I strive for variety within my diet, while always tuning into the way I feel. “Everything in moderation” is now my food M.O. Not every disease has an easy checklist that leads to a diagnosis. Become your own advocate and ask questions when you don't understand. I wish more women knew not to accept a non-answer as their fate. He advises my team at John Stoddard Cancer Center and I visit a local hospital once a week to receive infusions of the one AIP medication currently available. and I travel to Salt Lake City once a year to see a hematologist. There are a handful of porphyria experts in the U.S. Since AIP is so rare, my treatment is largely experimental. I can safely run a little more than 10 miles each week if my body is feeling cooperative. Now, instead of steering clear of certain foods, I avoid situations that stimulate stress, limit alcohol, prioritize sleep, and monitor my hormones. But the fact is, it has helped me feel better. I’m still working on accepting the fact that a food group I demonized for so long is actually a key component in helping me feel better. Carbs help my liver produce heme, something that, when low, triggers symptoms. My doctor actually told me to eat potato chips if I felt symptoms coming on. Why Intuitive Eating Is Better Than Diet Cultureīut, it turns out that carbs can actually help keep symptoms at bay-which is why going on keto led to so many problems.The Strangest Keto Diet Side Effects Explained.Symptoms tend to come in waves, typically for days or weeks, and I learned that I can live a mostly normal life between attacks. They diagnosed me with acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), a genetic condition that affects fewer than 3,000 Americans. Of the many tests I had been given over the years, that one finally came back abnormal. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, MN, examined me and gave me a battery of tests, including one for porphyria. I never could have guessed that about six months after starting this diet, my colon would completely shut down and I’d be hospitalized for 27 days over the course of 5 months. Plus, cutting out sugar and dairy and grains is what healthy people do, right? I was also hoping it would help my debilitating abdominal pain and constipation. I wanted to boost my performance as a runner and burn fat rather than sugar along the way. In January 2016, I decided to try the keto diet for a few different reasons. I didn’t find any pain relief, but it also didn't cross my mind that I could be doing much more harm than good. And don't get me started on the cleanses! Cayenne, Ayurvedic, green, candida-I've lost count. I took magnesium supplements and slicked on essential oils. I went through it all: paleo, the South Beach Diet, no refined sugar, wheat-free, dairy-free, grain-free, vegetarian, pescatarian, low carb, slow carb, no carb, and there was even a brief stint of being a full-fledged vegan. Testing out different diets was one way I attempted to move forward. Another doctor referred me to a therapist because they said it was "all in my head." I got tired of being written off as a head case or drug seeker, so I started experimenting with managing stress in different ways, on my own. ![]() At one point, I was told that it was toxic stress.
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