Doctors and late night cravings

I went to see a regular doctor yesterday.  It cost $56 just to talk to her for five minutes and get a referral to a neurologist.  And she told me that she had seen a movie recently about the ketogenic diet being used to treat seizure patients.  I'm glad she's so informed.  Then she said it was a good idea to see a neurologist anyway, because they did help with headaches.  I mentioned I'd already been to a couple.  Really?  Twelve years and she thinks it's my first doctor visit?  People are unbelievable.  Anyway, then I called my insurance company to get the name of a neurologist in my plan - not that it even matters because it's high deductible, so I'll be paying it all anyway.  He told me I didn't need a referral for my plan, so I figured I'd just wasted an hour and $56.  But, he emailed me a list and I started calling.  Finally got a live person, and she told me that they were scheduling out to November.  I asked why when it looked like a few names on the list were for that number.  She said they were all specialists, and there was only one general neurologist.  I asked if anyone else could do an EEG, because that's all I really wanted.  Then she asked if I had a request, and I said I did, so she told me to fax it over and they'd call in the next few days to set up an appointment, because without a doctor request they wouldn't even consider it.  Guess the $56 was worth it!  So, now I'm waiting for them to call me.

I went to Walmart after work yesterday.  I was standing in line and realized that my late night cravings had changed when I noticed the woman right behind me was holding candy bars, ice cream, and cookies.  I had an artichoke, some avocados, kale, and a chayote.  I've been doing my best to stick to a ketogenic diet.  I doubt I'm getting all the proportions right, but it is making a difference with my headaches.  They're the best they've been in twelve years besides when I was fasting.  And I am sleeping at night, now, which is amazing.  I actually feel like I have a bit of energy, although yesterday I felt like a Mac truck had run over me.  Apparently working a full day took a lot out of me, even if all I do is sit at a desk for eight hours. 

Fasting Clinic - Conclusion

I met with Dr. Klaper today for my exit appointment.  We discussed the significance of the fasting helping with the headaches.  He typed up a letter for me, which says, in part:

During your stay at True North Health Center it was observed that you achieved significant relief from your episodic headaches during a brief water fast when you were in a state of ketosis.

Since it is well known that a ketogenic diet can provide relief from epileptic seizures, it may be that your headache episodes may really be low-grade seizure activity.  This should be definitively investigated.  You should see a neurologist and have an EEG done.  Hopefully, if you experience headache episodes while your brain waves are being monitored, the cause may be identified.  If seizures are the problem, treatment with anti-seizure medications and a ketogenic diet may give you great relief.

And there you have it - the best explanation I've yet received for my headaches.  I'll see about getting a neurologist when I get back home.

Refeeding - Day Five

101.8.  Had an appointment with one of the chiropractors today.  First one I've been to that made me put on a hospital gown.  Had I known, I might have shaved my legs.  She worked with a bunch of pressure points.  Headaches were going off like fireworks while she was doing it, but I can't tell if it really made that much of a difference.  I have cramps now, which sucks.  And I had a talk with an intern, who suggested I need to stay completely off of chocolate for six months to see if that makes a difference, which really sucks.  Apparently, chocolate puts a big processing load on your liver, which takes precedence over processing the estrogen levels properly, which means that eating a bunch of chocolate around your period can really throw your hormones off.  It seems so counter-intuitive.  I'm really wondering why the fasting worked and then the refeeding threw it all off.  Unless my body just works better on keotones instead of glucose, but that's not much of an option as a long-term solution.  It's very odd.  I just didn't want to leave here with my headaches the same, and it seems like that's the deal, at this point.  Problem is, it doesn't give me a whole lot of motivation to stick with a healthy lifestyle - not if it's just going to mean that I live an even longer life of pain.  What's the point?

Refeeding - Day Four

101.4.  Pretty much the same as yesterday - other than better sleep.  Oh, and I didn't need the prunes after all, which is good because I never got any.  I'm supposed to be able to expand my diet to raw veggies and some fruits tomorrow, which is pretty exciting. 

