Busy day....
Food intake:
Breakfast: 2 eggs on sourdough toast with real butter
Coffee with real cream and sugar
Lunch:Bottle of water
Dinner: Chicken alfredo: pan cooked chicken, sauteed mushrooms with chopped garlic, black olives and spaghetti noodles, with a homemade sauce of cream,ricotta and butter. YUM
A shot of aloe juice as well.... followed by some apple/mango juice.
Hivescale: My right palm is slightly swollen with hives, because of difficult dogs pulling too hard.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Food Diary!
Well... it's been a day and a half of antihistamine food!
I started yesterday..
(Morning didn't count, I woke up late and had starbucks for breakfast)
I don't eat lunch because I'm so busy at work!
So dinner was:
Microwave steamable squash medley
Medium baked potato with REAL butter and some ricotta cheese
The coconut water in a can was the grossest thing in the world, I would not suggest buying it!
Hivescale: I had a few difficult dogs yesterday, and my forearm was super tight, and swollen with hives in the tissues. Took four ibuprophens and 2 benedryls and headed to bed.
Today! Food intake was:
Breakfast: cooked 2 eggs with sourdough bread toast and real butter
1 medium sized travel mug with coffee, REAL cream and sugar.
Lunch: Bottle of water
Dinner: I came home to a yummy stir fry of fresh asparagus, fresh sauteed mushrooms in real butter, onions, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and diced chicken, served over rice. (This was really really super yummy!) Thanks to my honey for cooking it :)
Aaaaand... I took a shot of aloe juice. (this stuff is nasty... have a chaser ready) Drinking a glass of pure mango/apple juice.
So tada! Food diary. I type much faster than I write...
Hivescale: A few spotty small hives in various areas, but my arms are NOT swollen this evening. yayyyyy
I also got some Black cohosh and Freeze dried Nettles supplements (finally)! My semi-boss picked them up for me while she was shopping at a health food store, so no more searching! Yay! I'm debating on what to try when. I know that if I start this antihistamine diet, and all the supplements/juice at once then I won't know what is working! I may just try the aloe juice and see if it makes a difference in my arm swelling. I have a HUUUUUGE week of grooming (everyone wants to get their dog all prettified before Thanksgiving) so I will be very very busy with lots of physical work! I think I will take a shot of ikky aloe juice once a day for a week. We'll see what happens! I will also make a point to keep writing down everything that I eat.
I started yesterday..
(Morning didn't count, I woke up late and had starbucks for breakfast)
I don't eat lunch because I'm so busy at work!
So dinner was:
Microwave steamable squash medley
Medium baked potato with REAL butter and some ricotta cheese
The coconut water in a can was the grossest thing in the world, I would not suggest buying it!
Hivescale: I had a few difficult dogs yesterday, and my forearm was super tight, and swollen with hives in the tissues. Took four ibuprophens and 2 benedryls and headed to bed.
Today! Food intake was:
Breakfast: cooked 2 eggs with sourdough bread toast and real butter
1 medium sized travel mug with coffee, REAL cream and sugar.
Lunch: Bottle of water
Dinner: I came home to a yummy stir fry of fresh asparagus, fresh sauteed mushrooms in real butter, onions, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and diced chicken, served over rice. (This was really really super yummy!) Thanks to my honey for cooking it :)
Aaaaand... I took a shot of aloe juice. (this stuff is nasty... have a chaser ready) Drinking a glass of pure mango/apple juice.
So tada! Food diary. I type much faster than I write...
Hivescale: A few spotty small hives in various areas, but my arms are NOT swollen this evening. yayyyyy
I also got some Black cohosh and Freeze dried Nettles supplements (finally)! My semi-boss picked them up for me while she was shopping at a health food store, so no more searching! Yay! I'm debating on what to try when. I know that if I start this antihistamine diet, and all the supplements/juice at once then I won't know what is working! I may just try the aloe juice and see if it makes a difference in my arm swelling. I have a HUUUUUGE week of grooming (everyone wants to get their dog all prettified before Thanksgiving) so I will be very very busy with lots of physical work! I think I will take a shot of ikky aloe juice once a day for a week. We'll see what happens! I will also make a point to keep writing down everything that I eat.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Grocery List!
