Time to switch things up a bit...

9/29

Ok, so I am on day 69 today.  No cheating, not even a lick of anything.  My ph goes back and forth between green and blue.  Urine ph is ok.  Spit test......still just streaking down, cloudy...some is staying on top but for the most part it hasn't changed in 69 days.  Some days it will take about a minute to start going down but most days it doesn't take but a few seconds.(I don't test it every day- about 1-2 times/week)

I have gained a pound this week.  Not happy about that.  I have switched to psyllium husks and cut back on the OLE.  I eat eggs for breakfast every morning.(think I am going to start laying some little chicks soon!!!), I make a fruit smoothie for lunch-8-16 oz. Of plain yogurt(Greek style has more protein, less carbs)and a small bag of frozen strawberries and blueberries. This is enough to last me all afternoon- I sip on it for a while!  For supper I eat meat, salad or veggie, maybe some almond bread.  If I get hungry during the day I eat a green apple, almonds...I keep those in my car.

Am I doing something wrong?  Or am I just at another turning point?  Should I get some Nystatin to boost the yeast killing ? Is the smoothie too many carbs?  I just feel like I have stopped with the progress! 

I'm trying not to focus on the weight.  All my pants are too big and I have lost several inches in my waist,stomach, and legs.  I don't feel any thinner but people are starting to comment on how great I look.(guess when you are almost dead, anything looks better!!)

I am not giving up by ANY means!! Good golly I have made it way farther than I ever thought I would!  God has just poured out His power on me!  I just wonder if I need to do something different.

Deborah:

Sounds like it is time to switch things up a bit.  Suspend the probiotics for a few weeks.... and switch to Grapefruit Seed Extract. It is at Vitamin Shoppe --- bottom shelf -- and less then $10.... It is a liquid.   It is powerfully bitter... but also very effective against Candida.  It is recommended that one put 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract mixed with juice (I have been known to put it in a swig of my lemon water... but it is BITTER. Thus I pour out literally just a swig of the lemon water into a separate glass, add the GSE .... swig that down (with my nose pinched so I don't taste it.. then quickly take a sip of my lemon water. )  twice a day in between meals for the first 3 days. Increase the dosage to 15 drops twice daily for days 4 through 10. On days 11 through 28, increase the grapefruit seed extract to 15 drops 3 times daily in between meals.  Once you complete this, start the probiotics back up. 

As for what you are eating, I would only do the smoothies a few times a week at best.  They are dairy based... and should be done at a minimum ---- certainly the Candida is benefiting from a daily dose of smoothie.... so cut that way back.  Better to have a meat roll-up or salad to switch things up a bit.  Make sure you are not in-taking too many almonds.  Again though they are good for you... nuts are high in calories and fat. 

Indeed our culture is suffocated with food....  it is a physical representation to our spiritual condition.  The vast majority of the populous couldn't imagine denying themselves anything the flesh wants.  Like most spiritual things it takes determination to stand against the current and do what is right. 

Hang in there....  This really will pass!!

Deborah

8 weeks ago today....

8 weeks ago today!

by Karen Bundy Barlow on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 10:39am

     8 weeks ago today I started on my new journey to get better.  After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, polymyalgia rheumatica, diabetes, lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, IBS, chronic fatigue, depression, weight gain and then the 2 min-strokes in June......it was time to take charge of my health.  I asked a dear friend Deborah Kirby, who has been doing research in why people get sick, to come sit with me and tell me what I needed to do.  I learned very quickly that all my health issues were due to an overgrowth of yeast and fungus.  I know that sounds a little crazy.   But yeast goes way beyond the popular "yeast infection" most women are familiar with.  There are millions of types of yeast and fungi that are NOT supposed to be in our bodies.  But we put them there with medications we take and the foods we eat.  

God created our bodies to have a pH- neutral- but every time we drink soda, eat processed foods, take medications that alter our pH, eat fermented foods, load up on sugar....this produces an acidic pH in our gut which provides a breeding ground for yeast and fungus to grow and literally take over every system in our body.   

Once our body pH is out of whack the fungi take over, attach to our neurons, rewire them, and wreak havoc.  This is what happened to me.  My body became a petri dish over the years.  Yeast and fungal overgrowth can CAUSE sinus infections, skin problems, muscle pain, arthritis, diabetes, depression, weight gain, cancer, asthma, thyroid imbalance, fatigue, bloating, mood swings, poor memory,migraines, anxiety,chronic pain, muscle weakness, respiratory illness and so much more!  

 8 weeks ago I was at a point where I could hardly get out of bed.  It hurt to walk, drive, turn the blinker on in the car, open the refrigerator, hold a hairdryer, brush my teeth, get a pot out of the cabinet, pour milk for my children......I hurt all over.  I was in constant pain.  I had no energy at all.  Most days from March- July getting out of bed was either not possible or only done for brief periods of time.  Going to the store would do me in for the day.  It was not much of a life at all.  Especially considering I have 3 children at home to take care of and teach.  I finally reached my breaking point with the strokes. 

