Jennifer's Recovery Log

[Jennifer]

Aww, Jen I'm sorry you went through these horribly unjust circumstances but I'm glad you overcame them and turned into the lovely and sympathetic girl that you are now!
Youre always cheerful and sweet, and there need to be more wonderful people like you in the world.
In fact, I'm gonna offer a project called ''Clone Jennifer!'' Maybe the UN will heed my pleas, and we can have a few Jennifers sent here to Montreal (where people are horrible, selfish and all around grumpy).

Awe...you mean my peoples aren't representing!? French girl here whose family originates from Quebec. They're probably disgruntle over being accosted by overzealous children singing Let It Go to them. I've dealt with this myself in the past and finally sought help to get over the trauma. I'm making great strides, but it's a tough process. I still startle easily and when I hear the pitter-patter of little feet, I run for cover.

In all seriousness, thank you very much, Peat's_Girl. That's such a sweet thing to say and I appreciate that. Really I do! :)

See... Soon enough my entire log will be filled with more posts by me than you!!!!!!

MUAHAHAAHAAAHAAHA!

Oh, man! I had an advantage over the turnip when it came to posting. The poor thing kept slipping off the keys and could never complete a sentence. With you on the other hand, it seems I've met my match.

I'll have to up my game. Hmm...I didn't get any takers for bribery or cooking segments. Maybe a craft corner!? We can make papier-mâché dolls or those rubber-band friendship bracelet thingies. I'll see what I can find on Pinterest.

(I am actually a secret agent of the turnip, sent here to sabotage your rise to fame on the RP forums! >;D)

My rise to fame on the RP forum!? You must of skipped over my log about creamed honey, milk and then there was the poo log (pun intended). Yeah, there will be no rising to fame for this girl with posts like that. Looks like you can kick your feet up and relax with this assignment.

Your log actually reminds me of mine on MDA. A lot of people used to frequent it but after a while (I suppose I lost my touch or something) i felt like I was writing to no-one but myself...
But it detailed stuff like me going to the store and making silly jokes and also posting songs to cheer myself up! :)

Ah, we have another soul sister! How are your dance moves? I look forward to getting my music fix when I read your log.

But yeah, my log has gone a little stale. I think I started out too strong by using my best material. I should of paced myself. I mean, how on earth do I follow my epic creamed honey log or my adventures in countertop curdled milk log?

And oddly enough, the heartburn hasn't made an appearance since cutting out the dairy.

Okay, I lied. I'm a recovering neat freak and have dusted her off faithfully every week. Please don't tell my sponsor.

Actually experiencing this lately... But I dont think it\s the milk for me because I've been drinking it for a few months without heartburn. Maybe its a sudden change in diet or taking in more food in liquid form or more fiber from fruits? I'll have to figure it out for myself.

Wow... We're like twins here... I OCDingly clean things too every week... Like my bf doesn't understand why I need to clean the fridge, oven and kitchen tiles... he's like "just like sweep the floors once a month"
and Im like
ONCE A MONTH?!!?!?!

Yeah, I figured out that for me, it's the fiber, starch and pasteurized fruit juice that cause the heartburn, while dairy gets rid of it.

Let's see where on the ODC scale you fall. If I were to look in your fridge, is it categorized, labels all facing the same direction (forward) and containers/lids (BPA free or glass) all the same color?

So an interesting thing happened over the past week.

After I dropped dairy from my diet, I found myself craving lemonade so I've been drinking strawberry and watermelon lemonade like crazy this past week. I really hadn't thought anything of it, but my poo is finally brown after six years of being practically every color, but blue and brown. Don't judge! You know you look at yours too!

Pink anuses and brown poops! You Peatsters are such a candid bunch!

Nah, it's cool though. Just imagine how awkward it would be if we knew each other in real life...
We'd quickly run out of conversation topics before turning to,
"So your starfish area still bright pink?''

Oops...I was wrong! You did read the poo log! Funny, had I not hiked with guys or taken care of children for so many years, I may have thought it would be awkward.

Well, it appears I have some reading to do. How many pages are you up to on your log? :)

 

[Jennifer]

You might want to start thinking of ways to spice up the turnip thread narouz.

You mean...
...they don't rule...?

That depends! How are your turnips at papier-mâché?

