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I'm doing this Whole30 due to a varitey of symptoms that are plagueing me and I can't get rid of. Most of my symptoms can be linked to a variety of main-stream illnesses (namely hypothyroid, irritable bowel syndrome and dysthymia(low-level depression)), but conventional treatment of those has not helped (I'm still on Levothyroxine for my thyroid and Wellbutrin & Citalipram for my depression). I have also been diagnosed in the past with several alternative illnesses (fibromyalgia, gluten and casein intolerence and adrenal fatigue), which I have also not been able to beat even with different eating (Primal (5 weeks), gluten/casein free (5 weeks), etc) and lots of supplements. My symptoms include:

  • Exhaustion (I take a nap every single day... can't get through the day without it. When I was working I would fall asleep while driving the 45 minutes to/from work and had a really hard time keeping up with my case load)
  • No to Low Energy, Sluggish, Unable to Motivate (All. The. Time. I also have a hard time doing things with the kids, getting housework done and exercising)
  • Brain fog (sometimes I have a hard time tracking conversations and can't think straight)
  • Forgetful (I can't remember things like appointments or paperwork unless it's written down and in front of me. And I can't remember a lot of events that have happened. One day I even forgot my own last name for a panic-filled 30 seconds)
  • Stomach pain and cramps, constipation and loose stools (I won't go into detail on that one!)
  • Headaches (some so bad that they border on migraines)
  • Sore muscles (poke me anywhere - like the Pillsbury Doughboy - and it's tender)
  • Dry, itchy skin (especially at night and this includes excema in my ears and puritis ani)
  • Hard to loose weight (when eating a "healthy" diet that includes all the different food groups, I have to eat a strict 1200-1500 calories per day to loose any weight)
  • Depression / Low Mood (I'm never really happy for any sustained amount of time. Most of the time I'm not happy or sad, but just kind of flatline.)
  • Cranky, irritable, easily annoyed, short temper... (Just ask my hubby and kids!)
  • I'm sure there's a million more I'm forgetting...

I'm on day 23ish of my first Whole30. The first week I had several inadvertant Oops! and was still having some fruit / dried fruit. I also had three days where I ended up having some big cheats. I decided to start again with no fruit because I am very severely addicted to sugar. So, from my Restart Date of Sunday, 24 March I'm only 3 days in. I am planning to do a Whole100 to try to get everything out of my system and give my body time to repair. I'm having some good results already (stomach issues, skin, brain fog), but my biggest issue - exhaustion - is not having any improvement. In fact, I'm feeling worse. And I'm pretty cranky and unmotivated.

I suddenly remembered last week my Adrenal Fatigue diagnosis that I received a year ago from a private practitioner in London. Unfortunately, I didn't have the money to follow up with her so nothing was done about it. I don't know why I didn't do research a year ago to find out more about Adrenal Fatigue, but I didn't. So, this past weekend I read through a lot of Dr. Lam's information on Adrenal Fatigue and it seems to be a perfect fit for all of my issues (all my bowel, depression and thyroid symptoms also are symptoms for Adrenal Fatigue plus a few other symptoms make more sense now). His recommendations are an Adrenal Diet (which actually looks a lot like Primal eating) and certain supplements (haven't started any as he cautions against using them without a practitioner's involvement) plus several lifestyle changes (trying to start some of those). Supposedly it can take 6 months to 2 years to repair your adrenals so I'm not expecting the Whole30/100 to work miracles. But, I'm wondering if other people have had this condition and done or are doing the Whole30 and if they have any tips/tricks so that I can feel better?!

As a side note, I'm having a bit of an anti-meat and veg kick right now, so I'm also struggling to eat enough through the day - not sure if that's having an effect on me as well. It's really hard for me to get over the exhaustion and get some motivation to prepare/cook for the Whole30 so that's not helping either.

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Man, that sounds really tough! I'm super impressed that you're so committed to your health to go for a whole100 when you feel this lousy.

