Yes, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. You read the title of the post correctly. I even removed my page “Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements…Oh My!” I’ve been having low grade reactions for a while now, so has the Yipiyuk, and I have not been able to figure out the cause. Some days/weeks we would seem fine and others we’d both be itchy messes. December 2011 was my point of no return. My stomach/abdomen was so swollen and distended I thought something was going to burst open. That was the most painful experience of my life. My list of food allergies is so extensive and so many derivatives are used in supplements that I should have known that it was not in my, or the Yipiyuk’s, best interest to take the vitamins. Formulas and source ingredients can change over night within a company and it is just too much of a gamble for our sensitive bodies. I also had the epiphany in December that the made from birch capsules were probably slowly poisoning us. We do not do well with anything from the birch family.
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So…what the heck happened? I had another budding love affair with chocolate in late November / early December. We seemed to be doing well with the Yacon Syrup (I may have news on this front…) and I wanted chocolate. I should mention here that chocolate hates my family. My mother and brothers can’t eat it, yet I thought, “Wow! I can have something that they can’t have! GO ME!” And…fail! Life has a way of knocking me down off of my high horse/donkey. Anyway, I made chocolate, lots of chocolate. I made it every two days, I ate it every day for over a week. It was a magical time filled with yummy morsels and sweet thoughts.
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Then came the screeching halt of pain. Did you know chocolate is a stressor on the liver? I didn’t. My liver is not functioning as well as it should and here I was pouring sugar in my gas tank. For three weeks, three frightening and painful weeks, I experienced the most intense swelling and pain of my life. I could barely sit, stand, or walk (which doesn’t leave too many other options…I can’t fly or float). I measured myself and my stomach went from 30″ to 38 1/2″. My stomach and abdomen were completely swollen and in distention. My skin was stretched thin. There was no give, it was completely tight. I turned to my “tried and true” remedy to combat the swelling: multiple dosages of L-glutamine, Tri-salts, and clay water. I also took my vitamins on a more regular schedule. This did not help. It was actually making it worse. I’m not sure when I made the decision to stop taking everything. I remember getting on the Avoiding Corn Delphi Forum, reading about a new change to the L-Glutamine from Bluebonnet and thinking, “I’m done. I’m tired of using a product only to see it change with no warning. I’m tired of doing research, wasting money and ending up ill. NO more!” I emailed Bluebonnet and received the runaround from one of their representatives.
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Hello,
I use some of your other products but I wanted to specifically ask about source ingredients in the L-Ornithine before trying it. From what carbohydrate source is the amino acid L- Ornithine derived? Also what is the source ingredient for the vegetable cellulose, vegetable magnesium stearate, and silica? I also wanted to inquire about your L-Arginine and the L-Arginine/L-Ornithine combination.
Thank you.
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All of the free form amino acids are derived by microbial fermentation, possibly cassava plant origin. The veg cellulose is from pine/spruce, mag stearate, & steric acid are derived from non hydrogenated palm oil.
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Possibly cassava plant origin? Does this mean that it could be from another plant? I have severe food allergies and could use more of a definite plant origin, if that is possible. I use the L-glutamine because I was told it was from cassava. Hopefully that is true.
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Yes it is from cassava.
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I’m sorry. Do you mean the L-Glutamine is from cassava or the L-Ornithine and L-Arginine are from cassava?
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I didn’t receive a response for the last question. It may not be an issue for anyone else but the words “possibly cassava plant origin” struck a really bad chord on the piano forte in my mind. Enough so that I stopped taking it and all other Bluebonnet Vitamins.
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As I mentioned above, a lot of the capsules are made from Birch. We do not do well with anything birch or anything related to birch. I thought it wasn’t really an issue, because it “wasn’t that much” but it definitely was more than enough for us. A little bit of an allergen goes a long way in making you sick as a dog. A few days after reading about the L-Glutamine I went back to the forum with a desperate plea for help. I know I’m desperate when I consider going to my doctor. She’ll just give me a prescription for medications containing corn and try to explain to me how the “little bit of corn in the medications won’t hurt me.” I wonder if I could get away with telling someone with a peanut allergy that the little bit of peanut in something won’t hurt them… I digress.
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My plea for help was answered by MegsieG. GOD BLESS YOU, woman! She shared her experience with me and it resonated within my brain. Did I have enough fat in my diet? When would I normally eat fat? I rarely eat meat now, because I’m trying to make it last for Yipiyuk. I rarely eat the fat when I eat the meat because…it’s gross. I don’t like the taste of coconut oil and when I try to stir fry with it the smell makes me sick. No… I don’t really eat fat. After hearing from Megsie and getting a few ideas from others on the forum of how to increase my good fat intake I was on a mission to turn the pain around.
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Who knew all I needed was some fat? I’m not talking about McNasty or Burger Kill fat, I’m talking about good ole fashion, chock full of healthiness fat. I’ve been making bone broth and drinking a pint a day. I make coconut cream/milk shakes with fresh greens from the garden, cranberry juice and coconut flour for thickening. I was also introduced to a safe source of beef, by a friend. We can eat it with no issues and that is helping to add fat to my diet. I actually eat the fat on the meat I eat now. I have to pray about that last one and close my eyes before eating the bite. Sometimes I don’t even chew. Actually, writing about it is making me a little nauseated…
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So where am I now? My stomach is down to 31″. Still not normal but better and the majority of the swelling is gone. I haven’t had my vitamins in over two weeks and I feel exponentially better without them. I may try to reintroduce the Tri-salts but the jury is still out. For now, I get all of my “supplements, vitamins and nutrients” from my “green” shakes and my bone broth. I’ll post the recipes to those very soon.
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Last thing. If I feel an allergic reaction starting I drink 1 pint of clay water every couple of hours (followed by 1 cup of water). I dissolve (or try to at least) 1 tsp of calcium bentonite clay in 1 pint of water. The clay helps to soak up the toxins in my system. It is not 100% fool proof but it does help to mitigate the reaction. I order my calcium bentonite clay from The Living Clay Company. Be aware that they package their products using packing peanuts made from CORN!
