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My journey to getting well

I was thinking of starting a new thread in the success section on the sight. Yesterday with the note that I can sit with comfort, it occurred to me at the very least I now have a safe successful travel diet. That is huge.

I say that, and joke to myself that I haven't traveled on this diet. It hasn't been real world tested! The way the gut feels though the last few days, sitting without discomfort and pain, I have good certainty that I have a travel diet. This is a first.

Where to go from here:

There are so many places to go from here, but I believe of importance I need to have a less sensitive stomach. That would go far in relieving doubts. With the gut being less inflamed on this diet, being able to sit in comfort, I expect that the gut will be less sensitive and reliable soon.

I also want to see the "healthy" look for the whole day. There is a health appearance to being well. I know this from the few times I've been well in the past. So far that look is now showing up in the evenings. Soon I expect it will be show all day. It helps prove to me that I'm absorbing nutrients better.

Soon I need to stop taking the little bit of medication that helps the gut. The medicine and I should add cheese I eat I believe help a little. It would be good to stop taking and eating cheese all together as a test. I'll start that tomorrow or Thursday depending on how I'm feeling.

New food to add in the near future: wild caught fish/ sea foods. I'm guessing that what makes me ill is soy meal fed to commercially raised animals. The soy is showing up in the animal product. It might be something entirely different but soy is a common allergen. Synthetic vitamins are another possibility.
 
Thanks Ron, for the type of colitis I have there are no prescription medications that have been helpful. These are over the counter medications that I've been taking, such as imodium. Their helpfulness is limited, if at all.
 
Thought to make a quick note. Avoiding the table spoon or two a day of Imodium is likely not a good idea at this time. The gut has been fine today. The problem is how starved, weak and tired I feel. I don't know why this is happening, and one day is to early to make a definitive decision but no reason to mess with this one for now. I'll continue with the spoonful a day of that and test once again at a later date.

Tomorrow I'll avoid cheese. Hopefully that will go more pleasantly.

I'm still amazement at how well I feel sitting. I keep jumping into chairs testing out the stomach. I eat a big meal, it doesn't hurt. I watch a long TV show, it doesn't hurt. I've driven around, and enjoyed it! It's wonderful! I've missed many trips due to this stomach ache while sitting for long periods of time. That painful issue has come to an end, I believe.

I'm not planning to do any stomach crunches anytime soon though.
 
A couple notes this morning.

Weighting myself this morning I see I'm still loosing weight. I was down to 172/173lbs. Before I thought my weight loss had leveled off at 175lbs.

The weight loss is happening around the stomach area. I'm guessing it is water weight. Its loss is likely why I feel more comfortable when sitting in chairs and in the car. Will be interesting to see if I loose more pounds. Imagine I will.

Not long ago it occurred to me that I was following a diet similar to what I am now. I was having success with the diet. I basically grew tired of it. In that diet I was eating sea foods such as tuna and wild caught salmon. I imagine those are safe foods. So long as I can ride and sit in comfort I'm a happy camper.

I'm going to continue with the current diet, and mess with it more at another time. I may not like cheese, but I'll have other times were I can avoid it and eat more pleasant fatty foods. Potato chips and cookies sound much more pleasing than cheese to me.
 
I'm feeling much better after my spoonful of imodium today! I better keep with continuing that.

I also made it through 2 hours of watching TV! Quite an accomplishment for me on two accounts! I'm not so good at sitting for so long,and the series show can be a bit gruesome at times.
 
This is exciting. This morning I have lots of energy. Yesterday for exercise I swam for around an hour and afterwards I lifted some weights. Typically after lifting weights the next morning and day I'm overly tired and fatigued. That is not the case this morning. I feel very good instead.

I'll mark this down as being able to handle some abuse yet still feel good. I hope this positive trend continues.

I think the only lingering doubts I have about the diet I'm following to make me well concerns stomach health. The gut is good. I want it to be better than good. Once that happens it will be time to begin moving forward, doing new activities in life.
 
This is exciting. This morning I have lots of energy. Yesterday for exercise I swam for around an hour and afterwards I lifted some weights. Typically after lifting weights the next morning and day I'm overly tired and fatigued. That is not the case this morning. I feel very good instead.

I'll mark this down as being able to handle some abuse yet still feel good. I hope this positive trend continues.

I think the only lingering doubts I have about the diet I'm following to make me well concerns stomach health. The gut is good. I want it to be better than good. Once that happens it will be time to begin moving forward, doing new activities in life.
I hope it continues .
 
Thanks Ron, me too.

I've made myself well to the gut with diet before. What makes this time different is I'm keeping good notes. Hopefully I'll finally have this solved. Bit of a difficult puzzle, and understandable if the answer is once and for all soy, or synthetic vitamins not only eaten directly but also a problem when fed to live stock.

A good, yet problem to note. I've had this for a few days. It isn't likely going away. My teeth have become sensitive when eating. My dentist has told me this is good. My gums are becoming healthier exposing more of the teeth. Doesn't feel all that good or pleasant when it happens but I've been told the sensitivity will eventually go away.
 
Worth quickly noting, I'm not as out of breath as before. I can talk better as a result as I noticed yesterday.

