Old newbie with a twist

(Jessica) #1

I’m not really a newbie, but I’m posting here as one, as my situation has definitely changed. I’ll reintroduce myself.

I’m Jessica. I was down to about 180 or so on keto, then COVID. I know that’s a common “excuse.” My husband, a VA nurse of 16 years, with 10 years of ICU experience, got detailed to the COVID unit for a year. That year rivals the hardest year of our marriage: the year my son was born with spina bifida. I honestly feared for his life due to his mental health during that time. He was allowed to go back “home” in April and has a new job within the VA that’s better than anything we could have hoped for.
During 2020, We both ballooned with our weight, attempting to find comfort in a really, really uncomfortable time.

I’m ready to get back on the wagon, but with an added difficulty. I’ve been allergic to beef for 10+ years. A couple of weeks ago, I had my first reaction to pork. I’m now attempting to avoid all mammalian meat in the hopes that I’ll be able to add it back a little at a time later in life. This really sucks, because I was trending toward carnivore before this happened. In fact, it was a night of really great, tasty, fatty country pork ribs that caused the latest reaction. I angrily told my hubby that I guessed I was on the chicken diet now. We live in rural Arkansas, so our options for alternatives are limited.

So, hey yall! I’m really going to try to stay involved, because the more involved I am, the better I stick to my plan. Bonus is that my dad has now lost 35lbs on a carnivore diet and is not longer seeking out surgery for his knee. My father in law, however, has gone from “low carb” to “low fat” and has been excited about all the sugary things that he can now have.

(Laurie) #2

Hi Jessica. I have some food restrictions too, and can’t eat the “real” carnivore food like steaks and so on. So I want to support you in making this work for you in whatever way you can.

You are right; being part of a group really does help. Welcome back!

#3

Oh you poor soul… No beef seems easy to me as I simply can’t afford it but no pork either? Oh my.
You still have fowl and seafood (unless you are allergic to that too) but I don’t know if it’s good enough nutrition and satiation wise, it seems lacking to me - but chicken never satiated me and I dislike it anyway, I am doomed without my pork!
Of course, you can eat eggs and dairy on carnivore too…
If you need plants for some reason, you still may be pretty close to carnivore, I suppose…? Hopefully you can find something that works for you! I never heard about anyone not eating mammals on carnivore… Maybe the old carnivores here will know more. I am not even a carnivore just try to stay close as it’s the best for me, apparently. My diet is very egg heavy but meat is obviously very much needed and the mammals work better for many of us.

It’s great your dad had success! Your father-in-law thinks wrong, even if low-fat works for him (I believe that we people don’t have similar diets as ideal for us), it shouldn’t be about sugary things… Oh my. My SO is thriving on HCHF (he can’t even try anything else) but he cut out sugar as it’s definitely not healthy and not needed. He still eats desserts all the time but they are still way better…

Good luck! And maybe come to the biggest carnivore place on this forum, one thread a month with a funny name :smiley: They tolerate even me with my carnivore-ish on/off style and too high verbose level (I try to work on that but there are so many thoughts! I still search my exact way, so many things to tweak ~ and people change), you surely would be welcomed if you want to be as close to carnivore as possible.

#4

Are you sure it’s the meat and not additives or the way it was cooked? For example, I sometimes (but not always) get allergies to smoked meat — especially bacon. The smoke from a bbq grill could be enough to cause a reaction. Or could it be the quality of the meat? Just to know for sure, are there organic farms or farmer’s markets near you where you could buy truly unprocessed meat? I know the cost is prohibitive but it might be good to try to know for sure.

(Laurie) #5

I was also thinking of venison and other (non-cattle) ruminants, but Jessica has probably already considered these.

(Jessica) #6

It’s not. I have alpha-gal allergy (as does my mom). The best information now if that it is triggered by a tick bite, specifically of the Lone Star tick, which are crazy common here.
My first reactions were actually to restaurant-cooked medium rare steak, and it has progressed from there. Deer fall into that category as well, and our deer meat is cut with pork fat anyway :roll_eyes:.

