Am I Trying To Fix Too Much At Once? Or Am I Wrong About What Fixes Things?
I'm still having trouble standing (knees buckling), decreased creativity/functionality, walking (mechanical movements and balance problems), strange eating patterns (being really full from a set of meals and then a few days later being starving from the same food), coping, reading, etc. We know my vision is screwed up, which could theoretically account for many, if not all, of these problems. However, the neuro optometrist says that my eyes aren't the problem, which means that some other system is causing me to not put the information from my eyes together correctly. Basically, we already knew that. However, the neuro optometrist wants to solve this issue (which is really really super ultra great), so I'm going for an MRI soon.
Regardless of whether or not the MRI shows results (as mentioned previously, I probably have brain stem lesions, but they may be too small to show up in scans using current technology), there may be things that will fix some of my current issues. Recently, friend of mine pointed me at an example of Darwin's decision-making technique, which basically involved making lists to figure out what my options are. Then, I'll do some testing. I'll get a blood test tomorrow (or at least soon) to have a baseline, then I'll test whatever change I want to make and get another blood test. That will be followed by a week without any changes or more if the results are so positive that I want to continue. Then, depending on how much time has passed, another blood test, another week of testing, and yet another blood test. My main concern is that my one good vein doesn't end up too screwed up. However, I want some numbers to tell me what is changing inside of me to go with my blood sugar, blood pressure, temperature, and mood observations.
So, the problems:
1. Buckling Knees
I have assumed that my buckling knees is due to low blood sugar. As a result, I have increased my carbs. I usually feel good for a week then worse. So, I increase my carbs. And the same thing happens... again and again. Is this the right technique or should I look elsewhere?
What supports this technique? My Hb1Ac (blood test that gives an average of blood sugar for the last three months) is always low and has been lower during the periods when I have had collapsing knee problems. Also, I was eating way less than the amount of carbs that is required to run the brain (130g/day).
What contradicts this technique? Previously, the technique of chasing a result by constantly increasing a dosage has happened mainly with things that turned out to have some helpful and some harmful properties. I cannot, for example, eat infintely more meat and feel infinitely better. After a certain point, I hate everyone. That is clearly "too much". Also, I have gone past the 130g/day point with no change in this cycle. I'm at about 170g/day now. I shouldn't need more than 160-180g/day.
As my carb requirement increases, it becomes more and more difficult to manage to fit everything I need to eat into the diet without gaining a lot of weight. Could it be that I'm eating the wrong kind of carbs? I'm eating a lot of fruit, since I can't eat grains. Fruit is okay, but maybe it isn't right. Maybe I'm eating foods with too much available carbs that are causing my blood sugar to crash. Is this a sign that my diabetes is getting worse and that I just can't make enough insulin (ie Type 1 Diabetes)? (That would mean that my blood sugar was high, which it isn't. So, no.) Am I making too much insulin? Like I make it, it grabs the sugar, stuffs it into a cell, and leaves me with low blood sugar. (My insulin numbers are generally low. However, we know that I will spurt out tons of insulin really quickly, which screws me all up. (Reactive Hypoglycemia))
Questions I need to answer:
- Do I feel better if I eat the same grams per day of carbs but with a lower overall glycemic index?
- Do I just need to eat more carbs?
Other things that could cause the buckling knee problems:
- Vision problems (working on)
- Neurological problems (working on)
- Heart problems (eye doctor may want those tests too)
- Phosphatidylserine (PS): the knee problems started with PS. I assumed that it was because PS allows my body to make more insulin. Could it be that while helping with my anxiety, PS is also making me unable to stand? On the flip side, studies show that PS is most effective when 400mg/day is taken. I only take 300. Could it be that I need to take more? (Too much PS could be causing too much insulin. I could try taking less PS. Or, it could be that since cortisol constricts blood vessels and PS acts against cortisol, then it relaxed my blood vessels. That is fine, except that this could result in low blood volume.)
