So Many Supplements

The interview went very well. I generally interview well but this was a home run so hopefully I’ll have a new day-job shortly. It’s a 9-5 type gig which would be a nice change.

More significant than the interview is the fact that I woke up today and felt like a normal person. That is to say, someone without Crohn’s. I’d like to repeat that since it sounds vaguely significant. I felt totally normal this morning. That’s spectacular. It’s afternoon now and I still feel fine other than a bit of a stomach twinge here or there which I suspect is mostly my own paranoia rather than an actual symptom of anything. I even ate breakfast this morning, four fried eggs with some homemade ketchup (one of the reasons I dislike the Paleo autoimmune protocol is my love of ketchup), and still nothing. I’m more than a little pumped. If things keep going this well I’d be inclined to speed up the Prednisone tapering so I can get back on the LDN quicker (sorry for all the pharma-jargon).

So, as promised, here’s a complete list of herbal/natural supplements I am currently taking:

Colostrum: 4000 mg

L-Glutamine: 4800 mg
Glucosamine: 1000 mg
Acacia Senegal: 500 mg

Curcumin: 3200 mg
Quercitin: 1600 mg
Green Tea Extract: 600 mg
Rosemary: 200 mg
Holy Basil: 200 mg
Ginger: 200 mg
Barberry: 200 mg
Baikal Skullcap: 100 mg

Siberian Ginseng: 200 mg
Ashwagandha: 200 mg
Ginseng: 200 mg
Maca Root: 200 mg
Rhodiola: 200 mg

Phew. So those are the ingredients for the four main things I’ve been taking for a couple of weeks now. For simplicity’s sake I’ve stuck with a local Naturopath’s supplement line (except for the Colostrum) rather than try and take everything individually. The downside to this is it’s harder to isolate which ingredient is really helping and not being able to control the dose and the timing of the dose quite the way I would like. That said, this way I just throw down a bunch of pills in the morning and before dinner and I’m good to go for the day. If I had more control I’d probably get all neurotic about it and it wouldn’t do me any good.

It’s certainly the kitchen sink approach to supplements as pretty much anything that’s ever shown positive results in anyone is included but I do feel better in a variety of ways the last couple of weeks compared to last time I was in about the same position, minus the supplements. One of the more pleasant surprises is that the side-effects from the Pred are way, way easier to deal with. I haven’t had nearly as much trouble sleeping or as many attention or energy issues which is a pleasant change from being a red-eyed chipmunk on Meth the last couple go’s around.

Some of the items, like L-Glutamine, are more of a long-term plan to help heal and re-build the gut. Two weeks is a very short time to take anything and see a positive change so I’m quite happy with the results and I’ll continue to take everything for the foreseeable future. I may also add a different type of curcumin (BCM-95) extract that’s suppose to be more bio-available. I do also take a multi-vitamin, digestive enzymes, liquid vitamin D and a prebiotic and probiotic but I’ll deal with those in separate posts once I’ve got some more information gathered.

Part of the idea of this blog was always to play guinea pig and try and provide direct, experiential feedback so others could hopefully start off a little closer to the goal line than I have. So if anyone has any questions/comments about the supplements above or any others I am not currently taking I’m all ears.

If I make anything worth photographing for dinner I’ll post a recipe and photo.

Cheers.

Redux

I’m a little hesitant posting this as last time did not go well at all and I’ve been known to be a little superstitious. Actually I’m not superstitious at all but my mom is and it just sort of seems to follow me around.

So rather than announce my place the day before I want to start I sneakily started yesterday and now I’ll explain. Flawless plan.

I started a liquid diet at 8 AM yesterday (juicing and bone broth primarily) and then the plan is, as always, to slowly transition through the liquid diet into full-fledged Paleo. Due to the last couple of months worth of problems I’m back on 35 mg of Pred for the time being and I’ve stopped taking the LDN until I get back down to 5 mg of Pred. I’ve also started taking a fair few new herbal supplements which I’ll do a detailed post of sometime soon. They do seem to be doing a world of good with the Pred side effects (‘Pred’ should be short for ‘Predator’ given how it can make you feel, crazy is an understatement) at least.