I've had nothing as bad as you, but if what you're going through is like a 10 on a scale of 1-10, I've maybe experienced a 3, due to intense overtraining and calorie restriction. You may have tried some/all of these, but things that helped me:

  • giving up caffeine. Sucked like WOAH for the first week, but now I'm no longer stuck in that cycle of high/crash, high/crash all day and my mood is much more stable. I was a serious caffeine pill addict :/
  • Magnesium supplements. I'm not sure what adrenal supplements Dr. Lam recommends, but magnesium is really safe and has helped me a lot with constipation (TMI, sorry). It's also supposed to help with muscle soreness if you do it as an Epsom salts bath, and it's also good for mood in some people. A lot of people are deficient in magnesium today even if they eat lots of veggies (my theory on this: we don't usually drink mineral water from natural sources, which is what Paleo folks would have been drinking all the time...it contains a lot of magnesium. Also the soil in some places is depleted). I take 100% of the RDA of magnesium citrate every night before bed and it's great.
  • I'm sure you've tried moisturizers, but have you tried shea butter? You can get a raw, organic kind that doesn't have anything else in it so it won't set off any allergies or sensitivities, and it's really great. Smells good too :)

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Three out of four of my family members have had Lyme Disease and other tick-borne infections. (We live in an endemic area, which is most of the USA right now, especially the northeast and northwest, but every state has had Lyme reported.)

Many of your symptoms are quite common with Lyme, and if you haven't been evaluated for it, perhaps you might consider it. Brain fog was a big one for me, as well as crushing fatigue. Of the three of us in my family, only one had the characteristic rash, the rest of us have no idea when we were bitten or infected. We are all better with treatment.

Pea

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You may find you may need more good carbs and/or fats in order to make a dent in your exhaustion. I've recently found a few sources that state eating low carb can tax the thyroid. Might be a good place to focus nutritionally on your Whole30 so you can support your thyroid and, in turn, your adrenals.

I'll admit the symptoms you described could be due to many things, including adrenal fatigue, but since many of them were similar to what I was able to pinpoint for me, I'll at least mention it for consideration. Do you feel your symptoms got better at all on levothyroxine? Or do you feel they got worse? Are you getting your thyroid tested regularly? TSH, free T3, and free T4? Have you ever been tested for reverse T3?

When my free T3 was really low, I felt the sluggish/forgetful/exhausted, and it only got lower when I was on levothyroxine because my body was converting it all to reverse T3 instead of T3. For me, levothyroxine put me in slow motion, to the extreme. A lot of doctors don't bother to test free T3, but it's critical for feeling well. If you're not already getting these levels checked, I'd highly encourage you to plead your case to your doctor. It wasn't until I got off levothyroxine and onto the right med for me (cytomel, though others do well on Armour). Perhaps you've already explored this, but if not, food for thought. There's a website called Stop The Thyroid Madness that explains that all quite well.

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  • giving up caffeine.
  • Magnesium supplements. Epsom salts bath
  • I'm sure you've tried moisturizers, but have you tried shea butter? You can get a raw, organic kind that doesn't have anything else in it so it won't set off any allergies or sensitivities, and it's really great. Smells good too :)

  • I gave up caffeine a long time ago hoping it would help... nope!
  • I started taking magnesium a few weeks ago at night and I an epsom salt/baking soda/lavender essential oil bath about once a week.... Haven't seen much of a difference!
  • Had shea butter a long time ago... haven't looked recently but I did love the smell! I'll have to look again. Recently I've just been using coconut oil and it's pretty good! Harder to put on as it is a solid and so it crumbles as it goes on!

Many of your symptoms are quite common with Lyme, and if you haven't been evaluated for it, perhaps you might consider it.

I haven't been evaluated for this... maybe I should ask my doc... I live in the UK though... not sure how much of a problem that is here!

  • You may find you may need more good carbs and/or fats in order to make a dent in your exhaustion.
  • Are you getting your thyroid tested regularly? TSH, free T3, and free T4? Have you ever been tested for reverse T3?
  • There's a website called Stop The Thyroid Madness that explains that all quite well.