- Low blood pressure: my blood pressure is often low. This could be from depression, endocrine problems, low blood sugar, adrenal problems, heart problems, or low blood volume.
- Low blood volume: this comes from not enough liquids (and maybe PS relaxing blood vessel constriction). I could try drinking more water. It has helped with dizziness previously, although I detest having to pee constantly. On the other hand, my urine test always shows that I need more water.
- I could just be wearing myself out. It doesn't seem like it, but it could be. Only, I don't really do anything.
- Too much salt: I don't think my sodium levels are actually too high, but either too high or too low, it can cause problems. Also, cortisol increases sodium absorption, so even if I don't eat a lot of salt, it may be too much.
Things that I can do (from easiest to most complicated):
- Every time my knees buckle test my blood sugar and blood pressure.
- Drink more water
- Get sodium tested, if possible, next time I have a blood test.
- Adjust diet to have lower glycemic index
- Try taking less PS and see what happens
- Eat more carbs
2. Strange Eating
I have also assumed this strange eating was carbs. I think to some extent, it may have been. However, I wonder if it is my body sending the "some deficiency" signal. I was eating 120g of protein up until I hit about 130g of carbs per day, when I decreased it because I didn't want to decrease my fat intake any more. That had bad results. I increased it but not back to 120g/day. Remember, I was increasing my carbs, because I thought that the knee buckling problems were caused by carbs, although at less than 130g/day of carbs, I wasn't getting enough carbs for my brain to operate properly. However, if the knees are a different problem, then maybe I could decrease carbs a little, so that I could increase protein. Not too much of a decrease, though. (Conveniently, protein and carbohydrates have the same number of calories per gram, so I need to decrease my carbs to 150g to increase my protein to 120g if I don't change my fat.) In theory, these eating problems (as far as I know) could be me not getting enough of almost anything. It could be not enough fat (I don't think so, because eating all the peanuts and cheese in the world doesn't always make me feel better, although I don't want to go too low on that.). It could be not enough carbs (I think it was, but I don't know if it still is). It could be not enough calories (if that was all, then when I wouldn't binge on peanuts several days in a row, I think). It could be not enough protein, as discussed above.
However, I think it isn't just the protein. I think it relates (maybe) to the amino acids. As discussed in another post, I am pretty impressively low on some important amino acids. The blood test that showed this was taken when I was still eating 110g of protein/day. I finally got all the food in my database updated, so now I can see the numbers for the amino acids that I am low on, and my consumption has decreased as I've decreased my protein. This could be the cause of my strange eating. Also, it could be related to the glycemic index of the foods I'm eating. Yesterday, I had pea soup for my evening snack, and today I had it for breakfast. I ate it 11 hours ago, and I still don't want to eat anything (although I have been). Split peas have a low glycemic index and are also full of carbs and protein. They aren't keeping me from feeling tired, confused, or otherwise crappy. However, I am definitely not hungry.
Things that I can do:
- Increase protein (do I have fewer urges to stuff myself? do my blood tests look better for amino acids?)
- Adjust diet to have lower glycemic index
3. Walking problems
I'm guessing this is ataxia, which is difficulty with fine motor coordination. This is probably partly why I don't put things in other things (combined with the eye problems, which could also be ataxia). Looking through the big list of causes on Wikipedia (article), I'm guessing that my problems are a combination of those brain stem lesions, maybe a tiny bit of hypothyroidism, and this last one: "Antibodies against the enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD: enzyme changing glutamate into GABA) cause cerebellar deficits. The antibodies impair motor learning and cause behavioral deficits." Glutamic acid is the amino acid that was the lowest in my test.
Things that I can do:
- See if the protein increase helps, focusing on increasing the amino acids (so probably eating more liver).
- If that doesn't help, look into amino acid supplements.
