Strong 'Acne' and Indigestion progress

[RRM]

I eat about every hour.
... I feel that with some fiber my stools are less lose
... I don't know how I drop weight this fast,

You lose weight because you didnt listen to my advice.
#1 mistake on this diet is eating / drinking not frequent enough.
When you lose weight, you need to replace whole fruits with juices and drink more frequent (every 15 minutes)
Drink (sieved) juices only, with some sugar and oil, plus raw eggs yolks and fish, of course.
Get rid of the fiber; its the burden that holds you back, as you need nutrients only, supplied by nutrient-dense foods.

... symptoms of my hypoglycemia again...

As i said; not drinking frequent enough.

[Mireia]

I wrote that on the 19th, after that I started eating at least every half hour (I was always full, never hungry). So from the 19th to the 26th I was eating every half hour or more often, 3000 cals total. I was sipping water throughout the day, I peed very often and had very frequent large bowel movements. Is that common to go this often?

Are you sure it is not rather an absorption issue? I had trouble gaining on a standard diet, High fat and high carb Paleo diet, I have been dealing with this for so long. I actually only gained some weight after doing the herbal detox in Jan/ Feb.

Overkees
Yes, I freeze all meat for a few weeks.

[Mireia]

Updates

I will update periodically from now on, since I am not doing anything like the acne sample diet at the moment to clear up my skin.

Skin: Clearing up, less dry since using less olive oil
Digestive: Bloating, barely any digestive pains, normal stools
Energy: Great
Weight: 47.3 kg
Other: Sleeping more sound at night, breast milk supply getting better, I started taking probiotics

I did some thinking, and I am guessing that for some reason my blood sugar may have still spiked. Despite eating fruits with plenty of fat.

Diet:
I added carrots (boiled) and zucchini. The rest is the same at the moment.
I might try making the coconut pancakes in the dehydrator at a very low temperature. This way I could try to eat with coconut fat and honey. The pancakes really helped me gain weight with raw butter.

Hormones:
I mentioned before that I had taken herbal supplements for my hormones, which improved my skin and had also gotten rid of my PMS and irregular periods.
I stopped taking them about 3 weeks ago and I had PMS during my ovulation and now during my period. Yesterday my back and abdominal pain was so bad, I had to sleep it off and today my ovaries were in much pain. I was also bleeding a bit too heavily. My PMS was completely gone from the supplements. I took them for 2 1/2 months. Now I am thinking I got off too early and I might give it another go with a higher dosage (I took a very low dosage the first time).
I see it as the best quick fix right now, since I can't go another month with PMS. Before I started the supplements, the pain was so bad I was thinking about going to the next hospital.

I also read about digestive issues after having a baby and surprisingly they are VERY common. Many moms experience the same symptoms I do. I noticed changes during and after pregnancy:
- Pregnancy: constipation and bloating in the very early weeks of pregnancy, before I started showing. I gained weight easily on not so much food (I was not able to eat very much due to my stomach not having as much room). I had mild acne during the first trimester and the rest of the pregnancy crystal clear but dry skin.
- 1-11 months postpartum, clear skin, still dryer than normal, mild bloating here and there, no digestive problems.
- 12-18 months postpartum - my first postpartum period. Some breakouts that get worse every month. My periods also get worse and more painful with every new cycle as well as bloating and indigestion.

After taking the herbs my periods went back to normal and my face cleared up. Then I noticed that it did not get any better anymore and started reducing the supplements.
The past month my skin has been at its worst. I break out before my period, clear up during and after and then break out again during ovulation. From ovulation to the start of my period, my skin is shitty, and after it clears up.
This is why I think my skin and digestive problems might be all hormone related. Of course I must have a tendency for all these problems and I had minor issues before, but this is a big, persistent problem.
I hope that over time a proper diet will fix the hormone related issues. But in the meantime I want to give the herbs a try.
I was hoping to have another baby somewhat soon (1 year?), but with all the hormonal problems I might not even be fertile

[RRM]

Wild game is not safe.
Freezing may not be sufficient.
The last thing you need, are intestinal parasites.
Egg yolks, fish and beef are safer.

I peed very often and had very frequent large bowel movements. Is that common to go this often?

When consuming whole fruits, you will have very large bowel movements.
Adding carrots, zucchini and stuff is adding fiber.
The fiber makes you feel full, but that is a false sign.
Without fiber its a lot easier to ingest sufficient energy without effort.
I would suggest the opposite: only juices and animal food. This is the closest thing to intravenous feeding: no fiber, just nutrients and water.
If patients need to gain weight, intravenous feeding with over 3000 kcal are normal.
Dont think 3000 is much. You need that for a couple of weeks to gain some weight.
Add some sugar and oil; to the extend that your bowels can handle it.
With fiber in your diet, such a drastic weight gain plan is nearly impossible.
Without fiber it is very much possible.

