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Oh now that's interesting!! I had my left ovary removed over 10 years years ago due to excessive scaring due to ovarian cysts!!

AND this all started several months after having a severe hive reaction to sulfa antibiotics!! I never connected to two together.

I don't know about its availability nationally, but the Whole Paycheck near us sells hemp-milk ice cream, which tastes amazing - not exactly like dairy ice cream but close, with no soy taste.

Before I stopped eating that sort of stuff, when I first got off dairy, I tried it in chocolate, vanilla and mint chip - the chocolate was the best but they were all darn good. My husband eats them from time to time now; I just stick with frozen fruit sorbets.

Hmmmmm...My wife gets abdominal pain quite frequently. She thinks it is caused by kidney stones. I wonder if she just gets ovarian cysts regularly?

I had completely over-looked the ovarian cyst information. Interesting...

You know, I didnt even know I had ovarian cysts until the adhesions attached to my bowel and abdominal walls. The ovary is free floating, but the adhesions make it stationary. It started causing me pain because of the "pulling". But also because the ovary was thickly covered in scar tissue, it didnt function as it should. I had a cycle that was erratic, sometimes it was every 2 weeks then I might appear to some to be going through menopause, then I'd get my next cycle and be in severe pain for days. What finally did it for me was, when I worked at the hospital, I had gone to the bathroom in the employee breakroom and passed out. Not sure how I was found, but I woke up in the ER. The on call obgyn, who ultimately became my doctore, thought I had endometriosis and was surprised to see the ovary, his words, "20 times the size of a normal ovary". They took down the adhesions, but they returned 2 months later and I had it removed. He likened the scar tissue to a cancer.

Or she could have fibroid tumors. I have had several friends who have had them, one had just one huge one. The other had quite a few, they were smaller, but she ended up in the ER & ended up having a hysterectomy. She said she always had wondered why she always had a pot belly because she was not heavy.

I remember reading that Dr. McDougall says that McDougalling does not seem to affect them, they have to be removed if they are causing problems. I think that was in that woman's health book, the purple one he wrote. I am sure diet plays a role in getting them though.

I also have a friend who has kidney stones, they are super painful & so far in less than a year she has had them twice, ending her up in the ER both times. She refuses to believe that they could be caused by her diet, she says they are genetic. Whatever. Just saying that I think if she had kidney stones, it would probably be almost unbearable pain.

She does need to see a Dr. to find out.

Sorry, I always read your Journal but have never commented. Congrats on your weight loss!!

Debbie So I found this link: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/angi ... 000011.htm

Out of the sensitivities listed, she has that we know of;

Yellow dye
Citrus
Shellfish
Aspirin
Advil

The top three have only started happening recently. Yellow dye for the past few months and shellfish for maybe 18 months. I think the main thing for now is to get her off, and keep her off of the ibuprofen.

Interesting similar allergies. Thanks Dissolution and Debbie for informing us about the yellow dye info I'll be more careful in looking for it now, altho' we don't eat much processed food. Good to be aware.
After a tooth was removed a dentist who hadn't checked hubby's chart for allergies to ASA prescribed Ibuprofen for pain after the freezing came out. Hubby always takes pills reluctantly, but the pain was intense. Almost immediately he started having problems with his throat swelling up . We called the dentist ,who finally looked at his chart and sent him to an emergency clinic for a shot of adrenal! Scarry .That was when we found out about NSAID's
I think she should definitely avoid Ibuprofen. Dlee

I had a kidney stone several years ago. It hurt in the back, not the abdomen. And pain-wise it was worse than childbirth--and I didn't take medications at all for the second two births. I honestly thought I was dying. Of course, my experience is only one experience, but I know that the nurses told me that kidney stones are one of the most painful things you can experience. I remember my blood pressure being up in the 170's and 180's and they said it was from the pain.

I went and looked up Freaky Eaters on YouTube and was only able to find two complete episodes, but wow, they were amazing. I saw the lady who ate so much corn starch. Can you believe it? Blech! But it does show you how much abuse our bodies are able to take.