- Get thyroid and anti-GAD tests done next time I have a blood test
So, this is where I'm starting. Specifically, I'm starting with increasing my water consumption for at least a week and doing more testing when my knees buckle. I may also get a blood test soon to test all the new things on the list (plus the usual ones, plus some of the stuff I mentioned that the bio-hacker lite site was looking at). After that, I'll look at increasing my protein, etc. I'm going to be a good girl (I hope) and only change one thing at a time. With luck, fixing these three major issues will trickle down to many of my other issues. At the same time, the testing by the neuro optometrist may help shed some light on my problems, as well.
Regardless of whether or not the MRI shows results (as mentioned previously, I probably have brain stem lesions, but they may be too small to show up in scans using current technology), there may be things that will fix some of my current issues. Recently, friend of mine pointed me at an example of Darwin's decision-making technique, which basically involved making lists to figure out what my options are. Then, I'll do some testing. I'll get a blood test tomorrow (or at least soon) to have a baseline, then I'll test whatever change I want to make and get another blood test. That will be followed by a week without any changes or more if the results are so positive that I want to continue. Then, depending on how much time has passed, another blood test, another week of testing, and yet another blood test. My main concern is that my one good vein doesn't end up too screwed up. However, I want some numbers to tell me what is changing inside of me to go with my blood sugar, blood pressure, temperature, and mood observations.
So, the problems:
1. Buckling Knees
I have assumed that my buckling knees is due to low blood sugar. As a result, I have increased my carbs. I usually feel good for a week then worse. So, I increase my carbs. And the same thing happens... again and again. Is this the right technique or should I look elsewhere?
What supports this technique? My Hb1Ac (blood test that gives an average of blood sugar for the last three months) is always low and has been lower during the periods when I have had collapsing knee problems. Also, I was eating way less than the amount of carbs that is required to run the brain (130g/day).
What contradicts this technique? Previously, the technique of chasing a result by constantly increasing a dosage has happened mainly with things that turned out to have some helpful and some harmful properties. I cannot, for example, eat infintely more meat and feel infinitely better. After a certain point, I hate everyone. That is clearly "too much". Also, I have gone past the 130g/day point with no change in this cycle. I'm at about 170g/day now. I shouldn't need more than 160-180g/day.
As my carb requirement increases, it becomes more and more difficult to manage to fit everything I need to eat into the diet without gaining a lot of weight. Could it be that I'm eating the wrong kind of carbs? I'm eating a lot of fruit, since I can't eat grains. Fruit is okay, but maybe it isn't right. Maybe I'm eating foods with too much available carbs that are causing my blood sugar to crash. Is this a sign that my diabetes is getting worse and that I just can't make enough insulin (ie Type 1 Diabetes)? (That would mean that my blood sugar was high, which it isn't. So, no.) Am I making too much insulin? Like I make it, it grabs the sugar, stuffs it into a cell, and leaves me with low blood sugar. (My insulin numbers are generally low. However, we know that I will spurt out tons of insulin really quickly, which screws me all up. (Reactive Hypoglycemia))
Questions I need to answer:
- Do I feel better if I eat the same grams per day of carbs but with a lower overall glycemic index?
- Do I just need to eat more carbs?
Other things that could cause the buckling knee problems:
- Vision problems (working on)
- Neurological problems (working on)
- Heart problems (eye doctor may want those tests too)
- Phosphatidylserine (PS): the knee problems started with PS. I assumed that it was because PS allows my body to make more insulin. Could it be that while helping with my anxiety, PS is also making me unable to stand? On the flip side, studies show that PS is most effective when 400mg/day is taken. I only take 300. Could it be that I need to take more? (Too much PS could be causing too much insulin. I could try taking less PS. Or, it could be that since cortisol constricts blood vessels and PS acts against cortisol, then it relaxed my blood vessels. That is fine, except that this could result in low blood volume.)
- Low blood pressure: my blood pressure is often low. This could be from depression, endocrine problems, low blood sugar, adrenal problems, heart problems, or low blood volume.
- Low blood volume: this comes from not enough liquids (and maybe PS relaxing blood vessel constriction). I could try drinking more water. It has helped with dizziness previously, although I detest having to pee constantly. On the other hand, my urine test always shows that I need more water.
