Not much happened during week 4 of doing the GAPS Intro diet so I decided to combine weeks 4 and 5 for this post.  I was having some constipation, and Dr. Campbell-McBride says to wait to move to the next stage until all digestive issues have cleared.

As mentioned in previous posts, my right ear gets plugged occasionally.  At first I did not know what it was, but now think it might be dairy.  I did the sensitivity test for raw milk on my wrist several months ago that showed I was not allergic to dairy, but I have not had any yogurt or kefir for a couple weeks because it constipates.  Two nights ago I made some lemon yogurt for dessert.  It was oh so yummy!  (I promise to share after I perfect the recipe.)  The following day, my ear started to bother me.  Then I had some more because it was sooo good, and my ear was even more plugged the next morning.

I’m going to continue eating yogurt because Dr. Campbell-McBride recommends it.  On the FAQ page of www.gaps.me in the Dairy section question number 5, Dr. McBride explains that reactions to probiotic foods are die-off symptoms and not usually an allergic reaction.  She encourages GAPS patients to “push though” until the reaction is resolved.

The one thing I did to help with the constipation was a coffee enema.  Dr. Campbell-McBride discusses the benefits and directions about this in the FAQ section on her website www.gaps.me.  It did help a lot, and my digestive issues cleared within a couple days.  I’m going to continue doing them every couple days and will add Bio-Kult Probiotic to the liquid to help get more probiotics in my digestive tract.

Juicing

I was not planning to do the juicing part of this diet, which usually starts during Stage 4, because I did not want to eat too many foods high in oxalate.  But as I read about juicing in the GAPS book and how important it is for detoxing, I changed my mind.  I decided to go ahead and juice low to medium oxalate vegetables and see if I experience any extra die-off.

Since I changed my mind, I needed a juicer ASAP!  I thought about trying to find a cheap one from Craigslist, but didn’t have to because my sweet sister-in-law gave me one that she was trying to get rid of.  Thank you, Sis!

Symptoms

I’ve had some fairly strong fibromyalgia flares, mostly upper body pain, on and off for a couple weeks and have also experienced some intermittent severe chronic fatigue.  Every once in a while I have some abdomen pain and burping.  I have attributed all of these symptoms to die-off or detox.

In between these bouts of die-off, though, I have spurts of energy and strength.  Every once in a while, I bound up the stairs!  It is so euphoric and delightful!  I’m really looking forward to the day when it becomes more and more frequent.

Moving to Stage 4

It seems as though I’ve been waiting for quite some time to move to Stage 4, but I’ve been in kind of a quandary because I am following a Low-Oxalate Diet.  The next few stages might be difficult because many fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds are high in oxalate.  I will be following both the GAPS and low/medium oxalate food list which may take some doing.

I have purchased some raw coconut flour and plan to try to make some butternut pancakes with that tomorrow, and will use the coconut flour instead of nuts to make bread, too.

When I start juicing, I will start with broccoli or zucchini instead of the recommended carrot juice.  Carrots are very high in oxalate.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m hoping they are tolerable.  🙂

Over the Hump

I’m beginning to feel better about almost being through this diet.  I feel like I’ve been on it forever and was beginning to wonder when it would end.  But I keep rereading the GAPS book and continue to read the FAQ section of www.gaps.me to spur me on to more knowledge and that gives me motivation to keep going.

Previous GAPS posts you may have missed:

• The GAPS Diet and How I’m Healing
• A Confession and Preparing for GAPS Intro
• Preparing for GAPS Intro – Prepping the Freezer
• My First Day on the GAPS Intro Diet
• Why Bio-Kult May Not Be So Expensive After All
• Week 1 on GAPS Intro – Where Are All the Spoons?
• Week 2 on GAPS Intro – I’m Back, Baby!
• Week 3 on GAPS Intro – I Almost Quit!

Are you on the GAPS diet?  If so, do you feel like it’s taking forever or can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?  What motivates you to stay the course?  I’m looking forward to hearing from you!

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Shared on Monday Mania.