In a message dated 1/29/02 1:54:51 AM, Katrina <[log in to unmask] writes:

<< When I first started Paleo, I was basically on a diet of meat, eggs, fish,
and vegetables.  I could never get full, and I always felt cold.  I never
seemed to have any energy.  If I drank lots of water, I would be freezing;
my teeth would actually chatter.  My blood pressure has always been low,
and I was hypoglycaemic at the time.  On this diet, my low pressure
symptoms would get worse, and I would feel faint and dizzy every time I
stood up. >>

 Without the inclusion of fruits, nuts, and some higher glycemic vegetables
this is not really a Paleo diet, as it would be unnaturally too low in
carbohydrates. Weight loss just by itself, on ANY diet causes a drop in
metabolism to some extent, (this is why people reach "plateaus") and
subsequent feelings of being cold. I don't know what drinking water would
have to do with this, unless you were always drinking cold water, which would
further serve to make you feel chilled. Certainly it is well known that a low
carbohydrate diet causes the loss of fluid, which would also make your blood
pressure drop further (a sought after effect by most people trying to lower
their too-high blood pressure)

You also have not included any nuts in your diet, and do not say what kinds
of meats you were eating, and how much and what types fat you were getting. A
long term diet devoid of fats can lead to a condition known as "rabbit
starvation", and many ensuing debilitating symptoms such as some of those you
mention.

>>Since then, I have found out that I am hypothyroid and I also have coeliac
disease.

How very familiar I am with this one! Celiac Disease is a hereditary
autoimmune intolerance to the gluten found in wheat, rye, oats, and barley.
Elimination of gluten is the only recognized medical treatment for this
condition. If you were following the diet as you listed, you would not have
been eating any source of gluten anyway, (unless you were cheating) so any
further modifications you made to your diet wouldn't have had any impact on
your Celiac symptoms. It is also very common for untreated Celiacs to suffer
from other autoimmune diseases, among them, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. (In my
own case, the discovery and treatment of Celiac Disease led to a
normalization of autoimmune anit-thyroid antibodies for the first time in 12
years.) Untreated Celiac Disease can also cause the adrenal glands to weaken,
and in rare cases can lead to their total collapse, as in Addison's Disease.
Adrenal insufficiency can also cause some of the symptoms you mention.

>>I still get weak and cold and never feel full if I follow
my original diet.  The worst side effect was feeling sick.  I got to a
point after a few weeks where I literally will vomit if I eat one more
piece of protein.  I have now added the occasional potato or yam, I reduce
protein to small amounts once or twice per day, and I eat at least three
servings of fruit per day.

It sounds like you have found a satisfactory solution and something akin to a
"true" Paleo diet for you! The only thing I would further examine is the
amounts and kinds of fats you are consuming.

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY