No More Veganism

This has been a very eventful week regarding my health.

HYPOTHYROIDISM
The tempest began with a visit to my favorite endocrinologist who told me my thyroid has more or less failed and therefore prescribed a daily dose of thyroid hormone to take orally every morning. We guessed on the dosage, she said she could start me super low (.25) but was pretty sure I'd eventually need more (.5 or .75). I told her she might as well give me the bigger dose already (bigger relatively, some people take up to 3mg I think) and so I've started on .5mg of Levothyroxine every morning. As she suspected taking this pill had pretty visible affects in my energy and mood. I found myself able to survive a whole day of rehearsals and shows without the usual moodiness, at least for the first day or two. By the third day, however, I found myself feeling a bit dodgy again. I'd find myself getting lightheaded whenever I stood up too fast, my muscles felt achy just from climbing stairs, I felt weak and then late at night I started feeling very nauseous, which is a sign of...

ADDISON'S DISEASE
My endocrinologist warned me that taking the thyroid pill, though necessary, may speed up the progression of the Addison's disease which has been present in each of the blood tests I've done over the last several months. Up until now, however, my adrenal function has remained fairly normal considering the insane amount of antibodies present in my blood. But inexplicable nausea (especially considering my blood sugar was fine) was a big red flag for me. She said if I experienced any such symptoms to immediately take an oral hydrocortisone pill. I did, and almost immediately my nausea went away and my energy returned in force (along with an abundantly good mood I left somewhere in last September).

 (did you know that when you have both Hashimoto Thyroiditis and Addison's disease it's called Schmidt syndrome?)

What does this have to do with veganism???

Well, to quote wikipedia:

"To form cortisol, the adrenal gland requires cholesterol."  

Cholesterol comes from animal products. My adrenal gland isn't dead, it's just not working very well, and I'm not helping it by starving it to death.

"You need to start eating meat again."
"Okay."

So my 40 or so days of veganism has come to an end. I've had fish thrice, yogurt twice, and a half a chicken since the appointment (the chicken made me a bit ill). I won't forget what I learned though... although I may save it for another post.

The past few days:

April 10, 2012 - First day of Thyroid pills
9:30 -> 142 Way to f***ing high! Took 2P and 2N w/cereal 140c, chips 10c, banana 27c. Took thyroid pill at 1:00. At 3:00 had Larabar 26c.
4:34 -> 108 Had apple then went on 2 mile run (knee hurt) then took 4P w/ CHIPOTLE burrito bowl 110c.
6:54 -> 112 This is good! It means the Prandin is still doing something despite my C-Peptite being at an all time low of .48 during my most recent blood test. At 8:30 had grapefruit 25c and peanuts 5c.
10:55 -> 66 Took 1P and 2N w/greens 18c, squash 30c, salad 30c, yams 90c and Juice 24c.
3:42 -> 186 Poor planning of my meal, I drank the juice because I felt low because the yams hadn't finished cooking yet. Took 5L.

April 11, 2012
11:06 -> 100 Better. Took 2P and 1N w/cereal 140c, pb toast 19c.
4:52 -> 63 Took 4P w/ Black Eyed Peas and kale 180c, then apple 18c, kiwi 10c, pumpkin seeds and peanuts 8c. At 9:30 had apple 18c.
12:25 -> 63 Took 3N w/salad 30c, squash 40c, yams 60c, carrots 30c, potato 40c and just about exploded from a stupid amount of starchy foods.
4:00 -> 140 Took 5L.

April 12, 2012 - First day of Hydrocortizone
10:37 -> 95 Took 2P and 1N w/cereal 140c, apple 18c. At 2:30 had Larabar 331c and grapefruit 24c.
5:17 -> 70 Took 3P w/brussels sprouts 18c, rice 40c, fish, apple 18c, peanuts and pumpkin seeds 10c, apple 18c and kiwi 20c.
12:15 -> 89 Feel weak and nauseous, took a hydrocortizone and 2N w/dumplings 100c, b sprouts 25c and salad 20c.
5:45 -> 102 (don't judge me) Took 5L w/carrot 8c.

April 13, 2012
12:35 -> 98 Good, consistent. One more # like this and I'll go up to 6L at night. Took 2P w/cereal 130c, then apple 18c then kiwi 10c.
4:55 -> 72 Took 1P w/PUR-BIRD 1/2 chicken 5c and roasted cauliflower 15c, pb and banana 58c and two homemade gluten free bacon bourbon chocolate chip cookies 37c.
12:25 -> 89 Took 1P and 1N w/ indian veg 20c, quinoa 60c and kale 6c.
2:25 -> 114 Pretty dang good, had a carrot 8c and took 5L.

Day 115

Kettlebells

                                              (this is the reason I've been in pain the past 4 days)

The other day was a good friend's birthday. This particular friend and I happen to be training for the eventual completion of a race in the future. We had long gone without training together and had pursued physical health on our own. He's primarily a gym rat, while I prefer jogs and stair running. Reuniting after several weeks prompted us to schedule a joint workout, one that involved both cardio and strength work. Featured prominently were kettlebells, or as wikipedia describes them:


"The kettlebell or girya (Russian: ги́ря) is a cast-iron weight (resembling a cannonball with a handle) used to perform ballistic exercises that combine cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training.[1] Russian kettlebells are traditionally measured in weight by pood, which (rounded to metric units) is defined as 16 kilograms (35 lb).[2][3]


Unlike traditional dumbbells, the kettlebell's center of mass is extended beyond the hand, similar to Indian clubs or ishi sashi. This facilitates ballistic and swinging movements.[4] By their nature, typical kettlebell exercises build strength and endurance, particularly in the lower back, legs, and shoulders, and increase grip strength"

We chose 15 different exercises: kettle swings, squat presses, standing back row, push-up rows, side squats, tricep dips... to name a few, and executed one after the other for 45 seconds with 15 second rest to prepare for the next exercise. We did the entire sequence twice, and then a third time modified to only 30 seconds of exercise and only the 8 hardest exercises. My body will be sore for days!

Dailies:

10:44 -> 108 Took 2 Prandin with cereal 110c and apple 25c. Worked out with Ian and Lori and kettlebells. It was epically hard.
1:58 -> 156 Took 2 Prandin with lunch at ANGELICA restaurant and ordered the Dragon Bowl approximately 140c. At 5:00 had 2 kiwis 20c.
6:07 -> 138 Took 1 Prandin with lentil soup with rice 100c (over 2 hours), peanuts 8c. At 9:30 had a grapefruit 23c.
12:52 -> 87 Took 2 Prandin with salad 25c, strawberries 30c, bell pepper 7c, carrots 28c w/pb 6c.
3:20 -> 172 That's still within 2 hours of eating. Not too bad, but a little high.

It's going to hurt to sit tomorrow.

Day 86

Hypoglycemia Alert!

I was there on the streets of New York, walking briskly, everything looked gray. I think I was somewhere near Chinatown, although I do sorta remember passing a church that I thought was further north. My sister was walking with me and trying to explain to me about a revelation of sorts she had had. She was beginning to practice honing in on skills she had, interpersonal skills, or perhaps better explained as psychic skills. She would walk down the street without gloves and try to touch the skin of passerbys and see if she could absorb some element of them, pick up on their state or something like that.

Whatever it was I'm not entirely sure because I couldn't stop thinking about how dang slow she was walking. Here I was trying to get somewhere in a hurry and she was dawdling, always dawdling. I think I grabbed her hand at some point and walked faster, but it was as if we couldn't even get to the corner. No matter how fast I tried to walk we didn't get any closer to our destination. I was panicking and I could feel myself sweating, I looked down at my hands and couldn't even see them. I turned around and my sister had vanished, in fact, New York had vanished and was replaced with darkness. Darkness and warmth and sweat and panic.

I threw my covers off and sat up in bed. My pulse was racing. Just a bad dream? I put two fingers to my neck and tried controlling my breathing. It did nothing. I found my glucometer. Pricked my finger, squeezed out a bead of blood, watched as the strip sucked it into the computer and waited five seconds...

It wasn't the lowest I've ever had, but it was certainly the lowest I've ever had in the middle of the night. In fact, this was the first time I've had to wake up in the middle of the night to check my blood sugar. That in itself is a pretty frightening thought. I ran to the fridge trying to think of something to eat and then reassessed and decided to go with quick sugar and had a whole juice box 24c. Thirty minutes later I had raised 43 points to the safe level of 93. I had a mandarin orange 9c and went back to sleep.

Here's why this is peculiar/frustrating/confusing news. I took my last pills of the night at about 7:30pm. Five and a half hours later when I went to bed, my blood sugar was 208. And yet, three and a half hours later I had dropped to 50? What gives? What was still working? I had eaten a massive 230 carbs with two pills. It's hard to imagine that the Prandin was still persuading my pancreas to work overtime. What then? Was it the 5 units of nightly Lantus I've been taking every single night since mid-December?

More importantly what am I going to do about it? Well, for starters tonight I'm going to compensate for any possible late night lows by eating the equivalent of a juice box and mandarin orange right before bed, 33 carbs, you don't have to ask me twice. Then I'm going to check my morning number. If it's pretty low again I'm going to call my Dr. and ask her recommendation and see if I can't decrease my insulin dose.

Dailies:

4:47 am -> 50 Had a juice box 24c.
5:15 -> 93 Much better. Had a mandarin orange 9c.
(morning)
11:03 -> 86 Took 2 Prandin with V cereal 110c. At 1:24 had an apple 20c. At 2:30 had 3 oranges 27c. At 3:30 had 1/2 a VG donut 24c.
5:08 -> 111 Took 2 Prandin with SOUEN RESTAURANT bowl of white sesame ramen 55c and corn bread 45c (which I was possibly misinformed about its gluten content). At 8:00 I had snap peas 6c and 2 oranges 17c.
11:39 -> 69 Took 2 Prandin with salad 20c, fake coffee 6c, 1 cup wild rice 35c, 2 cups lentil soup 60c = 120c. Took 5 units of Lantus.
2:12 -> 131 Not a bad number, however, to avoid a nighttime low I'm going to have another cup of soup 30c with 1/4 cup rice, 9c = 39c. And Bedtime.

Gratitudes:
1. Katy Pfaffl's voice.
2. The existence of an amazingly delicious Gluten Free Ramen restaurant in New York City.
3. Benedict Cumberbatch and the BBC series Sherlock.

Day 76

Bareburger: Review

Bareburger, Multiple Locations, http://www.bareburger.com/

With an interior reminiscent of the Splash Mountain ride at DisneyLand and amusement park prices I was a bit skeptical when I first visited Bareburger. Several of my colleagues had recommended it, but they were the types who wore flashy wristwatches and go to driving ranges and own recreational vehicles--affluent adults. Our buxom host greeted us with an accent (serbian) and in classic eastern european style corralled us into one of their booths without ever betraying her desire to be somewhere else. The heavy lacquered mid-section of a tree in front of us matched the paper mache busts of bears and was dressed with condiments befitting a boutique hamburger shop.

The menu has ample selections in all the diner categories: burgers, sandwiches, side dishes, milkshakes, etc. But what sets this place apart is their attention to quality ingredients. All their hamburger beef comes from grass-fed cows, along with their milk and cheeses. Their lamb, bison, elk and wild boar are pasture raised. The chicken, turkey and ostrich are free range. Vegetables are entirely organic. And they offer a gluten free bun option! They care about food and the planet, and it shows.

The first time I went I was steered towards getting the California Burger a clean and hearty sandwich of cheddar, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion and your choice of meat--my server suggested ostrich. The 6oz patties makes for a manageable sandwich that fills you up without giving you the meat sweats. The burger arrived shortly, cooked rare and stacked high with the bright colors of a California summer bursting from beneath the top bun. It was juicy and fresh tasting, maybe too fresh, I felt robbed a little of the dark savory flavors I associate with a "dirtier" burger. On my next visit I felt similarly about the Canadian Burger with swiss, fried onions, bourbon sauteed mushrooms and two kinds of bacon on an Elk patty. You would think the sandwich would have exploded with the salty smokiness of bacon on the cracklingly sweet onions, with a quick stab of sharpness from the swiss and a lingering muskiness from the bourbon. They were all there, but... underwhelming. I wanted more flavor from the meat, a more careless salting hand perhaps, or a more seasoned grill, but the depth in the meat was lacking. The burger was not bad, but didn't seem worth the $15 price tag. I did better with a lamb patty in the Mediterranean burger, essentially a Bareburger take on a gyro. And the Maui Wowie, a decadent stack of pineapple, bacon, fried onions and smoked mozarella atop a wild boar patty that looked and tasted more like a greasy breakfast sausage was so delicious it made me feel guilty despite being free-range and organic. The Jalepeno Express delivers a welcome punch of spice in a glove of colby jack gooiness. And the Big Blue Bacon is big and stuffed with melting blue cheese and thick cut blackened bacon.

Where their burgers aren't all created equal, their fries are uniformly perfect. Deep fried in peanut oil the fries taste like... "potatoes," remarked a dining companion. Their served with a curried ketchup, chipotle mayo and Bareburger's signature "special sauce." The impressive basket slowly disappearing as I tried and tried again to determine my favorite of the three sauces. In the end i couldn't decide, and to make matters worse ordered a few additional flavors--pesto mayo and chipotle ketchup. I tried a salad once, and it was fine, but I make better salads at home, and besides only a fool would substitute those fries for a salad. One of these days I'll have to try the onion rings as well which are nearly the size of donuts and look individually browned to perfection.

Their milkshakes may be what they do best. I had the pistachio and now I can never have another flavor.

In short, when I saw a Groupon advertised for Bareburger I quickly bought the 3 coupon limit knowing that at 50% off I'm getting at the very least a solid hamburger with delicious sides and drinks made from quality ingredients. At the best, I'm enjoying one of the more unique, balanced and ultimately satisfying versions of this American classic offered anywhere.

$16-25

Dailies:

10:57 -> 104 Took 2 Prandin with cereal 110c. Half hour later had an apple 20c. Half hour later had a tangelo 20c. At 2:00 had toast with peanut butter 14c and 1/2 cup coffee 4c.
4:55 -> 79 Took 1 Prandin with Dinner: Bareburger 35c fries 105c = 140c. Shouldn't have eaten so many fries but they were so dang good!
7:57 -> 250 Well, it's another high pre-show number. I hoped that the fat from the fries would help slow down the sugar rise and keep it in tandem with my insulin production. At least I'm about to do Joey which should help it back down a little.
12:26 -> 56 Wow, so the Prandin must still have been working even so many hours later. Had an apple 20c. Then at 12:45 I had a Prandin with Supper: Salad 25c, broccoli and cauliflower 20c, beans 40c = 105c
3:26 -> 143 A safe number to go to bed.

Day 60

Food Review: Sun In Bloom

Sun In Bloom
460 Bergen St. Brooklyn, NY., 11217, 718.622.4304

Today marked my first venture into the world of gluten free restaurants. Sun in Bloom, located just down the hill of the Bergen St. subway stop in Park Slope has been serving up vegan food for just over two years. The brainchild of Aimee Follette, their mission is to create a haven from the city for their patrons to enjoy conscientious cooking that still manages to be delicious and healthy.

I arrived without a reservation on a Sunday afternoon looking to accomplish two firsts: my first proper Sunday brunch in New York, and my first official "gluten free" meal at a restaurant. The wind was as crisp as an apple but the sun shone through a perfectly clear sky and spread its warmth on my bare skin. The world seemed pristine and clean. It was easy enough to see that there were no free tables before we even walked in the door. The only server, a facial hair masked Buddy Holly glasses wearing hipster type (sigh... this is Brooklyn after all) confirmed what we knew but "there are many tables about to clear." This gave us time to browse the menu.

"So the rule is," I started to my guests, "we each get something different and I get to try everything." After all, I was the one who would be stuck eating this sort of stuff in the foreseeable future. The brunch menu is just like the restaurant, concise yet creative. The blog claims that 98% of diners are not vegan, but looking around you wouldn't know it. Women fill most of the hardwood chairs and seem strangely at ease draping a yoga stretched arm over an iron and distressed wood table, their dainty hands clutching mason jars full of green juice. It's like lululemon meets restoration hardware.

"So do you know what you're having?" Asked my server, his thick black beard partially hidden by his blue plaid shirt buttoned all the way to the top.

"I'd like the gluten free pancakes." This was brunch after all, and if I'm at a gluten free restaurant I want to see how they manage at convincing me that I'm NOT gluten free, right?

"We're all out of the pancakes." They were all out of some other items too, a sign of negligence or popularity - probably the later. He ended up steering us smoothly towards three of the remaining menu options to the point where we were sure they had been our first choices all along. I got the Miso Tofu Scramble which was served atop quinoa and black beans with a lovely turnip hash and some collard greens cut into thin fettuccine style strips. Joe got the BLT made with what we guessed were oil soaked shitake mushrooms that had been oven roasted to crackly perfection, and Lili settled on the gluten-free brunch tart.

I must say the first bite of my scramble had my mouth leaping for joy. The zing of the miso made my pulse race, the quinoa and black beans were simply prepared and modestly seasoned and the collard greens seemed to add color and texture and not much more. I had a second bite and then passed it along for my companions to try. They each took a small forkful of the scramble, and just like that my breakfast was finished. Where had it gone? Joe's BLT was positively addicting - all two bites of it. And the gluten-free brunch tart, was a winner with a rich and crunchy crust, and the most silky roasted garlic and sage tofu quiche, underneath a layer of butternut squash and topped with shitake mushroom bacon (the same as before) and caramelized onions. I just wish they had put the rest of the tart on her plate as well, or at least another 1/8.

I left feeling very healthy and very... er... light? I was starving. I ordered one of their famous cookie sandwiches to go and ate it (inhaled it may be a better description) with my own pb&j, apple, chips with hummus, yogurt and cereal. Don't get me wrong. The food was wonderful, and I enjoyed every bite. I just wish there were more than 3 of them (bites that is). Which leads me to wonder why a restaurant that serves vegan food serves so little food. I know fiber is supposed to suppress appetite and all, but this is ridiculous. Surely quinoa, beans, and tofu cost less than a normal breakfast steak and eggs, so why the same price tag for a mere snack? Don't vegan's get hungry?

Sun in Bloom: ** $29 for meal, appetizer, dessert and drink.


The numbers:
12:49 -> 121 Sun in Bloom miso scramble 40c, bite of Larabar 10c and 1 unit of Novolog.
2:36 -> 89 HUNGRY!! pb&j 55c, cookie sandwich 80c, apple 20c, coffee 2c = 157 = 4 units.
4:19 -> 76 It's low because I thought the cookie may have had more sugar than I originally calculated. Turns out I probably guessed correctly. Had a snack of chips and hummus 10c with my vitamins.
9:00 -> 102 Nice! Dinner of brussel sprouts w/kale 18c, yams 55c, salad with sprouts, tomato, cucumber, avocado, onions 30c, quinoa salad with pepitos, kiwi and citrus 70c, grapefruit 26c = 199 = 5 units.
11:37 - 112 Good, worked out and had an apple.
12:40 - Took 6 units of Lantus. I like how 6 units worked today.

Workout: Erg - 5000m, 19:23.3 @ 1:56.3 r22
Translated: I'm way slow and out of shape and only rowed 3 miles but it's a start.

Day 41