Already seeing a change

Mark Sisson, author of "The Primal Blueprint", claims that it won't take weeks or months to notice a change when you go primal, it will take only a matter of days.  I was quite skeptical.  My issues are not quite the issues of others.  I'm not the average American who just feels sluggish after a meal, or is carrying loads of extra weight.  I don't have diabetes, or celiac disease, or other dietary issues.  But I am a believer now.  Chris and I have been incorporating more primal meals into our diet, and phasing out other foods.  We are still cheating occasionally because we aren't going hardcore until after the birth.  I am feeling the carb shock I was expecting, but my wrists and elbow are doing loads better.  It's been 3 months or so since I've been able to reach my right hand to my face.  The past two days I've been able to not only touch my mouth with my thumb, but today I was able to touch the top of my head - something I can't remember doing.  I was actually able to eat breakfast with my dominant hand!  I didn't need my painkillers this afternoon for the first time in who knows when, either.  And then Chris and I cheated hardcore for dinner.  Within three hours I had excruciating pain in my wrists again, and my arm couldn't reach my face.  I didn't realize how great I felt until all of a sudden the pain had returned.  It may be a fluke, a weird coincidence, but I'm extremely eager to see if it does help with pain!  Tomorrow we plan to primal it up again! 

And for those who are interested in a delicious recipe, this salad I had for lunch and it was scrumptious!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/bacon-chicken-and-avocado-salad/

Baby update, first primal lunch

I had another OB/NST appt on Friday.  Luckily these were right after each other, unlike last week where I had them split by a few hours.  The NST didn't go so well this time.  Charlie wasn't in much of a cooperating mood.  He hardly moved and his heart rate was staying quite consistent instead of fluctuating.  They had me drink a tall glass of ice water, and when that didn't work I had to eat some more chocolate.  This time the chocolate wasn't very satisfying, it was way to sickly sweet.  After a while, though, it began to work and Charlie began doing what he was supposed to do.

At my OB appt the doctor wanted to check me again to see if there had been any change from last week - especially given my history of going quickly.  Last week my cervix was hard and closed, this week he said it was "extremely soft" and I'm dilated 1-2 cms.  He also commented that he's not sure how I walk since Charlies head was so low down, and that it's basically a waiting game at this point.  I've been having more contractions, that aren't Braxton Hicks any long, but nothing consistent or labor inducing.  On the NST monitor they were ranging in the 40 to 50 range.

I think I realized WHY this pregnancy is so much harder for me to walk.  My legs have severely atrophied from the EDS, and now I've lost my center of gravity and core.  So low muscle tone/weakness, and nothing else to keep me upright makes walking extremely difficult.  It's not painful, it just requires nearly all my strength to lift my leg and take a step. I've begun getting those, "You must be ready to pop!" comments when we are out in public.

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Today we had our first Primal Lunch.  The boys scouts are doing a food drive so we boxed up all the non-perishables that we can no longer eat and donated them.  Later this week we'll be sending off the things we've opened as well as the frozen and refrigerated items to various friends.  The kids ate surprisingly well, and Chris and I are compiling meal lists of things we can eat to keep them interested.  Lunch is the most difficult as nearly all lunch items are non-primal.  Anyway...

The kids had a few blackberries, a strawberry, a hard boiled egg, some avocado, and some roast beef.

Chris and I had some blackberries, a strawberry, egg salad wrapped in lettuce (Chris also had Roast beef but I couldn't stomach it), and some avocado.  We could hardly eat it all and it kept us full for the rest of the evening.  Dinner was quite light.

 And because I can't resist, David napping.  He is so cute when he sleeps.  And for those other cloth lovers, that is a TK Cuddlers diaper cover with a prefold inside.

Where I am starting at - Paleo Dieting/ Primal Blueprint

Chris and I are becoming more and more hopeful that this new lifestyle change will really help me with not losing the rest of my body to Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.  I was planning to slowly phase out the negative foods over the course of a month, but I'm thinking now it may happen over the next two weeks so that when I return home from birthing Charlie I will start Primal Living.  This is where I'm at, EDS wise:

- Wrists - both are damaged beyond repair.  Massive bone loss, tendon loss, ligament loss, cartilage loss, dislocated (sublexed) and separated from forearms. Will have both fused over the next few months.

