O
oldfriend
Guest
These threads seem to pop up occasionally on the forum. I think it's time for mine.
I was not the healthiest child. As an infant my parents took me off of dairy after recurrent ear infections and put me on soy. I drank milk in my grade school years but I was a latch key kid and ate a lot of fast food, and low-nutrient sugar meals. I had terrible allergies, had my adenoids removed, a deviated septum, varicocelectomy, varicocele embolization, and most of my tooth matter replaced with mercury fillings all before the age of 18. I was also molested by a family member and emotionally abandoned / neglected by the others.
After a few years of binge-drinking and cocktails of psychotropic medications in my early 20s I got sober, and tried to clean up my act. Soon after I was diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis, and was struggling with bad allergies, and low libido. I went to a naturopath who advised me to start a candida diet. Lots of whole grains, fat, chicken, green smoothies, and zero sugar. I tested allergic to eggs (off the charts), gluten, and was teetering on casein. I eventually crashed and started a fruitarian diet. Lost weight, spent many days in bed, no tolerance for cold weather, etc. Eventually I became ravenous and started eating any and everything. I would eat bananas, mangos, juice and dried fruit and more conventional meals at night. Still avoiding eggs and meat, but eventually added fish and sometimes splurged on cheese. My energy, allergies, and outlook were all improved. Not great, but improved so I stuck with it even though I still had somewhat painful bowel movements and an inconsistent libido. My resiliency and stamina were always compromised however.
A couple of years later I was going to school full time and working, so I slowly slipped back into SAD and fast food. It was not long before the stress of my diet and lifestyle took a toll on me. It was during this time that I started eating paleo and got back on SSRIs. Moreover, I moved in with family and suffered emotional distress due to PTSD/BPD issues. I did this for a couple of years but had a very bad episode when I decided to stop taking SSRIs, training on my bicycle, taking L-citrulline and Macuna Pruriens to help with my libido. I became so constipated that not even saline enemas could help. I started experiencing pain in my chest and extreme fatigue, urinating nearly every hour, stress hormones skyrocketing etc.
This was the start of a very bad chapter akin to the one that got me dieting in the first place. I went to the ER and had an abnormal EKG. I had some labs and my estradiol was well above the reference range, androgens and T at the low end, D below the reference range. I tried a low FODMAP diet, SCD, and then found Matt Stone. That led me to Ray Peat. I got on Cyproheptadine and started sleeping again. I started gaining weight and this was a good thing I thought; I had been underweight for years. I started supplementing with pregnenolone, thyroid, fat solubles, antibiotics, b vitamins etc. I ate lots of meat, ice cream, milk, fruit, gelatin, liver. Some combinations made me sluggish and constipated so I mixed things up by dropping all dairy, droppping meat, dropping fiber, adding starch, vegetables, less sugar & more fruit etc.
Fast forward a year and a half, I'm 32, I gained 40 lbs and most of it is still here after stopping cypro. I have stretch marks all over my thighs, started smoking again, gums are receding, had two teeth extracted, need root canal or more extractions soon. I consistently wake up to high cortisol no matter what. Joints click and pop when I move. Numbness in hands and feet. Dull pains any my legs and feet. I've had only fleeting success with libido, and have crows feet now. This summer I've been pin-balling my diet in a frantic state of emergency. Modified SCD to Lactose-free Peat. I had a couple of good weeks on the latter, but I mostly attribute that to the temporary euphoria of stress hormones and a new love interest that I have to let go of now.
It seems like no matter what I eat, it creates new problems. High protein lead to low blood sugar, high ammonia, and constipation. High fiber / starch leads to serotonin, endotoxin, estrogen, and adrenaline. Milk to constipation and hypercalcemia. Acid fruits / sugar to receding gums, and erosion of enamel. Everything to inflammation that just won't subside and is ruining my life.
I try to stay positive, I've been going to therapy, going on walks, trying to breathe but a lot of the time my sinuses are inflamed or blocked by polyps.
I'm not digesting anything, my body is shutting down, and I don't know what to do for it anymore. I can't continue with Peat, but I don't know if there's anything left to try. Please help. If anybody can recommend a dietician or other practitioner in the northern or bay areas of California I'm willing to try anything. Doctors think I'm a hypochondriac and family wants me back on psych meds.
