Author Archives: brianzajac

Day 22 to 6 Months – Week 20

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What I Learned in Week 20

Overall:

  • Reduce Computer Eye Strain & Fatigue
  • What are Custom Orthotics?

My Health in Week 20

  • Overall:  Refitted with Sole Support orthotics on 6/4 (will get them next week), ibuprofen regiment change, travelling to Venice / Sarasota, and more mobility at night (some nights are better than others).
  • Sleep:  As with many other previous weeks, I am still waking up twice a night.  I go to bed at 10pm, get up around 1am (take 1 ibuprofen), then around 4am (take 1 ibuprofen, 1 probiotic, and fish oil), then finally get up at 6:30-7:30am.
  •  Ibuprofen regiment change:  I normally take as needed, but have been suggested to take at specific times per day (started this on 6/5).  My times are: 2 throughout the night (read above), one when I wake up / 8am, one at noon, one before dinner / 4-5pm, and one before I go to bed.  Taking 6 ibuprofen a day has worked for others in the NSD forums and should cut down on the slowness / tiredness / body aches I get every day.  Keep in mind that the exact times & (sometimes) dosage increases depending on the day’s activities.
  • More Mobility at Night:  During my “good days” of the week, I am able (with ibuprofen) to stay more mobile than I was last week.  I still don’t walk as fast as everyone else + I still limp some, but there is progression.  An example was Friday night (6/1), I went to dinner, walked around a 1/2 mile and then watched a movie at the nearby theater.  After the movie was done around 10pm, I was able to walk faster than I ever have at night.  This was a much needed “win” on my battles as my patience is tested everyday with this this auto-immune disease.
  • Travelling to Sarasota:  Long day on 6/6.  Driving from Naples to Venice to Sarasota & back started around 3pm and got back around 11pm – 3 hours of which were driving.  I was surprised the next morning that I felt pretty good (usually all that driving wipes me out the next day).  Again, another “win” on my many battles.
    This is Why I Went to Sarasota on 6/6

    Little Brayan Graduates the 5th Grade

    Little Brayan Graduates the 5th Grade (2nd kid, right side)

  • Current Areas of Concern:  Right side of neck (still improving but not there yet), still limping and getting out of the chair to walk is the hardest, feeling lethargic in the mornings / nighttime, I still cannot get a full night of sleep, and get body aches all over (the pain areas change all the time), need to gain more weight, but my body doesn’t feel good enough yet to risk a major flare-up.
  • Areas of Improvement:  Ibuprofen regiment to reduce inflammation & pain helping, overall mobility improving.
  • Enbrel:  It has been 15 1/2 weeks since my last shot.
  • My lowest weight was 131 lbs. and a BMI of 18.36.

Day 22 to 6 Months – Week 19

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What I Learned in Week 19

Overall:  The 1st week where I stopped using eggs among the many other foods that I cannot eat.  At the same time battling with my left hip for over a week, limping every day.  Days were spent mainly at home by myself and just existing, except on my birthday.  A very good friend came by and helped me out, spent quality time and made my birthday special.

  • Food Intolerance Tests – If you don’t know already, food intolerance tests tell you whether a food works with or against your body.  Some tests cover a small, but thorough, range of food intolerance while others cover a vast amount.  Food allergies can be triggered by even a small amount of the food and occur every time the food is consumed. People with food allergies are generally advised to avoid the offending foods completely. On the other hand, food intolerances often are dose related (SOURCE).  Listed below are some of the tests you can choose from:

    • Cyrex Test (Array 4)       – Recommended by Dr. Joseph (my ND / Chiropractor up in Venice), I took this test and found out I was allergic to eggs, milk, milk-based products, and most of the grains listed.  The video above explains why the Cyrex test is much more comprehensive than other food intolerance tests.  It took almost a month to get the results back, but has since really helped increase my energy levels.  I personally recommend this test.
    • Mediator Release Test (MRT) – A much wider spectrum of food intolerance testing that claims 94% accuracy.  It tests 150 different foods and food additives and is able to detect specific food chemicals which the ELISA IgG test is not able to do.
    • Do It Yourself / Anti-Intolerance Lab Tests:  As stated on their site:  The correct way to assess a suspected food allergy or intolerance is to begin with a careful record of food intake and symptoms over a period of several weeks. Symptoms such as swollen lips or eyes, hives, or skin rash may be allergy-related, particularly if they occur within a few minutes (up to two hours) after eating.  Although nearly any food can cause an allergic reaction, a few foods account for about 90% of reactions. Among adults these foods are peanuts, nuts, fish, and shellfish. Among children, they are egg, milk, peanuts, soy, and wheat.

My Health in Week 19

  • Overall:  From 5/20 and on I’ve been fighting (what I think is) a pinched nerve with inflammation in my left hip.  It’s made me limp every day, it’s quite painful (shooting pains) and it makes me very tired.  The removal of eggs has helped somewhat, but nothing noticeable since the hip pain is so bad.  The pain was so bad that on Friday 5/25 I went for an X-Ray on both my hips.  Thank God there are no fractures.  On 5/30 I was fitted for Orthotics in hopes that will help relieve the pain long-term and received a “mirror image” adjustment from the chiropractor.  On 5/31 that was followed-up by another adjustment and I’m happy to say that it’s really helped me out.  I don’t limp nearly as much, but still have to deal with pain & fatigue (especially at night).  Plus the removal of eggs has given me more energy and mobility.  I’m still not there, but gained ground after this difficult week.
  • Tests:  On 5/29 I’ve re-submitted my Metametrix test and added a hair analysis test for heavy metals that could be in my body.
  • Current Areas of Concern:  Right side of neck (still improving but not there yet), left hip has been really bad this week (but quickly improving after 5/30),  swollen ankles are still there and my feet feel like lead sometimes, I still cannot get a full night of sleep and get exhausted after 7pm.
  • Areas of Improvement:  I’m starting to remove the ibuprofen during the day and use it from 7pm throughout the night.  As stated above, I’ve seen gains this week and hopefully throughout the weekend I can exercise some more to build up strength.
  • Supplements:  My supplements now only consist of Probiotics, Vitamin D3, Magnesium (Gluconate), HCL (1-2 times per week), digestive enzymes, and Maine Omega-3 fish oil.
  • Enbrel:  It has been 14 1/2 weeks since my last shot.
  • My lowest weight was 132 lbs. and a BMI of 18.49.

Week 18 – Healthy Cooking Oils, Food Intolerance Cyrex and Immunity Balance Tests

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What I Learned in Week 18

Overall:  On Tuesday, 5/22, I received the majority of my tests back and in this post I will be sharing a few (there’s too much information to go through this week).  Also, I was talking with my neighbor about cooking oils and did some research for the healthiest / best cooking and non-cooking oils to use.

  • What are the “healthy” cooking oils to use?

    Before you shout EVOO!, consider when you’re cooking and when you’re adding on to your favorite dish.  When oil is heated to a high temperature, it reaches smoke point. The bluish smoke that can then be seen means the oil is close to burning and is the temperature at which fats and oils begin to break down. Nutrition and flavor degradation occur at these temperatures. The chemical composition of the oil changes, sometimes with effects that are harmful to health. A low smoke point means the oil should not be cooked with at all, or only slightly. A high smoke point oil should be used for cooking at higher temperatures, for example pan frying (SOURCE).

    For those on the no-starch diet, they prefer to use coconut oil when cooking.  When not cooking, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) works quite well.  However, you should always consider alternatives based on the heat of what your cooking.  Here’s a list of cooking oil smoke points that range from high temperatures of 200 to over 500 degrees without degrading the oil.

  • Purchasing the right type of oil can get tricky too.  For one, don’t pick an oil that has come from more than one country.  If it has, there’s some additional processing and reduces / removes the healthy benefits.  If you don’t know, just pick an oil with the USDA Organic label on it.  Also, try to find olive oil stored within a glass container and not plastic as plastic leeches chemicals into the oil.