 

[Peat's_Girl]

How many pages are you up to on your log? :)

You must be kiddin'... On MDA?...
Like 200 something ;D

 

[Jennifer]

Here's to helping you get more views, Jennifer...let's talk about what a healthy libido feels like, ok? You wrote that you don't know what it feels like.

For me. It feels like something going on down there. Something nice. This feeling comes pretty regularly, though certainly not on schedule! Sometimes it comes many days in a row; sometimes less frequently. Sometimes it's urgent, and sometimes just a thought. Sometimes I'm minding my business and see or hear something that sets it off. It's a dependable part of me.

Now what you choose to do about it is secondary in the sense I'm talking about. There doesn't always have to be a guy in your life to feel it, though that can obviously help it along. Just being aware of it and enjoying it for what it is -- a good feeling. Energy that makes you feel a certain way.

And for many months now, I DON'T HAVE IT!!!!! Aaaaaack!!! I'm dead as a sack of potatoes....dead as a doornail....aaaack!!! My daughter is leaving for college, I wanna date, and I'm DEAD DOWN THEEEEERE....

Ok, that's my take on libido.

Anyone else? We're helping Jennifer beat the turnip...

Ah, okay! Thanks for sharing, sunmountain. I definitely have a healthy libido then. I know that feeling well and it usually hits me all over. From the tips of my fingers to my toes. On progest-e, it was bad though. I clearly had too much in my system. When you get that feeling, plus something else (you probably know what I mean), when you get that just by looking at a guy, any guy really, it was definitely too much. My mind was preoccupied with love and snuggling. I'm a snuggly person by nature, but I was always thinking about it.

So did you notice a drop in your libido from taking too much progest-e or you just read that it can cause that? Have you noticed if it's gotten worse or better since lowering your dose? I'm sure it will come back, especially now that you're taking more food in. Refeeding definitely did it for me. I also wonder if you'll get a resurgence of it when you meet someone new? That love high is pretty potent stuff. :)

Thanks for helping my log. I've been neglecting her lately. I've got to snap out of this funk I'm in. That and I now how to visit the turnip thread to show it some love. I can't bear to see narouz cry.

 

[Jennifer]

How many pages are you up to on your log? :)

You must be kiddin'... On MDA?...
Like 200 something ;D

Whoa! Yeah, that's dedication! I'm ashamed of myself and lack of commitment to Jennifer's Recovery Log.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Not only do they dance but they can fly!

Haha, they used to read that to me in my childhood! I always wondered wtf that was they were all pulling out of the ground... A GIANT TURNIP!

 

[Peat's_Girl]

J Log vs Turnip

HEY! That popcorn better be coconut oil fried, MISTER!

 

[Peat's_Girl]

She irons everything right down to her underwear, sheets, even money. LOL She worked the press at a dry cleaners before she got married and acquired neat freaktitis.

So does mine! Maybe it's ALSO in the contract.

 

[Peat's_Girl]

I did have PCOS, but in 6 weeks of high dosing progest-e, my numbers showed I no longer had it. I've had ultrasounds done on my ovaries and uterus and I was told they looked perfect.

Wow! That's amazing! I had PCOS for so long
I haven't had my period in a year (last time I induced it with progest-e).

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Ah, perfect! Thank you, Diane for clearing that up for me. :)

;'c I don't get anything you people talk about.. prolactin/ estrogen? why? when? how? etc.

;D

 

[Peat's_Girl]

So the creamed honey I got from Trader Joes was not what I thought it would be. After scooping out some of the honey and taking a bite, I thought "Hey! Where are those melt in your mouth crystals and that blast of sugary goodness? This tastes and feels an awful lot like raw honey." Sure enough, I looked at the package more closely and in small print it read unfiltered and uncooked.

I thought everything raw was good for you Y_Y

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Hi again Jennifer,

I forgot to mention in my comment about the fermentable carbohydrates that even if you choose a starch that doesn't contribute further to the GI problem, it can become problematic just by storing them in the fridge. If you cook your starches for an entire week for example, by the last day it will probably cause you trouble. The resistant starch isn't broken down just by a brief reheat. Ideally, starches in the fridge should be treated as uncooked for those with GI issues. I thought this wasn't a real concern until I started noticing that they behave entirely different the longer they stayed in the fridge.
I suggest you experiment by yourself but, in my experience, more than 2 days is enough to start causing trouble.

So how would you reheat them then?... Recook them? I don't get it.
Do you mean pan fry versus microwaving, or something?