So!
I made a list of foods that are acceptable and non acceptable... and whilst in the isles of the grocery store, reading every single ingredient on possible foods I will be eating, I realized this was going to be much harder than I had thought!
The major hurdle was all the soy that products contain... I never realized I consumed so much soy until we spent 4 hours grocery shopping and reading all the labels. We tried going to Trader Joe's for the first time, but I was extremely disappointed. Very small variety on herbal supplements and teas, could not find anything nettle or black cohosh related. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits but over twice the price of Walmart. But I did find my gallon of aloe juice at Walmart for $7!!! I have yet to try it.
I also bought a juicer! There are tons of recipes for yummy juices to make with fresh fruits and veggies.
I'm kind of bummed out about not being able to have Pineapple, Cherries, Nectarines, and Oranges and Peaches. I have a super limited list of fruits I can eat now, due to allergies. Apples and Grapes are safe!
No cheese makes me a little sad too. (Except for ricotta)
I can still have my breakfast burritos in the morning with my rice tortillas... just no cheese in it... or sausage. And I can have coffee and real cream (no creamer) and sugar! That's a plus...
Here's the list of foods that now inhabit my fridge and cupboard!
Fresh White Grapes
Fresh Regular Carrots
Fresh Baby Carrots
Fresh Fuji Apples
Fresh Artisan Romaine Lettuce
Fresh Brussel Sprouts
Cooked beets
Canned Beets
Regular Couscous
Organic Whole oat Oatmeal
Russet potatoes
Saffron Rice
Canned Artichokes
Coconut Water (in a can)
Coffee
Sugar
Honey
Ground Beef
Eggs
Frozen Cauliflower
Steam-In the bag frozen squash blend
Frozen Asparagus
Fresh Asparagus
Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
Whipping Cream
Butter
Fresh Garlic
Rice pudding!
Apple Jelly
Ground Turkey
Original Cream of Wheat (not the instant, it contained hbt)
Linguine Pasta
Sourdough Bread (the only bread without yeast)
Rice tortillas (from Trader Joe's)
Organic other tortillas (from Trader Joe's)
Fresh Spaghetti Squash
Fresh Acorn Squash
Fresh Butternut Squash
Fresh Kale
Fresh Mushrooms
Canned sweet corn
Organic Coconut oil
Fresh Broccoli
Organic Creamy corn soup made with coconut milk. (looked yummy and the ingredients were good)
Evaporated milk
UNbleached flour
Little mini cans of Apple juice
Apple-Mango Juice
Lots of healthy goodness! I (hope) to start this anti-histamine diet tomorrow, with the help of my significant other. He will be cooking up most of this!
I made a list of foods that are acceptable and non acceptable... and whilst in the isles of the grocery store, reading every single ingredient on possible foods I will be eating, I realized this was going to be much harder than I had thought!
The major hurdle was all the soy that products contain... I never realized I consumed so much soy until we spent 4 hours grocery shopping and reading all the labels. We tried going to Trader Joe's for the first time, but I was extremely disappointed. Very small variety on herbal supplements and teas, could not find anything nettle or black cohosh related. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits but over twice the price of Walmart. But I did find my gallon of aloe juice at Walmart for $7!!! I have yet to try it.
I also bought a juicer! There are tons of recipes for yummy juices to make with fresh fruits and veggies.
I'm kind of bummed out about not being able to have Pineapple, Cherries, Nectarines, and Oranges and Peaches. I have a super limited list of fruits I can eat now, due to allergies. Apples and Grapes are safe!
No cheese makes me a little sad too. (Except for ricotta)
I can still have my breakfast burritos in the morning with my rice tortillas... just no cheese in it... or sausage. And I can have coffee and real cream (no creamer) and sugar! That's a plus...
Here's the list of foods that now inhabit my fridge and cupboard!
