This page has now been updated. You will notice quite a few changes. Please keep in mind that Yipi and I are currently doing the GAPS diet and no longer consume the majority of these foods (and we haven’t in some time). Call the company before deciding to trial something new to you.
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If you are eating / using something in the kitchen that works well for you (and is company confirmed corn-free…for whatever that is worth), please include the item and company name on the page linked below.
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Hi gals and guys,
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I’ve begun updating pages and started with one of the most popular on the blog, Personal Care Products. If you are using and have confirmed the corn-free status of any other products and would like to share, please do so in the comments section of the Personal Care Products page.
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I plan to make a new page for the blog: Homemade Personal Care Products. I would love to link to any blog posts you all have created for the homemade, corn-free items you use daily. Be on the lookout for this page. Oh, and what do you guys think of the new layout? The little apple is my favorite.
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I hope you’re having a great day!
It is time to completely update the site. I need to completely review and edit all of the stagnant pages to include what we are and aren’t doing now. Also I need to give a GAPS update (it is helping us…slowly but surely). Look for the updated content and new post in the next couple of weeks. I hope everyone is doing well!
Hey Y’all.
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We’re still here. Plugging along. We haven’t been able to leave for treatment as of yet, the hubby is still working on our transportation. In the meantime, I have been attempting to get us as healthy as possible to make this trip and also make clothing for the trip. This involved taking a good look at our current food and trying to determine what was keeping us perpetually reactive. We have had a little (a very, small, minuscule) better gut/digestive health. It turns out the beans we were including in our diet were trying to hurt us. I didn’t realize how severe the reaction to the beans (chickpea, navy, kidney, cannellini) were until we completely removed them from our diet. We just could not digest them. To date, I have lost 20lbs of swelling and experiencing reactions with less down time and Yipi is having less full body rashes and her under eye circles aren’t nearly as dark. We’ve included figs and brazil nuts (soaked and dehydrated before consumption) into our diet, as well as homemade beet kvass and sauerkraut. I think the homemade ferments are really helping our digestion.
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That’s all the energy I have today. I will update later, I plan to share pictures of all the projects I’ve made. Thanks for sticking with us.
Hey, Y’all.
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We are in full blown, preparation for Environmental Health Center-Dallas mode. I apologize for not posting very regularly (ahem..at all) these past few weeks. I have been washing loads and loads of fabric/new semi-safe clothing, making other clothing, making lists, ordering supplies, making more lists, making toiletries items, making shoes, cleaning, packing, and making lists. Did I mention making lists? They keep growing and turning into new lists with even more details. We really cannot afford to forget anything at home.
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I will be back. Anon! Please just bear with me and be patient. I have so much to say here on the blog, it’s actually a tad bit overwhelming. Everything is a little overwhelming right now. The thought of being in a new/different/potentially toxic environment, being in a city with a lot of air pollution, going to a doctor I’ve never met to have testing run and receive treatment that may or may not work, subjecting my child to this in the hopes that our sensitivity level will STOP and head in the other direction, and traveling in our toxic car daily. Needless to say, I’m scared. Terrified, actually. But enough about that…
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More corn-related happenings later!
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Twins Laughing and Dancing (not really sure why it won’t embed here…)
…that’s what Suppressed Inner Erica was telling me after my recent bought with allergens.
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If you’re going to react anyway…might as well eat it.
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Suppressed Inner Erica is a bit of a loon. You can’t listen to that chick, she will get you into a world of hurt. Thankfully Sane Logical Erica stepped forward and made that crazy chick stand down. We are attempting to gather safe versions of our food allergens (safe meaning uncontaminated by corn derivatives) for our food allergy testing at the Environmental Health Center in Texas. This weeks gathering included cantaloupe, tomatoes, and peppers. Cantaloupe has hated me since infancy, peppers and I have had a love hate relationship since junior high school and tomatoes loved me until two years ago. The hubby and I were not prepared for the reactions to the fumes of the food, had we known, we would have taken the necessary precautions to transport the food home with limited exposure and processed it in the garage, bypassing bringing it into the house. We weren’t prepared and the ignorance and ill preparation has made for a very painful 3 1/2 days.
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I realized something was terribly wrong Sunday morning at 3:30am. I was still awake, running a fever, and my thoughts and pulse were racing. I finally lost consciousness, I don’t think it was sleeping, sometime after 4:00am. When I awoke the next morning, my right foot looked like this:
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My shoulders were also swollen, my back was beginning to swell, I had knee pain, my stomach was in distention, the pitting edema had returned, and I had a sinus infection with severe chest cavity pressure and a sore throat. At this point, Sane Logical Erica held a PowerPoint presentation in my mind for Suppressed Inner Erica. The presentation addressed this simple point:
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If we reacted this negatively by simply inhaling the fumes of the food, what do you think would happen if we ate the food?
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Suppressed Inner Erica was speechless…but she still dreamed of eating the cantaloupe. By day’s end my swelling was worse and so were my other symptoms:
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I’m going to share these images with the doctors in Texas. I have no interest in eating these foods ever again but it would be nice to not react to them. Airborne corn is impossible to avoid, now it seems I am reacting to more foods by simply inhaling the fumes. I hope inhaling the fumes will be enough to test for immediate and delayed reactions. I agree with Sane Logical Erica, I am very apprehensive of ingesting the foods when the reaction to inhaling the fumes is already so overwhelming.
We have had a rough few months and I apologize for my absence. I have new personal care recipes to share, new items that are made from corn and other foods, and musings on other allergy happenings and happenings with the Farm bill. I will share everything as the days progress but I honestly needed a few weeks to gather my thoughts and decide how we are going to proceed with finding treatment for our ever-growing sensitivity level, so that we can live our lives.
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MizCasle, at My So Corned Life, has been posting about her experience at the Environmental Health Center and we’ve also been chatting off the blogosphere. MizCastle has become a dear friend of mine and she is helping me to remain calm lately. The hubby and I were told about the Environmental Health Center in June 2011 (by the nice, but useless allergists from Cullman) but going seemed impossible at the time. We were told that we needed to stop nursing Yipi. Yipi was only 12 months at the time and could only eat two foods without severe issue. We hoped and prayed that things would get better and we charged ahead…into the darkness…with a flashlight…and no batteries. Needless to say, things became worse, not better.
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We’ve recently had to remove even more foods from our diet and I’m terrified that we are going to end up where we were last year. We’ve become even more sensitive to chemicals, fragrances, and fumes (is that even possible?!). Since removing the offending foods, those reactions have slowed, somewhat and that is great, but what happens when another dietary staple turns on us? What happens when ALL of our neighbors decide to bathe the ground and air with pesticides for their manicured lawns? We are becoming so sensitive to fragrances that it took three washes for my cousin to be near me and we STILL reacted to her. The reactions are becoming more severe and are now triggered by more minute exposures. We need relief. We need help. Something has to give.
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Uncle.
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We’ve (tentatively, I haven’t completely jumped on board for treating myself…I’m working on it daily) decided to seek help and treatment from the Environmental Health Center. The center treats food sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, and a whole host of other issues that can be ignored or misunderstood by (most, if not all) other doctors. I do not think they completely understand the pitfalls of corn allergy but I can’t expect anyone to fully understand it unless they’ve lived it. I honestly think this is our best chance at healing. I don’t think there is anywhere else in the United States that can help me and we can’t travel…the vaccines needed to travel abroad would pretty much do us in.
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I would write more but it’s past midnight, I’m exhausted, and I think the poo fairy visited Yipi. Wish us luck. I have so many questions to ask before we go (get ready MizCastle and get ready Sue). I am terrified, hence coming up with excuses as to why we can’t go, but I’m also desperate, this is very close to being out of our control. I’m praying for the best possible outcome and trying to think positively about what could be, instead of thinking negatively about what is. It takes a fair amount of energy to be positive and optimistic; I hope it proves to be worth it in the end.
Good morning, all! Today’s post will be short but I promise to come back later this week with pictures of my activities from the beginning of May until now. The Yipiyuk is celebrating her birthday this week, YAY! I have been a very busy allergy-free mommy; we can’t have paper/cardboard products and decorations in the house (no pre-made decorations), pre-made food, and I can’t find cute enough clothing that are organic cotton, low impact dyed, or elastic-free without latex or appliques. Luckily, I can crochet and sew so I’ve been able to make really cute (I think they’re cute) decorations, I made a birthday hat and necklace, and a birthday shirt with crocheted appliques. I made a cute skirt and I think I have a menu that others will eat…enjoyment of the meal is entirely their choice. HA!
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We recently had to give up the Arrowhead Mills buckwheat flour (post forthcoming) and the sweet potatoes we were receiving from a friend. Both subtractions momentarily ruined my plans for Yipi’s “birthday cake.” I think I’ve come up with a happy substitution. I figured out how to make a frosting/fluff (recipe forthcoming) and I figured out how to make another cookie (recipe forthcoming). I think she’s going to be thrilled. We’re making creme pie cookies instead of a cake. What are creme pie cookie? Something similar to this but with ingredients we can actually eat.
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So, more later this week. Happy second birthday, Yipiyuk!
Let’s gain Corn Allergy Awareness.
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I would like to encourage you to write 2-3 paragraphs concerning corn allergy and how it impacts and affects every aspect of your life. This can include finding safe food, drinking water, medical issues, ADD/ADHD, neurological and behavioral issues, etc. Please encourage those who love you and who are also affecting by your corn allergy to write 2-3 paragraphs concerning how corn allergy also affects their lives. It doesn’t have to be the best written letter….IT JUST NEEDS TO BE WRITTEN! Sorry for shouting, but so many people have tried over the years to gain corn allergy awareness. This had a good shot if everyone would just try. You can write the paragraphs anonymously. Just please, consider writing something. If you don’t feel like it, get your child to write it or your husband, or a supportive grandparent, or a supportive friend or sibling. It think it would be powerful to hear about corn allergy from their perspective.
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Please share this with everyone you know. People on allergy awareness forums, people off of any forum, people with blogs, people on Facebook, people on the Facebook avoiding corn group, anyone, everyone who loves and supports you.
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Please consider this. This is an actual plea….with a bonafied southern accent to boot.
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Here’s the link to the Write-In Campaign: http://cornfreedom.com/blog/?p=154
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If you’re not on Facebook, email the letter to me (cornfreelifestyle@gmail.com) or paste it here and I will get it to Nicole over at corn freedom.
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If you have a blog please re-port this, you don’t have to post it word for word…just post it. Please. Encourage everyone who loves you to write in. My hubby wrote 2 pages. It was cathartic for him. I would let Yipi write something…but, well, she’s only 21+ months. She can read but her writing needs some work ;-)