- I could just be wearing myself out. It doesn't seem like it, but it could be. Only, I don't really do anything.
- Too much salt: I don't think my sodium levels are actually too high, but either too high or too low, it can cause problems. Also, cortisol increases sodium absorption, so even if I don't eat a lot of salt, it may be too much.
Things that I can do (from easiest to most complicated):
- Every time my knees buckle test my blood sugar and blood pressure.
- Drink more water
- Get sodium tested, if possible, next time I have a blood test.
- Adjust diet to have lower glycemic index
- Try taking less PS and see what happens
- Eat more carbs
2. Strange Eating
I have also assumed this strange eating was carbs. I think to some extent, it may have been. However, I wonder if it is my body sending the "some deficiency" signal. I was eating 120g of protein up until I hit about 130g of carbs per day, when I decreased it because I didn't want to decrease my fat intake any more. That had bad results. I increased it but not back to 120g/day. Remember, I was increasing my carbs, because I thought that the knee buckling problems were caused by carbs, although at less than 130g/day of carbs, I wasn't getting enough carbs for my brain to operate properly. However, if the knees are a different problem, then maybe I could decrease carbs a little, so that I could increase protein. Not too much of a decrease, though. (Conveniently, protein and carbohydrates have the same number of calories per gram, so I need to decrease my carbs to 150g to increase my protein to 120g if I don't change my fat.) In theory, these eating problems (as far as I know) could be me not getting enough of almost anything. It could be not enough fat (I don't think so, because eating all the peanuts and cheese in the world doesn't always make me feel better, although I don't want to go too low on that.). It could be not enough carbs (I think it was, but I don't know if it still is). It could be not enough calories (if that was all, then when I wouldn't binge on peanuts several days in a row, I think). It could be not enough protein, as discussed above.
However, I think it isn't just the protein. I think it relates (maybe) to the amino acids. As discussed in another post, I am pretty impressively low on some important amino acids. The blood test that showed this was taken when I was still eating 110g of protein/day. I finally got all the food in my database updated, so now I can see the numbers for the amino acids that I am low on, and my consumption has decreased as I've decreased my protein. This could be the cause of my strange eating. Also, it could be related to the glycemic index of the foods I'm eating. Yesterday, I had pea soup for my evening snack, and today I had it for breakfast. I ate it 11 hours ago, and I still don't want to eat anything (although I have been). Split peas have a low glycemic index and are also full of carbs and protein. They aren't keeping me from feeling tired, confused, or otherwise crappy. However, I am definitely not hungry.
Things that I can do:
- Increase protein (do I have fewer urges to stuff myself? do my blood tests look better for amino acids?)
- Adjust diet to have lower glycemic index
3. Walking problems
I'm guessing this is ataxia, which is difficulty with fine motor coordination. This is probably partly why I don't put things in other things (combined with the eye problems, which could also be ataxia). Looking through the big list of causes on Wikipedia (article), I'm guessing that my problems are a combination of those brain stem lesions, maybe a tiny bit of hypothyroidism, and this last one: "Antibodies against the enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD: enzyme changing glutamate into GABA) cause cerebellar deficits. The antibodies impair motor learning and cause behavioral deficits." Glutamic acid is the amino acid that was the lowest in my test.
Things that I can do:
- See if the protein increase helps, focusing on increasing the amino acids (so probably eating more liver).
- If that doesn't help, look into amino acid supplements.
- Get thyroid and anti-GAD tests done next time I have a blood test
So, this is where I'm starting. Specifically, I'm starting with increasing my water consumption for at least a week and doing more testing when my knees buckle. I may also get a blood test soon to test all the new things on the list (plus the usual ones, plus some of the stuff I mentioned that the bio-hacker lite site was looking at). After that, I'll look at increasing my protein, etc. I'm going to be a good girl (I hope) and only change one thing at a time. With luck, fixing these three major issues will trickle down to many of my other issues. At the same time, the testing by the neuro optometrist may help shed some light on my problems, as well.