Curious is anyone else has had this issue- I need to eat animal protein with each meal

Hi All,

First, let me apologize if it seems as though I go off on a tangent. I figured I should include a little of my background in case if it could help someone identify my current metabolic issue.

I'm new to the forum. I actually just had a question for anyone else who's experienced something similar.
I (like many others on here unfortunately) have lyme, as well as the typical other issues such as; bartonella, hvv6, epstein barr, cpn, heavy metal poisoning, food allergies, adrenal dysfunction, extreme chemical and medicine sensitivities, a low white blood cell count, MTHFR blood defect, IBS, etc etc.
The normal lyme issues.

Basically last summer I started experiencing constant nausea. I would throw up after eating sometimes and I also started experiencing pain in my gallbladder area. My family has a long history of gallbladder issues (my maternal great grandmother also had gallbladder cancer).

I went to a gastroenterologist a few months later when I wasn't getting the results I wanted from my LLMD where they performed an upper endoscopy, she said I would need to have several tests before actually testing my gallbladder. She discovered that I had a gastric ulcer, so she prescribed my prilosec for it. I delayed going back for my follow up, due to the normal lyme issues....ie, extreme fatigue and weakness! Suddenly, delaying my appointment a few days turned into a few months. Finally, I made myself make another appointment and have one in June. (I did a few gallbladder cleanses in the meantime, and the pain centralized in my gallbladder area has subsided; however I still do have the constant waxing and waning nausea; with the occasional vomiting.)

Now, to backtrack slightly; a few months after I started experiencing the nausea (which started last summer) I noticed that if I don't eat animal protein with every meal I experience a range of symptoms. Typically they feel exactly like a blood sugar crash. I get weak, extremely dizzy, lightheaded... I've tried researching this issue and haven't found much information on it, so I'm curious if anyone else has experienced this. It's basically a catch 22 because eating animal protein (which is acidic) irritates my stomach, since my stomach is always on the acidic side. So, whenever I'm eating breakfast, lunch or dinner; my stomach get's noticeably unsettled by the animal food. I feel sick, sometimes I can feel the acid burning in my stomach; etc.
But then if I'm not eating an animal protein (to which I already have an extremely limited selection of animal protein that I can eat due to the acidic issue...basically two forms, lamb and roast beef) which also has to be balanced with a complex carb, I will get immense blood sugar like crashes (or at least that's what it feels like) that will last all day and will not be alleviated if I eat something after it has begun.

So basically, every morning I have been eating a few slices of roast beef (it has to be all natural, without any seasonings and thinly sliced and as a rare as possible...for some reason; that seems to make it as most tolerable as possible) coupled with 1.5 pieces of ezekial sprouted grain bread.
Then for lunch I'll have a roast beef sandwich, sometimes with a side salad.
For dinner it seems like the only thing that really satisfies me is lamb.

But again, eating all of the meat takes a toll on my stomach. I'm going to be making an appointment with my general care doctor to try to get a recent metabolic panel done, I haven't gotten one in awhile since I stopped seeing my LLMD. (I'm currently seeing an off the books herbalist for my lyme issues)

I should also note that ALL substitutes for the above meat are things I cannot eat.
I'm allergic to: cow/sheep dairy, eggs, my beef allergy rating was even near the border.
I also can't eat onions, tomatoes, garlic, cayenne pepper etc etc.
Chicken, turkey are wayyy too acidic. I can't eat them at all, in any form. Even sliced turkey for sandwiches or chicken soup.
Sugar, (I can't have ANYTHING sweet before like 4-5pm, even something as small as a strawberry. It will give me an instant blood sugar crash.)
Flour, I have zero tolerance for flour due to my adrenal issues. It breaks down in my body way too fast and gives me a blood sugar rush.

The only minor substitute I have found for breakfast, use to be goat cheese. I'd load up a ton of goat cheese on an ezekial sprouted english muffin in the morning. Although, I've been having a really bad bile taste in my mouth for awhile now; so it started to taste like a vomit breakfast sandwich. I also tried goat kefir's (kind of pricey...), but both of these alternatives could only last me for a few hours in the morning and I'd have to move my lunch earlier or else I'd experience the blood sugar like crash from not eating meat.

Anyway, does anyone have any familiarity with this issue?

 

I also have a number of the food allergies you mentioned, as well as some sugar issues, but not as extreme as what you described in terms of crashes and vomiting, although tap water causes me to vomit due to the chlorine, etc. 

As Razzle suggested, chromium helps with sugar stability.  Innate Response and Megafoods have high-quality, whole food chromium supplements.  You can take a tablet with each meal, but you have to start with only one tablet per day and work up to it slowly.  Chromium is a metal that the body cannot handle in a mega-dose, so if you need more than that, you'll have to space the doses out.

For adrenal, I find that an adaptogenic hoomeopathic has been most helpful, incombination with a prescription adrenal and a whole-food supplement.  Taking adrenal medication at the same time every day is also key to regulating the gland.

You may want to consider meeting with a good homeopath, nutritionist, or chiropractor who does electro-dermal screening.  It is possible that gallbladder and allergies are your miasms, and they can help clear those things with a custom-made homeopathic remedy before ypur symptoms get even worse.

Have you been checked for H. Pylori?  Just something to rule out given your stomach symptoms.

