updates from the newdoc

So I went for the follow-up with the NewDoc yesterday, but before I tell you what it turns out I am allergic to, let me recap (because I feel the need to have this saga all in one place for some reason):

I have had an odd skin rash for almost 10 years. It started on the top of my foot. BigBoxMedicine first told me it was athlete's foot and to use a topical. When it spread to the inside of my calf near my knee, so BBM gave me an oral anti-fungal (diflucan) to clear it up. Which it did. Until it returned. This happened over and over again for a couple of years. BBM then sent me to the DermatologyDepartment, where I was told it was tinea. She gave me a new pill to pop and a new topical, but when that did nothing at all and I complained, she wrote me a prescription for the diflucan. Like, a huge prescription with a kajillion refills available to me, so I'd never come back and complain, I guess. For years, the rash would come, I would do a short course of the diflucan, the rash would go, and then eventually several months later, it would come back.

A couple of years ago, I started noticing that I would crave sugar right before the rash flared up again. And by crave, I mean shove-your-face-full-of-cookies-and-skip-dinner crave. But right after taking a course of diflucan? No cravings. Oddly, no cravings. Like no desire for sugar at all. But as it would flare up, it literally felt like I had a monster inside me and, well...you put that together with too many episodes of daytime doctor television, and I "gave myself" parasites, and a kajillion other conditions. Now mind you, over these last few years, I've also developed migraines, joint issues, and I'd wake up just feeling like my gut was full of sludge. And a few other things. I've "given myself" all sorts of diseases...hahahaha.

Anyhow. I finally decided to switch docs (still within the BBM system), to one closer to home. I chose a doc who was an osteopath, who said she believed in alternative therapies such as acupuncture, and said she believed in food as medicine. She looked at my meds and said I had to stop the diflucan because it was really bad for my liver (thank goodness liver tested okay), and she had a guy with a special camera take a photo of the rash on my calf and send it to the dermatology department. It came back that I had psoriasis, and I was ordered a topical ointment that I put on twice and the rash flared even worse.

And this is where I flipped a little bit.

I didn't take the oral meds anymore, and I didn't use the topical, and my rash was ON FIRE. Dealing with my dad's and my dogs' medical issues all summer, happily kept me from dealing with my own issues (because to be honest, I was little freaked out to go get help. I just weird like that. It's like, I wanna know...but I don't wanna know...ya' know??).

I remembered purchasing and reading a book called Diet For All Seasons about 15 years ago, and it was written by a guy who was a doctor, but he really believed food and diet was a hugely ignored part of the deal. All summer, I looked and looked online to find a doc that would be like him nearby, and I always came up empty handed...or back on the NewDoc's webpage. I figured I could never afford to go see him (out of pocket) because it turned out he had written a bunch of books since that last one I got 15 years ago, but I finally just called the office, and to my surprise, his rates were reasonable.

So I saw the NewDoc 5 weeks ago, and he ordered bloodwork and the every so crazy stool sample, which took longer to complete thanks to missing parts. And he sent me home with two more of his books, and he told me to read through the chapters about detox and about sugar sensitivity. I of course, read more than just those chapters, and decided I was allergic to everything (because that is just my way, apparently), and the rash was the worst it had ever been....ever...because I had done nothing for it since the spring.

I wrote him asked if I could take a course of the diflucan, he said yes. So I took it as prescribed by BBM which is one tablet, then a second one a week later. The rash went away, as expected. And then I wrote NewDoc again and asked if I could make any dietary changes until I was to see him next, because I was getting antsy to DO something. He wrote back:

Dear one,
We can talk a few if you wish, and you can begin a diet off the big three of wheat, dairy and sugar--the white foods--and that will make you more colorful. It's a start.
And yes, you could do supplements, but it's not mandatory. Let me know. We can also wait until I see you.
Dr E

I love this guy.
Remove the white foods. Make me more colorful. Not to mention calling me dear! :-)

So. As you know, I did just that. And then some. I actually not only cut out wheat, but I cut out all gluten. I stopped dairy, except I had a couple of eggs, and I also had the occasional wee bit of butter mixed with olive oil. I stopped all refined sugar, and even most "healthy" unrefined sugars...but still ate a small amount of fruit, a wee bit of agave and stevia. I also quit caffeine and alcohol entirely.

And I sat. And I waited for follow-up with him. I got online and read everything I could tolerate about candida and the misery I was sure I was about to suffer diet-wise, because honestly, how could I not have candida. I ate brown rice with almonds, and I roasted green beans, and I made vegetable soups with hearty beans. I made sautes of garlicky greens, and....I just kept feeling like crap (but how crappy, I couldn't really tell, because I also had the head cold, which was probably intensified by detoxing off all the crap I had been eating). And then.....the rash came back.

*sigh*

Well, at least this now brings us to yesterday.



And since this post is already looooong, I'm going to stop here and post at least this much now....but then keep typing away....and then I will post Part 2 first thing tomorrow morning (sneaky blogger, but hey...tomorrow is a busy day. Shhh!)

;-)