My INH Journey

Last Public Health Visit!!

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 16:09:00 +0000

Yesterday was my last public health visit!!!!

There were no balloons or streamers. The receptionist did not light up and say "Congratulations on making it though!" In fact, I had to remind her that this was my last visit and find out if I had to come back in. Yes, I have to return to get my CERTIFICATE!!! Who would have thought that I'd get a certificate out of this.

My actual meeting with my dear little nurse took about 6.25 minutes including her story about two Buddhist nuns who came to visit with her. She had my bottle of INH ready to go and already labeled...shocking. Blood pressure: 105/79, check. Weight, check. Buddhist nun story, check.

"So this is my last visit," I said, trying to lead her into an exclamatory "You did it! Let's go have a beer!"
"Yes!" was all I could pull out of her. But she's so cute, and they way she modulated her voice was more like "Yaaaaaeeess!"
"Will I need to come back in after I finish my bottle?" I jutted out the blue-capped bottle in my hand.
"Oh...you'll need to come back in after you finish and I will need to make out your certificate." She nodded and smiled.
"What is the certificate for? Just to say I finished all of my INH pills" and to myself I completed "for nine long months, like a good little girl."
"Yes and you'll need to sign something saying you won't take another test. And if you have any problems in the future you can just come back to me." Ick, I though...like if I visit a foreign country and contract TB? What are my chances...?
"What happens with the test? Will I contract TB if I take one?" Terror beginning to rise...
"Oh, no. But you will always be positive on it."

Hmmm.... The legacy of my TB is not behind me. Every time I go to the doctor and encounter "the test" I will need to explain my nine-month gestation with latent TB. Lovely. But at least I'll have my certificate!

I'll have to look up more info. I'm already setting up acupuncture appointments to help strengthen my liver, post INH. More on that to come.

Congratulations to me!!!

Ibuprofin - Going Hardcore

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 14:28:00 +0000

Funny, how when you slide a little, it just keeps snowballing. For me, I could live in a land of "if only's". If only I hadn't let my no-histamine diet slide. If only I hadn't drank that glass of wine which caused my hands to ache even more. If only I'd kept on track I still be feeling great (I like to think).

Who really knows how that would have turned out. But, dealing with the hear and now is the most important. And right now, I'm operating this body at substandard levels. As I've said in earlier posts, my hands ache, my body feels like it has grit between the bones, I'm tired much of the time and I'm suffering from allergies that have made their home base in my sinuses.

Yesterday, I awoke to a sore throat which developed into a headache. I took some Ibu-Actin, looking for a quick fix, at a bowl of home-made applesauce and an English muffin, took my vitamins and went out into the big world.

As soon as I did, it seemed like the headache got worse - not completely a migraine, but something akin to having a pressure hose shot inside the skull. I felt nauseous too. When I think about what I put into my belly - Ibu-Actin and Vitamins - with a very light breakfast, I can see why the nausea.

But, since I was trying to clean a rental house and get it ready for my new tenant quickly, I looked again for the quick fix. I took two Ibuprofens. AND, I ate green chile stew. Ah, a slice of heaven - after 20 minutes I was actually smiling and giving orders again. My usual self.

I've veered away from Ibuprofens, or any commercial pain reliever, simply because of the unknown quantity. How do I know that I'm not putting undue strain on my liver with these drugs? The warning when beginning INH was for Acetaminophen (Tylenol) due to the fact it's very hard on the liver. The others...who knows?

I'll tell you this, it worked like magic, my quick fix. I can see why people get hooked on quick fixes instead of doing the actual work of diet and exercise. Who likes to work?

Ibu-Actin might have been good when I was not weighted with INH, histamines and arthritis, but now it just doesn't have the same kick. I've had to go hardcore.

Aching Hands

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:31:00 +0000

Ay, my hands hurt. It's 3:30 in the morning and I've been awake for at least 2 hours trying to get comfortable. My hands are cramped and tight and hurt to close or open. There is a subtle pain in them that is just constant.

It could be that the two days of cleaning in my rental house did it...unusual exercise and all. Probably not helped by the glass of wine I had before dinner (was that delicious beverage worth it? Hmmm...). It could be allergy season and histamines are rampant.

It could be INH exacerbating all of that. It could be.

Missed a pill last night. I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with it.

Ay, I can't wait to be off this stinkin' drug.

How Low Can You Go: Blood Pressure and INH

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:24:00 +0000

During my months in blogging darkness, I had (maybe still having) some bouts with low blood pressure. Supposedly this isn't anything to worry about since my dear nurse didn't have any adverse reaction. My normal BP is about 105/65. Not bad, particularly when I'm not exercising and all that stuff.

As I mentioned in my last post, two Public Health visits ago I went in and my initial BP read 80/55. She shifted it to the other arm and it came in at about 95/60. So that's great, right? Probably...However I, with my paranoid mind, have made a few ties to a couple of things.

1. The night before I went in to Public Health I felt dizzy and weak. I don't watch much TV, and have only a single show that I try to watch. Fell asleep in the middle of it. Complained that I felt like my body just needed water and lots of it.

2. The day, after having my blood pressure measured I continued to be weak and almost fainted twice. I continued with the same symptoms.

Coincidence? In my heart of hearts, I don't believe so. Even though her final measurement was fine, I've NEVER had to have my BP taken more than once. And 95 is still low for me.

Let me list some signs and symptoms of low blood pressure:

Dizziness or lightheadedness
Fainting (syncope)
Lack of concentration
Blurred vision
Nausea
Cold, clammy, pale skin
Rapid, shallow breathing
Fatigue
Depression
Thirst

Dizzy - check, Fainting (or almost) - check, Lack of concentration - check, Fatigue - check, Thirst - check.
Hmmm...

So let's say (hypothetically) that my blood pressure was low. That I was suffering from hypotension. What's the cause, is it normal, is it INH and most importantly, what kicks it back to normal? Well, if I'd been keeping track of my food, my diet and other things like I'd started out doing, I'd probably be able to better answer this as it applies to me. But alas, I have to go from memory, which was practically wiped clean because of my hypothetical hypotension bout. Or at least, I can blame it on that.

I'll be pondering this more...lots more research to do...

To Vitamin or Not To Vitamin

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 18:55:00 +0000

My last visit to my dear, sweet nurse at public health went pretty much the same as usual. I go in, we talk about her arthritis, her grandchild, my boy, she takes my blood pressure and then she gets me my bottle. Really...there's no serious questionnaire to be completed, no probing discussions. Last month, I'd been feeling rather "odd" and she didn't really flinch when my blood pressure was 80/55. "Let's try the other arm then." It came back 95/60.

I figured she must have supreme confidence in my conversational skills and my ability to plop down on the table anything that might be wrong with me. Let's try not to think "diseased liver" or anything...keep it light. So I said, "I've been grumpy, tired and arthritic STILL." She put me right in my place..."So the B6 isn't working anymore?"

Ah, well, I stopped taking the B6 back in May. In fact, I stopped doing ANYTHING good in May. Even Vitamins went out the window, although I still got my dose of Vitamin Sun (D). Hmmm...

Now my multivitamin is a beast - Six horse-pill sized vitamins are the daily dose. Food-based and absolutely chock full of everything good, including plenty of B6. I love 'em, swear by 'em, but haven't been taking them. Aside from my own psychological problems that are keeping me from good health (yes, I know I have my fair share and lately the grab bag has been quite full) there are some basic physical tenets that I recognized when I started this blog:

Eat well and logically
Avoid histamine rich and inducing foods
Supplement

So when I say that I feel like crap but I'm not doing any of the above, who do I have to blame? Yep, numero uno right here typing this in. I hate these kinds of epiphanies.

This morning, I took three multi-vitamins. At lunch I'll take another three. I want to continue this through the week. I have a sneaking suspicion that my energy levels will increase and my general well being will too.

Why do I always have to learn the hard way?

Catching Up - Month 8

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:13:00 +0000

Whew - eight months in and not feeling so hot.

BUT, I have myself to blame. My diet is shot - I eat practically whatever I want. While many people would say there is no correlation, I think that for my body and the symptoms I experience, there sure is!

Let me tell you what it's like - my neck hurts, my hands hurt, I have practically no energy and I am suffering from allergies this fall. The arthritic symptoms in my hands are constant, I go to bed at 9:30 every day and find a general lethargy pervades my life.

Can I blame INH? Possibly for a part of this. But I know that if I was doing my best to eat, exercise and be healthy, I'd feel fine. I KNOW IT.

I want to get this out on the blog because I appreciate all of your comments to me to GET IT GOING! I want to share my remaining few months and recap the last four or five. My slide into INH rebellion and my hopeful return.

Stay tuned, and thanks for all the prodding!

Lavender Mead Makes Me Feel Fine (Month 2, Day 50)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 02:22:00 +0000

Over the weekend I had the rare opportunity to sample some Lavender Mead. Actually, the tenant renting my house, now about to move out, laid out a spread of three different Meads for me to try when I arrived. All made by him, and all very delectable. Lavender, Orange Blossom, and one other I can't remember. So I sipped, then licked the glass and quietly slipped the rest of the full bottle behind my back and tried to leave. But they saw me, darn them!

Funny how simple it was to drink. No, I didn't feel any kind of reaction, like my liver failing. I felt great. Pure and simple.

The problem is, he gave me a 1/2 bottle of the lavender mead, so now I have this scrumptious stuff in my house...I walk around salivating all evening trying to keep my bulging eyes in place.

I figure I'll give myself another week and then try another glass.

The Histamine diet. I think I may be ready to add back in a few things. My left hand still feels quite achy and the pinky and ring fingers are sore. While the anti-histamine diet may have saved me some seasonal allergies, I don't think it was the be all, end all for the arthritis. The hunt continues for that.

I have been suffering from some headaches lately. I'm not sure if they are allergy related or INH related. They come on kind of like an ice cream headache, and last about as long. Trouble is, I haven't had ice cream when I get them. They've been happening for about 4 days, so I'm going to keep an eye on them, or at least a brain.

IbuActin - Sweet Sleep and Pain Free (Month 2, Day 46)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:16:00 +0000

This will be my third day taking IbuActin. I gotta tell ya...I LOVE THIS STUFF! If I take it right before bed (after my INH pill) I sleep through the night so well, wake up rested and my hands are mostly pain-free! My little pinkies are still crampy/achey, but I'm pretty happy with the results. 'Course, I don't want to be taking this for the entire time I'm on INH. Sigh...I probably wouldn't mind except it costs like 20 bucks a bottle.

The Cycle: For Ladies Only
This month was pretty horrible for me on my cycle. For my diet being as clean as it is, my breasts were incredibly sore, and I had some of the worst cramps I've had in years. I actually went home 3 hours early the other day because I couldn't sit down...could only pace and was incredibly nauseous from the pain. I did take some Ibruprofin, about 400 mg (2 200's) and it helped some. I put a super duper hot heating pad on my belly and veged in front of the TV. Later that night I took IbuActin and the next day felt back to 100%. I think that it must have only men publishing the symptoms list for INH because I bet I'm not the only one realizing that menstruation and INH don't really mix!

The histamine diet - still on it.

Today:
B-Manna bread with cashew butter. 32 oz water. 2 IbuActin
S- 3 carrots and goddess dressing
L-Black Beans, Artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, sweet potatoes with a brown rice tortilla
S-Goji Berries and lots of tea, chips and apples salsa
D-Mashed Sweet potatoes and Salad with homemade goddess dressing
Shave and an INH, white pill
2 IbuActin

No Vitamins but Tingling Fingers (Month 2, Day 42)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:13:00 +0000

I have decided to drop my dear six-a-day vitamin for a week or so. In fact, I've decided to drop practically everything I'm taking and start from scratch. My last day taking vitamins was Friday (albeit not consciously)...today's Monday. And can I tell you something - I think my hands might be feeling a tad better! I figure, I started with my multi around the same time as INH - eliminate the possibilities. Who knows, maybe something in my multi is adversely affecting me, or interacting with INH, OR creating a massive amount of histamines, OR just plain funky.

I am getting some tingling of the fingers...but I know how to solve that - just add back in the B6. It's not really an intense tingling. What really happens is a kind of electric shock that occurs right on the end of my soft pad on maybe one or two fingers. It lasts less than a minute and while it doesn't hurt, it is uncomfortable, and a new sensation. Imagine sticking your tongue on the end of a 9Volt battery - now transfer that feeling to your finger...

I'm not sure when I want to start back on them or on the B6. I think for now I want to just see what happens then slowly start adding things back in.

Course, last night I also took a pain reliever for cramps (started my cycle) so I could try to sleep through the night. Seemed to work marvelously and it's possible that what I'm experiencing is a remnant of that. I took a sample of something I got from Sunflower Market -IbuActin by Solaray. Ingredients include: White Willow (Similar to Aspirin but doesn't irritate the stomach lining) and turmeric.

Was slightly worried because I hadn't read anything about Aspirin, just Tylenol and Ibuprofin. After scouring the web for at least 15 minutes, I finally found this: "Salicylate has previously been shown to reduce the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to several drugs in vitro. In this study, aspirin, a salicylate anti-inflammatory, antagonized isoniazid treatment of murine pulmonary tuberculosis, whereas the nonsalicylate ibuprofen did not."

Of course, I didn't actually take aspirin, I took the natural form of Willow Bark. Since there is a distinct lack of evidence on this, I see no reason to NOT take it...Not like I'll be taking it every day for 9 months or something...

Diet:
Water
1 slice manna, bowl of granola with almond milk
Apple
Rice and Cauliflower Dal (leftovers)
Gojiberries snack
Chips and apples salsa
Cabbage Salad (Toasted hazelnuts, shredded cabbage, dressing)
Figs
INH pill
1 ibuprofin

Picture: Aspirin

Insomnisoniazid (Month 2, Day 41)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:20:00 +0000

Why insomnia with Isoniazid? I don't really have too many problems with this but every once in a while will simply NOT be able to sleep. I don't think it's the anxiety of actually taking INH, thank you very much. With me, it could simply be that I've had a particularly stressful day, I'm listening to my son snore, or possibly that I need to change the sheets. Nevertheless, one of the real side effects of INH is, in fact, insomnia.

I couldn't find much info on why INH would cause insomnia. I can make a very hazy guess though...INH causes Niacin deficiency which can cause insomnia, loss of appetite, weight and strength loss, soreness of the tongue and mouth, indigestion, abdominal pain, burning sensations in various parts of the body, vertigo, headaches, numbness, nervousness, poor concentration, apprehension, confusion and forgetfulness. Of course, not necessarily in that order...

All in all, it doesn't look like this has been an area with great studies done.

Cheated on my Histamine diet today:
1. Made almond milk and added cocoa powder...yum.
Ate papusas with both cheese and some tomatoes in them from our local Tune-up cafe (YUM).
2. Made cashew butter in the vitamix and decided to make a chocolate peanut butter shake with the remnants left in the bottom. It was delicious.

For dinner: Leftovers of various sorts...some hash browns, some sweet potatoes, asparagus, salad. Some broken almond meal cookies for dessert.

Plus, I haven't taken a single vitamin except Vitamin Sun (D) in 2 days. Not sure if my hands are feeling better or worse, although I have experienced some tingling sensations in addition to the aches. Could be that I need to start up the B6 again. I'm worried that somehow, my multivitamins are not helping me, but may be hurting me somehow in combination with INH.

Will be interesting to see tomorrow:
- How the cheat with histamine foods/triggers affects me.
- How the massive bike ride and gardening I did today affects me. It always seems like I get super musclesore even with slight activity - Today I jammed, baby.

My Diet Yesterday:
Took my pill that I forgot last night...woops!
No Water! Woops!
1/2 cup smoothie (cherries, soy yogurt, banana, goji berries, date sugar)
Manna bread (2 slices with earth balance)
Wild Oats for lunch: Cabbage with toasted almonds, superfood salad (kale, blueberries, gojis, purple cabbage...yum) and carrot/sweet potato salad.
4 spears asparagus
Roasted red pepper soup (vitamix of course) - 4 roasted red peppers, 1/2 cup coconut creamer, spike.

Made apple salsa, goddess dressing and tahini in the morning...my god I love food!

Image from Positive Provocations

So Long, Cocoa, My Old Friend (Month 2, Day 39)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:32:00 +0000

Have you seen the movie Labyrinth? The part where the girl realizes that the Goblin King (David Bowie) can't actually control her anymore and she says "You have no power over me!" and the whole world collapses.

I can now look squarely at a bar of chocolate and say "you have no power over me." What a great feeling! Of course it doesn't mean that I don't get the occasional twinge for a hit of chocolate truffle. But it's not overwhelming...it doesn't interfere with my reality - not a support beam.

Why isn't chocolate in my diet? Well, I looked on my handy-dandy foods with histamine list and it was on there, by golly! With a little digging I found this cryptic blurb:

Food allergy to cocoa appears to be rare although occupational allergy in workers exposed to cocoa dust has been reported (Zuskin et al. 1998 [806]; Perfetti et al. 1997 [808]). However, self-reported allergy to cocoa appears to be common (Brugman et al. 1998 [809]). Because of this cocoa has been included in studies of the prevalence of food allergy (Young et al. 1994 [810]) and DBPCFC has been used.

It has been suggested that intolerance to cocao involves biogenic amines. However, Jansen et al. (2003) [805] found no evidence for this. Moller et al. (1984) [575] in a study of of penicillin allergy in occupationally exposed individuals showed cocoa to produce non-allergic histamine release in basophil mediator release test. Becker et al. (1981) [21] extracted a species of 20 -40 kDa (centred on 26 kDa) which activates the factor XII-dependent pathways. However, the inflamatory activity may involve polyphenols binding to complement and does not necessarily involve IgE.

So, chocolate basically can stimulate a histamine release, but it's questionable as to the extent of that release. So, still not on my diet. Sigh...

Of course, many times people are allergic to all the OTHER stuff that goes into those delectable dark bars, but I'm talking really basic, good cocoa here. See one of my first posts on my fave, really super duper quick and healthy chocolate recipe. Unfortunately, there are many benefits to chocolate too. I don't want to talk about those.

Today's Diet:

Water
1/4 c Smoothie/Manna with Earth Balance
Mint Tea
Rice with Cauliflower Dal, apple with cashew butter
Corn Nuts and 1/2 c leftover smoothie
Out to dinner: Garden salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and french fries...
Totally forgot my pill!

Image: Slice of MIT

99 Bottles of Beer and INH (Month 2, Day 39)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 04:35:00 +0000

Here - I altered the song so it's even more cheesy...

"INH bottles and beer on the wall
INH bottles and beer,
Take the INH down
Pass it around
Leave the bottles of beer on the wall"

OK, not a great do, what can I say...

Staff meeting at work today and beer. The cart was piled high with some of my faves and I practically had to slam the door in my face to stop from pulling out a bottle of Fat Tire, stroking the label, running my fingers over the sensual curves and popping the lid.

Not that I feel like I "need" a drink. I think on some level it's the pure taste. Yum... And on some sick, demented level, it's the sheer denial of it all. It's kind of like dieting for weight loss. I must deny myself that chocolate so when I get home at night, I'll eat an entire bag of Hershey's kisses.

Not to mention the social qualities... Who wants to hang with a bunch of people who all are eating bratwursts, sauerkraut and beer? And who are all having FUN?? Well, I have to leave early to pick up my boy from school, so problem solved!

Besides, I remain firm in my commitment to abstain for alcohol as I can. (See my post on Alcohol and INH) That doesn't mean that every once in a while I won't partake in a drink. But unless I feel that it would be extremely rude to abstain in a situation (The President invites me to the White House to share a rare bottle of Pinot), the desire gets the best of me (Dying of thirst in the desert and all that I can find is a cold, frosty beer), or I'm taking a medicine with alcohol (Suddenly feel a cough coming on), I think I'll keep my hands to myself!

My Diet Today:
Breakfast: Breakfast Burritos (Blue potatoes, fennel, cilantro and apple salsa in a brown rice tortilla) and Smoothie (Canteloupe, goji berries, frozen peaches, orange juice, apricots)
Lunch: Rice with Cauliflower Dal
Vitamins
Snack: Gojis and Tea
Dinner: Quinoa, peppers, cilantro, ginger, apple salsa and blacberries
99 bottles of beer and a pill

Corn Nut Addiction (Month 2, Day 38)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:05:00 +0000

Today I woke up and reminded myself that getting up is a privilege. I worked my hands for a bit, clenching and opening to get the blood flowing. My two pinky fingers, spreading into my ring fingers on both hands are stiff and achey. As I understand it, this is typical of Rheumatoid Arthritis, although I've had no diagnosis.

I'm concerned that these symptoms are progressing, not getting better. Typical of INH-induced Rheumatoid Arthritis, the 2 month marker seems to be about when most symptoms appear. Since I seem to have an early onset of symptoms, does that mean symptoms will continue to grow? What if INH has just spurred an already latent disease in me and even when I stop INH, I'll still have the arthritis?

Hmmm...Not fun thoughts.

I'm also giving some thoughts to how my symptoms might play into INH-induced Lupus. Some of these symptoms include joint pain. However, my symptoms seem to mimic the Rheumatoid side more, I think - Symmetrical pain in both hands, stiff and sore more in the morning. No swelling or redness, though, thank goodness.

In a later post I'll explore Lupus so I can better understand it and the INH relationship.

My Diet today:
32 oz Water
Breakfast: Hash Browns (carrots, potatoes and oregano) and canteloupe (I used the Vitamix to "shred" the potatoes and carrots in about 3 seconds and then set it to cook - so easy! I'd just come back every so often to stir it and by the time I was ready, so was it! And I'd never had carrots in hash browns before, but I wanted some color so thought I'd try - delicious! See my picture even though it doesn't look that good!)
Lunch: Broccoli Soup, Brown Rice, Corn nuts (Broccoli Soup from last night)
Vitamins
Dinner: Cauliflower Dal (Recipe here) without tomatoes
Pre-bed: An arthritis inducing white thing

Possible histamine triggers:
I suppose I should double check corn, my new, crunchy snack friend. I love CORN NUTS!!!
Also, one thing about histamines - leftovers grow 'em...I haven't been counting my leftovers, but suppose I should...sigh...

Business as Usual (Month 2, Day 36)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:12:00 +0000

Nothing much to report today - business as usual.

Diet:
32 oz water
Breakfast: 2 slices manna bread with cashew butter
Vitamins
Snack: Tea and corn (roasted and salted)
Lunch: Salad with goddess dressing
Snack: Rice cakes
Vitamins
Dinner: Broccoli soup and Mochi
Pre-bed: My magic pill

Possible histamine triggers:
Goddess dressing

Allergy Season! (Month 2, Day 36)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:00:00 +0000

It's that time again - springtime in New Mexico, when the pinion trees sweat pollen and the rabbitbrush throws the stuff out like a sneeze. Any building you go into, you'll see signs of the season - runny noses, red eyes, coughing, headaches.

But not me -aside from a slight runny nose, I have no allergy symptoms, which is actually really surprising! The only thing that I can really say is different from this year and last is diet and supplementation. Obviously, the INH is a new ingredient.

The diet is the big one though - the histamine-free diet. I can control the exposure coming in through my mouth, which means a lower dose of histamines in the body. Granted, I can't eliminate all histamines, but my diet is pretty darn clean. (See the Histamine Page for more info on Histamines)

I'm on the first week still of my Histamine-free diet. Unfortunately, my hands are just as bad as ever, even if my allergies are mild. Does that mean that the arthritic symptoms in my hands are no relation to histamines? Possibly, although everything I've read says it takes at least 2-3 weeks to lower histamine levels in the body.

Again, no idea how it all works. All I know is that I feel relatively good for all the yellow stuff in the air, and I plan on staying on the diet for another 2 weeks. It's not as bad as it sounds!

Today's Diet:
32oz water
Breakfast: 2 slices Manna bread with homemade cashew butter
3 vitamins
Chai tea with Stevia and coconut cream
Lunch: Pea soup and vitamins
Snack: 3 rice cakes
Home snack: Corn chips and apple salsa
Dinner: Steamed cauliflower, romaine salad with rice cheese shred, sunflower sprouts, hemp seed and goddess dressing
Dessert: Applesauce
Pre-bed: Pollen and the Pill

Picture source

Happy Easter! (Month 2, Day 35)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:58:00 +0000

It's Easter! AND SUNNY!

Perfect day for hiding 44 eggs in the front and back yard (and to find them all!). My boy, although he got at least 5 pounds of candy is so good - he asks before shoving into his mouth. So he's only had maybe 6 small chocolates.

Yesterday's diet was horrendous! Well, not so much in that I went off and ate a bunch of stuff that might trigger histamines, but more in that I just wanted to eat everything in site!

Add to that a brand, spankin' new Vitamix! We made Cashew Butter, Strawberry Ice, Applesauce, Apple Salsa and Pea Soup for dinner. I'm incredibly excited about the Apple Salsa because I usually live on salsa and it's extremely hard for me without it. While this isn't quite the same, it at least satisfies a craving.

Crunchy Apple Salsa:
1/4 cup white wine (I used 1/4 cup white wine vinegar)
1 small onion
1/2 line, half with peel
2 Granny Smith apples, quartered (I used Braeburns that were covered in small bruises)
1/2 jalapeno pepper seeds and membranes removed (I used green chiles, about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Place all ingredients into Vitamix in order listed
2. Select Variable 1
Turn machine on and increase speed to 4
Blend for 15 to 20 seconds using the tamper.

***I think you could do this just fine in a food processor or even by hand!

My Diet today:
Pre Breakfast - 32 oz water and an egg hunt
Forgot acidophilis
Breakfast: Honeydew melon, sliced, fried potatoes with apple salsa.
Forgot vitamins - will take with lunch
Got Vitamin Sun for 15 minutes
Lunch: Homemade mac and cheese. (Brown rice pasta, soy cheese with just a touch of real).
Snack - some chips and apple salsa

Dinner: Grilled Artichokes, Rice with Goddess Dressing, Boiled Beet Greens, Salad.
Dessert: 1 Dark chocolate (no milk)
Some applesauce
Easter egg in the form of an INH pill.

Potential Trigger:
Cheese (milk and soy)
Beet greens...?
Chocolate

Tingle in my Fingle? (Month 2, Day 33)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:42:00 +0000

Why the fingers, I ask? What exactly does INH do that makes the fingers tingly, hurt and otherwise feel painful?
Good question...I don't really know. I just know that often B6 is prescribed to combat it. But what's really going on?

INH creates peripheral neuropathy in some people. If you have tingling or numbness in your hands, you could be having an adverse reaction to INH (duh). Why? Could be for a couple of reasons, but my research suggests that the top two are these:

You already have a condition that lends itself to neuropathy such as diabetes, uremia, alcoholism, HIV, malnutrition, cirrhosis, hyperthyroidism or congestive heart failure. I think this covers a wide range of people...I mean, malnutrition? Do people who simply aren't getting the right numbers of vitamins and minerals in their diet fall into this category?
INH interferes with the metabolism of pyridoxine (B6). (Source) Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is required for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine and for myelin formation. (Source) Pyridoxine deficiency in adults principally affects the peripheral nerves, skin, mucous membranes, and the blood cell system. In children, in can affect the CNS. Here's a sentence that I found interesting: "In vivo pyridoxine is converted into coenzymes which play an essential role in the metabolism of protein, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and several other substances, including brain amines, INH apparently competitively inhibits the action of pyridoxine in these metabolic functions." In other words, malnutrition, fatigue and brain fog with INH could also be the result of B6 deficiency...? Here's something even weirder - too much B6 will create neuropathy-type symptoms...go figure.

So how much B6 do we need? Well, turns out that most people are already deficient in B6. Combine that with INH, and you have a much greater deficiency. One other thing: B6 requires Magnesium to metabolize, so if you aren't taking a multivitamin, you may want to look into that. Most sources say between 50 to 100 mg of B6 is good supplementation when taking INH. Normal supplementation is 10–25 mg per day. However, high amounts (100–200 mg per day or even more) may be recommended for certain conditions. (Source)

Course, I tried taking B6 separately on advice of my nurse and it didn't seem to work for my aching, arthritic hands. BUT, truth be told, I only gave it 5 days. Just looked at the amount she gave me: 50 mg. I just checked my multivitamin and it says it has 200 mg in it! Um...Could my multi be giving me too much B6?

Hmmm...well, as a practice, here is a good paragraph on taking B6:
Our practice is to give B6 with each dose of INH, whether it is daily or twice weekly. B6 is a water-soluble vitamin and is not stored, but INH is likewise a short-acting compound so this approach is most practical.

Yesterday's Diet:
Pre-Breakfast: 32 oz water, 2 acidophilus
Breakfast: 2 slices manna bread, fresh cut honeydew
Snack: Pot of Tea with coco cream and stevia, more honeydew
Lunch: Bowl of quinoa with about 4 small red/yellow peppers cut up in it topped with goddess dressing.
Snack: Rice cakes (2) with leftover Haroset (from Monday's Seder - not sure what's in it other than jicama, walnuts, raisins, apple juice, apples...), Pumpkin seeds.
Dinner: 2 microwaved potatoes with Earth Balance, cut up peppers, salad with artichoke hearts and hearts of palm
Dessert: Blackberries with Whipped Cream.
Post-Dinner: 1/2 rice cake with Haroset (I'm HUNGRY lately - must be losing weight and my body is freaking out!)
Pre-bed - Movie and a pill

Possible Histamine Triggers:
-Manna Bread - has raisins
-Haroset - the unknown quantity...but does contain cinnamon, cloves and raisins...
-Tea - I drink bunches still

Same-ol'-Same-ol' (Month 2, Day 33)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:06:00 +0000

For some reason, I expected to wake up and be on top of the world today. Of course, this is all because I took a Vitamin D cap last night - go figure. But, this morning, I'm slightly grumpy at the world for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that I fell asleep on the sofa and finally crawled into bed around 1ish. Not enough sleep makes Darcy a very grumpy soul. Sweet, but grumpy - like the cookie you see on the right.

To the hands - well, throughout yesterday my hands were still achy. In particular, the joins on my little fingers. BUT, they do feel stronger

My diet yesterday:

Pre-Breakfast: 32 oz of water with 2 acidophilis caps
Breakfast: A huge bowl (and I do mean HUGE) of granola (toasted oats, honey, vanilla), dried apricots, goji berries and almonds. I could barely walk-so full.
Snack: Chai tea with coconut creamer and stevia (still full)
Lunch: Quinoa/carrots/sprouts with Goddess dressing
Snack - Sesame rice cakes (3) and 16 oz water
Dinner - Roasted fennel (beets, fennel, carrots), mashed butternut squash (like mashed potatoes with coconut oil and spike), Mochi.
Post-dinner: Vitamin D pill
Pre-Bed: My lovely pill

Possible histamine triggers:
-Dried apricots/gojis for breakfast. Dried fruit can build histamines.
-Chai Tea (black tea)
-Goddess Dressing
-Beets? Hmmm...

Picture snagged from Mama Drama.

Starting the Histamine-free Diet (Month 2, Day 32)

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:16:00 +0000

Welcome to Month 2, I said to myself. In fact, I feel recommitted to making this month experimental. A challenge, so they say. Find out what is causing my arthritis. See what makes me feel good, as opposed to hurting. Other than the obvious...

Wouldn't it be nice if all of the sudden the heavens opened and a loud booming voice said "APRIL FOOLS! You don't really have Latent Tuberculosis!" Yeah, right.

'Course, it could just be that I have arthritis and that's that...but I don't like to think that way. At the very least, I'd like to find what lessens my symptoms. At best, what completely alleviates them.

My commitment for now:
1. Get Vitamin Sun every day (at least 15 minutes)
2. Eliminate all (or most) high histamine foods and histamine triggering foods from my diet to see if it helps my hands. If it does, I'll add them back in here and there to see the limit. (See my post on arthritis)

I just went out and bought Vitamin D, 5000 IU's. 100 caps for 10 buckaroos at Whole Foods. Not bad. I'm going to take one a day to see what happens. 5000 IU's = 125 micrograms. 47% of that is about 58 micrograms. Not bad. Combine with sun exposure I should be good for my Vitamin D intake. By the way, here's an interesting source about Vitamin D toxicity myths (the body uses at least 4000 IU's daily).

As part of this whole diet, I think it will be important to record what I'm eating to see how my hands feel. Hey, I do this with my five year old, why not with myself?

So here is what I ate yesterday. My hands feel about the same this morning. Stiff and weak. The joints are achy. I can function just fine, but it helps if I complain a lot to everyone (smile).

Pre-Breakfast - 32 oz water with 2 acidophilis caps
Breakfast - Polenta with almond milk, honey and blackberries (see my picture!) - Really delicious as I was generous with the honey (underneath all of the blackberries). I will not cave to a boring diet!
3 food based multivitamins
Chai Tea with Coconut Cream
Lunch - Brown rice with cucumbers and goddess dressing (Of course, still hungry so need a snack).
3 food based multivitamins
Snack - Dried Goji berries (about a 1/2 cup) and hot tea with coco cream and stevia
Dinner - Fried polenta with sauteed vegees, butternut squash, arugula on the side with miso dressing. Pumpkin seeds on top.
After dinner - Vitamin D, 4000IU's
Pre-bed - 1 very white, very pasty INH pill

Possible Histamine triggers:
-Goddess Dressing (Tahini, Soy Sauce, Apple Cider Vinegar)
-Goji Berries (although some sources say they are an anti-histamine)
-Miso Dressing (Miso, Vinegar)
-Pumpkin seeds

Eliminated my usual tomato, avocado, hummus morning sandwich on Ezekial bread (Yeast). Goodbye my love...sniff...

Month 1, Day 31

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:45:00 +0000

At last, Month 1 draws to a close! Only 8 more months left of the tuberculosis drug INH.

One thing I am incredibly glad for is SUNSHINE! The spring was long in coming and we are still expecting more storms before my garden can truly be planted. Nevertheless, the sun has been peeking it's way through in all of it's golden glory the last few days.

I spent some time in the sun yesterday. In about 10 minutes I had a line that told me the sun had found my white, pasty skin and kissed me with UV and Vitamin D.

In fact, as much as I love the sun I want to be extremely conscious of Vitamin D intake since INH depletes it. Vitamin D has been traced to all kinds of interesting maladies, not the least of which is arthritis, my newly despicable friend.

So, to that end, here are some Vitamin D facts:

INH really drains Vitamin D: "After a single dose of isoniazid the concentration of 1 alpha-,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the most active metabolite of vitamin D, fell by 47% (P less than 0.01) and was reduced throughout the study." (Source)
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to influenza, cancer and heart disease. It also plays a major role in weakening of bones. (Source - Wikipedia)
Vitamin D plays a crucial role in activating the immune system. If the T-cells can't find vitamin D, they won't activate...in other words, you get sick. (Source)
Humans make 90% of our Vitamin D through sunshine (Source)

Vitamin D intake sources (from SunshineVitamin.org):

Sunlight Exposure (full body exposure)*	3,000 – 20,000 IU
Salmon (3.5 oz. of fresh, wild salmon)	600 – 1,000 IU
Salmon (3.5 oz. of fresh, farmed salmon)	100 – 250 IU
Fortified Whole Milk, 8-oz. glass**	100 IU
Fortified Multi-vitamin	400 IU

Source: Holick, MF. Vitamin D Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine, July 2007

* Sun exposure to the arms and legs for 10-15 minutes. The amount of vitamin D produced depends on the intensity of the UVB in the sun and many other factors. Darker-skinned individuals may need 5-10 times more exposure than a fair-skinned person to make the same amount of vitamin D. In northern climates sunlight is too weak in parts of the year to make any vitamin D – a period referred to as ‘Vitamin D Winter’.

** Vitamin D is supplemented into milk. It doesn’t occur naturally in milk.

Interestingly, the experts recommend 25-50 micrograms per day. In my multivitamin, I get 1000 IU's per day. Hmmm....translation please?

1 microgram = 40 IU's

So, if my math is right (and it may not be so let me know if not) me taking 1000 IU's per day is only equal to about 25 micrograms. Then, minus my 47% for INH is about 12 micrograms that I'm getting per day. That is a poor number for something so vital! If I want to get the full 50 micrograms recommended, then I need a total intake of approximately 4000IU's (accounting for the INH factor) per day. Ick. Whta makes more sense is to just lay out in the sun for about 10 to 15 minutes and soak it in.

So, I'd like to renew my commitment to Vitamin Sun over the next few weeks. Something incredibly important normally has become vital with my friend, INH.

Here's some more good info on Vitamin D - Get your summer sun dose for the winter months!

Month 1, Day 30

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:51:00 +0000

Eureka! INH can actually induce arthritis!

But wait, let me back up...Last week I went to Public Health for my second visit and an INH refill. My sweet nurse asked me a few questions, weighed me (I've happily lost 3 pounds) and then got me another bottle of INH. When I told her that I think INH has caused me to have arthritis she was surprised. "Really? And you've never had it before? Who told you that you had arthritis?"

Well, truth be told, I've self-diagnosed. In the past, the only times I've felt these arthritic-like symptoms was when I drink wine or beer. The next morning my hands and joints ache and are incredibly weak. About my third week in to INH, my hands started aching in EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. But it didn't go away as the day progressed...my hands just ache all the time.

So I explained this to my sweet babushka nurse and she wanted to try B6 even though I get 1000% B6 in my multivitamin. She teetered out and brought back a B6 that gave me 2000% in one pill. "Try this without taking your multivitamin for a week and see if it helps. If not, go ahead and start the multivitamin again."

It hasn't helped...not one bit. So I'm taking my multi again slightly early. It hasn't been quite a week. Only 5 days. My hands feel exactly the same.

The good news it that I've made some connections:
1. INH can, in fact, induce arthritis. There are studies in which it induced acute arthritis, and when the patient when off, the symptoms disappeared. When started again, the symptoms reappeared. (Source 1), (Source 2)
2. Since my symptoms pre-INH usually appeared after wine/beer, two high-histamine liquids, and since INH inhibits histamine metabolism, it may be that my histamine intake is exceeding my metabolism of histamine, and adding to the arthritic feeling in my hands. In fact, histamine has been associated with arthritis - causing the joints to become "leaky" allowing the arthritic process to start. (Source)

So from here - I'm going to try an experiment. Remove all (or as many as possible - nearly impossible to remove every bit of histamine - See the Histamine Page for more info) histamine foods from my diet. This really sucks because I really like a lot of them:
* Certain vegetables: tomato, spinach, eggplant, avocado, mushrooms and canned vegetables as well as commercially prepared salads
* Certain fruits: strawberries, bananas, papayas, kiwi, pineapple, mango, tangerines, grapefruits, red prunes, pea
* Red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar
* Soy sauce
* Sunflower seeds
* Chocolate/cocoa
* Coffee, black tea
* Some fruits: citrus, bananas, strawberries, red prunes, pears, kiwi, raspberries, papaya
* Peanuts, cashews, walnuts

Yep - I'm going to be hurtin' because I have tomatoes and avocados practically every day. I eat bananas and cocoa all the time. I love balsamic vinegar. I include strawberries, kiwi and oranges in my diet frequently. I drink black tea in the form of chai daily.

This sucks - but it sucks worse to have my hands hurt. It's worth a try for a few weeks to see what happens.
I'll keep you posted.

Month 1, Day 19

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:20:00 +0000

Funny how much mis-conception there is about LTBI and INH. I suppose we remain blissfully ignorant until we can't any longer. Just the other day my partner was arguing with me about taking probiotics. "That's what you do when you take an antibiotic", I said. "That's an antibiotic? Really?"

Really. INH is a 9-month long antibiotic.

I suppose it's time to really get my elbows flailing as I dig into what INH is all about. I mean, I know the basics, like it eliminates LTBI and is used in conjunction with other drugs to treat active TB. I know that it can cause liver toxicity and damage. But what does it really do?

The funny part is, I don't think the medical professionals REALLY know. They know that it works to inhibit mycolic reproduction and it's worked marvelously like that since the 1950's when they first started using it.

But how does it really do that?

Background: Isoniazid (Laniazid, Nydrazid), also known as isonicotinylhydrazine (INH), is an organic compound that is the first-line antituberculosis medication in prevention and treatment. It was first discovered in 1912, and later in 1951 it was found to be effective against tuberculosis. Isoniazid is never used on its own to treat active tuberculosis because resistance quickly develops. Isoniazid is available in tablet, syrup, and injectable forms (given intramuscularly or intravenously). Isoniazid is available worldwide, is inexpensive and is generally well tolerated. It is manufactured from isonicotinic acid (Wikipedia)

^{The Process:}Isoniazid is a prodrug and must be activated by a bacterial catalase-peroxidase enzyme called KatG.^[5] KatG couples the isonicotinic acyl with NADH to form isonicotinic acyl-NADH complex. This complex binds tightly to ketoenoylreductase known as InhA, thereby blocking the natural enoyl-AcpM substrate and the action of fatty acid synthase. This process inhibits the synthesis of mycolic acid, required for the mycobacterial cell wall. A range of radicals are produced by KatG activation of Isoniazid, including nitric oxide^[6] which has also been shown to be important in the action of another antimycobacterial prodrug PA-824.^[7]

^{Alright - I can tell I'm going to have to work more on this - very convoluted!}

Month 1, Day 21

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:07:00 +0000

This morning, I woke up on top of the world. I dug out my old Tom Petty Wildflowers CD and blasted it on my way to pick up my son from Grandma's. With the windows rolled down, the heater on and blue skies ahead, all of my problems seemed trivial. I kept quoting a line from Tom Petty to everyone I saw:
People come, people go, some grow young, some grow cold.

Tonight, I'm tired, nay- exhausted - my hands hurt and I'm ready for bed. Got up at around 8 and it's 9 at night now. So much for long days.

The fatigue is really getting to me. I'm not sure I can blame it all on INH, but certainly the aching hands and some tiredness is feasible. The one variable today is that I had a big bowl of Mac N Cheese. The cheese was fake so it was all still Vegan (here's the recipe, and yes it's YUMMY!) but not gluten free. I gobbled the pasta down like there was no tomorrow. It's possible that I'm having a reaction tonight to the whopping load I've put on my digestive track tonight. Or, maybe I'm having a slight allergic reaction to gluten and my body can't handle the histamines.

But that doesn't explain my usual fatigue of late. Either way, back to gluten free. If it makes me feel better, then I'd like to keep it up. Now, if only I could find a way to help my hands...

Month 1, Day 16

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:48:00 +0000

Very tired today. This could be caused by my cycle (sorry guys) or something else. But man, I am TIRED! Didn't want to get up today - draggin' my arse around. Would gladly have stayed in bed for another 3 hours. Yes, the time just changed, but even before that I was experiencing this.
Could be any number of things...

Now, for ladies only. About menstruation...

I usually find that with a relatively healthy diet, non-stressful month, my cycles are fairly easy - last about 7 days, heavy, but no real emotional havoc done. This month was about the same, but I haven't taken anything for the cramps (acetamenophyn aversion), and fatigue city! Not complete yet, so I'm not sure about length. I'm assuming it will be about the same as well.

Month 1, Day 14

noreply@blogger.com (Darcy) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Tingling fingers

The last two fingers on my left hand, pinky and ringfinger are both a bit tingly - almost like the painful tingle from when you have little invisible rose thorns in your hand. It started yesterday with my pinky finger and this morning I have it on my ring finger too. We'll see if it gets worse or better.

Usually, the prescription I've seen for tingling hands and feet during INH (I guess it's pretty common) is to take B6. I'm already taking a ton of B6.

This could be unrelated to INH...I did go rock climbing at a rock wall yesterday, so maybe I touched something that irritated me.

Since this isn't bad, yet...I'll try not to worry much!