Thanks for standing by, that was a much needed break. There’s a lot on my plate right now. I’ll catch you up. As you know the six weeks of elimination was a success. I did it! And along the way I noticed little changes here and there. I shared those changes in my post Day 29-31. There are still a lot of discoveries to be made and continual investigations as to what is causing certain symptoms. But first things first… I had to reintroduce dairy because I had missed it so much. I was so curious to see what would happen, how my body would react. Cheese! Is it a guilty pleasure? Nah… I don’t feel guilty about my love for cheese. I’d say it’s my mid-west upbringing, but doesn’t everyone love cheese? I’ve even heard vegetarians confess they can’t go vegan because they love cheese too much.
The first day of the week I woke up excited knowing dairy would be part of my diet that day. What would I make?
I made an individual pizza for dinner. Glutino’s gluten free crust, gluten-free tomato sauce, kalamata olives, spinach, and goat’s milk feta. I savored every bite. Mmmm, oh so good going down into my belly. Tasty! Fifteen minutes later my stomach up through my esophagus began to get angry and gurgle. Noooo… I can’t be lactose intolerant. It can’t be. My stomach wasn’t happy for most of the evening. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from trying other cheeses.
The next day I stuck to hard cheese – a nice pecorino-romano. Not bad, not bad. So, the rest of the week to took precaution and didn’t overdo my intake on dairy. I was so excited to have dairy back that I overlooked the reality that six weeks off might have an effect. The hard cheeses were fine on my stomach, but three days into the week I became irregular and my intestines became very tender to the touch.
I had an appointment with my naturopath that week and during the abdominal massage she could barely touch my large intestines. Her recommendation is to see a gastroenterologist. Now, I’m on the hunt for a good general practitioner. I had a fantastic doctor about six years ago and she transferred out of my network. I stuck with the clinic, but after three horrible doctors I decided it’s time to move on. The search has gone slow. Gratefully, along the way I did find an allopathic doctor as I’ve mentioned before. He helped me begin this investigative journey and provided some insight to my vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Then I found a fantastic new gynecologist who discovered the hypothyroid. So, now I’m back on the search to find a general that is willing to help me investigate my symptoms and provide referrals to good specialists. It’s not that easy, and it is frustrating isn’t it? The other challenge is my insurance which isn’t great. They pay for very little and my deductible is major.
If you live in Portland, and have a phenomenal doctor you’d recommend please let me know. I’d be ever so grateful.
Glad to see you back
I hope you find just the right doctor to help continue to solve your medical mystery….I must admit, I LUV cheese 
the journey continues and I’m blessed to be on it with you, my lovely, smart, incredibly talented and tasteful friend
Hey, I think I have a good recommendation for you. I will email you tomorrow when I find his info. I have seen him and I like him. Hopefully he is in your network.