Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Elimination Diet - Day 11: Die Off

It's day 11 and I'm still going strong! I'm sticking to Dr. Crook's Elimination Diet, in addition to taking grape fruit seed extract, an over-the-counter, all natural anti-fungal. For the first few days, I felt noticeably better:

* no bloating
* less sinus problems
* rash on my stomach disappearing

Then about day 6, I started to feel a bit worse - more tired, grouchy, sinus problems, digestive issues...this is common. It's called "die off" and it occurs when the bad bacteria that you are trying to get rid of are dying off in the digestive track and perhaps in other parts of the body. When large numbers of these cells are killed, metabolic products are released. Until the body gets rid of them, symptoms may stay the same or get worse. Many people might quit at this point, but it's so worth waiting it out!

In order to deal, I cut back on the grape fruit seed extract for a couple days (taking 2 doses instead of 3). I also had a small amount of complex carbohydrates. I started to rebound and am back on track!

In a few days, I will be switching to Nystatin, an anti-fungal that requires a prescription. As long as I take it slow, I should feel fine.

Can't wait to start the challenge portion of this diet! Then begins the real fun...

No comments:

Post a Comment