No Dairy, Wheat, No Sugar...Oh my!!!

So, last week I went to a new doctor that I had heard many good things about from a friend of mine. This doctor started out as an M.D. in Family Practice, but then moved to the "Homeopathy" side of medicine and has been practicing in Las Vegas for years.

I decided to go to him, because since approximately 2004 I have had very weird feelings after I eat, especially after I eat certain things. No, it's not a rash, or scratchy throat or anything, but it's almost a dizzy/drunk/exhausted reaction after I have really anything with any amount of carbohydrates that either come from sugar, fruit, or other startchy veggies or grains. You're probably wondering why I didn't address this problem 6 years ago...well I did. I went to various doctors over the last few years, and when I would tell them how I would feel, they usually ordered some lab work, and when all was normal, basically send me on my way. Others have told me that there is a pill I can take that would control how my body deals with insulin better. I would also get migraines after eating a lot of those foods mentioned above, and one doctor told me he could put me on Topomax to prevent the migraines, but that the pills, "may make me a little stupid at times"! Geesh, I just felt like I wasn't getting anywhere with the more "Western Medicine" approach. I don't just want to take a pill for something when I know that soon, I'll have to take another pill to combat the side effects of the first pill. I want to get to the root cause of the problem.

So, I had my appointment on Wednesday 3/31 with this new doctor. Dr. Milne. When I walked in to his office with him, he struck me kind funny. He definitely is a quirky character, but actually seemed to listen to me and knew how I might get rid of this problem. He had me do this kind of food sensitivity testing called "Applied Kinesiology". This test involves holding a vile of a substance, for example wheat, and then closing your eyes and standing with your feet together. If you fall over to one side then you're assumed to be sensitive. This test can also involve holding the vile of the substance and having to resist his arm as he pushes against you, the thought is that if you lose strength in your arm, then you are sensitive to that food. Now, I don't know if I believe all of that stuff, but he did make a lot of sense with his recommendations for me. He stated that over the years of eating too may starchy/sugary/carb-y things, I have kind of developed a sensitivity to them, and now I need to get them all out of my system and then introduce them occasionally into my diet so I don't have a relapse of the physical effects I have been experiencing.

I did however already cut out a few things that have really helped my symptoms quite a bit though. About two years ago, I gave up caffeinated coffee, and as of March 18th, 2010, I gave up artificial sweeteners...with the latter I found a HUGE difference in the amount of headaches I was getting, and I really didn't feel as hypoglycemic as I had been. So just with just eliminating those two things, I have had great success! Anyway, this doctor told me that I am having a hard time losing weight because whenever I put even a bite of those foods in my mouth that I am sensitive to, my body reacts adversely and my energy level goes down, so in turn, I burn less calories and my metabolism is slower. I have been going to Jazzercise 4 times a week, but he told me that I am exercising too much right now. He stated that if you're energy level is low, you much exercise less otherwise your energy level will just keep going down, so he recommended only 20 minutes a day max.

He told me to eliminate wheat, corn, dairy, sugar, chocolate, (fruit right now), and potatoes for one month, and after that I will go see him again for another evaluation. This won't be permanent, so I don't feel hopeless right now, but yesterday was day one, and I was soooo hungry and irritable. Today, the hunger has subsided a bit, but I still feel irritable and kind of tired, but I am ready to try anything at this point to feel healthy once again! Nothing is more important in this world than having your health so you can experience all of the great things that this world has to offer!