Fresh White Grapes
Fresh Regular Carrots
Fresh Baby Carrots
Fresh Fuji Apples
Fresh Artisan Romaine Lettuce
Fresh Brussel Sprouts
Cooked beets
Canned Beets
Regular Couscous
Organic Whole oat Oatmeal
Russet potatoes
Saffron Rice
Canned Artichokes
Coconut Water (in a can)
Coffee
Sugar
Honey
Ground Beef
Eggs
Frozen Cauliflower
Steam-In the bag frozen squash blend
Frozen Asparagus
Fresh Asparagus
Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
Whipping Cream
Butter
Fresh Garlic
Rice pudding!
Apple Jelly
Ground Turkey
Original Cream of Wheat (not the instant, it contained hbt)
Linguine Pasta
Sourdough Bread (the only bread without yeast)
Rice tortillas (from Trader Joe's)
Organic other tortillas (from Trader Joe's)
Fresh Spaghetti Squash
Fresh Acorn Squash
Fresh Butternut Squash
Fresh Kale
Fresh Mushrooms
Canned sweet corn
Organic Coconut oil
Fresh Broccoli
Organic Creamy corn soup made with coconut milk. (looked yummy and the ingredients were good)
Evaporated milk
UNbleached flour
Little mini cans of Apple juice
Apple-Mango Juice
Lots of healthy goodness! I (hope) to start this anti-histamine diet tomorrow, with the help of my significant other. He will be cooking up most of this!
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Hives and Me
Hives suck.
They can be summed up as being irritating, painful, debilitating, itchy, and sometimes they can swell you up to look downright freakish. (Swelled eyes, lips) Hives are something I've been dealing with most of my life. At age 13 I came down with my first bout of hives after licking a spoonful of peanutbutter (now 29). Hives are split up into types.. Food Allergies, Other trigger allergies, Hot and cold triggered hives, Pressure Hives, Hives from stress. I'm sure there are more that I will add to this list later, but for now it will suffice.
Hives related to food allergies happened much through my life starting at age 13. My arms would ache, and I would be covered in hivey welts a bit after eating one my nono foods. My food allergy list kept growing and growing and still does to this day, unfortunately. Avoiding certain foods became a habit. At about age 20 I had sporadic bouts of what I later found out to be Delayed Pressure Urticaria (delayed pressure hives). When doing activities such as using oars to row a canoe in calm waters leaves hives forming deep inside my hands in the area which I've used the most to do the rowing. My hands and fingers blow up like a balloon, leaving it red and swollen it feels like there's a golf ball stuck in my hand, and could not even come close to making a fist, let a lone a finger-bend. My hands were so swollen they ached and itched deep in my hands, and I imagined it probably felt how a person with arthritis would feel. A deep pain.
I have Auto-Immune issues as well. It seems as if there is a Strange Freakish disease that doctors do not know much about, I happen to have it. (FRUSTRATING) My body somehow likes to attack itself. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks at age 19 because of idiopathic swelling in my spinal cord (Idiopathic Transverse Myelitis) Which came with a huge list of completely bizarre side effects, from the left side of my body becoming numb, to trouble walking. I had an *imaginary* flareup of this again two years later, I say *imaginary* because the doctors could find nothing wrong with me, yet I had all the same bizarre symptoms and pain as the first time. I was however under a great deal of stress at the time, and after seeing many doctors who could only scratch their heads at this phenomenon, it was summed up to be my body attacking what had already been damaged, possibly due to stress, causing psychosematic symptoms. (Again, auto-immune stuff)
I am convinced the auto-immune issues and hives are closely connected, so I am trying to treat both the best way that I can. Traditional doctors only want to treat the symptoms, not the entire picture, or the underlying problems. I am taking matters into my own hands! Hives have become ridiculously frustrating, and debilitating. I am a dog groomer, and I use lots of tools with my hands, and have to work with the dogs (some of them very difficult to groom!) If I use my scissors too much, my wrist and connecting tendons/muscles will swell up with deep painful hives about 6-8 hours later. If I brush a dog out who has a very thick coat, the pressure from the handle on my hand will turn my hand into a foreign-looking swelled up mess. This is really interfering with my work! I have to then ice whichever hivalicious part of my body is swollen and overdose myself with benedryl to (hopefully) clear it up by morning. Sometimes even the slightest bit of pressure can ruin my day. I wear crocs to work (my feet area always getting wet) and I busted the strap off of the back of one shoe. That tiny fluctuation of not holding my heel in the EXACT place it always holds it turned my foot into a football that night. I was in tears and disbelief that my foot could be THAT sensitive. I mean SERIOUSLY???? Sometimes the smallest bit of pressure can create huge problems. Carrying a bag on my shoulder? FORGET IT! I will have a natural shoulder pad by that evening.