Refeeding - Day Three

101.  Moved on to steamed greens today.  And squash.  And zucchini.  I'm assuming at some point I'll get to the good stuff, right?  I did have a bit more energy today.  The headaches were about the same as yesterday.  I did get some sleep last night, in between one of my roommates making a lot of noise in the kitchen at one in the morning, and then again at seven.  Pretty sure she made coffee.  The whole apartment stunk, and I kept the main door open all morning to air it out.  I don't know of a polite way to confront her, but if she tries it again I will have to say something.  I had to plug my nose to get my weight this morning.  I really hate it when people are inconsiderate.  And when they break the rules.  At the risk of being indelicate, I did request some prunes for tomorrow.  Some things just aren't working that well.

Refeeding - Day Two

100.3.  Zucchini again.  Some squash soup for lunch, which was very nice.  Headaches were really bad.  And I haven't been sleeping well at all.

Refeeding - Day One

97.5.  I had steamed zucchini and vegetable soup for breakfast. . .and lunch. . .and dinner.  And guess what I get for tomorrow?  I think my stomach has shrunk.  Couldn't eat very much.  It did smell good and look good and taste good, though.  And my tummy was so happy!  If it was a kitten it would be purring.  Each time I ate increased the frequency of my headaches, which is no good.  But after about seven or so they calmed back down again.  Yesterday my last headache was at four or five o'clock and I didn't have another until seven this morning, which was very nice.  And I got my hair washed today, and I get to use toothpaste again, and chapstick.  So nice.  I'm just curious to see how tomorrow goes.

Fasting - Day Ten

101.3.  Last day of fasting.  I am so ready for it to be over.  I just feel incredibly weak and tired.  The headaches have been less frequent today.  Met with Dr. Klapper, and got my paperwork all filled out for the leave of absence stuff.  He said that I had conducted myself with dignity and class throughout the fast and that he thought I was a classy woman, which made me feel pretty good.  Apparently they get some dramatic types around here.  As far as the refeeding goes, it starts tomorrow at 8:30 AM with steamed zucchini chunks.  The doctor wants to start me out without the sugar from fruit and do it slow and easy.  I'll be checking out on the morning of the 22nd.  And, yes, I'm actually counting down the hours until I get to eat again.

Fasting - Day Nine

99.8.  Cooking demo, blood drawn, super tired.  Headaches better than yesterday.  The doctor that did my morning checkup this morning had the intern check my pulse.  My body's saying it's time to stop the fast, so tomorrow is officially my last day.  They're offering me choices for breaking it: juice, watermelon chunks, or zucchini chunks.  I think I'll go with juice.

Fasting - Day Eight

102.8.  Pretty uneventful day.  Had a great night last night, with two long stretches of sleeping well.  I sleep so much more soundly now with the headaches dimished.  It's nice.  Not that it stopped me from being tired today.  My headaches were actually a bit worse today (compared to the last couple of days, not the usual ones).  Just a bit more frequent.  And I've been hacking up nastiness, but other than that nothing really.  I went to a cooking demonstration.  The chef made some oatmeal french toast stuff with two different fruit sauces that smelled fabulous.  I did some online car shopping and found the perfect car.  2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse with less than 30,000 miles for just over $16,ooo.  That's my favorite year for the Eclipse, so pretty.  And it's a beautiful black.  And then I took a look at my finances and figured I'd be better off waiting until the end of the year to buy a car.  And by then I'm sure the perfect car will be gone.  Sometimes it really sucks being responsible.

Fasting - Day Seven

103.6.  Had a really scary experience about 11:00 last night when, after using the bathroom, I was coming back into my room and had a headache that dropped me to my knees.  That wouldn't have been so bad by itself, but suddenly I was feverish and sweaty (I mean my clothes were soaked), and overcome with major nausea and stomach cramping.  I crawled back to the bathroom, sure that I would puke, but after shaking and crying for a few minutes, nothing.  And after a couple more minutes, I was fine.  I was scared enough I called the emergency intern line, and the two interns on call came and took all my vitals, had me lie down with my knees up and a wet washcloth on my forehead, and watched over me until I was calm enough to try and sleep again.  They were super sweet.  And then I got a good solid five hours of sleep in, which was heavenly.  I felt a whole lot better today, all the way around.  And I had the longest no IPH streak ever - almost 7 hours!  That was followed by three in a row when I attempted my semi-shower, but still, it was very nice.  I asked my doctor today about the possibility of the headaches returning if I was very good about following the recommended food lifestyle change when I returned to the real world, and he said that wouldn't be an issue.  Which I'm very relieved about, because I don't want to spend the rest of my life worrying about every twinge in my head.  I'm okay with the way the headaches are now, simply because it's at least a 70-80% improvement and it will give me my life back, but I would like to have them completely gone.  There are small improvements every day, so I'll see what it's looking like at 10 days, and whether it would be worth it to go longer if they're not completely gone by then.  The other thing is whether, now that they've been so whittled down, diet alone might be enough to keep them improving.