Two things I have found helpful for general liver/gallbladder are Dr. Schultze's Liver-GB herbal supplement (has garlic--normally I don't do well with garlic either, but it is okay for me here) and aronia (choke) berries.  The berries are higher in antioxidants than any other berry.  They are not sweet, so they are hard to find in stores outside of the Superberries product line.  They cause the body to produce glutathione, with helps it react more favorably to everything.

 

(Sorry if my posts seem lengthy, but I wanted to include as much information as possible in the event someone might be able to use the information to their advantage. :) )

Razzle,

Thank you so much for your post. I actually had put my mthfr defect on the back burner while trying to treat my other issues. Obviously this is a silly thing to do, but I seem to do a lot of silly things now that my brain is mush. Anyway, I had not been treating the defect at all and after reading your post I immediately began re-researching my defect (all of my LLMDs had ignored my defect whenever I asked about it, so I just kind of went with the flow on that one...even though my boyfriend kept presenting it as an issue). I realized that I had been doing the wrong thing with my defect (taking folic acid vs taking more active forms of folic acid). Also, I have been extensively researching Yasko's genetic methylation mutation panel vs other panels that just test how well you methylate (Vitamin Diagnostics Methylation Panel and Doctors Data) and Yasko's panel definitely does seem more superior; at least in regards of pursuing a specialized treatment protocol. After looking into all of the possible methylation defects (Yahoo groups has a great forum called CFS Yasko for anyone reading this post and is curious in learning about the defects), I definitely think it's possible that I may be experiencing more than one methylation issue. Which would explain why I seem incapable of detoxing. Also, I will definitely look into Chromium. I was on an adrenal support complex, however; I don't think it was as effective as a previous adrenal support complex I was on (Fatigued to Fantastic), so I'll probably switch back...against the advice of my herbalist. (Although, I will probably wait to switch until I find out if I have the CBS variant/or another variant that would have issues taking glandular support).
I also need to read more about the possibility of having the CBS variant and how that can affect you if you're taking precursors to glutathione, as I was taking Lypo-Spheric Glutathione for 6 months straight and am curious (if I do have the CBS variant) how that may have been affecting me. I have noticed that even when I am taking something that negatively affects my body, I am usually unable to identify it (ex: eating eggs and then finding out I'm allergic to them). So because of this, I can't really use my "reactions" to things as a good rule to assume what kind of issues I have. Also, even though I have been reading endlessly about methylation issues; I still really have only scratched the surface. I'm hoping that these potential methylation issues might be the missing piece to my puzzle. It would really explain a LOT.

Also, there was quite a long period where I was living off of DGL and slippery elm bark. It would help curb my nausea slightly; but never really did the trick for me. Hopefully someone else with the constant nausea reads this posts and tried what worked for me... I did a gallbladder/liver cleanse last week and have been feeling MUCH better regarding my stomach issues. I am talking about constant nausea for about a year, in varying waves of intensity to almost no to mild nausea (but I'm able to eat foods more easily than I was before). Although, it's only been a week since my cleanse; so it may be too soon to tell if the results are here to stay or not. I had done two cleanses before hand (but I got sick immediately after taking the epsom salt for one of the cleanses, so it wasn't that effective), and noticed minor improvements for a few days post cleanse. However; this time around I incorporated some chinese herbs and the cleanse really worked great. (I'll list them here in case anyone else is interested: All items were purchased from Amazon, but I'm sure they can be found elsewhere. Eclectic Institute - Gravel Root, 2 oz liquid (to aid in kidney stone blockage) , Long Dan Xie Gan Wan-Liver FireClear , Jin Qian Cao-5501c(concentrated Extract Powder)(lysimachia Christinae Herb)(lysimachia Herb) <--all of these items were made into a tea. This last one was just added to water: Super Phos 30 Liver and Gallbladder Cleanse! 4 Oz Bottle! ) I plan on doing these cleanses bi weekly.
Anyway, thank you again for giving me a new avenue to explore! You have no idea how much I appreciate it the additional information you gave me.

Lyme14,
Somehow my liver/gallbladder cleanse seem to have also lessen the blow from my sugar crashes as well as the nausea. I'm not quite sure how, maybe the cleanse just helped my body to metabolize a little more efficiency. I guess time will tell with that one. (Here's to keeping my fingers crossed) Also, I will definitely try your recommendations regarding the dosing of Chromium. I will also look into your suggestions about regulating the adrenal gland. Previously, I was following that "Fatigued to Fantastic" guideline via Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum; but then when I switched doctor's (err, stopped going to my LLMD because I wasn't getting any results), I went with my herbalists herbal adrenal recommendation. However; I have to be considerate of what direction I'm going to take in the event I have the CBS variant. Hopefully the results won't take too long. :)
Also, I was tested negative for H. Pylori. I'm going to my gastroenterologist in a few weeks for more testing (apparently they need to do several tests before finally testing your gallbladder), but at this point; given the results with my cleanse, I'm convinced now that I may be able to alleviate the issues on my own. (Or maybe I just want to be convinced because I'm not a fan of removing organs :( ) I will definitely look into your suggestion regarding Dr. Schulze's regiment. Every little tip helps, so thank you so much for giving me them!

Post Edited (InsertAwesomeNameHere) : 5/29/2012 5:19:45 PM (GMT-6)

I need animal protein for some reason also...not sure why but it is the only way for me to get through a day awake. I've heard it has to do with amino acids. Basically I need a high fat diet daily. So, lots of avocado, nuts, and meats. I drink Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother daily also and this is a great way to stay alkaline.

Sorry this is probably the lamest post ive ever made but its late and im tired...Just want to say yep others have similar issues.