The same problem that made sitting painful seems to have been causing the out of breath issue. Kind of nice to not have that issue. I even walked yesterday and talked easily on the phone at the same time. That was rare.
 
Today was one of my more energetic days in awhile. I didn't use the energy much but was feeling upbeat and energized. It was good to experience and imagine I'll have many up and down energy days ahead as the gut continues to do decently.
 
Thanks guys for the well wishes. I awoke early to frightening and interesting news in some respects. A nephew that just began his collegiate career was rushed to the hospital overnight. He had an appendectomy. Thankfully it sounds that everything went well. He should be back in class by Monday I was told.

While there is little silver lining in emergency surgery, it did have me thinking how quickly roles can reverse. For a brief moment I am not the sick one with intestinal distress in the family.

Good energy for me this morning, hopefully that continues into later today.

I was thinking that on this diet I'm only eating grass fed beef and grass fed cheese. In the past I've followed diets were I only ate a single type of meat before. The results were not good. These ideas were tried several times with similar results seen.

When I only ate turkey lunch meat, sold by Applegate, after 5 days I experienced liquid diarrhea. (I should note, there is a type of turkey sold that might not be a problem for my stomach. It is labeled as a range free turkey I used to find at a health store. I'll have to look further into this.)

When I only ate chicken my experience was similar to when eating apple gate turkey, with the addition of symptoms being more urgent.

When I ate commercially store bought beef every day, after 7 days I experienced extreme stomach distress. Every time I followed an all store bought beef diet it was the same result, extreme stomach problems with pain lasting ruffly for 24 hours.

When I ate pork, I did not become stick to my stomach. Instead pork caused me to bloat up, gain weight, and parts of my body became inflamed and would bleed. My gums in particular would become inflamed to the point that eating became difficult. The diet naturally come to an end after that happens.

In the past I've tried eating diets of only wild caught fish. I didn't notice much on this diet. I wasn't sick, but wasn't well as far as I can tell. Don't know what happened other than most likely I didn't take good enough notes, and with my natural dislike for fish, was probably unhappy with what I was eating, wanting other foods.

In the near future I'm going to add tuna to the diet. The tuna I'll eat does not have soy added to it. I'm guessing it will be safe for me.
 

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
I can't eat regular meat either. I think grass fed or wild meat/fish would be fine as it does not have the high concentrations of glyphosate(herbicide) that most commercially raised animals and associated products do. They spray it on the corn and other GMO crops and it becomes concentrated in the animals fatty tissues because they eat so much of it. The older the animal the worse it is and also the higher you go on the food chain the worse it is as well. Glyphosate is well known to cause leaky gut syndrome and all sorts of intestinal issues. Being vegetarian and also eating organic foods has helped me greatly as I'm able to avoid this poison.
 
That could be a probable cause, glyphosate. I know many feel it adversely effects their health.

I'm not sure what effects me. Possibly my problem is with soy. It is a common allergen fed to animals. The AppleGate turkey mentioned that made me ill is organic. On their web sight is a listing for what their animals are fed. Listed are soy meal, corn and synthetic vitamins.

Synthetic vitamins are a good candidate for harming me. I am not able to take a synthetic vitamin without feel terrible. Synthetic vitamins also cause stomach issues, similar to what I have when eating AppleGate turnkey and chicken. It isn't an immediate effect though. I take a synthetic vitamin in the morning, feel miserable all day, and in the evening am running to the bathroom for a hour or so. Since the effect isn't immediate it leaves me with doubts.

Hard to say with certainty. Many people write about having stomach problems with taking synthetic vitamins as with soy.

When I stopped eating wheat I felt a little better. Some will say that is due to the wheat gluten. Maybe in my case I felt better due to avoiding the synthetic vitamins added to white wheat flour.
 
Forgot to add, it appears my gut and body can take a little bit of a beating now. Typically when riding a bike, the pumping action moving the gut around can make me slightly ill when on short rides. (long bike rides can be a big problem) I had a chance to ride my bike and I have not had any stomach issues.

I also weight lifted again and feel fine. Energy levels OK.

I haven't done any stomach crunches. I'm sure that would cause all kinds of stomach grief still at this time.
 

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
I never thought about the synthetic vitamins or soy, although my doctor has said that getting your vitamins from whole foods is the best. I'm glad you are seeing improvements, you may be onto something.
 
The morning started out promising, lots of energy, feeling well. Then did some swimming in a cold pool, did some stomach twisting while swimming, and ever since the gut has been upset. The silver lining I can thinking of is I still have good energy despite the upset stomach.

I imagine the gut will be tender for a long while, even if I am doing much better.
 
A little bit tired after being slightly ill yesterday. Most likely the illness was caused by exercise that stressed the gut area. It happens. Looking healthy this morning though and generally feel decent. I'm hoping this week will finally give me confidence to say that I have my solution.
 
To make note of, my tongue can have some sores or red lines on it. They make an appearance when I'm ill in particular - long term. The tongue has been healing for some time now on this diet. Today I can say officially the tongue is healed up, looking great.

I don't know what to make of the tongue and the red lines. They hurt when there. When healed obviously the pain is gone. I've often thought the red lines are from poor digestion and with that malnutrition. Hard to say though, and I've often thought that it is some kind of reaction. The tongue being the beginning part of the digestive tract, I've thought what effects the tongue likely messes with the rest of the digestive system.