  • I'll have to try focusing a bit more on the good carbs & fats! See how that goes.
  • I do have my thyroid tested regularly, but only the TSH. I live in the UK and they don't believe in the other stuff and won't test for it if you're on the NHS (I've tried... repeatedly!) I did go to to a naturopath when I was visiting home in the States last year and she tested those things... We tried the Wilson's protocol but that didn't help at all. She would like to have me on Armour or something, but can't prescribe it for me when she can't do regular testing and there's no one here to help!
  • I have read through the Stop The Thyroid Madness site before... I'll have to look through it again!

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Yes, I've heard the folks over in the UK are resisting to testing more than TSH.

Have a peek at the Recovering With T3 site as well. The guy over there is in the UK and made headway with additional thyroid testing. He might be able to give you some tips on where to go and what to ask for.

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This thread is really interesting, and instructive for me. I share a lot (probably most) of your symptoms and diagnoses, and I appreciate the suggestions from Pea and Karen. I'll look at those sites too, and request additional testing from my doc. Most excellent. Thank you!

Christina, keep us posted on your discoveries and progress. I would love to follow along.

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If you want to be tested for Lyme, ask for LYME WESTERN BLOT (not elisa testing) and ask the doctor to request that the lab "report all bands." Also ask to be tested for Bartonella and Babesia.

The elisa test for Lyme gives false negatives more than 50% of the time; the western blot is more sensitive but most labs will only report a result as positive if there are five out of 10 possible bands present on the testing. (A band is a marker of some of the bacteria's proteins) If you request all bands, you will see if ANY bands come up positive. Most Lyme specialists know that even one specific band (say, any of one these: 18, 23, 31, 34, 39 ,93) indicate evidence of infection.

I wish I didn't know so much about this.

Pea

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I'd also suggest getting checked for Vitamin D deficiency (which I'd almost assume you have been, but it never hurts to mention it). Living in the same kind of sunshine-deficient latitude that you do, I would have never suspected what ground me into the dirt three years ago, with many of the same symptoms: horrible brain fog, debilitating exhaustion, inability to sustain activity... I literally thought I was dying. Whatever they measure for that test, the normal range is 25-40. I was an 8. I was put on prescribed therapeutic dosages of D for three months, and I've kept up with 3-4K units a day during the fall, winter, and early spring here, and I get at least 15 minutes of sunshine when it's warm enough out.

Next winter I'm adding a therapeutic light to my winter repertoire, as I've battled SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder, as opposed to the other SAD around here) for several years now.

I have also suspected adrenal fatigue since finding out about it, but unfortunately it's not a medically-recognized condition here in the US. I have the typical crashes after too much activity, and I am careful about staying as balanced as I can in my life.

I can tell you that my Whole30 has been phenomenal, in terms of my energy, my focus, my mood, and even in recovering from my crashes. Everything has improved 100%. I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm finding that making sure I get my fats in my diet is a huge key for me, energy-wise, and listening to my body when it's telling me something ("you're getting tired, rest") aids in my daily life. There is no shame in taking a nap when my body says to do so, even when I'm feeling so much better!

I hope you find the key to what works best for your body. The difference is night and day for me.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Yes, I've heard the folks over in the UK are resisting to testing more than TSH.

Have a peek at the Recovering With T3 site as well. The guy over there is in the UK and made headway with additional thyroid testing. He might be able to give you some tips on where to go and what to ask for.

I'm not sure that "resistant" is even close to strong enough! lol!! I will definitely look into that site though... Thanks!!

Christina, keep us posted on your discoveries and progress. I would love to follow along.

Well, I'm not doing that great! I got sick at the beginning of this month and the only thing I wanted to eat for a week was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and OJ - and that's what I did!! And then I have been UNABLE to get myself back on the horse. =0( I don't understand why I can't do it. I feel better when I'm eating Whole30, but the cravings get the best of me and my will power is shot. I've done a 13 day W30, an 8 day W30 and a 14 day W30. My last one was the 14 days and ended on the 5th of April when I got sick. I attempted to restart again today and made it until dinner time. Then ate pasta and cookies and drank alcohol. The sugar dragon was overwhelming! Any help for getting started again????????

I do have a wholistic medicine doctor in the States that I correspond with and see about once a year when I visit home. She recommended I read From Fatigued to Fantastic by Jacob Teitelbaum. I'm looking at following his protocol... Wondering if anyone's heard anything about it??? He doesn't talk a lot about nutrition in his book, but the little he does say is mostly in line with Whole30.

If you want to be tested for Lyme, ask for LYME WESTERN BLOT (not elisa testing) and ask the doctor to request that the lab "report all bands." Also ask to be tested for Bartonella and Babesia.

I'll have a chat with my GP... I'm almost scared of talking to him though because I keep asking to be tested for things and everything comes back negative. Since I see a psychiatrist for depression I think he's decided that I'm psychosomatic! Maybe I am????

I'd also suggest getting checked for Vitamin D deficiency (which I'd almost assume you have been, but it never hurts to mention it).

I was tested almost a year ago and will be tested again in July when I'm home in the States visiting. I was deficient and so am on a high dose. But, for some reason NO supplement has ever really made me feel better. I have tried so many different things and spent SO much money! Part of me just wants to jack them all in. =0(

I guess you can all see that I'm feeling really overwhelmed and discouraged and like I can't get back going on the Whole30 and like nothing's working. Thoughts?

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Well, I'm not doing that great! I got sick at the beginning of this month and the only thing I wanted to eat for a week was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and OJ - and that's what I did!! And then I have been UNABLE to get myself back on the horse. =0( I don't understand why I can't do it. I feel better when I'm eating Whole30, but the cravings get the best of me and my will power is shot. I've done a 13 day W30, an 8 day W30 and a 14 day W30. My last one was the 14 days and ended on the 5th of April when I got sick. I attempted to restart again today and made it until dinner time. Then ate pasta and cookies and drank alcohol. The sugar dragon was overwhelming!

I guess you can all see that I'm feeling really overwhelmed and discouraged and like I can't get back going on the Whole30 and like nothing's working. Thoughts?

Sounds like maybe you should just take a break. Give yourself a breather from any and all "plans" for a while. If you're overwhelmed and not in the right head space to follow through on a whole30, then repeated failed attempts will only be further discouraging.

Keep it in your back pocket for when you are truly ready. Until then, just give yourself permission to do whatever brings you some peace.

I've been in that place many times. It's especially frustrating when you don't feel supported by a health practitioner. I've started working with a functional medicine doc, and it's made so much difference to actually trust the person in whose hands I've put my care. I've had to seriously reorganize my budget to make it work, but I finally believe that I will get better.

My heart goes out to you and I wish you the best of luck!

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Wow, Christina. I'm sorry you are having such a tough time. I share many of your symptoms and over-the-years diagnoses. Whole30 has helped me significantly, and I believe in its benefits, but like you, I didn't "feel like new" like so many others.

There seems to be some good info in the replies here. I wish I had something helpful to add, but the other friends on this thread are making up for it. The only thing I can add is that I also take magnesium every night, and it seems to help.

Good luck. My thoughts are with you.

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Sounds like maybe you should just take a break. Give yourself a breather from any and all "plans" for a while. If you're overwhelmed and not in the right head space to follow through on a whole30, then repeated failed attempts will only be further discouraging!

Great advice. I concur. You really have o have your head in the game to make this work. If you are feeling discouraged that's pretty hard.

Maybe pick a date far enough away to give yourself some breathing room? Like June 1 or whatever day in the next few months makes sense Circle it on the calendar and start getting yourself psyched up for it. Visualize yourself succeeding and imagine how that will feel, what you will be eating and how proud of yourself you will feel. (Visualization is very powerful. I'm a big believer.)

Maybe start preparing some W30 meals now and then so you can have some in rotation that you like and feel comfortable preparing. Maybe start now not re-stocking any non W30 foods so that by the time you start your cabinets will be empty of tempting food.

You can do this, but maybe not right now.

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I guess you can all see that I'm feeling really overwhelmed and discouraged and like I can't get back going on the Whole30 and like nothing's working. Thoughts?

I'm so sorry! I've been in exactly this same place. What worked for me: doing more comprehensive blood work (learned I was DHEA deficient (in addition to vitamin D and hypothyroid, but just addressing those wasn't enough), supplementing the DHEA has made a huge difference--maybe you have some hormone other out of whack?); consistency consistency consistency on the food. I was whole30 for months and months before things started to turn around; letting myself rest. I went to bed right after dinner for a while there...like 12 hours a night consistently. now I'm sleeping exactly 8 hours and feeling really really good. It can get better. One thing that helped me on the food front, is recognizing that my sensitivity to gluten and dairy actually causes the craving. I can't really explain it, I just know that if I have any it makes me want more more more, and knowing that helped me to push through wanting more. The more time that passes where I don't have any at all, the less often I feel any desire for it. I feel great. I want that for you too! If you only feel up for one change right now, pick the "letting myself rest" piece. Others can come along when you are ready for them.
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Hi Christina,

I hear ya lady, I'm going through it and well, it sucks and it's hard work to repair. I was diagnosed with stage 3 adrenal fatigue (somewhere between 3A - 3B) six months ago after already being diagnosed & treated for hypothyroidism. Before my diagnosis, I also had to get my gallbladder removed from malfunction (no gallstones) & developed lots of allergies, including wheat, eggs, & dairy that did not seem to previously bother me.

You can get a saliva cortisol test...my doctor gives me the kit, I dedicate one day at home (Sunday is easiest), follow the rules, spit in the viles, and send it off with a check for $95 to a lab. Additionally, my doc does a few blood tests. The results will show your cortisol, pregnenolone, and DHEA-S levels throughout the course of the day to determine if you have adrenal fatigue, and if so, which stage you are in.

Diet is extremely important to recovery and this is a great program. I did do a Whole30 awhile back, but got lazy so now I am day 5 into a Whole90 as the 30 days was not enough time to heal myself. I can tell you that with the adrenal fatigue, your detox stage is likely to suck more and last longer than the average person and you will have to practice some major willpower to get through it, but it will be worth the effort and temporary discomfort.

I do notice that I need carbs so I include sweet potato, pumpkin, or squash in my meals daily to help me not feel hypoglycemic and more fatigued. I also eat 1 - 2 servings of fruit daily, but I try to restrict myself to one serving a day, never at breakfast (adrenal fatigue makes it harder to regulate blood sugar, especially if you eat it in morning). I have noticed when I'm feeling miserable that a green apple or berries with the meal alleviates that feeling.

In day 5 I am feeling somewhere between hungover/ high/ flu-like and moving into the fatigue stage so if I can steal a nap during lunch or after work, I take it...even laying down for 10 - 15 minutes at a time will help out.

I can tell you what my doctor has me taking, but you really need to get diagnosed and treated by a doctor that will think outside the box of conventional medicine. If your doctor dismisses your concerns, find a new one because adrenal fatigue is nothing to mess with.

Between 7 - 8am, I take: 10mg cortisol, 2 capsules Adren-All, 1-1/2 grain (90 mg) Armour Thyroid, 10mg Pregnenolone sublingual, 5mg DHEA sublingual, Dr. Wilson's Adrenal C Formula (1), Flonase spray for nasal allergies then I eat breakfast.

Noon: take 5 mg cortisol, 2 capsules of Adren-All, eat lunch

2-2:30pm: Calcium Citrate+D3 (one serving Citracal Petites), Vitamin E (as d-Alpha Tocopherol + d-Gamma, d-Delta, d-Beta Tocopherols (1 serving - 400iu)), nutraMetrix Isotonix Activated B-Complex (1 serving) [blood tests showed I don't process B & folic acid properly so this is a great formula that already has it broken down + it has other nutrients like folic acid & pantothenic acid, etc.]

5:30 - 6:30pm: Dinner

8 - 9pm: Magnesium Citrate (1/2 serving size - 200mg), Singulair 10mg for allergies

The vitamin amounts are based on what your body needs and can handle...I have to stick to the lower amounts with them, but they make a huge difference in my energy and general health.

Aside from all of that, lifestyle changes really are critical as well. Whatever isn't necessary, take it off your plate...slow down whenever you can, learn to say no. Try to sleep by 10pm (hormones flush out around 11pm & you need to be sleeping for them to do their job of flushing toxins) & when possible sleep, or even lay down, from 7 - 9am (that's when the adrenals replenish the most but only if laying down.

Limit stressors: alcohol (well that's part of Whole30 anyway), tobacco, caffeine is a big adrenal stressor, stay away from toxic people and relationships, learn ways to relax quickly, do not push yourself excessively with exercise...currently, I am allowed to do yoga-like exercises, walk and dance...anything more stresses & depletes my adrenals.

I realize this is a ton of information, but I had to ask lots of questions, read books & medical sites, research my butt off, and experiment for answers. This Sunday I'll be taking my 6-month cortisol test so I am not sure how much improvement there has been yet, but I can say that I have good & bad days now when 6 months ago, I couldn't make it through a single day without collapsing & feeling ill.

Feel free to follow up with me if you have any questions about this info. & schedule those tests with your doctor. With this issue, you will have to be proactive & educate yourself as most of the mainstream medical community is still catching up with this health topic.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I started the Whole90? on April 2nd on the advise of my nutritionist. I have severe adrenal fatigue and along with it chronic pain, an inability to heal injuries, mild depression and hot flashes.

Today is day 33. What I have noticed most is that I have my mornings back. I wake up without any effort. I do have a bit more energy and my mood has lightened. I am taking several supplements to restore hormonal balance and help with stress. I used to excersize a lot hoping to lose weight and stay in shape. But finally hit the wall 10wks ago and couldn'y move. This week I have slowly added moderate excersize - taking the dogs on longer walks - something that got really hard to do. Although I've trained as a dancer, I now go to a beginners soul line dancing class. It's easy and fun 2x wk. I have to make sure I don't do too much now that i feel better.

What I have also noticed is that I've gained weight. This bothers me and I try to reconcile that it will take time. I am running out of fat clothes options. My doctor says that it will take at least 6mos to notice changes in my cortizol levels. I get frustrated. But can't give up yet.

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  • 1 month later...

Hello Ladies!

 

I'm back... I took a break (ate and drank lots of SAD) and saw why eating W30 is the way to go! I ended up feeling awful and ate so much more because I was never really satisfied.  However, I really love(d) eating that stuff!  Anyway, I got back on W30 starting June 1.  Going through detox again - still.  Feeling crap the last 9 days but starting to see a small glimmer of feeling better... was actually hungry today instead of feeling naseaus and not hungry at all!  Hoping it continues in a positive vein instead of continuing the way I've been the last 9 days. 

 

To keep myself more accountable this time I'm documenting all my food on my facebook page: www.facebook.com/PracticingPrimal.  I also am doing a Tips & Tricks / You May Be Feeling daily post based on my previous attempts, stuff I've learned about Whole30 / Primal / Paleo and how I'm feeling this time around.  When I feel obligated to other people I'm more successful at things (unfortunately!).  Feel free to LIKE my fb page and support me on there with my daily stuff!  I'll also be checking in here on the forum. :)

 

Thank you to the following people for giving me the support to take a breather:

 

Keep it in your back pocket for when you are truly ready. Until then, just give yourself permission to do whatever brings you some peace.

 

Great advice. I concur. You really have o have your head in the game to make this work. If you are feeling discouraged that's pretty hard.

Maybe pick a date far enough away to give yourself some breathing room? Like June 1 or whatever day in the next few months makes sense Circle it on the calendar and start getting yourself psyched up for it.

 

If you only feel up for one change right now, pick the "letting myself rest" piece. Others can come along when you are ready for them.

 

 

And thank you Angela Marie for all of the information... Now that I'm back and feeling more with it I'll have to try to work on this more. How are you doing??

 

I hear ya lady, I'm going through it and well, it sucks and it's hard work to repair. I was diagnosed with stage 3 adrenal fatigue (somewhere between 3A - 3B) six months ago after already being diagnosed & treated for hypothyroidism......

.....I realize this is a ton of information, but I had to ask lots of questions, read books & medical sites, research my butt off, and experiment for answers.....

.....Feel free to follow up with me if you have any questions about this info. & schedule those tests with your doctor. With this issue, you will have to be proactive & educate yourself as most of the mainstream medical community is still catching up with this health topic.

 

 

Lindsey - I'm wondering how you're doing now??? It'll give me some hope for continuing on!!

 

I started the Whole90? on April 2nd on the advise of my nutritionist. I have severe adrenal fatigue and along with it chronic pain, an inability to heal injuries, mild depression and hot flashes.
Today is day 33.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi everyone!

I need some adrenal help! I have been diagnosed with moderate adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome, but I believe a lot of my symptoms are from from adrenals and irregual cortisol levels.

I have been dipping into paleo/autoimmune paleo for about a year now on and off and I think the autoimmune protocol is what my body needs but I go back and forth. I use to be an advocate for eating whole grains and eating 5-6 times a day for blood sugar regulation. All the books I have read for adrenal fatigue, including Dr. Lams book it says to incorporate things such as brown rice and beans and eating 5-6 times a day.

If adding whole grains and eating 5-6 times a day is what I need to do to heal I will, but I was just wondering if anyone has had success healing and regulating your body on whole30/paleo without having to follow the adrenal nutrion guidelines??

Any feedback is helpful!!

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what is the rationale behind the brown rice and beans? I don't see any benefit to adding them, as long as you are successfully eating following the whole30 meal template and including plenty of starchy vegetables. If you choose to try adding them, please make sure you process them appropriately. The weston A price foundation has info on the soaking/sprouting/fermenting needed to make these foods digestible.

 

On eating 5-6 times per day, if you want to try it I don't see a huge issue. Perhaps just give yourself "permission" to eat more often and see if you are hungry?

 

I'm so sorry you are still struggling with this, and I am not a doctor or an expert, but I can tell you that in MY n=1 experience, I got better following the whole30, resting lots, exercising regularly (gradually increasing intensity/frequency is something that happened naturally as I felt better), and incorporating a number of supplements (based on extensive blood tests).

 

The one thing I would say, though, is that "dipping into paleo, etc. on-and-off" may be why it isn't working for you. Although I felt a little better right away, I had to be consistent for a very very long time: 9-12 months? before the magic started to happen. 

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Hi missmary,

Thank you for the response! The reason behind the brown rice I believe is carbs for energy but I'm sticking with my sweet potatoes and root veggies, my body likes them better.

Yeah I have been trying to eat a little more regularly of healthy foods because it helps keep my blood sugar up. And I'm encouraged to hear that it took you a good amount of months until you saw a change. When I don't feel good or have a cfs crash I get frustrated and crave high sugar/starchy foods and that's when I crack. I need to just stick with it no matter what!

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Hi Helene, I am not sure I have adrenal fatigue, but I most likely do. I have hashi's IBS SIBO and leaky gut. I was a mess about a year ago. That's when I gave up grains/gluten. It is tough, you have to fight it off for months. You are unlearning what you've done your whole life.

 

I wouldn't go back to eating any grains/legumes. They are just too irritating and cause problems. And you don't need them. They keep you dependent on that sugar rush.  I did that whole thing before, eating 5-6 times a day. It's just not good for you. If you need a snack, you are better off with someting fat, like coconut or olives. That way there is no sugar up and down.

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