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Thank you, pboy for taking the time to write such a thoughtful post. I apologize. I probably should of given some back history when I started my log.

Well, I guess here's the part where I get brutally honest and candid. I've only told a few people privately some of the things I'm about to share so it's a little hard and a bit embarrassing, but maybe someone will gain something from this...

In my early to late twenties I was into extreme mountain climbing, did a fruitarian diet to try and overcome depression and got down to 70 pounds and developed one of the most severe cases of osteoporosis that my doctor, bone specialists and the tech doing my DEXA scan had ever seen. I ended up fracturing half my spine (12 vertebrate) and with that I had to relearn how to walk and build up the ability to do anything for myself again because I basically became a vegetable. I won't go into too much detail on that part of my recovery because this post will already be far too long, but I'll just say that I spent most of the first two years after the accident in the most unimaginable pain and as a person who was use to some intense pain from the kind of climbing I did, this says a lot. My osteoporotic ribs became interlocked from the loss of 3.5 inches in my spine and would constantly snap together anytime I used my arms. As for the rest of my body, if I moved even an inch, my entire body would spasm like that of charlie horses so I spent a lot of time trying to stand/walk only to end up on the floor in a puddle of my own urine.

I know I've written this to you before, pboy, but for those who haven't seen it, my former doctor wrote about my story on her blog. If you scroll down to where it says "The Worst Case of Hormone Deprivation I have EVER Seen," that's my story. Just to clear up a couple inaccuracies, I followed the 80/10/10 diet by Douglas Graham, not the China Study and I was 28 when I became Dr. Shanahan's patient and received the DEXA scan.

http://www.drcate.com/the-china-study-d ... p-or-harm/

I know for me, my past contributed to my deterioration. I know there are people who have a different opinion and I can respect that. For me personally though, I know in my heart that as a five/six year old being sexually abused by my friends older sister, this affected me in so many ways, not only with developing a fear of affection, but right down to the decisions I made for myself and in which affected my health. Had I not blamed myself for the disgusting things that had been done to me as a little girl, had I not lost trust in my own judgement, had I even the tiniest inkling that I mattered in this world and wasn't some horrible girl because of my not so pretty past, I would of made better choices that kept me out of harms way. But for me at the time, I felt I needed to make up for my past "sins" and became a perfectionist. In a futile effort to be perfect, this became my downfall and here I am.

As for chocolate, I realize I can't stand the stuff, but I bought a bunch of bars and I don't like to waste food and thus you get my daily cocoa binge. Dancing and music have been a part of me since before I could walk. I was put into dance classes starting at the age of three, did cheerleading and coached squads, was part of two choral groups in high school and my dad is a musician. Growing up, my bedtime lullabies were classic rock coming from the basement as my dad and his band practiced. So dancing and music are very healing to me. For me, it's an amazing way to let myself be free with my silly moves and not be perfect.

As for my current digestive issues, it's been a really tough year what with losing my cat and dog to Cancer and then my current dog, Bee having to be operated on due to cancer also. My dog, Cricket in particular was young and went through 3 months of hell. And I think many can understand the human/animal bond that arises when you go through hell together. She was there for me through all the torture I went through over the past 6 years. I mean, I had very close friends and family members who bailed on me when I became sick, but this dog never left my side. I lived for her when I wasn't reason enough to live for, so losing her was devastating. The rash has been ongoing ever since doing a raw vegan fruitarian diet over 5 years back, but this year's stress has really set me back on all the digestive improvements I had made.

You and I have chatted on peatarian and share similar and not so "socially accepted" views in regards to health and the soul's involvement so your views are not "way out there" to me. Not at all! :) I've done the unloading of past baggage and now all that's left is getting my gut to heal, but I haven't stopped living in joy and thus you get my ridiculously silly log posts. I try not to take myself too seriously and can laugh at myself.

I'll try and muster up some courage to post comparison pictures of what I looked like before the extreme weight loss and what I looked like after. Maybe this will help give perspective of how bad it got and why I'm now dealing with what I currently am and why it's taking a long time for me to heal. Maybe I'll post those later when I get the chance.

;'(

 

[Peat's_Girl]

What's NDT? Why do you all take it? Y_Y Should I?

 

[Amazoniac]

Hi again Jennifer,

I forgot to mention in my comment about the fermentable carbohydrates that even if you choose a starch that doesn't contribute further to the GI problem, it can become problematic just by storing them in the fridge. If you cook your starches for an entire week for example, by the last day it will probably cause you trouble. The resistant starch isn't broken down just by a brief reheat. Ideally, starches in the fridge should be treated as uncooked for those with GI issues. I thought this wasn't a real concern until I started noticing that they behave entirely different the longer they stayed in the fridge.
I suggest you experiment by yourself but, in my experience, more than 2 days is enough to start causing trouble.

So how would you reheat them then?... Recook them? I don't get it.
Do you mean pan fry versus microwaving, or something?

This is something to consider only if you suspect you are dealing with out-of-control GI infections.
Rehearing usually doesn't break down the formed RS, so you need to cook thoroughly..

 

[Jennifer]

She irons everything right down to her underwear, sheets, even money. LOL She worked the press at a dry cleaners before she got married and acquired neat freaktitis.

So does mine! Maybe it's ALSO in the contract.

Hehe! It must be! You and I already have neat freaktitis under our belts. Next we'll be force feeding people with our food made with love. Looks like some lucky person will be getting Jennifer's loving delights of milk, scallops and ice cream. Yum!

Yeah, I had the same experience with progest-e. It induced periods for me also. Lindsay, another forum member, also shares our experience. How was your PCOS diagnosed? Through blood tests or ultrasounds that showed scar tissue?

I'm sorry! I don't know what this "Y_Y" means. I had a response to your comment "I thought everything raw is good for you," but I need to know what Y_Y means first.

NDT = natural desiccated thyroid. Given your diet history, I think just by getting plenty of good food, that will do wonders for you without having to go the thyroid supplementation route. Plus, a positive sign is you already have really good temps, right? Like 99+ degrees?

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Hehe! It must be! You and I already have neat freaktitis under our belts. Next we'll be force feeding people with our food made with love. Looks like some lucky person will be getting Jennifer's loving delights of milk, scallops and ice cream. Yum!

Grandma Jen! Lucky critters...! You can feed them with honey candies (http://www.cooks.com/recipe/nw2sq0n6/honey-candy.html), jello, fruit and tall glasses of milk!
Oh joy! All I got from my Ukie gramma was chicken gizzard soup ;/
(Hey, wait a minute... Maybe gramma wisdom beats conventional wisdom after all...!)

How was your PCOS diagnosed? Through blood tests or ultrasounds that showed scar tissue?

I was 16 and my doctor weighed me and said, "You're gaining weight rapidly and have irregular period and a case of bad acne. You could be PCOS."

(I actually heard that a lot of doctors are misinformed about it and many women go undiagnosed for a long time, so I guess my Russian doctor was up to date on the literature!)

I had no idea what it was so I just shrugged. Years later I got even fatter and upon research figured out
I had all the classic symptoms. At that point I had no periods whatsoever and even worse acne.
So I never had anything diagnosed... I started mistrusting doctors after a few bad experiences and I can't afford a lot of blood work done... I'm stabbing in the dark! I know it's technically not a great plan of action but it's all I can do right now... ;/

I'm sorry! I don't know what this "Y_Y" means. I had a response to your comment "I thought everything raw is good for you," but I need to know what Y_Y means first.

Haha, it's something I use to denote sorrow and lack of understanding...
It's a crying face ;D

See?
Y_Y

NDT = natural desiccated thyroid. Given your diet history, I think just by getting plenty of good food, that will do wonders for you without having to go the thyroid supplementation route. Plus, a positive sign is you already have really good temps, right? Like 99+ degrees?

I'm taking this right now:

http://www.electricalbody.com/product/thyodine.htm

What do you think?

 

[Jennifer]

Grandma Jen! Lucky critters...! You can feed them with honey candies (http://www.cooks.com/recipe/nw2sq0n6/honey-candy.html)

Ooh...thanks for that recipe! So simple it's brilliant! I could also make them salt water taffy. I'm going to be the coolest grandma ever! Hope the grandkids don't mind being toothless. Hehe!

I had all the classic symptoms. At that point I had no periods whatsoever and even worse acne.
So I never had anything diagnosed... I started mistrusting doctors after a few bad experiences and I can't afford a lot of blood work done... I'm stabbing in the dark! I know it's technically not a great plan of action but it's all I can do right now... ;/

Yeah, I can understand mistrusting doctors from bad experiences. I think you're on the right track with Ray's work. He's pretty amazing with female hormones so I wouldn't cling too tightly to that PCOS diagnoses. 6 weeks of high dosing progest-e and I was cured of "incurable" PCOS. My periods had been pretty much non-existent since I first starting menstruating at 14. I had one maybe every one to two years and then none during most of my twenties most likely due to all the hiking and extreme weight loss.

Haha, it's something I use to denote sorrow and lack of understanding...
It's a crying face ;D[

Ah, okay! Gotcha!

Raw is definitely not always best, especially when it comes to veggies. Many contain thyroid inhibitors and toxins in their raw state, as well as being very rough on the gut. And because we don't digest cellulose, by cooking veggies, you break down the cellulose, releasing stored nutrients and making them more bioavailable.

I'm taking this right now:

http://www.electricalbody.com/product/thyodine.htm

What do you think?

So I checked the ingredients...

Ingredients: Iodine, Dulse, Thyroid, freeze-dried Adrenal, L-Tyrosine, Selenium, Bladderwrack, Irish Moss, freeze-dried Pituitary, Spleen, and Thymus, Calcarea Fluorica, Lycopus Virginicus, Plant Cellulose, Vegetable Stearates, Magnesium Stearate, Natural Silica.

I'm probably not the best one to ask, but I'll take a stab at it. I'll just address the ones that jump out at me as being problematic from a Peat perspective.

Ray's not a fan of supplementing iodine and I'm not sure how supplemental pituitary works in the body, but Ray is all for quieting the pituitary.

Bladderwack (anyone else giggle at the name?) is a form of kelp and Ray's not a fan. It's another source of iodine.

Irish Moss a.k.a carrageen moss, if the name carrageen is any indication it contains carrageenan, which I think it does, Ray is definitely not a fan.

Calcarea Fluorica a.k.a calcium fluoride, I know Ray isn't a fan of flouride, but I don't remember him making the distinction between sodium fluoride (what they put in tap water) and calcium fluoride. I just remember his articles discussing fluoride in general.

Lycopus Virginicus is a flowering perennial in the mint family. I've read peppermint is estrogenic, but I'm not sure Ray's opinion on it or if it has the same possible estrogenic properties as peppermint specifically.

This isn't meant to scare you off from using it and I'd hate to make it seem like you wasted your money so take what I said with a grain of salt. Maybe someone else more knowledgable will chime in.

In the meantime, if you ever want to check the safety of a particular supplement before you purchase it, toxinless.com is an excellent site. It also has a PeatSearch engine where you can search for Peat quotes, articles, terms ect. It makes tracking down Peat info much easier than trying to go through all Ray's articles or forums dedicated to his work. I use it almost daily. No lie!

 

[Xisca]

Jennifer, I liked especially this sentence:
" listen to what my body needs and not what my brain thinks I need."

how do you make the difference? It is not so easy...

 

[Jennifer]

Jennifer, I liked especially this sentence:
" listen to what my body needs and not what my brain thinks I need."

how do you make the difference? It is not so easy...

You're right, Xisca! It's not easy. I guess for me, the difference would be physical reactions to foods that would otherwise be considered healthy by science's standards. My mind, full of the science of health, says one thing while my body is clearly saying something else.

So for example, during the years I did 80/10/10 (fruitarian diet), I craved eggs everyday, but never gave in to my cravings for them. My mind kept rattling off what I had read about animal protein and cholesterol causing degenerative diseases and for some reason, osteoporosis in particular. After a couple years on that diet, of all things, I developed a severe case of osteoporosis and subsequent spinal fractures. My blood labs showed I was extremely deficient in cholesterol, vitamin D and protein, all nutrients eggs provide.

Now, this is where it gets tricky. I've always craved dairy, but ever since following the 80/10/10 diet, I kept getting a rash every time I had any. My body was clearly saying something about dairy wasn't working for me, but at the same time I was getting so many amazing benefits from it. So I had to figure out what the underlying cause was which turned out to be the bacterial infection. I've also noticed improvements since switching to goat's milk. Not that I think one is better than the other long term, but 80/10/10 really weakened my digestion and goat's milk proteins seem to be easier for me to digest than cow's. So for me, it's about finding tolerable sources of the foods I crave without the endless science chatter in my head overriding my body's signals.