Are you sure it is not rather an absorption issue?

You may have a parasite. Did you have yourself checked for that?

I had trouble gaining on a standard diet, High fat and high carb Paleo diet, I have been dealing with this for so long.

On a diet of sieved juices, some sugar and oil added,
and particularly egg yolks and fatty fish (salmon, tuna; because beef and other meat contains more connective tissue (which is like fiber)), you must be able to gain weight rapidly.
Think of it as going on intravenous feeding.

[Mireia]

My doctor is checking for parasites right now. We are waiting for the results to get back.

I will try juicing and juice and meat only in the future. Right now we don't have a real juicer. We will have to save up money for it. We certainly can't do it this month because we have to pay back the account overdraft first.
But also I will have to take these probiotics for a little and see what my doctor says next appt.
Plus I am starting on the herbal supplements again because the hormonal imbalances are really bothersome right now.

I suppose it would be best to do the juicing without any of these supplements?
What would my stools look like on juice and meat?

[RRM]

I suppose it would be best to do the juicing without any of these supplements?

No, for you its perfectly fine to do the probiotics and herbal supplements,
in combination with the juice-yolks-fish to gain weight quickly.
Once you gained weight significantly, you might try without the probiotics and herbal supplements.
Thats because low weight very much influences your hormones,
so that once your weight is normal, your hormones might normalize as well.

What would my stools look like on juice and meat?

Perfectly normal stools, but just very little.
Thats because then there just will be very little to deport, due to the relative lack of fiber and connective tissue.
And as your digestive system may take 30% of your energy, saving on that energy will result in more energy left for other purposes (rebuilding).

[Mireia]

Thank you for explaining!
After doing another round of the herbal supplements for my hormones I want to go off anyway to see if the results are lasting. Do you know how low weight has to be to affect hormones? My doctor told me that before but I am unsure what weight is considered good for hormones.

[Oscar]

Maybe you can buy a simple electrical juicer for now? They cost something like €20 or so. While maybe not ideal, it can serve until you can afford a better one.

[RRM]

Do you know how low weight has to be to affect hormones? My doctor told me that before but I am unsure what weight is considered good for hormones.

Of course, thats individually different.
Its about physical stress, which involves many factors that may be individually different.
Besides anorexia patients, its a quite common effect among professional athletes, even though often not considered underweight.
Just go with what feels 'normal' / adequate for you; if you are underweight (regarding health), you probably notice.

[Mireia]

Updates May-July!

I wanted to update sooner but I kept having to test things and tweak my methods a bit. I also had a set back.

Basically, my acne and indigestion is much better now but there is room for improvement.

What I did: Probiotics! I started out with one (containing 5 billion lactobacillus acidophilus), but with 2 the results were much better.

Food Experiment: I ate "bad foods" daily for 1 1/2 months. Grains, Milk, all cooked. It did not affect my skin in the slightest. I wanted to know that because it reassured me that I can stop searching for the culprit in my diet.
My skin actually became quite beautiful...in a flawed way, but I mean for my standards, I really saw some improvement. It wasn't getting oily anymore and I had a "glow"...like an actual glow/ shine. I thought that only existed in magazines.

Then I went back on a raw diet. After about 3 weeks I broke out again. Really bad too and in places that weren't typical. I had horrible forehead acne. I didn't capture the worst state on camera, but it was very bumpy all over.

I was a bit confused and wondering what could have caused it. But since my digestive problems were also back I assumed that it is my digestion again. So I increased the amount of probiotics and it immediately cleared up. I am taking 4 tablets right now, but I think more would do better with more.
If I eat a big meal without taking a tablet, my skin will worsen within a few hours. Same way it will better a few hours after taking a tablet. Even taking one before bedtime seems to make a difference.

I will be looking into HCl tablets and digestive enzymes to see if these perfect things. I am thinking HCl cause my body has problems digesting animal foods too. Especially eggs can cause digestive problems.

