The Wide Mouthed Frog

[cherimoya_kid]

Aww, man, that's a shame. The only clams I could be sure of getting truly fresh are the tiny ones along the coast that are about the size of my pinky fingernail. I seem to recall reading somewhere they're either not fit for human consumption, or they're just kind of bitter. Either way, harvesting enough of those to get a noticeable effect would likely be more effort than it's worth. I do appreciate the information, though!

I am guessing there's a very specific nutrient in clams that oysters don't have much of, that is the factor involved.  The nails are made of a sulfur-based compound, so whatever the nutrient is, it probably has to do with sulfur metabolism. Perhaps.

[Lynnzard]

An exciting, busy day. I started pricing bows and handling a few to see how they felt. Despite being a few decades since the last time I picked one up, it didn't feel as unfamiliar as I thought it might. I also looked into the different heads. They didn't have any bunny busters, but I think I can get those online when I'm ready. As it turns out there are two farms within easy driving distance raising grassfed beef and lamb and pastured chickens and hogs. One of them also does rabbits which I'll be having tonight with some marrow. I'm looking forward to seeing how it tastes raw. I always loved it cooked.

I got in some barefoot running. I don't run fully barefoot but in Vibrams. The trails near my house have tons of broken glass and old rusty parts from rednecks using the woods as their own personal dumping grounds. My calves and feet are getting stronger. I'm getting better both with my distance and speed, and I'm not sure what it is about it, but my mood is just tons better when I run this way than when I was wearing shoes with a hard sole.

On a less positive note, I finally got hold of the blood work they ran on me. They did NOT do either the thyroid test OR the celiac test they charged me for and drew extra blood for. Needless to say, Monday I'm not going to be the only unhappy person in regard to this issue. However, everything they did test for was excellent.

I'll report back later about the rabbit. It looks delicious and smells very fresh. The marrow was unfortunately frozen, so I'm waiting for it to thaw.

Update: The frozen marrow was still very good after thawing. I didn't notice a difference in flavor, but considering it was less than a week old--they freeze immediately after processing unless it's a pre-order--it was still very fresh.

Raw rabbit is incredibly juicy with a very clean flavor. There was some bit of fat given these were domestically raised and not wild. The liver was also delicious, a much lighter texture overall than bison or cow.  I was a little concerned I wouldn't find it as appetizing as beef. I'd say quite the opposite is true. Their rabbits are reasonably priced. I could easily see making this one of the staples of my diet.

[Lynnzard]

Today I've decided to fire all of my doctors. After a round of completely unproductive phone conversations where it's clear they are invested in slavish devotion to lab tests instead of actually listening to a patient and the patient's symptoms, I'm not giving these people another dime. I'm going to heal myself through a combination of self-education and instinctively listening to and doing what my body is telling me to do. Already I've had some decent results, but I know that it can get better. I've seen it through what the rest of you have been saying who have been eating and living this way far longer than I.

It's a relief to take this leap of faith. Faith in self. Faith in inner wisdom. For most of our lives we're told we're dumb and that we don't know what is best for ourselves when it's a total lie. Today's the day I'm casting out the liars. I don't care if their motives are basically benign--and I'm not convinced that they are. Today is the day I throw down the crutches of faith in an institution or anything else that doesn't serve my greater good in relation to my health. This is my own independence day, and today I rejoice.

[Projectile Vomit]

Forgive me for not having the time to read through your journal in its entirety, but what symptoms/ailments are you suffering from?

[CitrusHigh]

That's what I like to hear from my fellow Raspberries!!!!

Hear, hear, Lynn has eaten the red pill!!!! Glad to have you!

We're here to support you as you take control of your health!

[Lynnzard]

Forgive me for not having the time to read through your journal in its entirety, but what symptoms/ailments are you suffering from?

No forgiveness necessary. I wouldn't expect anybody to comb back through 3 pages just to see if a question they had was already covered. Also, I haven't really laid it all out cohesively.

For quite some time I've suffered from excessive fatigue, failure to really thrive or improve on exercise programs--as in I don't make significant gains in strength or stamina and instead become ill and burnt out--and difficulty losing weight without ridiculous calorie restriction. Then in December I went through a bout of what I thought was food poisoning at the time, severe vomiting and diarrhea for three days accompanied by fever and flu-like body aches.

For two weeks after that, I couldn't eat anything except very thin broth, and then my body just abruptly stopped tolerating most cooked foods entirely, throwing me into doubled over agony in the gut every time I ate a meal. I also had and still have to some degree persistent pain in the upper right quadrant of my abdomen in the area of the liver and/or gallbladder. I was so fatigued during this part of it I barely had energy to get through my work day and had nothing whatsoever left over afterward. I was collapsing into bed and sleeping up to twelve hours at a time while still feeling utterly exhausted upon awakening. No ability to concentrate, extremely forgetful.