- Right Elbow - Tendons and ligaments are torn and displaced, membrane is swollen, total cartilage loss.  Will have surgery in the next month to 6 weeks to repair as much as can be repaired, remove some of the bones, and the membrane.  Will need total elbow replacement surgery in 4-5 years.

- Fingers. On my left hand my index, middle, and ring finger "crunch" when moved, and cause tendon pain through the palm of my hand when used. Pain is becoming difficult to manage.  On my right hand there is burning in my pinkie and ring finger that is caused by elbow swelling pressing on the "funny bone nerve".  Pain and stiffness developing.

-Shoulder. Massive "crunching" when used. Right shoulder has been dislocating since I was a child. No cartilage left. Pain now developing in both shoulders, but lower down in the muscles.

-Ankle.  Heard a pop in my left ankle about 18 months ago, since then off and on pain in my Achilles tendon. Gotten worse as I've gained weight this pregnancy.  So bad the other day I couldn't walk without standing on my tippy toes.

-Knees.  Occasionally pain and popping.  Rehabilitated with PT last year and haven't had many issues since.  Took many months to rebuild strength.

-Toes. Frequently dislocate and audible crunching when bent, especially on my right foot.

- Back. Sciatica that occurs frequently and causes mobility issues and has greatly weakened my left side.

The wrists and the elbow are beyond help without surgical intervention, but I'm hoping that the rest can avoid surgery simply by changing my lifestyle.  I'm currently taking between 2 and 4 percocet a day just to manage the pain.  The next step would be morphine patches and it's not a step I'm eager to take.

Charlie update

Each of my pregnancies have been so vastly different from each other, and this one is so far my most uncomfortable.

With Anthony everything was so new and exciting.  I didn't have any other children to care for, so when I wanted to nap I could, if I felt sick I could relax.  It was awesome.  His pregnancy was difficult because I started out at a much heavier weight than is my normal now, I was 126 lbs when I got pregnant. I also got up to my highest weight in my life, 151 lbs, by the time I delivered him.  Throughout the pregnancy I had extreme morning sickness, every day, without let up.  But even still, I worked my whole pregnancy - sometimes at 2 jobs.  I had jobs that were physically demanding - working at a daycare, and at a restaurant.  I had enormous bouts of energy, and was crazy excited at impending motherhood.  Even though he was born 5 weeks early and I had a placental abruption the recovery was still pretty easy.

With Anastasia I started out at 117 lbs and delivered at 147 lbs.  So even though I gained more that pregnancy I still delivered at a lower weight.  Her pregnancy was absolutely perfect.  I had a ton of energy, I felt amazing, Anthony was a pretty easy going toddler to care for.  I delivered her at 39 weeks, the farthest I've ever gone in pregnancy.  I had no complications during the pregnancy or afterwards.  Her labor was my longest, at 7 hours, but it was the easiest and most calm as well.  The only complaint I have is I ended up with severe post partum depression that lasted heavily for 6 months and continued on through her first year.

With David I started my weight out at 113 lbs and delivered him at 145 lbs. His pregnancy also was harsh with morning sickness and I was placed on medication to help keep food down.  Luckily it stopped during the second trimester and the rest of the pregnancy was semi-smooth sailing.  At 24 weeks and again at 32 weeks I went into preterm labor with him and had to have it medicinally stopped.  Towards the end of the pregnancy I developed sciatica, but it was more a nuisance than an issue.  at 37 weeks 6 days I delivered him after a planned natural birth that lasted a mere 2 hours.  The birth was absolutely awful, and it's something I've struggled to come to terms with.  Why was MY labor so much more unbearable than these amazing natural childbirth stories that people I know have had?  I actually ended up with PTSD and would wake up sweating from nightmares I had of it.  It's only later I learned that people with EDS shouldn't have natural childbirths because they can be more traumatic than a normal persons.  I still mourn his delivery and future deliveries knowing I'll never get my waterbirth or homebirth now.  His recovery was pretty awful.  I felt as if my pelvis had twisted and had issues walking for a few weeks afterwards.  Now I'm learning that may have been SPD.  Only 6 weeks after he was born did I lose the ability to walk, and since then I've lost the use of my arms (but regained my legs!)