This is unacceptable! I have a physically demanding job that I love, and I don't want to ever have to give that up. I've been just *dealing* with it most of my life, and I want to be rid of this! So.... I have been doing research and have somewhat of a plan. I plan on keeping a journal on how things are working as well. Hopefully I can help myself, and possibly others! Wish me luck!
They can be summed up as being irritating, painful, debilitating, itchy, and sometimes they can swell you up to look downright freakish. (Swelled eyes, lips) Hives are something I've been dealing with most of my life. At age 13 I came down with my first bout of hives after licking a spoonful of peanutbutter (now 29). Hives are split up into types.. Food Allergies, Other trigger allergies, Hot and cold triggered hives, Pressure Hives, Hives from stress. I'm sure there are more that I will add to this list later, but for now it will suffice.
Hives related to food allergies happened much through my life starting at age 13. My arms would ache, and I would be covered in hivey welts a bit after eating one my nono foods. My food allergy list kept growing and growing and still does to this day, unfortunately. Avoiding certain foods became a habit. At about age 20 I had sporadic bouts of what I later found out to be Delayed Pressure Urticaria (delayed pressure hives). When doing activities such as using oars to row a canoe in calm waters leaves hives forming deep inside my hands in the area which I've used the most to do the rowing. My hands and fingers blow up like a balloon, leaving it red and swollen it feels like there's a golf ball stuck in my hand, and could not even come close to making a fist, let a lone a finger-bend. My hands were so swollen they ached and itched deep in my hands, and I imagined it probably felt how a person with arthritis would feel. A deep pain.
I have Auto-Immune issues as well. It seems as if there is a Strange Freakish disease that doctors do not know much about, I happen to have it. (FRUSTRATING) My body somehow likes to attack itself. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks at age 19 because of idiopathic swelling in my spinal cord (Idiopathic Transverse Myelitis) Which came with a huge list of completely bizarre side effects, from the left side of my body becoming numb, to trouble walking. I had an *imaginary* flareup of this again two years later, I say *imaginary* because the doctors could find nothing wrong with me, yet I had all the same bizarre symptoms and pain as the first time. I was however under a great deal of stress at the time, and after seeing many doctors who could only scratch their heads at this phenomenon, it was summed up to be my body attacking what had already been damaged, possibly due to stress, causing psychosematic symptoms. (Again, auto-immune stuff)
I am convinced the auto-immune issues and hives are closely connected, so I am trying to treat both the best way that I can. Traditional doctors only want to treat the symptoms, not the entire picture, or the underlying problems. I am taking matters into my own hands! Hives have become ridiculously frustrating, and debilitating. I am a dog groomer, and I use lots of tools with my hands, and have to work with the dogs (some of them very difficult to groom!) If I use my scissors too much, my wrist and connecting tendons/muscles will swell up with deep painful hives about 6-8 hours later. If I brush a dog out who has a very thick coat, the pressure from the handle on my hand will turn my hand into a foreign-looking swelled up mess. This is really interfering with my work! I have to then ice whichever hivalicious part of my body is swollen and overdose myself with benedryl to (hopefully) clear it up by morning. Sometimes even the slightest bit of pressure can ruin my day. I wear crocs to work (my feet area always getting wet) and I busted the strap off of the back of one shoe. That tiny fluctuation of not holding my heel in the EXACT place it always holds it turned my foot into a football that night. I was in tears and disbelief that my foot could be THAT sensitive. I mean SERIOUSLY???? Sometimes the smallest bit of pressure can create huge problems. Carrying a bag on my shoulder? FORGET IT! I will have a natural shoulder pad by that evening.