Fasting - Day Six

104.4.  Last night was a doozy.  Loud TV, some guy moving in to the room next to me (loudly), bad heartburn, and then some truly obnoxious snoring.  The highlight was at about 5:00 in the morning, when, with the best judgement offered by a sleep-deprived mind, I moved out to the couch to try and sleep.  I could still hear the snoring.  I started to have a panic attack, and paranoid delusions that this clinic had lured me down here to conduct sleep deprivation studies on me.  Yeah, I know it sounds crazy now. . .  Anyway, finally got a couple of hours sleep, until they woke me up to do the morning check.  I was completely grouchy, snarled at them and complained about the snoring.  That roommate got moved today.  My other roommate left today (scheduled, not because I forced her out), so, barring any late night move-ins, I will have only myself to blame for any nightly problems.  Headaches are still showing some gradual improvement, which is exciting.  I did ask the intern who did my afternoon check (I was much more pleasant, then), about what would happen if someone sliced their own throat with a small, jagged rock.  She was very helpful, and relieved when I told her it was really just research for a story.  I should probably learn to preface my questions with that.  Spent the day completely indoors, but at least I tried hard to drink more water.  I'm still hungry, but not even thirsty anymore, so I have to force it down.  Today's obsession was all about the crab stuffed flounder from Red Lobster, along with the cheddar biscuits and their loaded mashed potatoes.  I'm beginning to wonder about the whole re-set the taste buds thing.  Maybe it doesn't happen for the small statistical anomaly type people that are still hungry for the whole thing.  Guess we'll see when the super skinny lady sings at the end. 

Fasting - Day Five

105.8.  Had a horrible night last night with heartburn so bad I thought it was going to burn a hole through my chest.  That lasted five hours.  The doctor came through to do his morning rounds pretty early today and woke me up.  Then I was barely getting back to sleep when the housekeeping guy came through.  Grrr.  The good news is, though, getting only half of the sleep that I need would normally make my headaches off the chart bad, and they seem about the same as yesterday, so that's encouraging.  I have been super whiny today.  I'm cold, my legs ache, my back is sore, my tummy is upset.  Just no fun.  The intern did an extra check on me today to make sure that my blood pressure and pulse really wasn't as wacky as it was this morning.  Really, though, if you're going to pull me straight out of an interesting dream, what do you expect?  I'm still hungry and obsessed with thinking about food.  And where at the beginning of the fast I was dreaming about healthy stuff, now I'm thinking of stuffed mushrooms, cheeseburger soup, hot chocolate, honey lime chicken enchiladas. . .mmmm.  Anyway, we'll see how the night goes.  Sometimes I wish I could take naps.  I'm thinking of composing a song about fasting, to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas.  On the first day of fasting, my hunger was extreme. . .and then adding a new symptom every day.  What do you think?

Fasting - Day Four

106.8.  Headaches still about the same.  I'm pretty much only getting them when I get up from sitting or lying down.  My vitamin D is low, so the doctor told me to spend a bit more time in the sun, but he said that my labs were probably the most healthy the lab workers had seen that week.  Apparently my pancreas, liver, and kidneys are all working well enough to deserve smiley faces.  I am still fairly hungry, and I'm thinking about food all the time.  Last night kind of sucked.  I got up every two hours to go to the bathroom.  I have a lot more sympathy now for people who deal with that regularly.  Made me even more tired today.  I did make it to the 2:00 lecture, which was nice.  It was on the evils of excess sugar and salt, and made me feel very guilty for living the way I have.  By the time I get out of here I'm going to have a soapbox a mountain-top high.  I started reading a book on sleep, but it makes me sleepy to see the word, so it might take me a while to get through it.  Nausea and heartburn were off and on all day.  Oh, I started doing some Lumosity stuff, and I was thinking of signing up, and then today they sent an email offer of 40% off for my birthday, so I went ahead and signed up for a year.  Apparently my speed and problem solving skills are seriously low.  I figure I'm getting old enough I should be consciously working on my brain.  You all enjoy eating.

