hello
after a lot of problems getting into this list here goes....

don wiss directed me here yesteday so i'd like to thank him in advance.

i suppose i should introduct myself. i am an american living
in istanbul for the past 8 years. i have been teaching in the university
but this year decided to reduce the stress in my life and now i'm working
in the private sector but mostly at home. it's great because the traffic
here is incredibly horrid!!.

a year ago i got very ill on a short holiday. after some tests, i was told
that
i needed to have my gall bladder removed immediately. the doctor said that
i had lots of stones, tiny ones and should have surgery soon.  i did some
research on the internet because my symptoms just didn't seem to correspond
to
classical gall bladder problems. i was right - subsequent testing 6 months
later
showed that there were hardly any stones in the gall bladder.   so either
they passed
out by themselves or they weren't there in the first place. needless to
say, i don't think
that was the problem at all.

investigation and experimentation showed me that my diet was probably the
factor in my illness. i discovered the specific carbohydrate diet (finally
got the
book a few months ago) and while it may be part of the problem, it wasn't
the answer. i
couldn't follow it all because i was not able to obtain all the foods that
were permitted.  i did try
modifying it to suit me and unfortunately when i was feeling better i
started eating carbohydrates
again...my symptoms now are different than before so i'm not sure what's
going on.

my immune system was/is breaking down and i am trying to figure out why.  i
have a
background in biology so i'm not totallly without some knowledge in the
field of medicine...
infact, i have enough to know that what i was taught in university is no
longer valid...and that
something else is going on.

oh, i should add that i have been avoiding red meat for a long time....8-10
years. not a vegetarian, but i tried not eating 'flesh' as often as i
could. i think that was a
mistake. i've since overcome my other objections to eating meat and found
that adding it to my diet
actually helps reduce the symptoms!!

symptoms...lethargy...incredible loss of energy...painful legs - cramps and
aching when i walk very far  (ha..not even Very far...just a few meters
now!!) and bloating and a
general 'blah' feeling and i've gained a lot of weight this past
year...that's not helping anything but i can't
seem to lose a kilo!

this isn't ME...i'm not like this. i'm probably in menopause now so i
blamed a great deal of what i'm feeling to that. i had cancer 12 years ago
and can't take estrogen...nor would i if i could. i don't like to take
medicines.

so..this latest problem of numbness in my left hand (towards the pinkie)
has led me to this list.  i'm interested in going Gluten-free for a while
to see what
happens.  i have made an appointment at the american hospital here for next

week. i hope i don't

have to take it. i'm not happy with the medical profession in
general....not
just because i live in turkey. the doctors here are excellent but i think
they mak
the same mistake as US doctors by treating the symptoms and trying to mask
them, than digging for the REAL cause and preventing them.

any one who can set me off on the right way to go about this diet at this
minute,
i'd appreciate hearing from them...i have not eaten sugar, starch, or dairy
so far
today..it's almost lunchtime..infact, i've eaten nothing.
i'll eat some fruit before going out.  i have often thought that a good 3-5
day fast wouldn't hurt me a bit but i get too dizzy and disoriented to do
it for
more than a few hours...so please give me some suggestions.

sorry this is so long...it's my first posting.
hoping to hear from some of you..

arlene in istanbul

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