Fulenn

nicoles The hemp ice creams I found online still seem to be high on the fat content side. There is a Whole Foods, about 80 minutes away from where I live, I'd like to go some time, but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Debbie Interesting, very interesting. Thanks so much for your help, and sharing your experiences on this subject.

janluvs2heel I think her sister gets fibroid tumors, so that's another possibility. She says she was diagnosed with kidney stones before, so I would think she would know what they felt like, however she seems to be highly illogical and somewhat delusional about her own health at times.

My BIL has chronic kidney stones, I've been told that for a man, it's about the worst pain they can have. My BIL continues to drink 2 gallons of whole milk a week, even with the kidney stones and colon cancer.

dlee Just for the record I want to state that I think yellow dye #5 is mostly harmless, unless you have Angioedema. I would be cautious about it with your husband though.

fulenn I've heard that about kidney stones. I read a study one time that said that 85% of people think they have a higher than normal pain threshold. Well clearly, 35% or them are wrong, lol. I would have to say that if you made it through two child births without pain killers, you probably have one of the higher ones. My wife thinks hers is super high, that's pretty tough to argue against. I would have to guess though, that if she was having actual kidney stones, we would have been to the hospital.

Oh yeah, I saw the "Freaky Eaters" corn starch eater preview. What is WRONG with people?!? How do you even get started eating corn starch straight out of the box with a spoon?
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I have a confession to make. Up until earlier this week I didn't know what a SNAP meal was. So I've been playing around with that concept the last three days. The fun part has been the lower than normal for me calorie density (I get to eat a lot). I've used CRON-O-Meter to track the meals, and check the caloric intake, which is not something I normally do, but I am experimenting with a slightly different eating pattern. My comfort zone for daily calorie intake seems to be 1,200 - 1,600, and adding the snap meals has stayed within that range. What's strange though is my weight has been trending up. I was up +3 pounds this morning, since last weigh in.

So what are the possibilities;

normal weight fluctuation
larger quantity of food in my digestive track
placebo effect from eating a larger volume of food
reaction to canned tomatoes
calorie intake miscalculation
reaction to canned food

I only listed the canned food, because lately, I haven't been consuming any (with the exception of the home made hummus, which is made from canned chick peas, I average about a table spoon a day). I mostly eat bulk brown rice, dehydrated beans and fresh and some frozen produce.

Not sure what I'll do today yet...

Oh yes, they definitely are high fat, Dis, as are the Coconut Milk ice creams. I think of them not as an "on plan" food, but as more of a transition food to get away from dairy towards enjoying frozen bananas, for those who are not ready for the full fat-free experience, but who want to get away from dairy as the highest evil. Or for convincing staunch anti-vegans that it ain't so bad as you think...




Dissolution, I have *gained* as much 5 pounds in one day from eating large quantities of high-fiber foods, and as much as 6 pounds in a day from eating canned food (from the either the trace sodium or preservatives, I don't know) so I can speak from experience that at least two of the options sound very possible.

SNAP meals are rad, though, and fun to be able to make - and eat!

Hi Dissolution,

I am new to the board and only discovered McDougalls a couple of weeks ago. I discovered your journal last night and stayed up way too late reading the whole thing. It was very inspiring, and I wanted to take a minute and say thank you for sharing it.

I just finished my first week of the McDougall WOE and have been happy with the results. This week has been pretty easy, because I am on an out-of-town assignment for work. I anticipate that when I get home everything will get much more complicated and difficult. Reading about your experiences has helped make me better prepared for whatever happens. I just hope I will be able to keep my humor and good attitude like you have.

Now I am off to learn about these SNAP meals...

Keep up the good work!

bebe

Hi dissolution:

Umm, the symptoms your wife has been having lately are a bit too spread out in all these posts to give me a good idea of what's going on with her symptom wise. Still, having just spent 2 days in the ER with a gall bladder attack and in between two women with ovarian cysts that were acting up; let me say this things that seem like digestive problems and vomiting can be quite painful and some HAVE to be taken care of before stuff gets dire.

From what I read she is way more likely to have gal stones then I am, and I am scheduled for surgery next week! Not that I am saying that it's that, it's just that she is so unhealthy, she is like at risk for everything.

It may be reaction to meds she is taking - on the other hand it really could be something much more serious. Are you using something like this triage to track her symptoms and determine if it is something that needs medical attention?

http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en ... iting.html

Sorry for being pest like here, but another of my ER roommates was still arguing with her husband about bringing her to the ER, while they were prepping her for emergency surgery --stubborn isn't always smart, IMHO.