Fasting - Day Three

107.8 today.  And the headaches have been amazingly better today.  I read a whole book without having a headache, and I've probably only had 30 or so today, which has been nice.  I'm currently really nauseous, not sure what that is about.  And that's about it.  I should get to bed.  Not that I haven't done my share of resting today, but still. . .

Fasting - Day Two

110.2 pounds, for anyone worried I might be wasting away. I was so exhausted yesterday I went to bed at quarter to 7. Which would have worked out really well, but when I woke up an hour and half later to use the bathroom, my roommate had the TV on so loud I couldn't get back to sleep for a while. Seriously, who actually watches opera? Anyway, still tired today. Pretty light-headed, on and off. Little bit of heartburn and nausea. Spent a little time lying in the sun, and the rest lying in bed. And that's about as productive as I got. Still hungry, and oddly obsessed with the thought of artichokes. Not sure where that's coming from. Got my blood panel back today. Only four things that were outside of normal ranges, and none of them very far. Still waiting on the Vitamin D results. The water's been tasting a bit funky, which it wasn't before, so I don't know if that's my mouth or what. When I brought it up they got me some fizzy water, so I drank a bottle. Yep, still really hate fizzy stuff. I'd take the bad taste any day. Oh, and my lower back has started hurting. Not sure if that's because I've spent all day in bed, or because my kidneys are protesting. Anything's possible. My headaches have been less frequent, but I have been lying down all day.  And that's about it. Within the next day or so I should be switching over to burning keotones instead of glucose, so hopefully I won't be hungry anymore. Apparently a few lucky people don't get that lovely side effect. Here's hoping.

Fasting - Day One

Just started my water only fast today.  I'm at the True North Health Center in Santa Rosa, California.  Got here about 11:00 AM on Saturday after driving here straight from work.  Made for a long day.  I got settled in and had a doctor appointment that afternoon.  He told me to eat their food for a couple of days to make sure my colon didn't have nasty stuff left in it, and then to start fasting today.  Since then I've eaten vegan food three meals a day (with no added sugar, salt, or oil), attended some lectures and a mindful meditation class, watched a few educational DVDs, and laid around a lot.

I got up this morning at 7:00 (shocking, I know), weighed myself (111.2), drank some water, put my laundry out, and laid back down.  I got checked on about 8:30.  The morning checks they do blood pressure and temperature and pulse.  And ask about your weight.  So far I've only had to do one urine sample, which is nice, because I hate those.  They did draw blood this morning, too.  I laid outside for a while in the sun.  Went to a cooking demonstration, where the food looked and smelled yummy.  Laid around some more.  Watched a health DVD.  Went to a lecture by the fitness doctor.  I plan to lay around some more today.  And tomorrow, and the next day. . .it's a tough life.

Some of the water only fasting symptoms that can occur (and I'm so looking forward to) are:
Fatigue
Dizziness
Bad breath
Bad body odor
Naseau/vomiting
Weight loss
Aches and pains
Skin rashes
Irritability
Restlessness
Euphoria (that one might not be too bad)
Etc
Chronic problems can become a lot worse before they're better, so we'll see about that.  I'm not allowed to use any products while I'm fasting, so I can brush my teeth with water only.  I could use the shampoo and soap they provide - if I was allowed to shower. . .I can sponge bath.  My hair is going to be a huge grease ball.  It's because they don't want you to break your neck by falling in the tub because of light-headedness, not because they really want you to be miserable, or stinky.  Fainting happens easily if you aren't careful.   If I can get through day five without puking, I shouldn't have to worry about that one, which would be very nice.  Apparently the bile backs up into your stomach with a lot of people.  And the general nastiness is because of the detoxification process.  But, since digestion uses up 80% of your body's energy, when you fast it's able to direct all of that energy toward healing, and so healing is accelerated.  And that's what I'm counting on.  If fasting can cure heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc (and it does!), then you'd think my IPH wouldn't be a problem for it.  So far my only symptom is some hunger.  My headaches seem about the same.