 I had been on so many medications to help me sleep, cope with pain, fix  my fibromyalgia....but none of them worked. 

 I have tried close to 25 different medications in the last 3 years.   Most all have failed to do what their "intentions" were.  In fact, most have only made my conditions worse or caused another problem in which I would need another medication for! 

 Back to 8 weeks ago when I met with Deborah.  She taught me all about what the fungus was doing to my body and what I needed to do to get rid of it. 

 Diet. Yup.... all diet. 

 Not another doctor, another pill, a magic solution, no quick fix, no special prepackaged foods to buy......just diet. 

 All sweets, sugar, breads, carbs, soda(whaa-I loved my Coke 0!), fermented foods, cheese, processed foods, corn, peanuts, soy.....all gone.  

Bye-bye.  

How on earth was I going to do this?  I lived for my sweets, my diet soda, my bagels and cereal.  I craved them all the time. 

 As it turns out, all these foods have been feeding the yeast/fungus all these years.  It's like giving cancer what it needs to grow bigger instead of trying to shrink it.  So, I got my list of what I could eat and went forward.

  I am on day 56 and still going strong!  3 weeks ago I climbed 7,002 feet on Mt. Rainier.  Wait?  I couldn't get out of bed 3 months ago.  

That's right.  

With all the foods that were "taken" away......I have been "given" my life back. 

God gives and takes away.  

 Literally. 

 I was able to play in the ocean with my kids last week.  I now own a pretty pink bike and can ride it! 

 I am back in the world again.  

Has this diet been easy? 

 NO!!!  

I still want the foods I can't have.  But me being able to walk, move, and be almost pain free is much greater than anything those foods could offer!    

All that pain I was in is 90% gone!  

90%.  

 Am I yeast free yet? Nope....I have no idea how much longer I will have to be on the "kill the fungus" part of this. 

 But God has brought me through 56 days and He will take me through 56 more if that is what it takes.

 It has taken me a while...but I am finally getting to the point that I realize with all the foods gone from my pantry.....God has multiplied it with a variety of wonderful foods that I can eat. 
 I have never had to go without food in these 56 days.  Even on an airplane to and from Seattle a few weeks ago.  
God provided food that was fungus free.  
I have lost 18 pounds so far, 6 of which were while I was on a 2 week vacation.  
I made it through a week at the beach with no ice-cream.  
And I am alive to tell about it!  
Was I a little bitter?  Yes...but now...ice-cream does not seem so important to having a good time at the beach.  
It was not  so vital to my vacation after all.  
Neither was getting the candy at the Neuse Sport Shop as I have done for years.       
I hope that in 8 weeks I can post another note such as this one.  Maybe I will be done with the detox stage or I might be still doing some yeast killin'.  
Either way...I am glad that God put Deborah Kirby in my life to pass along this life saving information.  
I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has cooked almost every night and come up with great new recipes that I can have.  
I am thankful that my God did not push me off into a corner to live at my own will.  
I am thankful that He loves me enough to keep at me and give me the strength to change so that I can be more like Him, and less like me. 

Going backwards?

9/8

Ok, so I decided to test my ph this morning- both saliva and urine.  The saliva was a lighter green and the urine was about the same color, maybe slightly darker.  What in the world?!!!  Just a few days ago the saliva was blue.  Spit was very stingy and went right down his morning as well.  I have not done anything different! 

Strange.....don't like going backwards! 

 Deborah:

Hang in there, Karen.  This is actually not a bad sign.  Remember the

deeper tissues being cleaned?  That comes to the "surface" through the

spit and the pH.  Stay encouraged, dear one.  Think of it as a new level

being purged.

Food has been a plentiful!

9/7

Day 47 for me......still want the food I am not supposed to have.....beach =ice-cream.....but not for me!  We have not eaten out yet....the hushpuppies are going to be hard to pass up....but I have made it 47 days without cheating, I'm not going to mess it up now!

My ph goes between blue and dark green....so it's not bad.  Its been like that for a while.  Spit test this morning at the beach had some still going down with a little floating.  

I wish the cravings would go away!  I still have to fight them.  I can resist and know I am not going to even take a little bite....but the desire is still there.  I keep wandering what the first food I will eat will be once my spit floats!  

Jeff's new creation!  Almond meal bread- YUMMY!!!

I still have soo much weight to lose so I have a feeling I will be doing this for a while!  The weight has not fallen off as I thought it would considering my major source of calories has even taken away.

Jeff is making one of his special chicken and almond meal recipes tonight. 

 I won't be partaking in the ice cream for dessert,  but I have to be thankful for what God HAS given me to eat! 

 Food has been still plentiful......

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