So good sign with the tongue doing and looking good and healed.

Everything else held up well today.
 
Thanks cmack.

Something else I've notice that has improved are my finger nails. At times I can have odd finger nail issues. These include grooves in the nails. Some times the base of the nail will bleed. Other times the nails will look discolored and be uneven. Sometimes the side of the nail will split off. That can be painful when it happens.

My finger nails now look great. I see no issues with any of the nails.

My hair is looking healthy also. I've noticed when the nails are in poor shape so is my hair. I guess hair and finger nails are made of the same stuff so it makes some sense to me that both would do well together.
 
Hi. I have recently been diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I am on a cocktail of steroids, cortisone and antibiolotics. I am also on a very controlled diet. My biggest worry is weight loss and fatigue. I have now lost 10kg and just want to sleep. Is there any supplement I can take to help put on weight and give me just a little bit of energy.
 
Hi Marcelle,

I wish I could be helpful. I don't have Crohn's disease. Our conditions are similar but the treatments that are helpful are different between our IBD conditions.

I can add that with diet, weight loss can be big sometimes. Alternatively sometimes weight gain can happen following different diets. From what I've observed with others it depends upon how helpful the diet is. We're all different in that respect.
 
This morning is interesting for me! I guess to begin with the bad news, I slept terribly. I'm not sure why I slept poorly but can guess. A likely cause is that imodium upset my stomach. From experience I recall that at times imodium can be beneficial. When becoming well it can be a problem that irritates my stomach. So the good news, if my guess is correct, the gut is healing and in less need of help. Going forward I'll try taking imodium on a per need basis.

The interesting part this morning is that I worked out lifted weights yesterday. i lifted weights hard. It was one of the harder work outs this year. Typically after lifting as I did, the next morning I will be worn out and fatigued. That is not the case this morning. Instead I feel decent, a little tired, but I don't feel all that sore.

I'm becoming more reliable. I can handle a beating to a certain extent and be able to handle it. I still have a long ways to go in this department but I'm pleased with the direction I'm going.
 
It has been a really good day today! Typically after a tough night I'd be hurting all the next day. Today, no big complaints to mention. My energy levels have been tolerable. Aches and pains are minimal. I have a little bit of brain fog I guess to complain about but it hasn't been all that bad.

I'm still far from being recovered but like the direction I'm going. I'm becoming more reliable and confident.

One of the tougher items for me to deal with is the constant ups and downs with the stomach condition. As an example, I can begin a hobby. Do well for a few days with the hobby. Then I run into a ruff patch with the stomach. As a result I stop learning the new hobby for a few days. It is the ups and down that makes being consistent overly tough and nearly impossible in many areas for me.

So hopefully, and it appears that I am, creating a solid dietary base allowing me to be healthy. From that I can grow & be more consistent.
 
Looking at my notes this morning I'm around 2 weeks in on this specific diet. Before I had been hitting all around to a diet similar to this. With this grass fed diet I feel I've hit the mark. Fingers crossed that is the case! A few more days and if all goes well I'll wrap this up and move forward. My confidence levels are high with how everything is going of late.

Weighing myself this morning I saw i was at 171 to 170lbs. I'm down a few more pounds since last week. I'm loosing water weight is my guess and consider that positive. Once the weight loss has leveled off, I might join a gym to put some weight back on that way. I've learned how to increase weight in the past by going the gym. It's fairly straight forward: lift weights till muscles fail, rest for days afterwards, eat lots of quality foods, and obtain some sensible sun exposure.
 
Today has been another good day. I'm a little bit sore and tired, more so than yesterday. I expected that as that is the common response after lifting some weights. For some reason the 2nd day afterwards is felt more. Tomorrow I'll be full of energy.

Overall confidence is high. I'm not recovered well, that will take awhile longer, I keep telling myself but have much to be positive about with the way the stomach is going. The diet and the way I'm reacting has me excited! I'm gaining new freedoms essentially. I naturally have some hesitations but am looking forward to having fun trying new foods & activities in the near future.
 
Thanks cmack,

An analogy that has been running in my head for awhile ironically has to do with cars. I've gotten the low rider car out of first gear and now into second gear. it would be much nicer and practical to be in a higher gear. For the time being 2nd gear should get me around town though.
 
Quick update, today marks the 7ths consecutive day that I've been well to the gut! Ya!!!! I can tell the stomach remains tender. It would be easy to become ill if not careful, with exercise, or eating to much fiber. So caution remains.

Energy levels remain so so

Appearance remains so so. I'm digesting better but suspect I'm not absorbing nutrients all that well, yet. This is an area that should be improving soon I suspect.

Diet still remains the same. I anxious to add new foods, liven things up, but keep patience.
 
Well, i have to say it might actually be better!!
Yes, the environment affects our diseases it is a fact. Of course the beach will make you feel less stressed what also might help.

I have tested my Crohns on 3 different continents and i must say, even what the cow is fed affects my lactose intolerance.
Enjoy and if anything starts to flare, drink loads of water, apple cider vinegar and white diet.

