smooth. I also had some bumps on my upper back. I wasn't sure what exactly they were (kp or acne), but regardless, they are completely GONE now as well.
Also, my menstrual cramps were lessened after only a week or so on a limited grain diet -and I can count on severe cramps every month.

I've been fairly strict, but haven't completely eliminated grains. I have maybe a piece of bread a week, and had some corn tortillas the other day when I went out to eat, but that's about it.

I've actually been eating a goodly amount of raw dairy, and find it really helps with any cravings for grains. A piece of cheese always does the trick for a snack. I can safely say that dairy doesn't break me out, as I've been having kefir, raw cheese, cottage cheese and raw milk pretty much daily. I have also allowed myself potatoes, and seem to do fine with those too.
Since I'm allowing a few things I had previously felt I should restrict, and eating things I haven't eaten for years (meat), this diet doesn't feel restictive at all. It actually feels liberating.

I'll keep ya posted.

[glein]

Hourray for you:!:

You reminded me to check my upper arms, they have allways been bumpy.. last time i checked was like a month ago, guess what, they are GONE!

[cjb]

Yay, Glein!

It's nice to get supportive posts. I posted pretty much the same thing at acne.org, thinking it might help somebody, and I pretty much just got tarred and feathered! I wasn't even saying that everyone shouldn't eat grains! I just related my experience, and advocated searching for the cause of your acne, because it can help you make intelligent decisions about treating it. You'd a thought I told people to douse themselves in gasoline and light a match!

Anyway....still going strong - no acne.

[glein]

I read your post on acne.org! , It's amuzing to read all the people flaming each other up so much! haha! Wonder why they can't work together when they all suffer from the same thing, weird...

There are some interesting things posted there now and then tough... I learned alot from that site, so Im grateful for the site in general.

Hope you stay clear and happy!

Glenn

[cjb]

Hey, just popping in to give a report. I've been eating meat for about 2 months now. I had another blood test several weeks ago and I am no longer anemic. Yippee.

I'm still sticking to a mostly grain-free diet. I can take a tiny bit here and there without consequence. I have been keeping a food/symptom log for months now, so I've pretty much figured out how much grains I can eat without breaking out.