It's a rainy day here in San Diego - perfect for doing a lot of nothing, watching Little Miss Sunshine again and taking a nap. I'm just not feeling well again today so I'm taking it easy for once. I've mentioned in a few posts that I started not to feel well in the past few weeks and I wasn't specific because I didn't really know if I was coming down with sickness (cold/flu) or something I could attribute to my new diet.
The researcher in me sat down at the computer this morning to find any information on the following symptoms I've been experiencing lately, specifically:
- Extreme fatigue throughout the day (I'm 47 but feel like I'm 87)
- Extreme coldness in my body, especially in my feet and hands - I can't get them warm no matter what I do (picture me in sweats, layers of clothing and in a double thick blanket cocoon - still shivering)
- Strange stomach/colon uneasiness (like pre-flatulence or something) about 1 hour after I eat
- Weakness all over my body - especially in my arms and legs
- Tingling hands and feet - more than the usual I have with neuropathy but not unlike it (sometimes it makes it hard for me to fall asleep)
- Strange sharp/burning pain in my upper middle/right back muscle
Here's what I've learned so far:
- Extreme fatigue - This seems to be quite common among newbie vegans (4-6 weeks from starting); anemia, slowing metabolism, lack of calories/amount of food eaten are but a few of the culprits
- Extreme coldness in my body - This could be due to a slow metabolism (lack of eating enough calories or right foods), anemia (lack of iron from not eating meat), hypothyroidism (though I've never had this problem before)
- Strange stomach/colon uneasiness - This can be so many things but it's likely that my colon is still adjusting to the raw foods and lack of fatty acids - I'll keep researching this one. I actually have diarrhea today so it's even harder to figure out what's really going on.
- Weakness all over my body - This is most likely the same as the fatigue and coldness - experienced by many newbie vegans who haven't quite figured out the right amounts of food to eat
- Tingling hands and feet - This is most likely part of the weakness I'm experiencing elsewhere. The fact that I already have neuropathy from diabetes doesn't help this at all.
- Strange sharp/burning pain in my upper middle/right back muscle - This is completely unrelated to the diet - whew! I've been doing more computer work over the past few weeks and this causes me to hunch over/forward tilt my head a lot putting a tremendous amount of strain on my upper back and lower neck muscles thus causing the pain - basically it's over strain of the lower neck muscles. I need to focus on proper head and spine posture so that this pain will go away (it's pretty intense now so that may take awhile).
I think I already mentioned that I currently don't have health insurance due to being unemployed. I am able to see a primary doctor at Kaiser (where all of my medical records are for the past 10 years) but I have to pre-pay the visit and I'm not allowed to see specialists even if referred by the primary. This complicates my life, as you can imagine. I did find that California has already set up a website for people who cannot get insurance and have pre-existing major health issues after the 10/25/10 passing of the healthcare reform bill (PCIP - http://www.pcip.ca.gov/Downloads/).
Though there is a website containing an informational package that provides a copy of the application - it's not electronic so you are required to print it and send it in. I guess my plans to get in to see a doctor next week will have to wait for an indeterminable amount of time (let's think...government...new program...manual process...lengthy process!). At least its something and hopefully I won't have anything bad happen in the next so many weeks.
FOOD
Based on all the recent research and all of my newer symptoms I feel like I don't know how much or how often I need to eat. If I truly have a sluggish metabolism I don't need that much food and eating as often as 6 times per day would be too much. I am just making sure that I'm eating raw/fresh vegetables and fruit as much as possible without worrying about anything else.
What i ate/plan to eat today:
- Green apple
- Strawberries
- Banana
- Ezekiel toast - plain
- Edamame - steamed w/soy sauce
- FF Vegie Udon Soup - see recipe below
- Sweet Potato - baked
- Green Beans w/tomato, onion & garlic
- Kashi Whole Wheat/Mixed Grain dry cereal w/vanilla
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RECIPE
FF Vegie Udon Soup
Ingredients:
- FF Vegie Broth
- FF Udon Noodles - prepared (you can buy these noodles dry, semi-cooked and cooked - just have them prepared and set aside for the soup)
- Water - equal to the amount of broth used
- Corn - cut/frozen
- Broccoli - chopped in bite sized pieces
- Potato (any type, including sweet) - diced 1/2"
- Celery - sliced
- Carrot - sliced thin
- Red Bell Pepper - chopped
- Onion - chopped in large chunks
- Mushrooms - diced or sliced
- Jalapeno - diced or sliced
- Cilantro - chopped finely
- Garlic powder
- Soy sauce
- Sambal Oelek
- Peppercorns - cracked
Instructions:
- Dry saute garlic, onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper and jalapeno for about a minute
- Add broth and spices; stir
- Add mushrooms, broccoli and potatoes; cover and let cook for 20 minutes - until potatoes are done
- Uncover, stir and add noodles and cilantro
- Serve and eat!
Notes:
- You can add or omit any vegetables - the idea is to get a lot of varied colored vegies into this dish so you get the most amount of nutrients in every bowl - the addition of potato makes this even more satisfying
- You can easily make this more Mexican, Asian or Indian by the spices and herbs
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