Good luck - Michelle

I'm new here, so I hope it is OK to jump in with a suggestion... I discovered that the stalks are usually sweeter than the florets themselves, so I like to shred them for broccoli slaw or just to add to soups or salads.

Cheers!
Robin

Nicoles I keep forgetting about transition foods, since I went "cold turkey"...Haha, that's funny...I became a vegan cold turkey...lol Sorry, I amuse myself sometimes. I think Rip Esselstyn in his book has people transition off in stages, meat, dairy, and then oil. Although I am uncertain about the order.

Bebe Welcome and congratulations on the amazing discovery of this way of eating! I'm very honored that you read my entire journal in one sitting. Good luck when you get home. I think there are lots of us on this forum who have non compliant people in their homes.

Michelle Thanks for you concern. The nausea and vomiting has only happened a couple of times, right after consuming meat. The idea that it could be a gall bladder attack is very logical, except that she doesn't have hers. Her gall bladder went bad during her first pregnancy. So 10 days after giving birth she had a gangrenous gall bladder removed. A month or two after that she was admitting into the hospital for pancreatitis. She had a very large pancreatic cyst. The kept her off food for 57 days while they waited for the "wall" of the cyst to get thick enough that they could sew it to her stomach and let it drain through her digestive system. She was also addicted to morphine by the time it was over.

So the 57 days without food, she says ruined her metabolism. The pancreatic cyst is what has caused the diabetes, and the extended stay in the hospital is what causes her to hate and fear doctors. I actually found a dentist that would prescribe two Valium tablets prior to any of her appointments. She did go on line and found a doctor she requested an appointment with on the web, but she hasn't heard back yet, and will probably wait until after our skiing trip to call.

Robin Welcome! Shredded broccoli stalks!? Very interesting, could use them almost like a grated cheese topping or something. The last time I steamed broccoli, I cut off the florets and stood there in the kitchen slicing up the stalk and eating it raw, while I waited for the rest of it to steam.
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So I've been eating SNAP meals for 4 days now. I was pleased with how much volume I was able to eat, but I was somewhat surprised with how hungry I was during these last few days. Yesterday was not good, I kinda snapped (<-- haha) and binged a little. Nothing really off plan, just lots of food. Raisins, bread, saltine crackers are some of the things I ate yesterday that I don't normally eat.

The one common ingredient in all of my SNAP meals was canned tomatoes. Different brands and different flavors (italian or with green peppers). So I'm wondering if tomatoes might be a trigger food for me. Hmmm...I think I'm channeling my previous Atkins self or something. I haven't seen or heard McDougall, Esselstyn or Greger talk about it. What Atkins calls a trigger food, is something you eat that makes you want to eat more "bad" stuff, of course he was talking about carbohydrates, and the intense cravings you have for carbohydrates when you are on the atkins diet.

Anyways I think I'll stay away from canned tomatoes this week and see what happens.

Last night, the wife and I were walking through Wal-Mart. There's a fat-free flour tortilla that I can only get at this one location. When she asks me, "Do you feel relieved to not eat all this stuff?". I told her, "Yes, I really do." Then she asked, "Was it difficult?". I said,"It was much easier than I could have ever imagined." Of course then she went home and ate SAD, but still....

Dissolution: Thank you for filling in the blanks on your wife's medical history. Gives us a little less to be concerned about I guess Also, I am glad she is asking you questions about the diet and is eating some oatmeal here and there. We are all hoping your patience with her will ultimately win her over to this WOE, because it sure as heck is the best way I know to avoid Doctor's. Well, except for this little gall bladder thang I got goin on just now

HI Dissolution!! You are doing great!! cold turkey is the only way to go... to avoid any slip ups!! I tend to just not go into the candy aisles at stores, and tell myself that I just do not eat such toxic wasteland products and they all cause me a lot of tummy upsets anyway...
Nothing will ever feel as good as this WOE makes me look now!! Ta Da!
I like many simple, snap meals myself, and son loves to cook, all this fancy vegan food...... he really does research into the recipes and veganizing them all... DH is coming along slow but sure.
this WOE is the absolutely only WOE that has me hooked and staying the course and it has been a looong time for me now.
DH is coming around more and more too.....