Switching to raw foods completely eliminated the gut pain and mitigated the fatigue and brain fog to a large degree. I've also started shedding some pounds without having to try. I've been eating to the point of mild satiety, and nasty food cravings are completely gone. I should add I've eliminated all grains, legumes, and processed sugars from my diet, nor do I eat dried fruit or high sugar fruits at this point. Very minimal nut and seed consumption, and those are soaked first.

There's still intermittent pain in the liver/gallbladder area. It doesn't seem to have a specific trigger, not that I've been able to narrow down yet. From the research I've been doing online and the things people said here as well, it seems a lot like adrenal fatigue combined with hypothyroidism, and probably a sluggish, ill functioning gallbladder on top of that. I've got a plan of action combining dietary changes, consumption of thyroid and adrenal glands, and use of some adrenal supportive herbs such as licorice root. I'm keeping exercise very moderate at the moment so as not to further stress my system. And honestly, just making the decision to take this into my own hands also has me feeling more at peace. I don't care for the way doctors treat patients. They don't listen and act like you're some sort of imposition instead of their livelihood. Hardly an attitude to foster healing.

[Lynnzard]

That's what I like to hear from my fellow Raspberries!!!!

Hear, hear, Lynn has eaten the red pill!!!! Glad to have you!

We're here to support you as you take control of your health!

The red meat pill. lol

Thank you for the support and cheering. It has brightened my day!

[Lynnzard]

Music stays on my mind. What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in, why it's almost like being in love!

Lots of good things going on right now. There's a grass fed beef farm less than 15 miles from my house that sells raw dairy and said they're happy to hook me up with all my odd little organ requests, including thyroid and my favorite of the favorites, tongue. I took a tour of the farm today. Pasture raised chickens who really do pretty much run around wherever they damned well please and eat whatever the heck they want, good eggs, woods "pastured" happy, healthy hogs, low density cow farming, goats, raw local honey, the whole shebang. They keep great hours, so no more driving forever to head into town to get frozen stuff and no more expensive shipping costs from places way further away. They slaughter and process right on site. I'm one happy little clam.

More health improvements.

• The energy crashes are a lot fewer and further in between. I no longer consume any caffeine whatsoever, and I think my adrenals are thanking me for it.
• Almost no more pain in the upper right quadrant. Sometimes I feel a weird fluttery feeling, like my gall bladder is trying to do something like expel a little bile. I'm not really sure what it is. It doesn't last long, and it's not even what I'd call discomfort, just a weird feeling.
• I've started taking desiccated thyroid until I can get my hands on the fresh stuff. WOW. What a difference it is making. This is more like I used to feel in my early 20's. I had completely forgotten how it felt to have enough energy that I want to do yard work and heavier physical tasks I was having to force and feeling like crap the whole time.
• I've been actively foraging and discovering all sorts of nice wild edibles in the woods right next to my house. Really cutting down on my grocery bills and feeling great eating far less than I used to need to get by.
• I was out in direct sun several hours today without a hat or sunscreen after a very sequestered indoors winter. That would usually mean a wicked sunburn for me. None. No burn. I tanned. Look at that pale pic. That's me, and I tanned. Also, not really a health thing, but I've always had kind of pale lips. Now they're red. That started being noticeable maybe a couple of weeks ago. My husband asked me why I was wearing lipstick to the farm today. Needless to say, I did not pretty myself up for the pigs.
• And I just noticed recently, no allergies this spring. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. I'm usually a snotting, sneezing mess with itchy, swollen eyes by this time of year, and we've had a hot spring, so it would have started back in February if it was true to form. I have been eating local pollen. I think this could have something to do with it.

Also, a little side note. With regular milk, just one glass of it and within 20 minutes I'm coughing with post nasal drip and feeling like utter crap. I tried the raw stuff today. One glass. No mucus. No stomach upset. I felt really good. Kind of peaceful and at ease. Full enough that I didn't want anything to eat with it. I don't know that I'll want to be a super regular consumer of dairy, but it was interesting to note that the raw milk didn't have any of the nasty effects on me its pasteurized counterpart does.

All the music of life seems to be
like a bell that is ringing for me
And from the way that I feel
When that bell starts to peal
I would swear I was falling
I could swear I was falling
It's almost like being in love!

[Dorothy]

Lynnzard - impressive results - but the really "important" thing I wanted to add is that someone told me that wide-mouthed frog joke over 20 years ago and it's still one of my favorite jokes of all time. It's the kind where my husband I just have to say one or two words from to start laughing. I can't believe someone animated it!  Thanks for posting it.

[Lynnzard]

Lynnzard - impressive results - but the really "important" thing I wanted to add is that someone told me that wide-mouthed frog joke over 20 years ago and it's still one of my favorite jokes of all time. It's the kind where my husband I just have to say one or two words from to start laughing. I can't believe someone animated it!  Thanks for posting it.

I'm tickled to hear from somebody else familiar with it. My uncle's neighbor kid told me that joke when I was around 11. To this day I can see and hear exactly how he exaggerated the words and it brings a smile to my face. I was astounded to find an animation of it, too, and couldn't pass up the opportunity to pass it on!