This pregnancy began at the same weight as Davids, 113 lbs.  I'm currently up to 141 lbs.  I've been heavier than I am now, but I FEEL at my heaviest.  It's very difficult for me to walk, or sit or lie comfortably.  My energy is at an absolute zero.  Some days it's a struggle to get up out of bed, not only physically but mentally as well.  Yesterday I had to fill a prescription for Chris at Walgreens and walking across the store was nearly impossible.  It's almost like this time around my smaller-than-average frame size is not coping with the nearly 30 lbs of weight I've gained.  I had my last Peri appt yesterday.  He's looking great.  Still engaged and ready to come out, but sitting content it seems.  His hands and feet were both thrown up in front of his face, but we did see his lips and nose.  It appears he has Anastasia's fat pouty lips :) They estimate his weight to be 5 lbs 15 oz, but it could be off 12 oz either way.  I'm hoping it is, the smaller way.  My largest baby was Anastasia at 6 lbs 5.6 oz.  Both of my boys were 5 lbs 13 and 5 lbs 14 oz respectively.  It seems my body can't birth a much larger baby so it tends to push them out when they hit that weight.  So this means Charlie could be coming soon, which I'd like him to bake at least another week or two, so I'm hoping his weight is off in the smaller direction.  Either way, I'll be quite happy when he arrives, I can get my weight back down, I can have my surgeries, and hopefully end up in a much healthier state - both mentally and physically.

Paleo dieting, Phase 1

Chris has been reading up about the Paleo diet (Also known as the Cave Man or Stone Age Diet) and he REALLY wants to do it.  He's been talking to me about it for a few weeks, and I told him I'd support him but I wasn't going to participate.  Well, he might have convinced me to give it a shot.  I'm still skeptical, but the author he has me reading makes a lot of great points (you can check out his site, http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ ) and Chris thinks it will greatly help out the pain and progression of EDS.  Most of my pain comes from secondary Osteoarthritis which Mark claims can be helped by changing the way we live.  It's so much more than a diet, it's a complete lifestyle change. 

A few of the things he advocates are 1) a change in food (obviously).  If our caveman ancestors didn't eat it, neither do we.  If you strive for perfection he believes you'll succeed 80% of the time, so he doesn't expect you to be perfect.  This means eliminating a lot of my favorite foods though, amongst them are potatoes and bread.  The Paleo way does not allow for grains - so no rice, bread, corn, ect....  I could live off bread and potatoes so that is going to be very difficult for me.  I figure my cheat meals will probably include bread and potatoes, lol.  He differs from the Atkins diet in the Atkins is a low-carb diet.  His is not a low-carb diet, it's more a natural carb diet.  You get your carbs from fruits and veggies instead of breads and pastas.  I haven't read the whole book yet, so I hesitate to put too much information out in case I'm wrong.  Chris says that dark chocolate is allowed though, so that makes me happy.  He also advocates for

2) a change in exercise.  He believes we should exercise the way our ancestors did.  Meaning, we should move frequently, but slowly with occasionally sprinting (something I won't be able to do because of the EDS).  Occasionally you should lift heavy things as well, but hard core cardio is out.  This is going to be difficult to find an exercise regime I CAN do with EDS that still fits into this lifestyle.

3) No wearing shoes.  He claims that shoes make our ankles weaker which weakens our lower body and causes pain.  Sarah, my PT, had a similar philosophy about strengthening your lower body strengthens your whole body.  So I can see this.  Obviously in our society no shoes isn't really plausible (no shirt, no shoes, no service) so Chris and I are looking at buying moccasins for the whole family.

