Nine Weeks In - DHwRF

Today marks the end of Week 9 on my elimination diet!

I didn't do an update post for Week 8, so I will cover both weeks in this post.

Week 8 I reintroduced milk.  I felt fine the first couple of days, but by the third day or so I could tell that I was feeling more fatigued and tired, and I also got a heavy feeling in the front of my head. Almost like a headache, but not quite.  Kind of like when I take Benedryl, but without the loopiness. I didn't seem to have any brain fog with it.  It was rather weird, unlike any symptoms I'd ever experienced before.

I assumed the head weirdness was from the milk, but then I stopped the milk and my head progressed to get worse into Week 9.  Simultaneously, my eyes had a reaction to something - I believe my mascara - and became inflamed, painful, and itchy.  It hurt to have my eyes open or to try to focus on anything, and as a result my head got worse and worse.  At one point I experienced the closet thing I've had to a migraine.  My head hurt so bad.  I could barely function, all I wanted to do was climb under the covers in a dark room and lay in quiet. That was on Tuesday.  From Wednesday on, the severity of the headache lessened and would even leave for short bits.  Several days later now, it's still hurting off and on but for the most part isn't affecting my daily life anymore.

And so now I don't know if it was a milk reaction or something completely separate.  I may have to do another milk trial and see what happens.  If my head starts hurting I'll know to quit immediately before I end up with another rough week like this one.  And if milk did cause all the head problems I experienced, then yikes. That would just be crazy.

Digestively, I've been pretty normal the last couple of weeks.  As usual, only bloating when I eat too much fruit.  Darn that fruit.  I reintroduced broccoli a couple days ago.  The first day, when I just ate maybe 3/4 a cup, I felt fine and didn't notice anything afterward.  This was very exciting, because last time I did an elimination diet, the broccoli reintroduction resulted in a lot of abdominal pain.  The next day I ate quite a bit more broccoli to see what would happen.  I didn't feel anything that day, but when I woke up the next morning I had some discomfort and gas pains.  So it seems that broccoli is ok in a single serving but I shouldn't eat more than that in a day.  

I also had a small bit of Coffeemate hazelnut creamer in coffee a couple times over these past two weeks.  (Yes, processed galore, I'm fully aware, but it was just a small amount and sometimes a girl needs a break.)  I was pleasantly surprised to find that although it still tasted good, it didn't seem near as delicious as it used to.  And in fact, in most cases, I found that I now actually prefer the taste of black coffee rather than the coffee with the creamer.  This makes me really happy - so much better for me!  I used to be so addicted to the creamer.

So to sum up the foods I'm eating now, here they are below (reintroduced ones in bold):

chicken
turkey
beef
pork
salmon
uncured bacon, ideally sugar-free
uncured lunchmeats, salami, and pepperoni (stopped eating salami and pepperoni due to nightshades in seasonings)

spinach
carrots
zucchini
green beans
kale
raspberries
strawberries
bananas
broccoli sprouts (no longer eating)
kale
lettuce
broccoli
lemon juice, fresh
lime juice, fresh

coconut oil
MCT oil
olive oil
garlic-infused olive oil
ghee
herbs
cinnamon
Himalayan pink sea salt

sauerkraut

kombucha (both store-bought and homemade)
unsweetened hot tea
La Croix (occasionally)
coffee

gelatin (Great Lakes grass-fed)
L-glutamine
Monuka honey (not DHwRF-approved, but included to help fight possible h. pylori infection)

If you'd like to catch up on my past weeks, you can find them all below.

Digestive Health with REAL Food - Take 2
One Week In - DHwRF Update
Two Weeks In - DHwRF
Three Weeks In - DHwRF
Four Weeks In - DHwRF
Five Weeks In - DHwRF
Six Weeks In - DHwRF
Seven Weeks In - DHwRF