....meds are the system which makes us sick in the first place...
 
Thanks Fenix and Cmack,

It was a great car trip! No fatigue experienced, stomach did great. I want to joke that I want to do the 19 hour car trip again soon! That was fun.

I'm hoping my idea about grass fed being my answer is right. It is just a theory though, one that I need to play with further to verify. I was thinking on the long drive that now that I'm with family it would be good if I opened my diet up some. The original idea I was working on was basically avoiding turkey, eggs and chicken along with some other items. I think I'll go back to the first idea and see how I do. The two main items I will watch are:

If the chest rash returns I'll return to the grass fed diet.

If the fatigue come back I'll once again return to the grass fed diet.

About my only complaint off hand I can think of is I appear worn down and terrible. I'm guessing that remains a sign of poor absorption. Hopefully that area will improve soon. It might take months for that to happen I suppose.
 
Worth noting - Cold weather has always bothered me. I've suspected that this was due to my stomach condition. My theory is, I retain extra water and that water makes me more sensitive to becoming chilled.

I'm now in Illinois where the weather has turned chilly. The morning low was in the 40s with a slight breeze.

The cold is not effecting me. I'm walking around in a tee shirt and shorts and feel comfortable.

Typically in weather like this I'd be bundled up, wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt.
 
Worth making note of also,

My handwriting has improved. Before I had crazy doctor type writing. Now my writing appears nice.

I'm eating a lot of fiber for me. The gut is handling it well. The bad part is that it slows me down when thinking. Odd!, but something I've known for many years. This issue should resolve soon, I hope!

Tongue looks messed up, somewhat, when to much fiber is eaten too.

Boredom levels off the charts, which is good. :ytongue: I'm typically to tired and worn down to be bored.
 
Might be making progress after all in the healthy appearance category. My skin is appearing healthier this morning. Despite my complaint yesterday, I've noticed that there might be improvement the last couple days in this area. This morning it is more pronounced. To early to say for sure, time will tell, but if this is the case, a very good sight for improved nutrient absorption. At least that is my theory on what is going on.
 
This is nice. I played tennis last night for an hour and a half. My knees and ankles do not hurt. They are not sore in the least.

Always after tennis play my knees and ankles are overly sore after hitting tennis balls. I'll typically limp around and need time to recover.

I can only guess this lack of soreness has something to do with the anti-inflammatory nature I'm experiencing on this diet.

I'm playing tennis again this morning for 1.5 hours.

So far my diet remains the same. There hasn't been need to experiment with eating new foods.

The only other news concerns my Florida house. Hope hurricane Irma doesn't destroy my home. It isn't looking good at the moment with the path the hurricane is on.
 
Thanks Ron! I appreciate it.

While I'm thinking of it, to add to the notes, I breathed fantastic last night. Typically when running/ sprinting while playing tennis I can have difficulty catching my breath.

Last night I had no problem breathing. Despite lots of sprints to chase down tennis balls, I never found myself catching my breath.
 
I'm a little bit in shock over not feeling sore after tennis play. I hit for two days, 3 hours in total, and my knees and ankles feel fine. No aches. No pain. I even went for a long walk in the afternoon with my parents. About my only complaint is that I'm tired! It didn't help much that a couple cats came to visit me late at night. Cute kitties that enjoy their late night snacks.
 

DustyKat

Super Moderator
Hey Beach,

So good to hear you are doing well and feeling it too for the most part. :)

I hope it continues for a very long time come. Good luck!
 
Thanks DustryKat,

I can certainly get used to feeling this way. There is more healing to do, which can cause frustration at times. I'm glad I'm keeping good notes though. It's the little positive changes that keeps me on track, as the stomach appears to take a long long time to heal.
 

DustyKat

Super Moderator
Yeah, when it comes to inflammation in the gut it can surely take time some time to heal, but then again it never gets much of a chance to rest. That said, knowing it doesn't lessen the frustration though!

I like to keep notes too, amazing how little time it takes to distort history, IYKWIM. :lol:
 
Once again happy in that I don't have sore knees or sore ankles. As expected I'm a little bit tired but to be expected after all I've been doing.

Appearance is healthy this morning. I'm pleased with that. The two areas of improvements, visually and perceived ability improvements can have different lasting meaning. With perceived improvements I tend to quickly forget those happen. It isn't easy to remember how sore I felt or fatigued I could be. What I experience now is the current reality, I guess it could be said. Visual changes are easier to remember and reference back to. The slight rash is gone, which is easy to remember. My eyes are turning bluer, which is a good reminder to me of the changes happening.

One odd area that I know will improve is that I should see better spelling abilities as the stomach further improves. It has happened in the past and expect it to happen again in the near future. Several members in my family on dads side are poor spellers. None of them have stomach issues, thankfully. With improved spelling abilities in the past due to stomach improvement, it has made me wonder though if other family members have a similar issue as me, minus the stomach problems. Possibly if a similar diet as I'm following was eaten their spelling problems will go away. That's something that will never be found out most likely! But incase a similar chronic health problem happens to someone else in the family, it is something that can be mentioned that might be helpful.

