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.