As I read more of his book I'm sure I'll have more to write, and as I go through this massive lifestyle change I KNOW I'll more to write/vent about.  It's not going to be easy, but if it helps my EDS how could I not do it?  How could I possible complain about how much pain I'm in, and how much this sucks if I am unwilling to try to change it?  It's similar to people who don't vote. If you don't vote don't complain. 

Phase 1 will take place next weekend.  The Boy Scouts are doing a food drive so we are cleaning out our pantry of unopened items that we won't be able to eat once we begin this and donating them.

34 Weeks 1 day

I had my OB appt this afternoon.  It was supposed to be your standard in/out appt but turned into a two hour appt instead.  Charlie has never been much of a mover.  I can get him to shift if I poke at him, I see his little feet and butt come up a lot, and he gets hiccups a few times a day but that's about the extent of his movement.  Every appt Dr. Schropp checks his movement and every time I tell him he's not much of a mover but he IS moving.  Today Dr. Schropp said he was just not happy with that response any longer, that by now we should feel 3-4 movements an hour and he should have active times.  So he wants me to start doing NSTs twice a week and coming to see him once a week.  I had my first NST today which was boring but relaxing.  The office was booked up so they sent me across the hall to labor and delivery - which I love the L&D at Midlands.  Their rooms are so huge and the kids got to watch TV the whole time.  It took them over an hour to get a good strip on Charlie, but so far he looks okay.  He had the hiccups for the first few minutes of the NST which was hilarious to listen to.  The kids got a kick out of that.  I also was displaying mid-range contractions on the monitor (the little gauge thing was getting in the 50's), so I'm supposed to try to take it easy and rest when I'm having them.  Otherwise everything looks pretty good.  They started registering me as well so I'll have less to do when I go into labor.  They are just totally awesome, and I'm really going to hate not being here with future children.

We also cleared it with the nurses for taking the placenta home.  Chris doesn't want to encapsulate it himself so he's hiring a specialist to come to the house when I'm still in the hospital to do it for us.  She wanted us to make sure the hospital didn't have any red tape we needed to jump through.  The nurse told us they marked it in my chart, and that we'd just need to bring a cooler.  They used to have a freezer to store them, but now they just throw them away so they no longer have the freezer available.  They told us they'd supply a container, and ice as well.  I'm really glad they aren't making me feel strange for doing this, they didn't even bat an eye.  Chris told them that we'd also be supplying our own diapers and would not want any disposables being used - and they marked that as well without any issue.

I go back on Tuesday for another NST, and then again on Friday for another NST and an appt.  That's going to be the new schedule until I deliver, which they think may happen in about 3 weeks.

Nesting hardcore

The nesting urge has become so fierce I'm actually dreaming of it at night.  I'm mentally cleaning my house, organizing things, and purging what needs to go.  It's been very very frustrating for me because my arms don't allow me to do much at all - so mentally I'm rearranging things but physically I have to wait till I take a painkiller or until Chris will do it for me.  This homeschooling thing has been wonderful for this.  I've been able to channel my insane urge to organize into getting everything ready.  Once the rest of my supplies are in I'll be posting pictures of just how crazy I am.  I hope to have 10 weeks worth of lesson plans planned prior to Charlies birth so that when Chris needs to take over he can do so without a hiccup.  

Chris thinks I'm insane of course.  And I am.  I know this.  My house is full of labels.  My kitchen cupboards are labeled with what is on the inside (even though a few children have ripped off a few labels), my pantry has labeled shelves for what is supposed to go on them, my kids drawers are labeled with the the appropriate clothes (in Charlies case it's labeled by size).  There is specific way I have my medicines organized, the clothes organized, ect.... It drives Chris crazy, but he puts up with it.  To an extent.  Even though the shelves are labeled he's still really great at not reading the labels and will ask me where the rice is (uh..hun? It's on the shelf labeled "rice").  For most of our relationship I've let it slide, my insanity shouldn't be pushed on the rest of the world, but it's quite hard to ignore it when he has to pick up my slack now.  He cracked up laughing the other night when I told him that the things I'm looking forward to the most when my wrists are fixed is being able to deep scrub the house, and reorganize things that need it.