It has definitely been a bit since I have posted an update. Time has just been flying by lately. I feel like I just saw Dr. Rosinski yesterday and I already have a phone conference with him this coming Monday again. Anyway, last time I saw Dr. Rosinski he helped set me up for a new test – the Nutreval test. It involves me taking my own urine sample first thing in the morning and then going to a testing center to give them the sample and have them take my blood sample. The test provides an analysis of a few different things, including antioxidants, B Vitamins, digestive support, essential fatty acids, and minerals. This will further help to see where my deficiencies are in order to help us figure out how to correct my imbalances. Another interesting part about the Nutreval test is that I was supposed to stop taking my supplements for four days prior to the test.
I met with Dr. Rosinski last Tuesday and planned on taking the test this Monday, so I stopped taking my supplements last Thursday. I also may have cheated a bit on my food choices because I felt like since I was off supplements it wouldn’t matter. I’m sure Dr. Rosinski would not have approved, but I have really been struggling with not being able to eat any of my favorite things. On Monday I woke up and went to the bathroom without even thinking about it, so I wasn’t able to collect my urine like I was supposed to. I ended up being off supplements for 5 days then because I did my test on Tuesday after screwing it up Monday. Right after I got my blood drawn and got that taken care of I went to Dr. Rosinski’s office and he gave me three more supplements – sulfur tablets for my skin/hives, a Vitamin D supplement, and a greens powder called paleo greens. I had actually requested a greens powder from him, because I feel like I am having a hard time getting in all of the greens I should be. I have been making kale smoothies with approved fruit and also made some mason jar salads to bring to work, so I am doing the best I can but I can always use some help.
Anyway, that night I took the paleo greens and not too long after had the ABSOLUTE WORST flare up I have had in a long time. I didn’t realize at the time that it might have been the paleo greens, because I thought it might have just been stress from my test that morning and knowing I needed to not screw up the urine sample again. The hives were terrible on my face and I got some swelling around my eyes even. I took my antihistamines but things just seemed to be getting worse, so I texted Dr. Rosinski and he told me to try the sulfur tablets. You put 5 of them under your tongue and let them dissolve. The sulfur helped pretty quickly but I wasn’t back to my “normal” (which isn’t really normal cause it’s still pretty hivey but much better than it was that night) until the next morning. I will have to pay attention to when I try the paleo greens again and see if that is really what made me flare so badly or if it was something else. I really hope it was something else because I was excited about the greens powder and I paid a decent bit for it.
Since then I have been back on track with my supplements and with eating right, as much as I hate it. I guess this is Day 3 of being “good” again and being back on all my supplements, including the new ones. I am excited to see what the results of the Nutreval test are, but they won’t be available for a couple of weeks I believe. I have been good enough that I have been able to go back to jiu jitsu a bit, which definitely makes me happy.
Last Friday I had off from the office because of it being Good Friday so my mom and I were able to have a little AIP cooking party. We made zucchini lasagna (which is delicious and has been my lunch almost every day), coconut macaroons and AIP crackers made out of plantain flour and water with some AIP guacamole to go with them. Since then I have made more crackers a couple of times now and I am making more macaroons tonight. They are such a delicious sweet treat for me when I am missing my sweets so much. This week I plan to make some cauliflower into rice, make carob avocado mousse (as a substitute for chocolate gelato because mmmmmm), and a couple of other interesting recipes. I will have to do another post soon that is more food focused than health focused, so stay tuned for that.
my autoimmune journey 