90 Days GAPS Summary: A piece To the Puzzle (part two of three)

This is part two of a three post GAPS Series.  If you want to read part one click here. It was about what my day looks like eating the way Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride discusses in her Gut and Psychology Syndrome book. 

In this post, part two, we will talk about the symptoms I had when I started GAPS and how I am doing now; after 90 days on the GAPS Diet.

I have experienced a lot of healing on the GAPS Diet so far.  When I started this diet I barely had the energy to even make the food. Heck, I barely had the energy to even think about making the food!  I certainly couldn't go shopping for the food.  All I could do was research what I needed to do.  By God's grace I was eventually able to read the GAPS book and figure out a plan.  I started simple, with just broth and a little veggies and some meat.  I noticed small changes within a week in my energy and healing.

Before I get ahead of myself, here is a small list of symptoms I had before I started GAPS

As you can see I was a mess. I was getting no help from conventional doctors or allopathic medicine and in fact was getting worse and worse. I am convinced that had I continued on that path I would have gotten some form of cancer.

Praise God that through my Functional and Integrative Medicine Doctor she suggested trying the GAPS diet. That is when the healing began.

**Funny, unlike when I was on the dreaded ALCAT diet, this 90 days on GAPS has flown by.  I don't find myself counting the days like I did with the 6 months on ALCAT.

Here is a quick synopsis of my healing and symptoms that I still have as well as ones that are gone

I still have Hypothyroidism and Hashimotos Thyroiditis.  I will be going in June to have an ultrasound on the nodule I have on my thyroid.  I pray that it is gone due to this diet and healing in my body. Only the Lord knows. My thyroid hormones have been a roller coaster due to some experimenting with medication (we will talk about that in post three of this series.) I can tell that my leaky gut is healing because my rashes on my arms are about 95% gone!  My skin is still dry but the weeping burning sores are almost all gone. I still have some just on my hands. I am still fighting a small imbalance of good vs. bad bacteria in my intestines.  It is a slow healing process though.  I have to remember how big my small intestine is.  Then I need to think about how many trillions of inhabitants there are in there!  Healing takes a long time. I am not sure about my female hormones.  I think they are off because of the irregular periods and would like to have those checked eventually. As I stated in the card above, my adrenal fatigue is pretty much gone and my energy level is mostly normal again. I am thrilled that my White Blood Cell Count (WBC) is in the normal range.  White Blood Cells help to fight off infection, aid in healing and are an integral part of our immune system.  Without the right balance I was susceptible to everything (why I got Mono).  Now I feel much more protected and notice a huge difference in how quickly I heal and how I fight off infection or colds.  A month ago our whole family was sick. My husband was sick for 9 days and my sons got it too, really bad.  Coughing, fevers, etc.  I did not get it. I attribute that to God protecting me (first) and eating a diet that is "clean" and free of sugars, starches (second.)

I am enjoying crawling into bed at night without fear.  I used to fear if I would wake up itching through the night (which happened multiple times a week), not be able to sleep (more adrenal fatigue), or wake up swollen.  Now mostly I sleep like a baby for a solid 8 hours or more. I am able to get up before the boys, around 7, and do my bible study too!  Before GAPS I could barely wake up at 9 am and when I did I was still fatigued and couldn't function.

My energy level is wonderful. I have been able to plant a full garden this year and do all the manual labor that comes with that.  I get muscle fatigue that is normal rather than before feeling fibromyalgia like symptoms after doing any kind of light muscle work. I am able to cook, clean and take care of my boys like normal.  We also just finished our homeschool year and co-op and that definitely takes a lot of energy.

I have gained a few more pounds and hope to gain a few more.  I enjoy fitting in the clothes that I do and shopping is getting to be fun again.

Even though I am healing I am still in a fragile state.  My body needs the right foods and supplements as well as the least stress possible and adequate amounts of sleep.  If any one of these things is off balance or I introduce something new or take more probiotics I find I feel it the next day. The balance is probably the toughest piece to the puzzle for me.  Once I start feeling good I tend to want to go full boar into everything I do.  This is where the Lord is working on me though. Key word = rest. I am learning. 

Anyway, there's my symptom summary. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I will reply. The internet and blogs helped me in a HUGE way (and are still) on this journey and I would love to help you if you need it.

I believe in GAPS in a big way and encourage you to try it for a month if you have any of the symptoms I had above. You will see changes and the challenge of it is worth it to feel better. If after a month you notice changes it will make you want to stick with it for complete healing!

~Blessings~

Please note - I am not a medical doctor.  What I say on this blog is based on my own research along with my own personal experiences.  I assume no liability and my advice, ideas or suggestions should not replace those of your own practitioner.