Hmmm.... maybe I can write a book, how to become a better speller through diet.:p
 
Went on a 90 minute bike ride over my old childhood neighborhood. It was great fun, enjoyed seeing all the older homes where friends used to live. This should be an interesting test for the stomach. Long bike rides can cause issues for the stomach.

So far so good. I'm on the overly tired side now, but so far the stomach is holding up well. Hope that continues into tomorrow.
 
Thanks Tony! I really appreciate the well wishes.

I'm quite pleased today that the long bike ride hasn't upset the stomach in the least for today. So far I have a good streak going with being well. The quick pack up and leave Florida before the hurricane came caused the stomach some problems. I wasn't sick so much but wasn't well either. After that hard Monday of quickly packing the moving items around, loading the car up, using stomach muscles, it took 5 days for the stomach to heal up. I'm only mentioning this for note purposes more than anything, but I've been considering the 5 days a nice sign. The quicker I heal after a stomach beating the better.

Heard today for the first time that my house did well! A few trees are down in the yard. They will need to be cut up and hauled away. Outside of that all sounded good I was told. Everything inside and out with the house looked great. I feel fortunate with the good news.

Power remains out for myself and most in the area. It's hard to obtain gasoline. Few grocery stores are open. And the most frightening of all, no toilets are working! The sewer system has been turned off. As a result I plan to remain away from my Florida home for a week or two. Officials believe within a week most essential items will be up and running again.
 
Something else I was going to make note on but forgot concerned body fat. When I began this diet I was at around 14% body fat. I suspected that as I became healthier that my body fat levels would drop. That has happened. I'm now at 12% body fat. It would not come as a surprise if I dropped to around 10% body fat eventually. I seem to remember this happening in the past when I became healthier, but then didn't so much have ideas why.
 
Did an experiment yesterday, I stopped adding garlic to my food. This morning I feel wonderful. I had been feeling lower energy. I've attributed that to over exercising. I might have been wrong about that.

This experiment goes toward one of the original ideas being that I'm feeling better due to eating brown rice.

I don't know what this experiment means. It might mean something. It might not mean anything. I should know an answer by this weekend.
 

Tony H

Well-known member
No Garlic and Brown Rice
Thats great that its working for you
I cant have brown rice according to the hospital dietitian and was told garlic in small quantities is good for me but then again that’s the joy of having an ostomy
Great that you’re doing so well
 
Thanks Tony,

Yes, so far so good, at least for today. I'm quite energetic this afternoon. I feel I need to workout hard the next few days, test this idea out.

I worked out hard days previously and felt worn out and tired. I was guessing it was the workout that did me in. I'm thinking today that is not the case. It could have been the garlic that was making me feel fatigued.

Also I've had some tongue sores, that come and go. I know from experience that there should be no sores when I'm well - well being to the stomach and with having good energy. Today the tongue sores are about gone. They need to remain gone, I feel.

Tonight should be a good workout test, if weather provides. I'm playing tennis for 90 minutes. The remnants of hurricane Irma are now here though! Hoping she is gone by tonight.

I guess worth mentioning, if an answer is found with avoiding garlic, it means I can eat some garlic and not be ill to the stomach. If this turns out to be the case it helps explain some confusion. Time will tell.

I'm hoping local stores restock on brown rice. I was running low so i went to the store this morning. it took shopping at 3 different grocery stores before finding brown rice!
 
I'm quite pleased this morning. I played wonderfully at tennis last night. This morning I'm full of energy.

So far so good with the latest twist in the diet and stomach health. I might be on the right track now. Time will tell.
 
I've had a chance to exercise for two hours this morning. I feel great. My energy levels are very good. Tongue, I guess the correct term is geographic tongue, is looking fabulous. Stomach is doing very well.

So far going back to one of the original ideas, eating brown rice and avoiding garlic/oinions is looking promising.

This is how I want to feel, stomach good and energy levels high, no matter how much I exercise.
 

Tony H

Well-known member
im getting tired even reading about how much exercise you are doing
really great to hear success stories
 
:luigi: I have been pushing myself!

That is one thing, over the years despite how terrible and run down I feel, I can push myself in exercise and sports. It may hurt but it's often great social contact being with friends.
 
Another wonderful morning, since avoiding garlic and eating brown rice. My energy levels are good. The gut is feeling fine. The tongue is looking healed and very healthy. I like it.

Thinking about past comments made about different meats eaten.

I mentioned that commercial beef frightens me. This is true. I realize though that when I became seriously ill after eating commercial meat I also ate with it spicy food. So in this case garlic and onions remain in the running.

I know too that when, often when, spicing hamburger with garlic salt, I will bleed in odd places. The places being my finger nails and my gums. I commented on this earlier. It is a consistent response. Eating hamburger with just sat on it does not cause the bleeding issue.

I mentioned pork can be an inflammatory problem. No clue why this is. Pork is not an inflammatory problem when I eat it less frequently. It only becomes a problem when eating pork with every meal. That is an easy problem to overcome.

Chicken, eggs, and turkey are all the same in illness. I can have very good energy while eating chicken and soy sauce. The same goes with eating eggs (with out soy sauce) Turkey is odd in that I can be well with it if I eat cheese and eat it with beef. I used to joke about needing the right beef to turkey ratio to be healthy.

