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Forum lurker finally registers...

warning:this may not be your typical introduction…

Hello there! This is my first time attempting to talk about raw foods and whatnot. I think I’m just going to jump right into why I’m here:

I’ve been sort of ‘experimenting’ as to find some way to rid myself of ills for quite some time.

In high school I had quite bad acne in some form or another (probably a lot less so than I perceived). I tried many things to attempt to make this go away, all had more unintended effects than I anticipated. Benzoyl peroxide completely dried my face out to the point of myself becoming a giant flaky mess. I developed quite the hand washing (OCD?) ritual, showered far too often in an attempt to wash away the film on my face that turned orange any colored clothing (I’m a fan of black) which meant more dryness thanks to super hot water, attempted overdoses of vitamins (b5 and a) seemed to help for a bit, but then not so much (bring on the diarrhea, not a school-friendly situation when they’re all covered in feces and blocked up, peeping heads over the door that didn’t lock, etc). The worst of it in my senior year led to me nearly failing to graduate (Lucky for me, the good student I was, I’d already enough credits to pass). I’d come to the point where I couldn’t so much as leave the house in the day without freaking out…I didn’t want to be seen…I had over a month of entirely missed days, not in a row mind you, but over the course of the second half of the year. So finally in a cooking class I’d been shoved into thanks to required nonsense classes, I stopped eating meat starting with the chicken meal we had to make (Of course I’d been sympathetic for a while, having seen disturbing videos and read horrifying stories of animal cruelty). Anyways, one thing led to another, and poof I was a vegan…hardly an A+ vegan diet, but vegan none-the-less.

Oh right, you remember that bit about OCD? Well my hands dried out to the point of cracking and bleeding, mostly at the knuckles and wrist if I remember correctly, which was gross enough to make a girl in a class I’d had nearly vommit.

So after school came summer, I hadn’t applied to any colleges…I didn’t think I could get in, seeing as my GPA took a nose dive, I’d slept through my senior year, and I’d drifted into depression. I’d mostly get online, or bike at night. I slept more than half the day, everyday. One summer I lived on veggie burgers , maybe one or two a day. Another half year or so I medicated myself with strong beer I’d steal from my stepdad, who’d bring home a 24 pack every day…so he didn’t notice; I gained like 60 pounds (talk about stretch marks). Now, as bad as that sounds, for my height, I was still within “normal” ranges.

So fast forward: I was DONE with all that crap after having done some thinking and research. I decided to round out my diet, ditch anything I needed to apply, showered much more infrequently…and I waited…and waited…and finally I’d sort of ‘stabilized’ in the sense that I stopped breaking out so badly…

The hand washing just as rough as before, and then I started getting little bumps on my arms earlier this year. More bumps. More bumps. Until they took up my forearms and the back of my hands…doctors misdiagnosed it…After having seen a dermatologist, she obviously didn’t care at all, had no tests done, nothing…but I was given steroid shots three times, none making it go away for more than a week or so…, only to return to my World’s largest scabs. Finally I found out it was eczema on my own (most likely of my own doing = “Xerotic”), which just in the past month I’ve made go ‘away’ thanks to this borage oil formulation at the local health food store. Did I mention that I didn’t have health insurance and that the dermatologist also prescribed a three-hundred dollar four ounce bottle of steroids on steroids…which I used far longer than I should have since it NEVER went away. I’d wash my hands under max heat water and scratch so much so you might think I’d made a blood sacrifice of one of our cats.

So onwards to now: I’ve been mostly raw/all raw for say…the past few months? (I have a horrible memory for things like that). I don’t break out at all anymore, maybe little bumps that go away over night once in a while. My hands are normal looking now and amazing unscarred. And finally the cloud over my head is gone and not quite so depressed as was the case before. I can’t shave though, I still do get extremely dry facial skin if i wash AT ALL, so I don’t, which works out well for me with all the saved time.

I usually make green smoothies all the time, as I can’t stand the multi-step recipes that in my experiences all turn out awful, or inedible. I’ve been working with what I have which isn’t much…some 20 buck blender that makes me do most of the work. But they turn out ok, but they don’t look so hot coming out the other end, dark green/brown/black looking poop. On my good days it at least sticks together…on the bad, it just plain falls out, all chunky and disintegrated “turn the toilet water green”, gross.

And … more current: Somebody took our scale, but I can tell I keep losing weight little by little and I’m getting worried. Maybe some sort of absorption problem. I have a funny rib that sticks out on my left side, maybe one missing…who knows… which doesn’t look so pleasant with low body fat…and I’m tired of feeling my butt bone on hard chairs.

So yeah, I’ve come a long way from the dozen Pepsi-chugger of my youth.

I didn’t write that all up for pity, and I probably missed something somewhere,but I figure it’s best to know where I was so you might understand me better. So now I gotta bike to store before they close!

Oh right, I forgot mention …HELP!!! (thanks in advance)

gulp, here goes, (click post topic…do it DO IT….)

Comments

  • Thank you for sharing your story. Sounds like you have gone through a lot and come to a good place for continuing your path toward health. There are lots of good ideas here and if you have specific questions, many thoughtful, knowledgeable folks to help out. I’m glad you came forward and are no longer lurking. It’s good to meet you!

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    I actually came across your post in a search for “poop”. I have them same thing. They are green and seeds in them. I think that is normal but I am looking for more info. I need a book that is more than just recipes!

    I am really glad that your health is improving. I was drinking at least a glass of wine a day…sometimes more. I haven’t craved it since going raw over the past week. We’ll see if that lasts until Friday!

    My husband has detox through his skin as well. Eliminating garlic and a few other foods has made him completely clear. You are what you eat…

    Good luck.

  • bittbitt Raw Newbie

    Forgot to say for skin I have heard flax oil (which I take) and pears are both excellent for skin. add some to the smoothies.

  • deborahanndeborahann Raw Newbie

    Am late for work so this will be quick! Possible lack of HCl production which would impair digestion (esp. protein). Check out MSM for skin health and make sure you are getting adequate levels of essential fatty acids. Check out your calorie intake for a few days and see where you are there; you may need to increase food intake. Hope this helps !

  • Barbraw: Thanks a bunch for the advice, it’s nice to meet you too!

    bitt: Thank you too. I have heard flax is good for the skin, though also for mental health as well, correct? I sometimes grind some seed up and just mix it around with water in my mouth and swallow. As for pears, I get at least 1-2 a day.. I ran out of mangos one day and I made up this pretty rockin’ smoothie:

    As much greens as I can blend into 2.5 cups water 1 pear, banana, 1 orange (small, or maybe like 1/2 // 3/4 a big one), maybe tsp spirulina, a few dates.

    Sadly, when I add any sort of ground seed, it thickens up my smoothies to the point that they don’t blend properly. Otherwise, I have pour half out into another cup, blend, drink blend stuff, pour the other cup back in…etc…

    deborahann: Thanks! I’ve read the “Green for Life” book and I must say I thought the exact same thing in regard to the stomach acid bit, just not so sure what can be done…other than green smoothie patience.

    I guess it doesn’t help that I jump rope and bike everyday, does it? Should I maybe slow down a bit until I get this weight problem in check?

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    Hi gimmespinach – keep exercising! exercise really helps to bring folks into better health. It improves digestion, mood, memory, blood flow, and so on (i have a list of 100 things that exercise does for the body!)

    anyway, i read your post, and i must say that those health challenges sound familiar. although I had a slightly different set of symptoms, i’ve had the gamit of health problems too – excema, very bad digestion, headaches, illnesses that seemed like mono – all of this, due to my vegetarian diet. after 7 years of this, fast forward 6 weeks on 99% raw foods diet. WOW. everything has changed. i’m better!!

    it sounds like for the weight loss problem, you should start eating lots of whole foods. by that, i mean just grab an apple and eat it. or 5 apples. then 2-3 hours later, grab a banana and eat it. or 5 bananas. whatever fruit you’re in the mood for. do you like veggies? grab veggies, dip em in an easy dressing (mix equal parts tahini and oil. squeeze in generous amt of lemon and salt and garlic). eat a lot, and it can be simple foods. i can list some of my fave SUPER easy recipes, cause it’s easy to go wrong on the complex recipes.

  • Winona: Wow, I think that’s exactly what I needed to hear…errr read, and I’m sort of on that path as we speak. I could down like 8 bananas easily, so maybe I’m just not eating enough. I do like veggies, I’m just not so hip to the easy stuff, finger food and such, not so much into salads though. Anyways, it’s just about the warmest it’s been all year right now, so I think I’ll load up on goodies and head out! BIKE! :-D (Those ‘super easy’ recipes would be great, but take your time, I’m in no rush.) Thanks a bunch for the input.

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