I’m sitting here sipping a new drink.

It’s not coffee.

It’s not tea.

The drink doesn’t even have a name although I think of it as chocolate’s ugly sister.

It’s carob. You know, that hippie ingredient of the 1970’s. I remember my mom touting carob bars when I was young. “It’s so good,” she would say. I always thought it tasted like the chocolate was a little spoiled.

Anyway, here we are. I’m two weeks removed from my Food Sensitivity test and I’ve been reduced to drinking a non-chocolate/non-coffee/non-tea drink. I’m just a little desperate but that’s my habits talking, not my much calmer, much more satisfied brain.

It’s hard to explain the processes that one goes through when recovering from food sensitivities & allergies. We go along in our lives while little aches, pains and annoyances creep up in our lives – health issues that are seemingly benign but when gathered together bundle up into a hot mess. Maybe it’s emotional. Maybe it’s physical. Or maybe it’s some of both and you just can’t put your finger on why you’re feeling like you do.

In my last post about food sensitivities I explained why I chose to have the test done. I also mentioned that I wasn’t sure how I would judge if I was doing any better. Today, I can say definitively that I KNOW I am doing better. I haven’t let one swear word fly in a week. My frustration, anxiety and general uptight demeanor have a stream of profanities flowing through my mind at will. I am not proud of this but it’s the reality of how I usually feel.

My biggest and most pronounced improvement has been in the way of anxiety and frustration. While on this diet I have chosen not to take any supplements. That means no mood leveling Evening Primrose Oil or Protandim. No magnesium, calcium or vitamin D. No Femented Cod Liver Oil. There are eight different supplements I’ve been taking in an attempt to level my moods and fix my gut. Yes, I saw improvement with them, however, even with all those supplements my mood has not been this good for years. Here’s how I know.

Last week I worked an unexpected 54 hours in four days. What was supposed to be a one and a half day video shoot turned into much more. It also happened that the first day of the job was my 25^th anniversary. I worked 16 hours that day, didn’t get to see my husband at all and I didn’t even cry once. This. This is very unusual for me. Typically, I would cry on the way home just for some blessed endorphins to relieve the stress of the day. I would cry for the calm that follows the tears. I was very sad that I had missed nearly every hour of our anniversary but I had a job to do and I wasn’t frustrated or anxious while doing it. It helped that the clients and video team were great to work with but I wasn’t worrying about the job as I typically do.

In fact, I haven’t cried at all since I drove home from the herbalist’s office. (Change is hard.) Even when I want to cry, like right now because my contacts are SO dry, I can’t.

I’m not going to tell you this diet isn’t difficult. It is. If I didn’t have the cooking skills that I do it would be even worse. I remember trying to figure out what to eat the first time around. This time is much easier because I can make something good out of almost anything. I already have a few favorite meals that I’ve thrown together from the ingredients I’m allowed to have.

The first week was by far the hardest. I was only allowed one fat, walnut oil, and I knew I shouldn’t be heating it. I did anyway. It’s impossible to roast the two vegetables I could have without it. Plus, I needed something to fill me up. It didn’t work. The first time I felt full and satisfied was when I was able to add in pork (I decided to choose our naturally preserved bacon over butter) on day seven and a half. I couldn’t wait for day eight to add it. I had been hungry for 7 days at that point, even though I was allowed to consume all I wanted. It just reiterated to me that carbs make you full but they DO NOT satisfy.

There have been some detox symptoms. Nothing too horrible, but some are out of the ordinary for me. Starting on day 3, I got a few abscess type zits on my chin and neck. They were red and painful to the touch. Any kind of face blemish is unusual for me. I still have the two on my neck. They are no longer sore so I’m guessing they’ll be gone in the next two weeks.

I also had myriad digestive issues. Use your imagination, I’m not explaining this one.

I had a few headaches.

The strangest thing and one I didn’t expect at all was to get eczema. This is my sister’s symptom, not mine. I didn’t want it. I didn’t even realize that’s what it was at first. I just thought my hands were very dry. By the next day I had dry patches on each one of my fingers, the backs of my hands, a patch under my eye and on all four cheeks. Yep, you read that right. All four. It is not pleasant.

The eczema is finally calming down so I feel like most of the detox stuff is on its way out. I’ve been very strict about the diet only adding in one new ingredient per day. I haven’t had any digestive junk for about a week, which means I should be able to track any reactions to newly added foods pretty easily since digestive upset is a common symptom of mine to a reactive food.

I did not expect the stark difference in how I’m feeling emotionally. I mean, I thought it would help, but I thought it would help with the supplements. I didn’t realize I could feel this good without them, just by eating non-inflammatory foods.

I’m a little concerned that once we get to the end of my non-inflammatory foods I will need to start adding in the ones on my “no” list. When I’m feeling good, it’s difficult to give it up. I will trust “my team” though and pray that they know what’s coming and how to deal with any reactions I may have in the future.