I’m much more mentally prepared for setbacks this time and I’ve actually written out instructions for myself in case I forget what to do if things start to go sideways again. Previously I had just assumed everything would be peachy and when it wasn’t peachy I took exactly the wrong steps at the wrong times. Usually I’m not that hard on myself for making mistakes and I like to view it as a learning experience that will, in the long run, make me a better person. When it’s my health that is involved though I can’t help but be upset and I do not want to backslide any further. It’s bad enough to be back where I was 4+ months ago.

One thing I have continued to do well is sleep and I credit this for helping me to keep loosing weight the last couple of months. It’s difficult on the Pred because it gives you so much energy but I’ve been doing everything I can to get 8+ hours of good sleep in a dark room.

Oh and I stopped drinking almond milk. It was brought to my attention that one of the ingredients found in almost all Almond milk, carrageenan, is used in laboratory settings to induce IBD-like symptoms in test animals. After reading up on it there was more than enough evidence for me to immediately cease and desist drinking the stuff. I use to go through a cartoon every couple of days and I didn’t even finish the one I had in the fridge. It’s unbelievable to me that anything with this many question marks around it is allowed in the food supply.

I think the only other new thing is the juicer. I’ve been using one when I visit my parents for a few weeks now and liked it so much that I’ve got one at home now. It adds a bit of versatility to my diet and certainly makes it easier to get all the fruits and vegetables I should be getting. I know there are a lot of people out there who are crazy for juice fasting but I’ve been pairing all my vegetable juices with a cup of bone broth just to get some fat and protein in as well.

I think that’s it for now. I’ll report back soon, probably with a juicing recipe.

Reset.

Hallllright then. That was a fun few weeks.

Bit of a setback from a personal standpoint which I unfortunately tend to let effect my health (eating, sleeping). Don't do that. It's not helpful.

Thankfully I am about as stubborn as it gets and I don't often walk away from something so I'm back to give it another go.

So here's the sitch. Same as before but I'm moving from a Paleo Autoimmune protocol back to just plain old Paleo for the time being due to it being easier (less time) and a little cheaper. Other than that everything is as it was before. LDN at 4.5 mg per evening, liquid vitamin D and ramping down from 10 mg Pred to 5 mg Pred. Hoping to be totally off the Pred by March 12th still.

So as of tomorrow I'll be back to my nightly posts and trying depending on my work situation I may try the autoimmune shtick again starting on March 12th.

Thanks for standing by. Hopefully this go will be of the lasting variety.

Oh and I'm currently eating italian meatballs (sundried tomato, amazing) and steamed cauliflower with a vegetable gravy. This has to be my favourite Paleo meal yet. I'll be sure to include the recipie once I perfect it.

Day 6

Very little to report today. Skipped breakfast, was at work early and had a single, rather small boneless pork chop for lunch. Leftover meatballs and a half a sweet potato for dinner and some coconut yogurt for dessert (not as delicious as I had hoped…).

Now I did have a cup (literally just a cup) of coffee at work this morning and that did cause some stomach rumbling and gurgling which made me a bit nervous. Thinking back to life before Crohn's I think coffee may just cause that in anyone on an empty stomach first thing in the morning? That said I've read all about coffee and its similarity to gluten and I think for the time being I had best just avoid it. Even in the very limited amount I've been drinking.

Other than the coffee incident I felt really good all day. It's way too early to claim victory or even contemplate adding in new foods but I can certainly state that all of my Crohn's symptoms have lessened in the last six days.

I was already in relatively good shape thanks to the Prednisone but things had not improved in quite some time. Either the LDN or the diet or the combination has helped me make significant progress in just six days.

Usually when I'm feeling this good I get lazy and start forgetting to take supplements and medications or I start trying to do things I don't normally do anymore (keg stands, driving for four hours without a pit stop while drinking an extra large double-double with a side of Timbits) but I've learned my lesson, I hope.

This is highly unlikely as I think my friends and family would attest to the fact that a modern vending machine actually has more common sense than I do when it comes to learning from past mistakes. But a boy can dream.

A more interesting topic for me right now is what part or parts of the diet are helping the most? The calorie restriction? Intermittent fasting? Weight loss? Added nutrients? Subtracted foods? Something to ruminate (ha, sorry) on and discuss in depth sometime.

Until tomorrow, folks. Cheers.

 

And on Repeat today: