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Raw Paleo Diet Forums => General Discussion => Topic started by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 01:19:49 am

Title: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 01:19:49 am
I just got back from the gastroenterologist.  I was looking forward to getting some tests done and finally getting some answers.  In short, he told me that I didn't have anything wrong with my digestive system and I needed to see a psychologist.  I have never been so offended in my life.  He said that I didn't have any signs of inflammation or bleeding and that a psychologist could prescribe something to fix my chemical imbalance.  I asked him if it was a chemical imbalance that was causing me to have chronic constipation, bloating, and undigested food in my stool and he said yes.  Along with arthritic pain in my knees, chronic pain in my back, blurred vision, cuts that don't heal, insomnia, hands and arms falling asleep at night, and every other symptom I have = it is all in my head.  This was Dr. Tarnasky, voted one of the best doctor's in Dallas.  I asked him to explain why when I eat nothing but raw beef nearly all of my symptoms disappeared and he said that it was all in my head.  I am convinced that I have pancreatic insufficiency of some kind.  Now I really don't know what to do.  I can't continue to eat this raw beef diet.  I have done it for over four months now.  Besides the fact that I find it just as bland and unpalatable as the first day I started, I also feel extremely hungry all the time, even shortly after I eat.  I tried upping the fat to 80% and protein 20% and I don't digest it as well with fat that high and it did nothing for my hunger.  I seem, to do better with a 50/50 ratio.  I tried eating until I was full a couple weeks and had to stop myself around 5000-7500 calories.  In two weeks when I capped my calories at 4500 my abdominal fat went from 17% to 25%, in two weeks!  I am so frustrated.  I was hoping the doctor was going to order some tests to see if I had gallstones or something that was causing me to be so miserable.  He also told me I was going to get parasites from eating raw beef.  By the way, my blood pressure was 101/60 and I feel better than I have felt in years eating raw.  But like I said, I am always hungry.  I only wish I could put a little spice and cook the meat a little without having problems and not feel extreme hunger from dawn till dusk.  I never had hunger when I ate a high carb diet.  It is really miserable to feel hungry constantly.  Did anyone else feel hungry when starting eating this way?  I have been eating raw beef for over 4 months now.  I can't eat fruit or vegetable of any kind without having my symptoms com back.  Sorry, I am just venting here, I have no one else to talk to... 

By the way, I told the Dr. wasn't in my head and I wasn't going to see a psychologist and he got up and said, "Good luck with that" and left the office.  Can you believe this!
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: ForTheHunt on May 05, 2010, 01:39:52 am
I think you should give fruit another go. I've been eating a lot more fruit lately and it's gone down surprisingly well. At first I had some bloating and stomach pains but it has severely reduced after just sticking to it.

And another thing my bowel movements have been incredibly good. I always go as soon as I wake up which is lovely.

I tried the RZC diet as well and for me it didn't work at all.

Also I think you should relax a little, you seem very upset and angry (very understandable) but don't underestimate what that sort of stress can do to your body.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: ys on May 05, 2010, 01:52:56 am
Yuri has similar issues. You should read his journal.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: wodgina on May 05, 2010, 02:29:40 am
sounds 50% diet 50% in your noggin to me, I would avoid seeing a shrink.
 Keep busy and do what you want to in life. Don't research on the internet for knowledge/cures or you will get worse.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: KD on May 05, 2010, 02:47:17 am
I think the mental can affect the physical, but there must be other issues at play here. not to sound callous, but have you tried just eating ~2-3k a day, as it seems like the hunger is an issue regardless. I'm confused as to which issues you had pre-diet and which you are currently experiencing in regards to undigested matter, feeling of well being etc...

maybe find ways to guiltlessly ease up on things like the spices or other foods that don't cause issues if you know of any.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: William on May 05, 2010, 02:48:58 am
I have read books by those who seemed to have been reading my mind, but this is the first time that I've read of someone who is living my life.
I'm a bit further on the path, so some advice:

Re your doctor - fire the bum. Waste of time. All of them.
1:1 fat:protein worked for me in the beginning, but something changed so I'm now doing at least 80% fat (mostly tallow). I get a headache next morning if I eat less.

The difference is that I don't get hungry.
I cheat sometimes, by eating a whole steamed beef tongue with expensive mustard (Moutarde de Meaux, Pommery "served at the royal table in France since 1632"). It might do some good, makes me feel better anyway.

I speculate that the answer might be to eat whole animal (mouse? frog?) but I'm not that brave.

Good luck.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: MrBBQ on May 05, 2010, 02:56:01 am
I would say trust yourself...Also, consider the possibility that the symptomatology or pain syndrome could be a hyper-manifestation of something emotional/psychological. There is a saying - nothing to fear, but fear itself...

Human metabolism likes sugar - that's why we have a taste for sweet things, and gluconeogenesis...Fruits complex glucose, fructose and sucrose. Honey is best as glucose/fructose.

Alternatively, in the context of a nutrient dense diet, there's refined sucrose in the form of refined cane sugar. Maybe you can experiment for a few days with raw honey or some kind of evaporated cane juice (rapadura) to identify if your problem is specifically with fruit.

Is the fruit organic and ripe? How about low-fructose fruits? How about fruit juices (without their fibre)?

I'm not saying these practices are optimal, although you may be able to try different things in the short term for experimentation/probing.

You do sound pretty sorry for yourself...In fact, who/what is the "self"? Maybe life is not actually as crushingly serious as you've been lead to believe...Maybe life is always playful and when you go with the flow, the flow goes with you...Maybe you're thinking in terms of limitation rather than having infinite freedom to experiment and make mistakes/successes...Life is awesome always, so be here now, snap out of the illusion of a fatigued mindset and say to yourself that you're not trying to get one up on the universe, you're simply here for some very interesting mischief, be that discovering healing strategies, realising that men in white coats only have limited tools for helping people (cut,burn,poison - oh, demoralise), womanising, fantasising, whatever.

Have you heard that saying: If you go to a psychologist, you ought to have your head examined...LOL!

Natural sugars are not your enemy...Natural sugars existed long before our species, especially when complexed with other substances in fruit/honey.

P.S. We live in a schizogenic society, so maintain your sanity by trusting your sensitive equipment and taking another human's rationalisations as non-serious. LOL...
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Paleo Donk on May 05, 2010, 04:39:51 am
So, you feel better than you do on years on raw, and yet still have all these symptoms? But it would be easier for you to return to whatever diet you came from? There are a ton of threads here on healing digestion that I would check out with all sorts of suggestions - eating small amounts of pancreas, adding salt, seaweed, liver flushing, Betaine HCL pills and much more.

Whats helped my hunger the most is eating only raw fat until I start getting full. At times I have not even had the need for any protein after doing this.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: kurite on May 05, 2010, 06:07:51 am
I think you should give fruit another go. I've been eating a lot more fruit lately and it's gone down surprisingly well. At first I had some bloating and stomach pains but it has severely reduced after just sticking to it.

And another thing my bowel movements have been incredibly good. I always go as soon as I wake up which is lovely.

I tried the RZC diet as well and for me it didn't work at all.

Also I think you should relax a little, you seem very upset and angry (very understandable) but don't underestimate what that sort of stress can do to your body.
I agree, give fruit another go. Originally my body didn't seem to function to well on it and sometimes gave me stomach pains when I ate to much but now I can eat as much as I want with no pain or problems.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 06:57:28 am
I don't eat fruit for a few reasons.  One is that it makes my symptoms re-appear almost immediately.  I will go to sleep that night and not be able to breathe through my nose, I won't be able to sleep, etc...  The second reason is that if I eat a single apple I feel an intense craving to have another and another.  I could eat 20 apples in one sitting.  My hunger cravings are much more intense when eating fruit and I just choose to not eat fruit at all because of this.  Another thing is that my body temperature fell way down and I was always freezing cold.  I would wear a windbreaker at work I was so cold and I would sometimes put on two pairs of socks when I went to bed.  I have heard other people claim this and it is a bizarre condition and I don't like it or feel like it is healthy for me.  The one good thing about fruit is I was having regular healthy bowel movements.  I would rather just eat beef as it is working for me (except for I'm always hungry).  Believe me, I wish I could eat fruit.

I have never been a binge eater.  When I was eating high-carb I could walk by a plate of cookies and eat one and never think about them again but since I have cut out carbs if I try to eat even a single piece of fruit I feel an intense craving for more and this is more miserable than anything.  I have never been overweight either.  One thing I am going to try is to raise my caloric fat % more slowly rather than just jump from 50 to 80% and see if my body takes it a little better.

As far as it being in my head; right before I went on a raw food diet I tried eating nothing but boiled broccoli and fish and the broccoli was coming out in my stool completely undigested.  I thought that was a huge clue and the fact that most my problems went away when I went raw was a clear indication that there was some kind of pancreatic insufficiency going on.  I thought the doctor would want to run some test and maybe they would find gallstones or something that were blocking the pancreatic fluids from moving through my tubes.  I am just really discouraged by this meeting and was venting and I appreciate all of your feedback.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 07:11:11 am
I also feel like trying to explain my problems eating fruit to someone who doesn't have a problem eating fruit is like trying to explain to my 13 year old neighbor why Pizza Hut is bad.  He will look at me and laugh because he eats it all day long and has no problem with it.



So, you feel better than you do on years on raw, and yet still have all these symptoms? But it would be easier for you to return to whatever diet you came from? There are a ton of threads here on healing digestion that I would check out with all sorts of suggestions - eating small amounts of pancreas, adding salt, seaweed, liver flushing, Betaine HCL pills and much more.

Whats helped my hunger the most is eating only raw fat until I start getting full. At times I have not even had the need for any protein after doing this.

I have no intention of ever going back to eating carbs or processed food ever again.  Most of my symptoms are completely gone If I stay completely raw.  I just wish I could cook my meat with a little spice and not feel hungry all the time.  I think food is one of the great joys of being alive on this earth and the truth is I haven't eaten a raw beef meal that I enjoyed in the last four months.  I was hoping that I would acquire a taste for it but it is just as gross as the first time I tried it.  If I could just make my hunger go away it would be tolerable and above all that I just wish I knew what was wrong with me.  I wish a doctor could point to a chart and say "Here is the source of your digestive problems".  I had severe morning back pain for the last twelve years that went completely away when I went no-carb.  What was that?  Was it kidney pain?  Did I do permanent damage?  I don't know because I can't find a doctor who gives a damn.

I think raising the raw fat % is key and I am going to try raising it slowly thank you for that suggestion.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Arthas_ on May 05, 2010, 08:30:16 am
Are you currently eating grass finished meat? Grain finished according to some members tastes bad in comparison. Also you may try changing your source or try different meats. I guess Tyler commented somewhere that the taste of wild meats are stronger and  more flavorfull. As for your difficulty digesting fat, it points to congested liver and/or gallbladder. It seems people have different digestion for different kind of fats. Suet is believed to be harder to digest than back fat. Then there's Willian who claims to have issues with suet, but not with tallow. You might also benefit from a liver flush. I personally take some supplements to help in this matter. I take taurine, molybdenum(helpfull in assisting liver detoxification), zinc, MSM, phosphatidylcholine and others. In case you don't want to take supplements, eggs are supposed to help detoxing the liver as well. Re your endless hunger, as said before, you might try eating the fat first and then the protein. I'm as well eating tons of calories, around 5000. I'm not gaining weight though, I'm rather thin and underweight.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: ForTheHunt on May 05, 2010, 08:45:21 am
Are you currently eating grass finished meat? Grain finished according to some members tastes bad in comparison. Also you may try changing your source or try different meats. I guess Tyler commented somewhere that the taste of wild meats are stronger and  more flavorfull. As for your difficulty digesting fat, it points to congested liver and/or gallbladder. It seems people have different digestion for different kind of fats. Suet is believed to be harder to digest than back fat. Then there's Willian who claims to have issues with suet, but not with tallow. You might also benefit from a liver flush. I personally take some supplements to help in this matter. I take taurine, molybdenum(helpfull in assisting liver detoxification), zinc, MSM, phosphatidylcholine and others. In case you don't want to take supplements, eggs are supposed to help detoxing the liver as well. Re your endless hunger, as said before, you might try eating the fat first and then the protein. I'm as well eating tons of calories, around 5000. I'm not gaining weight though, I'm rather thin and underweight.

Try eating more carbs. Then the protein and fat will be used for building and storing instead of fuel.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: goodsamaritan on May 05, 2010, 09:10:34 am
I just got back from the gastroenterologist.  I was looking forward to getting some tests done and finally getting some answers.  In short, he told me that I didn't have anything wrong with my digestive system and I needed to see a psychologist.  I have never been so offended in my life.  He said that I didn't have any signs of inflammation or bleeding and that a psychologist could prescribe something to fix my chemical imbalance.  I asked him if it was a chemical imbalance that was causing me to have chronic constipation, bloating, and undigested food in my stool and he said yes.  Along with arthritic pain in my knees, chronic pain in my back, blurred vision, cuts that don't heal, insomnia, hands and arms falling asleep at night, and every other symptom I have = it is all in my head.  This was Dr. Tarnasky, voted one of the best doctor's in Dallas.  I asked him to explain why when I eat nothing but raw beef nearly all of my symptoms disappeared and he said that it was all in my head.  I am convinced that I have pancreatic insufficiency of some kind.  Now I really don't know what to do.  I can't continue to eat this raw beef diet.  I have done it for over four months now.  Besides the fact that I find it just as bland and unpalatable as the first day I started, I also feel extremely hungry all the time, even shortly after I eat.  I tried upping the fat to 80% and protein 20% and I don't digest it as well with fat that high and it did nothing for my hunger.  I seem, to do better with a 50/50 ratio.  I tried eating until I was full a couple weeks and had to stop myself around 5000-7500 calories.  In two weeks when I capped my calories at 4500 my abdominal fat went from 17% to 25%, in two weeks!  I am so frustrated.  I was hoping the doctor was going to order some tests to see if I had gallstones or something that was causing me to be so miserable.  He also told me I was going to get parasites from eating raw beef.  By the way, my blood pressure was 101/60 and I feel better than I have felt in years eating raw.  But like I said, I am always hungry.  I only wish I could put a little spice and cook the meat a little without having problems and not feel extreme hunger from dawn till dusk.  I never had hunger when I ate a high carb diet.  It is really miserable to feel hungry constantly.  Did anyone else feel hungry when starting eating this way?  I have been eating raw beef for over 4 months now.  I can't eat fruit or vegetable of any kind without having my symptoms com back.  Sorry, I am just venting here, I have no one else to talk to... 

By the way, I told the Dr. wasn't in my head and I wasn't going to see a psychologist and he got up and said, "Good luck with that" and left the office.  Can you believe this!

I stopped bothering with MDs when all 5 of them said my disease was incurable in 2005. 

Maybe my website can help you.  http://www.curemanual.com

Maybe a few detoxes added will help you.

----------

William suggested the whole animal.

I get the whole animal when I eat small animals like small fish, oysters, clams, shrimp, crabs, those are whole animals.  Very filling. 

Just muscle meat and fat everyday is not so satisfying.


-----------

The grain fed beef I tried in the markets taste bad and bland, we just stuck to what was delicious which is consistent with what is grass fed.  I eat raw animal food that is delicious.  Follow my taste buds.  If it tastes bad I don't eat it. 

If you eat yummy raw food everyday you'd be happy.  Go for taste!

The whole family just had raw tuna and sea urchin last night... yummy.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Josh on May 05, 2010, 04:25:20 pm
My experience has made me think that nearly all the problems I had with raw paleo were due to not having enough fitness (although I was no slob) and so not being able to adapt to high fat.

What worked for me was being able to run a half marathon. I was lucky enough to be able to train at altitude as well, which might have had additional benefits.

Now I am eating 70/30 fat protein and one fruit a day and don't have any real problems...raw was no big deal.

Everyone makes recommendations from their own experience...I can only suggest eating a standard 'healthy' diet while you get into training, heavy on the butter, low veggies carbs from rice. Get up to a good level of fitness, then drop your running right down so you just go for a jog a couple of times a week. Then eat 70/30 mix. I'm about 6 weeks into that.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: rawlion on May 05, 2010, 05:24:20 pm
I don't eat fruit for a few reasons.  One is that it makes my symptoms re-appear almost immediately.  I will go to sleep that night and not be able to breathe through my nose, I won't be able to sleep, etc...  The second reason is that if I eat a single apple I feel an intense craving to have another and another.  I could eat 20 apples in one sitting.  My hunger cravings are much more intense when eating fruit and I just choose to not eat fruit at all because of this.  Another thing is that my body temperature fell way down and I was always freezing cold.  I would wear a windbreaker at work I was so cold and I would sometimes put on two pairs of socks when I went to bed.  I have heard other people claim this and it is a bizarre condition and I don't like it or feel like it is healthy for me.  The one good thing about fruit is I was having regular healthy bowel movements.  I would rather just eat beef as it is working for me (except for I'm always hungry).  Believe me, I wish I could eat fruit.

I have never been a binge eater.  When I was eating high-carb I could walk by a plate of cookies and eat one and never think about them again but since I have cut out carbs if I try to eat even a single piece of fruit I feel an intense craving for more and this is more miserable than anything.  I have never been overweight either.  One thing I am going to try is to raise my caloric fat % more slowly rather than just jump from 50 to 80% and see if my body takes it a little better.

As far as it being in my head; right before I went on a raw food diet I tried eating nothing but boiled broccoli and fish and the broccoli was coming out in my stool completely undigested.  I thought that was a huge clue and the fact that most my problems went away when I went raw was a clear indication that there was some kind of pancreatic insufficiency going on.  I thought the doctor would want to run some test and maybe they would find gallstones or something that were blocking the pancreatic fluids from moving through my tubes.  I am just really discouraged by this meeting and was venting and I appreciate all of your feedback.

Bro, I don't want to disappoint you, but I am hungry for almost three years now on raw animal food diet. I can eat a pound of pure fat and still be hungry 10 minutes later. If I eat fruits I just can't stop. It's unbelievably uncomfortable to live like this. I have the whole set of other debilitating symptoms (muscle weakness, poor digestion, cold intolerance, low body temperature, anemia, bloated abdomen and fat around the middle) but being hungry 24/7 is worst of them all. And the strange thing is that this hunger is 10 times more intense after the meals.

As for your doc he may be quite right that it is all in your head. No, I am not saying its psychological issue. Not at all. But it can be your hypothalamus.

I found the way to stave off this hunger a bit. If I keep something really unappetizing under my tongue (bitters like wormwood help) it subsides to a certain level.

Finally, who knows, maybe the parasites are already reigning in your body...
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: actionhero on May 05, 2010, 06:37:03 pm
The second reason is that if I eat a single apple I feel an intense craving to have another and another.  I could eat 20 apples in one sitting.  My hunger cravings are much more intense when eating fruit

This is a clue, don't ignore it. Try 3 days 100% fruitarian diet and get around 1800-2200 cal from fruit. Best is 3 monomeals where you eat one type of fruit for each meal. On the fourth day eat only 2 monomeals of fruit and one meal of raw lean meat. Then go back to 3 days 100% fruitarian and again on the fourth day replace one meal with a raw meat meal. Do this for one month and see if you feel much better. This is a protocol for healing and not recommended for longer periods. After you are healed you should be able to eat raw meat and raw fat with no problems but high raw fat is not the answer when your body is broken. Fruit is as it is the lightest for the body to digest so an enormous amount of energy is freed up for healing. You will get some raw fat from lean meat meals and this is enough for healthy body chemistry and hormonal balance while on this healing protocol.

FRUIT=fuel for the body
RAW PROTEIN=cellular regeneration and repair
RAW FAT=optimal body chemistry and hormonal balance

After you are healed a protocol I recommend is 2 raw meat meals and one fruit monomeal (500-700 cal) per day. Then each third or fourth day one high raw fat meal instead of raw lean meat meal. This gives the best energy, vitality, mental clarity, optimal hormonal levels, lean muscular body, incredible strength and stamina. High raw fat every day I have found to slow me down drastically and I don't want that. I want power and explosive vitality.

Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: michaelwh on May 05, 2010, 06:58:52 pm
If I start eating fruit, I also can't stop. But I have no problems with hunger/satiety when eating meat/fish.

I agree with what Arthas_ said.

It might be possible that you are missing some kind of micronutrients, and that's what's causing the hunger. You could try eating plenty of nutrient-dense foods such as shellfish (oysters in particular), beef liver, and seaweed.

Or it might be more complicated, and a hormonal problem is causing the hunger...
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: djr_81 on May 05, 2010, 07:04:21 pm
A number of posters have mentioned to keep eating the fruit but we're each different and I personally feel you might want to avoid them for now. I have systemic Candida (along with numerous food allergies), which is slowly been getting back under control eating RAF, but I still get the same hard to control urge and real lack of a stop with both fruit and raw honey. I have personally found that in my case I need to completely abstain from all non-animal carbs and even limit my intake of liver (higher in carbs than other organs) to keep my symptoms away. If I slip up a bit they all come back (albeit somewhat lessened now 8 1/2 months into a raw carnivorous diet).

I do agree with many others of the selection of meat. Make sure you're eating quality grass-finished meat (or wild game if possible) as it does taste exponentially better. Also, and more importantly, find a fat that's palatable. Most find marrow to be the tastiest in the beginning.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 07:32:23 pm
I simply can not digest fruit.  If I do then my symptoms re-appear and that makes my life miserable.  Its hard to think I will be healing myself with fruit when I am only sleeping 3 hours a night.  I also think there is advantages to being 100% fat-adapted and ingesting fruit sugar interferes with this.  I am a powerlifter and it has taken great adjustment to go no-carb in the gym and I finally have everything dialed in and I don't want to start eating fruit and take several steps back again.  I have already gone the fruit route and it most certainly did not work for me. 

I do eat grass-fed.  Supermarket grain fed beef makes me gag, especially ground beef.  I can eat grass-fed ground beef off the spoon if it is really cold and it is not that bad.  I try to stay away from ground beef because it doesn't fill me up.  I buy straight from the farm.  Last week I bought a whole side of beef.  I have forced myself to eat different cuts.  I think I am starting to realize that it will never taste good and that I will have to resign to just "eat to live".  I just wish I could make the hunger go away.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Hans89 on May 05, 2010, 07:42:39 pm
Have you tried making sauces? You could spice up your meat a lot that way. AV has a lot of recipes in his second book!
Another idea about the hunger issue might be to try intermediate fasting such as eating only one meal per day.
If you did better on high carb but can't stomach fruit, why not try a cooked starch such as baked tubers? It isn't paleo, but it has helped me greatly at times.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: 00nightstorm on May 05, 2010, 08:02:37 pm
Bro, I don't want to disappoint you, but I am hungry for almost three years now on raw animal food diet. I can eat a pound of pure fat and still be hungry 10 minutes later. If I eat fruits I just can't stop. It's unbelievably uncomfortable to live like this. I have the whole set of other debilitating symptoms (muscle weakness, poor digestion, cold intolerance, low body temperature, anemia, bloated abdomen and fat around the middle) but being hungry 24/7 is worst of them all. And the strange thing is that this hunger is 10 times more intense after the meals.

What is causing your symptoms?  Have you had a CT scan or ultrasound to test for gallstones?  Is your pancreas not producing enough enzymes?  It seems to me that everyone who is forced into this diet by necessity has some kind of enzymatic insufficiency.  I want to know the root of the cause of why I used to be able to digest starches and cooked food and now I can't.  Something changed in my body what was it????  Although I can get by on raw beef I want to know if there is something wrong with me inside that needs attention.  If I have gallstones and it is blocking the pancreatic juices from flowing that is a very bad thing and it could cause Pancreatitis or even Pancreatic cancer so they need to be flushed out somehow...  

Have you tried making sauces? You could spice up your meat a lot that way. AV has a lot of recipes in his second book!
Another idea about the hunger issue might be to try intermediate fasting such as eating only one meal per day.
If you did better on high carb but can't stomach fruit, why not try a cooked starch such as baked tubers? It isn't paleo, but it has helped me greatly at times.

I have tried a great deal of intermediate fasting.  In fact, I am forced to eat that way most of the time because it allows me to eat a greater portion late all at once late in the day.  I hate going to bed feeling completely starved.

Cooked tubers is out of the question they will destroy me 1000x worse than fruit.

Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: rawlion on May 05, 2010, 08:27:49 pm
I had an ultrasound scan twice which didn't show stones of any kind.

The only thing that I know for certain is that intermittent fasting coupled with overexercising caused all my problems.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: afroza on May 05, 2010, 08:55:12 pm
It has been said; everybody is trying from own experience to help eachother on this journey.
I used to be starving all the time for at least the first year, and I still get extremely hungry sometimes. Not strange since our bodies are starved by a lifetime of crapfood. As others have mentioned, the only thing helping was eating more fat. I found butter and fresh coconut very satisfying. First I would eat as much meat and animal fat I could get down, and then I would sit and chew coconut meat, spitting out the pulp, until I felt satisfied. Sometimes for hours.
If I eat fruit I mix it with at least the double amount of butter and put it in the fridge for an hour, it is delicios, maybe the fat will prevent you from getting the symptoms from fruit. Might be worth trying, if you haven´t. A little bit of fruitsugar from a fruit mixed with much fat helps me when I feel depressed.
I have tried liverflushes and stuff before, and it has agrivated whatever problems I have had, I would not recommend it. A raw meat diet is a much better and safer way to give the body a chance to heal itself in its own speed. There is no permenent damage.
Like many others I recommend trying different foods. Who can eat beef for months and not get bored with it? Personally I love superfatty lamb or mutton, ground and cold it tastes like ice-cream to me, if it is really fatty. Chicken, if you can get good one, or sea food with some lime or lemondrops on is a treat. Stay away from doctors, they can´t possibly understand the diet you are eating.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: actionhero on May 05, 2010, 10:05:02 pm
chronic constipation, bloating, and undigested food....Along with arthritic pain in my knees, chronic pain in my back, blurred vision, cuts that don't heal, insomnia, hands and arms falling asleep at night.

Well there's got to be a reason why you are having these extreme symptoms. What have you done to cause this? Are you extremely overweight or are you lean and muscular? How are your hormone levels? Was you body damaged by medical doctors in any way including chemical damage from drugs? Do you have a history of high refined carbs, refined sugars or alcohol addiction? Have you used anabolic steroids in the past?

If healing is desired one has to realize what has caused the problem in the first place. Some bodies might be damaged to such a degree that it cannot be repaired no matter what we do. In that case solutions should be looked for to minimize further damage but the CAUSE should first be discovered. Only then can we look for possible solutions.  
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: ForTheHunt on May 05, 2010, 10:16:46 pm
I had an ultrasound scan twice which didn't show stones of any kind.

The only thing that I know for certain is that intermittent fasting coupled with overexercising caused all my problems.

Huh, strange.

I fasted for 12 days and that gave me the biggest relief in my health problems so far. It was a colon cleanse fast and I got rid of just insane amounts of mucoid plaque. So much you wouldn'T even believe it. And I would say my skin dryness was reduced by 50% and warts I had on my elbows disappeared and I realeased a lot of water weight, stuff which I thought was fat was actually water retention... and lots of other stuff got better. I can't wait to do my next colon cleanse fast. Although I wont do such a long one next time. It's probably better to do only 5-6 days at once.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: William on May 06, 2010, 12:29:17 am
 It seems to me that everyone who is forced into this diet by necessity has some kind of enzymatic insufficiency.  I want to know the root of the cause of why I used to be able to digest starches and cooked food and now I can't.  Something changed in my body what was it????  

I agree with the enzymatic insufficiency, and think it has something to do with liver malfunction, but have found nothing that would explain that, or how to correct it.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: goodsamaritan on May 06, 2010, 01:34:19 am
If we are talking enzyme insufficiency then you may be a candidate for systemic enzymes.  I think Dr. William Wong sells those kinds of stuff.  There's also a German brand.  just google for "systemic enzymes".
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: KD on May 06, 2010, 01:56:24 am
honestly, it seems to me that alot of the people feeling hunger or binging are modeling themselves on some kind of strict version of RPD that some perhaps have had success with. I think one thing I've walked away with from years on other dietary approaches is this is an extremely dangerous way to respond to symptoms as there our seemingly successful models to follow for any persuasion. Many are clearly not healthy at all to follow or at least are appropriate for that moment, for everyone.

I can say that when I eat fruits or honey I get some mild side effects that are warnings enough to stay away, at the same time I have no problems taking a bite of an apple and tossing it out or a few strawberries from a box and not having another meal for hours. I can prepare meals (meats/starches etc..) for others on an empty stomach and not salivate, even though like you I don't find raw fats and meats exactly to be treats. I would have never been able to do this on raw-vegan. I can only assume that this is due to the variety foods sources and/or ability to absorb foods because of methods that are constantly dismissed as rubbish by dietary autocrats. If I have vegetable juice w/ eggs in the morning I won't have hunger pangs till 5:00 pm. I literally have to eat at scheduled times, otherwise I will never get real hunger sensation.

It seems for the most part, you've had alot of success with symptoms cleaning up. most of my symptoms are slightly better at best, so I can relate to the frustrations, especially the effort to stick with it per results and seeming to not really having many options otherwise. But on the positive it seems to me you are in good shape to make some changes and ease up on what is defined as healthful. If you are no longer having undigested matter in stools and seem to be gaining weight due to excess calories, these seems to be healthful responses to bodily functioning. If you were losing weight doing what you describe I would be far more concerned, but it seems to be far more due to lack of minerals and stress. There could very well be underlying physical issues as well that might require serious involvement, but you can't tackle everything at once. see if small dietary change and relaxation help at all.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Raw Kyle on May 06, 2010, 03:53:53 am
I had an ultrasound scan twice which didn't show stones of any kind.

The only thing that I know for certain is that intermittent fasting coupled with overexercising caused all my problems.

I don't think there's really a way to "know" something like that for certain.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: wodgina on May 06, 2010, 03:29:47 pm
I had an ultrasound scan twice which didn't show stones of any kind.

The only thing that I know for certain is that intermittent fasting coupled with overexercising caused all my problems.

You were fine until you started 'diets'
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Hans89 on May 06, 2010, 09:53:15 pm
You were fine until you started 'diets'

What's wrong with that? Until I tried PD I didn't feel like I was even alive. The changes have been that big just from changing my diet (though I moved away from PD to more paleo eating.)
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: goodsamaritan on May 07, 2010, 05:12:57 am
What's wrong with that? Until I tried PD I didn't feel like I was even alive. The changes have been that big just from changing my diet (though I moved away from PD to more paleo eating.)

Try reading Yuri's journal.  His problem began when he went into the diet experiments.
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Hans89 on May 07, 2010, 05:36:43 pm
I've read a good deal of it, but I'm not sure what to think about it. It seems that he was quite successful trying diets until the point when he he tried intermittent fasting and ran into trouble, which is mystifying...
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: tammy123 on May 13, 2010, 10:40:02 pm
Fruits are must to be included in your diet plan as, it helps you in keeping your body refreshed by removing all the harmful toxics from your body. It is always to better to have fruits daily instead of having a juice as it will be more helpful in providing fibre that is an important source of staying fit.

Thanks
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: Stig of the Dump on May 14, 2010, 02:39:41 am
I speculate that the answer might be to eat whole animal (mouse? frog?) but I'm not that brave.
That is a very interesting thought William.  I know that snake owners can buy whole frozen mice, for example;

http://www.petclubuk.com/sp/reptiles/reptile-frozen-food/frozen-mice-pinkies-x-100/1117 (http://www.petclubuk.com/sp/reptiles/reptile-frozen-food/frozen-mice-pinkies-x-100/1117)

Mind-bending to think of eating them - I might not be that brave either.  (I do I know that some Northern wolves live off them.)

The real concern would be:  what are the mice fed?

(I once lived in Hawaii and the rats in the jungle were absolutely beautiful creatures with glossy coats and limpid eyes.  Pet shop mice, raised by the millions, probably eat the equivalent of cardboard.)
Title: Re: I feel like I am at the end of my rope
Post by: sevenpoints on June 04, 2010, 07:21:54 am
When I started this, I tried straight, raw beef.  From a taste and textural perspective, I just couldn't get into it.  I admit, I didn't try for very long, because I found the instructions for Lex Rooker's jerky drier.  Now virtually all the meat I eat dries in it, anywhere from 12 to 48 hours depending on how dry I like it, or how easily I want to transport it or how long I want it to keep.

Personally, I find it very palatable most of the time! And I like that it's not really "cooked", just dried, because the temperature is so low.  I go through the dry weight equivalent of anywhere from 1 to 2 pounds of fresh beef on an average day (which I've found weighs roughly 120 grams dry from each pound of fresh, if it's fully dried). The seasoning is simple but tasty, and I can fit most of my daily food in a brown paper bag and keep it in my backpack.

I also enjoy the way that fat gets in the jerky drier - easier to chew through with a textural combination of thick and soft with just a little bite to it.  I just put a steak roast in there which had a good layer of nice fat on top, from a grass fed/hay finished cow, and the fat was enough to cut almost a whole skewer's worth of strips.

I don't know if everyone agrees with jerky most of the time, but I've found it's working quite well for me.  I tend to digest it well and my tolerance for other food is better, too.  Today I ate jerky shortly after a piece of fruit, which months ago would have resulted in lots of skin itching, but it was no problem.

Months ago I was having major bad reactions to any food whatsoever, which is what prompted me to move in this diet's direction.  I admit that I also started with a lot of coconut oil because I likely had a bad yeast flareup, and did take l-glutamine to heal the lining of my gut.  I was under a lot of stress at the time, and that can play havoc with digestion.

I find I do better and am less sluggish with a few plant carbs, like fresh fruit - though hopefully later on I can get my hands on some quality grass fed/finished fat, and would like to try incorporating more of that for energy. 

All the best with your health! I'm still working on things, but have made improvements, unquestionably, and am thankful to have found this place.

Cheers