I am also doing a parasite cleanse at the moment. My doctor tested negative for parasites, but I still gave it a try. I felt pretty sick for two days. I actually had to stay in bed part of the day and felt very nauseated. I also experienced sharp pains and twinges in my stomach.
Then I began to see parasites in my stool and something that looked like eggs, plus other weird things. The parasites I can see seem to be hookworms or pinworms. I really only get a few every time I use the bathroom.
At first I was constipated with only 1 bowel movement a day, which is what I mostly have. Now I am not constipated at all anymore and have about 3 BM. Lately I have been seeing less parasites. I wonder if that means they are mostly gone, or if Parastroy isn't strong enough to get them all out.
A few more things I noticed about my skin:
- LOTS of sun, will always improve it tremendously. One day I wasn't careful and got a sunburn, but my skin looked amazing after! So clear. I take 10 000 IU of Vitamin D as a supplement to get my Vitamin D to a normal level. But maybe it isn't giving me what lots of sun gives me.
I am outside daily but it seems only far too much sun does the trick. Maybe my body isn't very good at absorbing sun and only reacts to more than the average person would need.
- Haven't used moisturizer as in lotion for months now. I am certain that this caused my skin not to get oily anymore. I used to be very oily as the day progressed and always had to blot with tissue paper. Now that is not the case at all anymore. Not oily and not too dry.
I switched from cold pressed Sesame seed oil to Linseed oil and like it better so far.
- On the downside my skin has been flaky. I don't think it is normal dryness since my skin does not feel tight or itchy. It does not have that typical dry feeling. It just feels rough and especially around the lower corners of my mouth where I have permanent breakouts, my skin feels very scabby and dry. I have considered that it could be caused by hormones, since I first experienced this kind of dryness on part of my cheeks in pregnancy.
Now it seems it has "spread out" to most of my face and underneath my jaw. After a peeling it will feel almost normal but no matter what, I always see small flakes. After applying oil and a peel it will feel almost normal too but it gets dryer during the day. Adding more oil won't do anything...it stays crusty.
I wonder if the oil might be causing it for some reason. Not that I think the oil is bad, but maybe it exaggerates a problem. I only wash with water so that can't be the culprit. I tested exfoliatig often vs. not exfoliating at all. Second made my skin look really bad.
I wonder if there is something else going on. I tried eating foods good for yeast, eczema and other skin issues. 2 raw garlic gloves a day for example. But no change. I tried not moisturizing with oil, but it only left my skin very irritated and red. At least the oil seems to always calm it down.
I don't use mineral make up anymore really, but when I do I notice my skin is so flaky, I can not even cover flaws really because it will make the dryness of the skin look worse.
I am really not sure how to solve this one right now.

As far as my digestive issues go I noticed:
- Eggs and lots of meat are worst, small amounts of meat are okay but not pain free.
- With the probiotics sweet potato does not cause me much problems anymore.
- Smaller meals and eating less = less problems...but sadly also weight loss.
- I do better if I take probiotics before a meal. I used to take them just during the day and then eat two hours later or so, but I have more trouble digesting this way.
- Smaller meals also mean I can keep the bloating away, for the most part.
- That they are worse during my period...so it may be hormones affecting my digestion as well...

I was also seeing a gastroenterologist until recently, but all he suggested was a colonoscopy. When I canceled it, the desk lady automatically transferred me back to my GP. No colonoscopy, no point in keeping me as a patient I guess....
They also did not want to hear about the parasites and refused to prescribe probiotics. :/

[Mireia]

Pictures or it didn't happen

Pictures are taken in the morning minutes after getting up unless noted otherwise. No make up, no moisturizer, no breakfast, no washing.

Acne breakouts from Spring 2013



Starting Probiotics



2-3 weeks on probiotics



Some pictures taken during the day. You can really see the "glow" in certain light here. And no, I am not oily my oily face looked different in the past.



The breakout period (with bad indigestion issues also)
My probiotic tablets look like they might have gone bad and therefore lost power.



Healing


I feel sorry for myself looking at the pics

Bettering after raising (same) Probiotics to 4 tablets a day



This keeps my acne at a moderate level.

[RRM]

Thank you for the update.
The break out period pics dont show 'normal' acne, i think.
It just looks so different.
In a way, it looks like a bad rash combined with infected mosquito bites. (of course, im not suggesting its that)

[Mireia]

Yes I agree, the acne does look odd. Most of it never really surfaces. I have been considering that some skin condition might also be involved. Especially since I experience so much flakiness in these areas too and my skin looks really red and inflamed until it starts healing.
I am looking into natural cures for yeast and eczema now. But I suppose a healthy digestive system will also help to keep this from happening so enzymes and such are worth a try too. That might explain why the probiotics help some.

[RRM]

Im sorry if i missed it, but did you have your blood tested for all nutrients? (in case you have a digestion issue)

[Mireia]

I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I had a standard blood test to make sure I am not severely lacking anything. Iron and D3 were a bit on the lower side but "ok". I supplement with 10000 IU of D3 and it only raised it a little bit.

I heard the standard blood tests aren't always accurate though. And they only tested for a few things. The more extensive test is not covered by insurance.