This is unacceptable! I have a physically demanding job that I love, and I don't want to ever have to give that up. I've been just *dealing* with it most of my life, and I want to be rid of this! So.... I have been doing research and have somewhat of a plan. I plan on keeping a journal on how things are working as well. Hopefully I can help myself, and possibly others! Wish me luck!
Taking Charge of Hives! I have a plan!
So!
I am taking charge of my chronic hives, and reaching out to other alternatives to try and *cure* them myself! By doing much research, I've found some things to try out.
I have a plan! But I need to take action:
Low Histamine Diet (Yes, there are foods higher in histamine than others)
I am following a list of Restricted Foods and Allowed Foods that I found on this website:
HERE: Low Histamine Diet
Herbal Supplements:
Nettles
(Nettle tea, or freeze dried nettles in pill form) - The Stinging Nettle Plant helps reduce the ammount of histamine your body makes.
Information about the Stinging Nettle plant found HERE: Stinging Nettle Plant
Black Cohosh
This Herb gives your body many benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties, and keeping your body from creating histamine. It's not at the top of my list of supplements to try, but anything that states it lowers histamines is worth a try! Information about the benefits of Black Cohosh found HERE: Black Cohosh
Aloe Vera Juice
We all know that Aloe is great for sunburns, and used externally on hives to take the itch out. I recently found that taking Aloe internally is also very beneficial and works as a natural anti-histamine! It contains Magnesium Lactate, which acts much like Cortisone does in reducing histamines, without icky side-effects! Information about the juice of the Aloe Vera Plant found HERE: Aloe Vera
Acupuncture:
I was a bit skeptical about this... but I have tried it for other ailments and honestly.... it WORKS! There is such a thing as accupressure as well, but since I have DPU, those pressure spots would swell up like tennis balls by evening time, so no accupressure for me! My mother is a massage therapist, and has helped me find the exact points acupuncture is needed to help with hives. (Will provide links to these exact areas later)
I have tried this out myself, simply taking the tip of something pointy (not actually puncturing the skin) and placing pressure on that exact point is not too hard! Though I have been looking into some professional acupuncturists lately, and will most likely start treatments! I have read many success stories about hives and acupuncture, so anything is worth a shot!
I am taking charge of my chronic hives, and reaching out to other alternatives to try and *cure* them myself! By doing much research, I've found some things to try out.
I have a plan! But I need to take action:
Low Histamine Diet (Yes, there are foods higher in histamine than others)
I am following a list of Restricted Foods and Allowed Foods that I found on this website:
HERE: Low Histamine Diet
Herbal Supplements:
Nettles
(Nettle tea, or freeze dried nettles in pill form) - The Stinging Nettle Plant helps reduce the ammount of histamine your body makes.
Information about the Stinging Nettle plant found HERE: Stinging Nettle Plant
Black Cohosh
This Herb gives your body many benefits, including anti-inflammatory properties, and keeping your body from creating histamine. It's not at the top of my list of supplements to try, but anything that states it lowers histamines is worth a try! Information about the benefits of Black Cohosh found HERE: Black Cohosh
Aloe Vera Juice
We all know that Aloe is great for sunburns, and used externally on hives to take the itch out. I recently found that taking Aloe internally is also very beneficial and works as a natural anti-histamine! It contains Magnesium Lactate, which acts much like Cortisone does in reducing histamines, without icky side-effects! Information about the juice of the Aloe Vera Plant found HERE: Aloe Vera
Acupuncture:
I was a bit skeptical about this... but I have tried it for other ailments and honestly.... it WORKS! There is such a thing as accupressure as well, but since I have DPU, those pressure spots would swell up like tennis balls by evening time, so no accupressure for me! My mother is a massage therapist, and has helped me find the exact points acupuncture is needed to help with hives. (Will provide links to these exact areas later)
I have tried this out myself, simply taking the tip of something pointy (not actually puncturing the skin) and placing pressure on that exact point is not too hard! Though I have been looking into some professional acupuncturists lately, and will most likely start treatments! I have read many success stories about hives and acupuncture, so anything is worth a shot!
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