Doing the Best I Can: March Updates

It's been a while since I posted an update for you guys, so while I have some free time (and by "free time" I mean waiting for a response so I can actually start working on a project), I thought I'd do a little writing here.

First, I know you are all dying to know what's new in the Mold Saga. Unfortunately, it's not good news. Our apartment was inspected and it was found that one of the windows is actually leaking, causing a significant buildup of moisture on the windowsill and the floor below. They didn't find moisture in the bathroom in our bedroom, but that's probably because we stopped using it. Basically, although the inspector recommended installing exhaust fans and replacing the windows, the owner said no. We were told to just leave the doors open while we shower (which we were already doing, in addition to hanging our wet towels outside the bathroom to dry) and to wipe off any condensation on the windows. Meanwhile, we all continue to be sick and poor Copper has been wearing the "cone of shame" for a week and a half now. I have contacted a lawyer and am waiting to see if we have a case to sue the owner over this. If not, then we're stuck with our moldy apartment until December when our lease is up.

My poor baby! We did buy her a "comfy" cone that's a little softer (and reusable). But every time we take it off, she immediately starts scratching her face. :(

Remember way back when I said I was giving up bananas and avocados since they can be cross-reactive in people with latex allergies? Well I gave up bananas for almost a month. Then I had one banana every day for three days in a row. I noticed zero changes except remembering that I'm really burnt out on bananas and I enjoyed not eating one every day. I gave up avocados for a shorter period of time, because guacamole. Again, I didn't notice any difference with or without avocados in my diet. I'm currently under a lot of stress right now with the problems in our apartment, trying to sell our house, and a lot of other stuff. I may revisit this idea in the future, but I think right now, I'm done experimenting with my diet. I'm going to continue trying to eat as healthy as I can for as cheaply as I can (with a few convenience frozen pizzas thrown in here and there), otherwise I might go insane.

I do have some good news to share, though. A few weeks back I had two job interviews. One for a job I was really interested in and the other was for a job I applied for only because I was qualified and was at a point where I just needed a job. It wasn't something I truly wanted to be doing. Well, I didn't get an offer from the one I was interested in, but I did get an offer from the other one. I initially accepted it, but around the same time, I landed a freelance writing gig. The more I did the writing and the more I realized I might have to give it up if I took a full time job, the less and less I wanted that job. If I was going to give up writing, it definitely needed to be for a job I really wanted. After crunching some numbers and deciding we could make it work, I turned down the full time job offer. I am currently writing [almost] full time and also working a part-time job. It's definitely not as much money as I'd like to be making, and it means we won't be making much progress on paying off our debt anytime soon, but I'm already much happier and feel so relieved that I don't have to take a job I don't want just for the money. I took a risk, and I'm hoping it pays off!

I've got a lot going on, some of which I may write about later in a separate post. Right now, I'm spending almost all day, every day writing and it makes me immensely happy, so I'm trying to focus on that.

Soul-Crushing Allergies

For those of you who didn't know, I'm allergic to latex (it would probably be easier to make a list of things I'm not allergic to at this point).

A friend in nursing school recently posted on Facebook that if you have a latex allergy, there are certain foods you should avoid. I responded that I'm allergic to latex and eat most of those foods with no problems. But after I thought about it, maybe I am having problems and I'm ignoring them.

Here's the list of foods she said to avoid, along with how frequently I eat them:
bananas- literally almost every single morning with breakfast
avocados- several times a week, usually in the form of guacamole
chestnuts- uh, never, as far as I know
kiwi- I love kiwi, but I rarely buy/eat them...but if someone includes them in a fruit salad, I will eat a ton of them
guava- I don't know that I've ever even tried guava
hazelnuts- not too often
potatoes- I LOVE potatoes, in the form of french fries mostly, but regardless, YUM
peaches- when they're in season I'll eat a few, but they're not my favorite fruit
grapes- off and on depending on the season
apriocots- never, ew

So, I eat quite a bit of the things on that list. I did a little research after that and found the American Latex Allergy Association (really, I hate that that is even a thing). The technical term for this "phenomena" of having one allergy and having allergic reactions to foods because of it is called "cross reactive allergy". In layman's terms (as I understand it), these foods have similar properties to latex, and therefore can cause similar allergic reactions in those who ingest those specific foods. According to their website, they have a list of several foods, broken down into categories based on degree of association or prevalence of the cross reactivity:

High
banana
avocado
chestnut
kiwi

Moderate
apple
carrot
celery
papaya
potato
tomato
melons

They also have a "Low/Undetermined" section which includes 33 other foods (!!!). I won't list them all here, but I will list some that I frequently eat:
mango
sweet pepper
cayenne pepper
plum (when in season)
cherry (when in season)
wheat
shellfish (when I can afford it- ha!)
pineapple
citrus fruits (several times a week)
strawberry (all the time when in season)
soybean (I don't eat this often, but suspect I am allergic to soy also, and perhaps it's a cross-reactive allergy??)
coconut (several times a week)
peanut (stopped eating peanuts after having an allergic reaction, but again, makes me wonder if that is linked to the latex allergy)
dill
oregano (in pretty much everything I make??)
zucchini (pretty often)
nectarine (when in season)
sage

That's a lot of foods. :(

I think my next step here will be to first eliminate the foods the ALAA lists as High and see how I feel and then reintroduce those individually to see how I react. And then do the same for the Moderate foods. I also found it really interesting to see soybeans and peanuts on the list. Some of the other foods on the Low/Undetermined list I eat pretty regularly and there's no way I could cut out that many foods. So I'm going to start with the high and moderate foods to see how my body handles it and see how I feel. But, probably not until next week, because guacamole.

There are also cross-reactive food allergens for allergies like pollen, grass, mold, etc. But I can't even look at that right now without feeling totally overwhelmed. However, some of the foods on those lists, are also on the latex list (apples, potatoes, carrots, celery, bananas, etc.), so maybe cutting some of those foods will help with both.

Just when I think I've got a handle on my allergies (environmental and food), I read a soul-crushing Facebook post and I have to start over again.

I do find it funny that I had been thinking over the idea of doing another Whole30 or going Paleo again before this information slapped me in the face. Lucky for Chris, I think attempting to go Paleo or do a Whole30 while simultaneously cutting out these foods would be extremely difficult (and would probably make me crazier/moodier than usual). So I'm only going to cut the foods from this list and keep my diet relatively the same for now just to see how those foods are affecting me.

Like I said, I will probably start this next week, so I will keep you all updated on my findings!

Anyone else have experience with cross-reactive allergies?

My Experiment

As I mentioned in a previous post, we did a lot of walking on our honeymoon, especially after meals. We’d eat breakfast then head over to the beach. We’d eat lunch or dinner on the board walk and then walk around for a while before heading back to the condo. I felt pretty great the whole time we were down there. Sure, there were a couple times where I probably just ate the wrong thing and I paid for it. But for the most part, I felt good, and that was a really nice change from how I had felt in the months and weeks leading up to the wedding. 

I do think stress plays a pretty large role in my IBS, and wedding planning is about as stressful as it gets (I hope). So I’m a lot less stressed now and I’m sure that’s making a difference in how I’m feeling. But I’m also making an effort to walk after as many meals as possible, even if it’s a short walk. 

Right now, I’m walking after breakfast 2-3 days a week and just about every day after lunch. Walking after lunch is a little tricky because I only get 30 minutes for lunch. So to make sure I have enough time for a decent walk, I only have about 15 minutes to eat. I’ve been averaging close to half a mile each day after lunch. Then, on the days I don’t have yoga, I try to take Copper for a walk after dinner. 

I’m not doing a Whole30 right now. In fact, I’m still kind of ignoring my “sensitivities”. I’ve been eating gluten and dairy almost daily (and yes, sometimes I’m eating way too much of it), and I can honestly say I have felt better in the last month than I have in the past year, even with all the Whole30’s I’ve done. I’m sure if I were doing a Whole30 right now, I might feel even better. But for now, my stomach hurts a lot less and I’m spending less time in the bathroom and that’s a huge deal for me. 

I’m going to continue to eat what I want for the most part and continue walking after as many meals as possible to see if this keeps working for me. So far, I’m very happy with the results!  

The Wedding & Honeymoon

One month ago today we said "I do"! It was a crazy busy weekend, but everything turned out amazing.

The day of started bright and early with some very un-fun stomach issues and terrible allergies (constant sneezing, runny nose, etc.). Not exactly how you want to start your wedding day. Luckily, after a pretty bland breakfast and a lot of immodium, my stomach issues subsided and by the time we got to the hall, I was done sneezing.

We had a beautiful, slightly-chilly, overcast day which explains the allergies. Our pictures really turned out amazing though, and it was better than being over 100 degrees!

Photo by my beautiful sister

My beautiful sister. Taken by our photographer on my sister's phone 

My daddy walking me down the aisle <3 Photo by Amy Rush

My aunts decorated the gazebo for us and it looked so beautiful! Photo by Amy Rush

Yay we're married! Photo by Amy Rush

Cheers! We drank whiskey instead of champagne ;) Photo by Amy Rush

First dance. Photo by Amy Rush

The next day we opened our gifts and then drove 12-ish hours to Pensacola, Florida for our honeymoon. It was a very long and exhausting drive...we didn't get there until around 2am. But man, when we woke up the next morning and looked out our balcony, it was totally worth it:

View of the bay from our balcony.

Another view from our balcony.

Down at the board walk

On the beach <3

We went to the beach every day while we were down there and we took a nap every afternoon. That's the life, my friends. We had such a relaxing week and we're so grateful that we were able to go.

Dinner at Casino Beach Bar & Grille--fish tacos with plantain chips! So delicious! 

Yes, I read Anna Karenina on the beach.

Sunset from our balcony <3

McGuire's is just the best.

I didn't worry too much about my food sensitivities while we were down there--I just wanted to enjoy myself. So I ate gluten and dairy basically whenever I felt like it. And I actually felt pretty good all week long. I think travel has a pretty big affect on my digestion (in a good way!), so that helped too. But more on that later.

Boxties! They were so delicious!

We wrote on a dollar and hung it up, so he had to kiss the moose! Which of course I couldn't get a picture of. :(

Our dollar is now hanging in McGuire's.

So we accidentally ordered crabs instead of crab legs. Those are whole crabs...eyes and all. Creepy. But delicious. Also not worth all the extra work. 

Footprints in the sand <3

I tried oysters for the first time! I won't do raw ones...those totally gross me out. But these were pretty damn good! 

We ate at a restaurant on the beach called Hemingway's. It was awesome (I had red snapper and it was delicious) and they had lots of cool stuff in there and, naturally, I bought a t-shirt from them.

We woke up super early Saturday morning to make the 13-hour drive up to Chicago to see the game on Sunday. Another long drive. We attempted to listen to an audio book, but it made me really sleepy, so we listened to my awesome road trip playlist instead. :)

On our way to the Cards-Cubs game in Chicago!

Oh yeah, we won! The only game the Cards won that weekend and we got to be there to see it!

We can't go to Chicago without stopping for pizza! Giordano's is our absolute favorite! Plus they have chicken sausage so yay for me!

On Monday we made our way back home after driving up to Wisconsin to buy beer (Spotted Cow is delicious guys). I was sad our trip was over. I went an entire week without being stressed, without having constant stomach issues, and without worrying about our financial situation. It was incredible.

While we were on our honeymoon, we did a ton of walking. Pretty much after every meal we did at least a small amount of walking. And I think that, combined with the travel, really helped my digestion. So I've been experimenting with that since I got home. I'll do a full post on that later. 

Since we've been back, we've been busy writing thank you notes, getting our house back in order, and putting away wedding gifts. We've still got a few sitting around that we have to make room for, but we're almost done! Things are starting to get back to normal and it's extremely nice to not have the stress of wedding planning. 

It's good to be back!