I don't know what is going on with bird and stomach illness. Energy levels can be high while eating this foods. There must be less of a reaction going on since this is the case. This makes me suspect then that over time bird will be less and less of a problem for the stomach as the stomach heals.

This will be important for me as if garlic and onions are the main culprits and need to be avoided then I'll need to be able to eat pastries and breakfast items without issue, foods almost always with egg in them.

Historically, the time when I was good and healthy for around 6 months, one of the items being avoided was the garlic and onion genus family.

The case is not solved yet, but I like the trail I'm on.
 
Thinking about it, back when I ate chicken and soy sauce frequently, along with eggs, I had good energy but upset stomachs. I was also eating some garlic back then, but not much. It occurred to me that I was doing a lot of exercises involving stomach muscles. I know now that these kinds of exercises are a big problem for me. Back then I wouldn't have known that.

Well, anyway, something to note and test on a future date.
 
Good energy today. No breathing problems, it's easy to sit down. No joint problems. THe knees are feeling great. I've really been stressing the knees also with tennis play and with bike riding. Typically I'd be weight lifting in order to help the legs cope. There is something about squats that help keep the knees strong and be able to handle exercise abuse. I've not been weight lifting since leaving Florida due to hurricane Irma.

Weight is approx. 180lbs give or take a pound. Body fat is 12%.

Added a few new foods to the diet. Added tuna in olive oil, red wine, and potatoes. All 3 are safe tested foods in the past. Well, potatoes are less tested but I have good confidence in the spud no causing me problems.
 
The breakfast comment made me chuckle a bit. Commenting further on eating breakfast all the time, my thinking on that was more in line of a quick reference. Breakfast is typically the only meal served that doesn't come mixed with spices such as garlic and onions. Meats served of course can be an exception. (I can't say with certainty those two spices are the culprits! but this morning signs point to them.)

My eating philosophy is simple. I eat to feel good. If something I believe will make me feel sickly I avoid. If a meal I believe will make me feel well it is all good to consume. I'm looking forward toward to the day where I view food more typically as most do. - a pleasurable experience, something to enjoy.

This mornings breakfast and meal for anytime of the day is somewhat of a traditional meal at home for me of late. I had:

Brown rice cake with grape jelly
Tune in olive oil
An orange
some grapes
a few bites of chocolate
cheese

Breakfast has gone down well and has me feeling good.

Another topic to mention, I'm more expressive of late. I noticed this change right after I began avoiding garlic salt. This is one of those items that is hard to quantify. It is a change I'll forget about soon. Should be fun when playing tennis today though! I won't be shy about expressing winning shots. :p
 
It was a really good day today. For the last few days everything feels light. It is hard to describe other than it's easy to do tasks when ever I want.

The gut is fantastic. No pains to report.

Tennis today was not the best. It was overly hot, and I was in the sun. All the exercising I've been pushing myself to do caught up with me. I was tired as a result, but not fatigued. Despite my complaints, I hit decently well enough.

So far so good with avoiding garlic and onions! I suspect this is the answer. This is how I want to feel. More energy is wanted, and more health is needed, but that will come if this the answer. I'm pleased with the diet. Oh, potatoes were delicious and not an issue. Not that I thought they were but new food, I should note.
 
There it was, the finger nail problem after eating garlic for awhile. I noticed it yesterday. As noted when eating garlic for a few days the skin around finger nails begins to pull away and eventually bleed. It has an IBD stomach ring to it, bleeding in odd places.

I hadn't noticed the most recent example of that till yesterday when I could see the nails healing. The finger nails appear to be becoming smaller. Some kind of bad reaction happens when I eat garlic/onions. I will permanently avoid these two spices/flavor enhancements.

There are other problem foods. The most notable is melons/pumpkin. These are a traditional allergic reaction - eat small amount feel horrible for a few hours, then feel back to normal. It's easy to avoid melons.

I don't know what to make of chicken, eggs, turkey and pork. They are only problem foods when eaten exclusively for over a week. The problem is minor and energy levels not effected. My guess, this problem should go away as the stomach heals. It is also easy to not eat these foods exclusively.

Fiber rich foods are a problem. To much fiber can cause stomach issues. As an example, I love blueberries. I would not want to eat many blueberries right now though. If I'm well for 2 to 3 months in a row, then a healthier stomach can eat bowels of blueberries without problems.
 
Something I forgot to mention. Last week I learned that my nephew Jude had begun following the paleo diet. He did this due to feeling run down, and having little energy. I can relate about the poor energy levels.

I was not surprised when I learned this. Jude has always had health problems since a young boy. When younger he suffered from relatively minor stomach problems. His mom was greatly worried over it. He suffered from major breathing issues. He also has complained to me about having poor energy levels in the past.

Jude is a very accomplished young man. He's an academic star. Most notably he took a college entrance exam in 7th grade and scored a higher score than his mom. She went to the University of Illinois. He also does well in sports, having traveled around the country to play in different events.

Jude is right at the age where I became sick to my stomach. I doubt that he will suffer from the same stomach issues and extreme poor energy levels as I have. I suspect though that if I solve my health problems and that they are caused by garlic/onions mainly, that my nephew Jude inherited the same reaction to garlic/onions that I have. It is just a guess but something I need to remember.