My Health in Week 18

  • Overall:  In the beginning of the week I was was getting around 7 hours of sleep and now I’m able to get back to my 10 hours on average (along with mid-day naps).  Symptoms from the previous week have changed slightly and the swelling of my feet have decreased.  Combination of travel and taking a long walk (for me) have really hurt my left hip this week.  Chiropractor suggest special orthotics that contour to my feet while standing and walking.  Because the arches of my feet are out of line / not strong enough, these shoe inserts will provide the correct posture and correct the feet, ankles and pressure on the knees and hips.  I start getting my feet scanned on Tuesday.
  • Tests: In this post I will focus on my Cryex Test and some results of my TH1 & TH2 (immunity) tests. In a nutshell, the Cyrex test measures gluten-associated  sensitivity & cross-reactive foods.  Included below are the foods that I react to.  Get ready, it’s a long list:

Cyrex Test – List of Reactive Foods

  • Cow’s Milk
  • Casein (Alpha & Beta) – Basically any dairy product.  Bye-bye butter, ice cream, etc.
  • Oats
  • Yeast
  • Coffee
  • Sesame
  • Buckwheat – Grain / Cereal
  • Sorghum – from what I can tell initially, it can be used as a substitute for Gluten.  If you know more about this, please comment below.
  • Millet – cereal/grain used as a flour and in some beers.
  • Hemp – Grain / Cereal
  • Aramanth – Grain / Cereal
  • Quinoa – Grain / Cereal
  • Tapioca – In breads & puddings / shakes.
  • Teff – Grain / Cereal
  • Eggs – SHOCKER!  I’ve eaten eggs almost every day for 15 years.
  • Corn

Cyrex Test – List of Acceptable Foods

Overall:  Being on the Low-Starch Diet, I have avoided all these foods (or had small quantities) except eggs.  For me, I switched my morning breakfast of eggs with ground turkey.  This one switch not only removes the food intolerance, but an 8oz. chicken/turkey chub / roll gives me almost all the protein I need for the day.  I cook it with spinach / kale / swiss chard / leafy vegetable I have along with tomatoes and sweet peppers in oil.  The ND told me that removing the list above should give me more energy and less inflammation after a week / maybe two weeks.

Th1 & Th2 – Balancing the Immune System:

Without going into details, there is scientific proof that your body’s immune system can be balanced with foods.   For now, I need to focus on Th1-based foods.  They include:

Th1 Foods/Substances

  • Echinacea
  • astragalus
  • licorice root
  • beta-sitosterol (found in avocado and pumpkin seeds)
  • ashwaganda
  • panex ginseng
  • mushrooms
  • chlorella
  • grape seed extract
Th2 Foods/Substances
  • Green Tea/Black tea
  • resveratrol – red wine (can’t have due to yeast), red grapes, cocoa powder, dark chocolate
  • pycnogenol – Only buy as a supplement.  A natural plant extract from the bark of the maritime pine tree which grows exclusively along the coast of southwest France in Les Landes de Gascogne.
  • genistein (fava beans and soy beans)
  • quercetin (found in capers, apples, red onions)
  • curcumin (found in Indian Spice Turmeric)
  • Current Areas of Concern:  Right side of neck (still improving but not there yet), left hip has been really bad this week, lower spinal area and shoulder blade area is negligible, and swollen ankles are less.
  • Areas of Improvement:  I can get up out of bed without my rope but it’s been harder this week than last and I’m able to sleep on a harder bed.  Also I’m taking less ibuprofen (especially during the day).
  • Supplements:  My supplements now only consist of Pylicorin (will end next week), Probiotics, Vitamin D3, Magnesium (Gluconate), HCL (1-2 times per week), digestive enzymes, and Maine Omega-3 fish oil.
  • Enbrel:  It has been 13 1/2 weeks since my last shot.
  • My lowest weight was 131 1/2 lbs. and a BMI of 18.43.