I was not the healthiest child. As an infant my parents took me off of dairy after recurrent ear infections and put me on soy. I drank milk in my grade school years but I was a latch key kid and ate a lot of fast food, and low-nutrient sugar meals. I had terrible allergies, had my adenoids removed, a deviated septum, varicocelectomy, varicocele embolization, and most of my tooth matter replaced with mercury fillings all before the age of 18. I was also molested by a family member and emotionally abandoned / neglected by the others.
After a few years of binge-drinking and cocktails of psychotropic medications in my early 20s I got sober, and tried to clean up my act. Soon after I was diagnosed with ulcerative proctitis, and was struggling with bad allergies, and low libido. I went to a naturopath who advised me to start a candida diet. Lots of whole grains, fat, chicken, green smoothies, and zero sugar. I tested allergic to eggs (off the charts), gluten, and was teetering on casein. I eventually crashed and started a fruitarian diet. Lost weight, spent many days in bed, no tolerance for cold weather, etc. Eventually I became ravenous and started eating any and everything. I would eat bananas, mangos, juice and dried fruit and more conventional meals at night. Still avoiding eggs and meat, but eventually added fish and sometimes splurged on cheese. My energy, allergies, and outlook were all improved. Not great, but improved so I stuck with it even though I still had somewhat painful bowel movements and an inconsistent libido. My resiliency and stamina were always compromised however.
A couple of years later I was going to school full time and working, so I slowly slipped back into SAD and fast food. It was not long before the stress of my diet and lifestyle took a toll on me. It was during this time that I started eating paleo and got back on SSRIs. Moreover, I moved in with family and suffered emotional distress due to PTSD/BPD issues. I did this for a couple of years but had a very bad episode when I decided to stop taking SSRIs, training on my bicycle, taking L-citrulline and Macuna Pruriens to help with my libido. I became so constipated that not even saline enemas could help. I started experiencing pain in my chest and extreme fatigue, urinating nearly every hour, stress hormones skyrocketing etc.
This was the start of a very bad chapter akin to the one that got me dieting in the first place. I went to the ER and had an abnormal EKG. I had some labs and my estradiol was well above the reference range, androgens and T at the low end, D below the reference range. I tried a low FODMAP diet, SCD, and then found Matt Stone. That led me to Ray Peat. I got on Cyproheptadine and started sleeping again. I started gaining weight and this was a good thing I thought; I had been underweight for years. I started supplementing with pregnenolone, thyroid, fat solubles, antibiotics, b vitamins etc. I ate lots of meat, ice cream, milk, fruit, gelatin, liver. Some combinations made me sluggish and constipated so I mixed things up by dropping all dairy, droppping meat, dropping fiber, adding starch, vegetables, less sugar & more fruit etc.
Fast forward a year and a half, I'm 32, I gained 40 lbs and most of it is still here after stopping cypro. I have stretch marks all over my thighs, started smoking again, gums are receding, had two teeth extracted, need root canal or more extractions soon. I consistently wake up to high cortisol no matter what. Joints click and pop when I move. Numbness in hands and feet. Dull pains any my legs and feet. I've had only fleeting success with libido, and have crows feet now. This summer I've been pin-balling my diet in a frantic state of emergency. Modified SCD to Lactose-free Peat. I had a couple of good weeks on the latter, but I mostly attribute that to the temporary euphoria of stress hormones and a new love interest that I have to let go of now.
It seems like no matter what I eat, it creates new problems. High protein lead to low blood sugar, high ammonia, and constipation. High fiber / starch leads to serotonin, endotoxin, estrogen, and adrenaline. Milk to constipation and hypercalcemia. Acid fruits / sugar to receding gums, and erosion of enamel. Everything to inflammation that just won't subside and is ruining my life.
I try to stay positive, I've been going to therapy, going on walks, trying to breathe but a lot of the time my sinuses are inflamed or blocked by polyps.
I'm not digesting anything, my body is shutting down, and I don't know what to do for it anymore. I can't continue with Peat, but I don't know if there's anything left to try. Please help. If anybody can recommend a dietician or other practitioner in the northern or bay areas of California I'm willing to try anything. Doctors think I'm a hypochondriac and family wants me back on psych meds.
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