My stomach is now doing well. If in two months I find myself with very good energy I need to talk to my nephew and sister about what I've done successfully to improve my energy levels.
 
Forgot to mention - yesterday I added toast to my diet! It was delicious. This morning I bought some cookies.

Everything so far is going down well.
 
Today I ate many cookies with egg in them. I felt really good today!

That was the most wheat that I've eaten in years. For my condition it is often said that wheat is a problem food, to be avoided. It did and has helped the stomach some when avoiding wheat.

I've always realized that when avoiding wheat, one tends to avoid many other foods that often go with flour products. if the answer is garlic/onions then avoiding wheat had me avoiding by and large many spicy Italian dishes. I'm guessing today that is what I did right in that circumstance.
 
Stomach still doing great. Energy levels up yesterday. This morning I'm feeling good. This is after I began eating cookies with eggs in them. That will be the main item I follow the next couple of days.

Since avoiding garlic/onions I've been sleeping well.
 
I've been thinking about it since the weekend, it's not easy pin pointing a for sure answer, but I'm reasonably sure garlic and onion are the primary cause of my stomach issues. I feel to good when avoiding them for it not to be! At least that is what I tell myself.

So the main helpers in this are eating brown rice which helped improve energy levels, and avoiding garlic/ onions. With this the stomach is well most of the time, and energy levels much elevated. I could be on my feet all day with the way I feel now.

There is also the stranger stomach issues, mentioned early, caused by other food items. Some are a problem, others probably not a problem, or a big problem.

Regardless, going forward I'll be writing less on my "success story" thread. I'll assume I have my answer, also will realize that not all days will be great and have expectations that I'll continue to grow stronger, and the stomach will continue to improve, etc.

The main two items I hope to see improvement in are, being able to weight lift and not feel overly worn down the next day, and want to see my eyes turn blue. It appears I've already made progress into the weight lifting item as yesterday I did 40 push-ups and don't feel tired today. Being able to spell better would be oh so nice too!
 

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
Hey Beach,

Your spelling is 99% and I'm very happy to hear of your success. I like the way you have documented things in a fairly scientific manner. This thread is very interesting and may be of use to many others. Keep up the good work! I really hope things work out with your house in Florida.


Cheers bud,

Chris
 
Thanks Chris,

I wish I could say with certainty that I'm on the right diet. It would be very nice if a correct answer was found for my stomach that sirens went off, lights flashed, ticker tape parade was held. :congratualtions:With what I'm experiencing though I have good confidence that I now have a diet I can reference that not only makes my stomach well most of the time but also gives me energy.

Now comes the waiting game, healing.

I'm laughing a bit this morning. I began eating cookies with eggs in them the other day. Fully expecting that with this food I would be putting on weight. Nope! Instead I dropped a few pounds and lost another % of body fat. I'm living the fantasy of every dieter, eat chocolate chip cookies and loose weight.
 
Worth mentioning, I had a lot of energy today. Part of that is due to sitting around for most of the day. The other part being due to feeling better. Having energy is always a nice problem to have.

I'll make more of a point tomorrow to keep active.
 
Another decent good energy day. Found myself a little run down this afternoon after being on my feet this morning most of the time but nothing to complain about. I imagine the good energy will continue to improve further in the days ahead.
 
Wow, I really played well at tennis tonight. I had all kinds of energy. I was hitting strong.

I don't know if this means anything. Possibly it is additional info on the positives of avoiding garlic and onions for me. When I first arrived in Illinois and began playing tennis I was still eating garlic. The first two sessions of hitting were poor for me. Then I stopped eating garlic. That was all I changed in my diet, avoided garlic. Right away I began playing much better at tennis. My hitting and running around the court were grealy improved.

Nicely also my knees still do not hurt. They are abused playing tennis but no soreness has developed.
 
Thanks Cmack,

I've feeling quite lively this morning too after last nights hitting. Typically after running around like that, on a hot evening, I'd be worn down the next day. About all I can complain about now is my wrist is sore and knees a tiny bit achy. Not bad.

Thinking about it, I have 3 energy levels.

The low energy level is as it sounds, has me with very low energy. This is what I think of as my planning level of energy. I annoyingly plan everything in advance when energy levels suffer to the lowest level. Personality is reserved. I tend to not interact with people much when energy lacks. Basically I'm friendly but to tired to want to be around other people. The stomach tends to be at it's worst when energy levels are low.

The middle level, where I'm currently at, is a tolerable/ good energy level to be. I'm more out going, and engaging. It's much easier to get projects done. Less planning in advance is thought about. I'm more with it basically. I'm happy to talk with others and have a good time. On the down side I'm still not entirely with it. Hmmm...I think that is a good way to describe it. Hard to put into words. ;)

The high level of energy is fun. In the evening in particular I'm full of all kinds of energy, wanting and looking to do projects, go out, be around people, etc. I think of this as more of an energy level most people have most of the time. It's heaven for me when energy levels are on the highest level.
 
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It's been another good energy day for me. I have a nice streak going. Imagine if I can continue these good energy days I'll be at the high energy level in no time.

My theory is that it is the brown rice that is helping me with having greater energy. Time and healing matter too.
 
Figured out that cookies can be a mild problem. I began eating cookies a number of days ago. Not long afterwards I began to experience mild cramping. It wasn't much to worry about, but was something I noticed. I stopped eating the cookies for a day or two. The cramping stopped. Then yesterday I ate cookies and last night experienced the mild cramping.

It's one of those things that isn't a big issue. The stomach has been good basically. It's been awhile since I've been sick. I figure though it will be good to stop eating cookies for awhile, till at least the gut heals up better. I also have a long car trip coming up. Wouldn't want to be cramping while on the road.

I still have excellent energy. I'm quite pleased about that. Geographic tongue is looking good. I think it is healing but there remain some lines that can be seen.
 
A little disappointing today, I was tired. I know why. Yesterday I lifted some weights. That can drain me of energy sometimes. It's a good test though.

When well for a longer period of time I can lift weights and feel energized as a result. I'm not at that point yet.

Stomach is doing great. Little to complain there.
 
Stomach doing great this morning. Energy levels OK, but nothing to brag about. Was invited to go to the state capital this morning. I agreed. Typically I'd have such a trip planned out a day or two in advance. Now, feeling half way decent It's not as much of a big deal.
 
Thanks Chris!

It was f%#king freezing at the museum! I suspect they have Abe Lincoln's body in deep freeze somewhere there. It was rather strange as all the employees were wearing sweaters, one was even sporting a light winter jacket. I survived the couple hours in the freeze. I warmed up later as it was hot outside.

Stomach concerns, had a plain commercial hamburger for lunch. It has gone down well. So far no stomach complaints. There for awhile I was speculating that grass fed beef is what was helping me. Todays lunch lends further evidence toward garlic/ onions being the problem for me. Energy levels are back up and doing well this afternoon. I'm pleased!
 
Yesterday day was a good day for a couple of reasons. I was on my feet all day. Typically I don't have the energy to do that. I'll want a nap at some point in the day. Very good sign I was thinking that I handled walking around for the day. The other good bit was eating out on the road. I'll eat out sometimes while in town. It's rare for me to eat 100 miles from home. Do that can mean trouble, due to not only potential stomach issues but also concerns over being ill resulting in near zero energy. It didn't bother me eating on the road yesterday though. I feel I have a good idea of what is causing my health issues with garlic/ onions.

Gut is doing well this morning. Energy is a little on the lower side at the moment but it should rebound later in the day.
 
Good day for the stomach. Lazy day overall. I mentioned about being tired yesterday but think todays tiredness is more about all the exercising and tennis play I've been doing. Coming home as been one workout after another! it was a good day to rest. I'll be back at it tomorrow.
 

cmack

Moderator
Staff member
Stomach concerns, had a plain commercial hamburger for lunch. It has gone down well. So far no stomach complaints. There for awhile I was speculating that grass fed beef is what was helping me. Todays lunch lends further evidence toward garlic/ onions being the problem for me. Energy levels are back up and doing well this afternoon. I'm pleased!
Hey Beach,

I think when it comes to the grass fed beef it takes a while to notice positive results, so on the other hand if you ate a different type that was sub par, it also would take some time for negative results to appear. Just my thoughts.


I hope all is well,

Chris
 
Chris,

I agree. The regular beef was just for one meal. I know in the past that when I had problems with commercial beef, it was typically on the 7th day of eating beef for each meal that I experienced terrible pains, stomach issues lasting 24 hours, with one time sending me to the ER.

The problem for me is that I ate commercial beef with garlic and onions. Garlic I know will cause me to bleed, in my finger nails and with my gums. That is a very well recorded notice in my notes.

In theory though the grass fed/wild caught fish theory makes some sense. Anyway, for now I'm still following both ideas, avoid garlic and onions and eat grass fed/ wild foods most of the time.

I shouldn't forget, when I stopped eating garlic two weeks ago, my tennis play improved and strength greatly increased, right away.

Added candy to the diet today. Well, I've been eating candy off and on lately but it's more official today. No problems to report with the candy. I've gotten a jump on Halloween!
 
Good news, the geographic tongue/ tongue sores are gone. The tongue looks healed up. I might finally have an answer on what causes my geographic tongue with garlic/onions.

It's hard to say what this means. My guess though is that with the tongue being at the beginning of the digestive tract, what ever effects the tongue likely effects other parts of my digestive system. I've thought what ever I see wrong with the tongue likely can be seen further down into the intestines.

My thoughts at this time is that I now have a diet that can make me well. The main two items I'm doing is avoiding garlic/onions plus I'm also eating grass fed beef, grass fed cheese, and wild caught tuna in olive oil. My hope is that if I stay with the same diet for an extended period of time, my energy levels will further improve, and other areas will heal up. In particular I'll feel more secure with the diet once my eyes turn blue once again. It's the big goal I aim for! It's a visual reminder of doing well.
 
Another good day for the gut! I'm going to jinx myself saying that, but the good days for the stomach continue and hope they continue for another week at least. I'm hitting the road this weekend for Florida. Long trip and typically I'd be worked up and a bit nervous about that. Now, I'm feel good and about ready to go and get home. I'll cook a few foods to bring with me. That's about it for the trip.
 
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