About

My husband, family, and friends can tell you the long journey I've been on in order to work around my food allergies/intollerances. Some, like my mom, experience food "issues" themselves.

With their help and the grace of God I am always finding new ways to improve my health through exercise, eating modified "normal people food," and surviving food events like Thanksgiving, aka "The Most Food Centered Holiday in the US."

I created this blog to share our discoveries, but also to focus on the cool opportunities and interests that have come along the way. I don't want to just survive my health problems. I want to live!

Below are a few topics that I touch on briefly, but not extensively, in my blog. This is a definition of terms, so to speak.

Allergy vs. Intollerance vs. The Food Goblin
I took two allergy tests (blood and skin) during the Spring and Summer of 2012. According to those test, I have no allergies (food or inhalants). For the sake of my readers, new acquaintances, old friends, and family, I'll continue to call my food problems allergies.  So, maybe I have food intolerances or there's a food goblin (let's call him "Chuck") somewhere hidden in my body. What ever the case, when I eat certain foods, I have physical reactions whether immediate or a build up in the system. Chuck is a bad dude.

Exercise
Currently, my non-sitting exercise of choice is running. My husband introduced me to the pastime during the summer of 2007 when I couldn't even run a mile without getting a headache. I've completed two marathons, one on December 5, 2010 during the Dallas White Rock Marathon, and the second in February 2011 during the Austin Marathon. Wahoo! Your encouragement has been most helpful!

Claritin D-Free
In addition to running, eliminating all allergy medication, especially decongestant, has reduced not only my heart rate, but also my number of headaches. Why? I'm not sure. I do know that my weakest link is obviously my cardiovascular system, otherwise I wouldn't have this increased tendency towards headaches. So if medication is messing with my cardiovascular system, that might be part of my problem.

Theory of the Allergy Threshold

I used to explain my typical spiral towards a headache in terms of an "allergy threshold." This is not a new idea, so don't quote me. For example, if I haven't gotten a complete 8 hours of sleep, I take a step closer towards a headache or worse symptom. If I eat a food that I'm mildly allergic to, say an egg, then I take another step closer to a headache. Stressed at work? Another step. And so on and so forth until something pushes me over. But the problem is usually not just one thing so it takes forever to find out the what I need to change. Since I've been running my threshold is higher. When I was on Claritin D, I was already 5 steps closer to a headache every day. Since I've been off Clariting D, I'm at ground zero every day. Wahoo!

Miniere's Disease
In the spring of 2012, I was diagnosed with Miniere's disease. Lucky me. Saying that I have a disease, though, is somewhat of a misnomer. This "disease" is actually a collection of symptoms to which no one really knows the real cause. For more information, you can look up the symptoms and theories here. I have been somewhat symptom-free for about 6 months after taking a round of medications and changing my diet yet again. I'm med-free at the moment, but I know what's always lurking around the corner.

Kids
In 2015, my husband and I had a beautiful daughter! She came out super healthy and smart as a whip! Even with all of my weird and seemingly unexplained health issues, I did just fine (minus a lack of sleep and strange eating). If you need any pregnancy advice in relationship to a similar diet or Miniere's, just send me a message.

Have a question?
I'd love to hear from you. I'm no expert at exercise, allergies, crafting, etc., but I can definately tell you what has worked for me.