Thanks for the welcome back, guys! Truly!

(Bob M) #7

That is s bummer:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alpha-gal-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20428608

No real info. Weird to think it’s a sugar:

https://alternativemedicinecenter.info/alpha-gal/

They say it might go way, but in the meantime, what meats can you eat? Fish? Shellfish? Fowl?

Bison?

#8

Welcome back, Jessica. - And sorry to hear you’re still dealing with that Lone Star Tick stuff too. Still one of the strangest side effects from a bite I can ever recall reading about, and one that really makes no sense. Think I read about a ten year stretch for some, or even lifetime for others? Sucks…

And I see you’re still fighting off that Shark Attack though. :slight_smile: :+1:

(Jessica) #9

I started this reply yesterday and guess I didn’t send it. Yeah, the opportunity to eat red meat again is mainly why I am laying off for now. I could probably still eat small amounts without a reaction, but the reactions are scary enough that I don’t want to risk it. The pork reaction was a pretty large amount of fatty pork. I could probably get away with bacon crumbles or even venison for a meal, but every exposure makes it worse. Almost all of my reactions have happened in the middle of the night. It used to be stomach cramps, and itchy palms only ( so I thought I was allergic to something in Pepto). Then full body hives and have now progressed to me coughing and wondering if my airway is going to close up (I do have an epi-pen).

I can eat birds and fish. Bison is out. I actually have a pack in my freezer but never tried it. Dairy is fine. I go through phases on eggs. I have 2 chickens right now (I need to get more) and do better when I have a lot of fresh eggs.

(Jessica) #10

Hey Dave! Good to see you! The alpha-gal stuff is crazy. I read an article recently that suggested that it may have something to do with vaccinations and activating our immune systems against unintended things in the mix. Many vaxs have bovine components. I didn’t really get into it, and honestly am kind of gun-shy at anything that looks anti-vax, but it was an interesting thought.

(Laurie) #11

Since you posted about alpha-gal, I read up on it out of curiosity. That’s a shame! Do what you have to do, and hopefully things will get better for you down the line.

#12

Yeah, I don’t think anyone could blame ya there. Especially in these times we live in. Vaccinations are not always straight forward, and come with a whole lot of maybes, possibles, etc. - Unless something is shown to truly work and is also needed, it’s kind of hard to commit to being a possible test subject.

@Laurie … Yes Ma’am, that it is indeed. I remember first reading about it myself probably 20 years ago in a Deer Hunting Magazine. (Mentioned it was one of the first cases, I believe?) And it was one of the craziest things I recall reading about back then on any type of food allergies & how it comes to be.

#13

Yeah, I don’t think anyone could blame ya there. Especially in these times we live in. Vaccinations are not always straight forward, and come with a whole lot of maybes, possibles, etc. - Unless something is shown to truly work and is also needed, it’s kind of hard to commit to being a possible test subject.

@Laurie … Yes Ma’am, it is indeed. I remember first reading about it myself probably 20 years ago in a Deer Hunting Magazine. (Mentioned it was one of the first cases, I believe?) And it was one of the craziest things I can recall reading about back then on any type of food allergies & how it comes to be.

(Bob M) #14

Does fat like (beef) suet cause a reaction? If not, you could tend toward a PKD (paleo ketogenic diet, with a lot of animal fat), though of course no lean beef, etc.

It’s too bad ducks and geese weren’t so darned expensive.

I don’t believe any of the RNA covid shots have bovine components. Here’s Pfizer’s:

I can’t find any info on how the lipids are created, though. But I don’t think they’re bovine.

(Jessica) #15

You know, I’m not sure about fat vs lean meat. Good question. I’ll have to look that up. It would be nice just to be able to use my saved bacon fat to flavor things!

I’ve had the Moderna vaccine. My fantastic pharmacist called the 800 number before I got it to be sure. No issues with it! I had the usual fever and feeling like crap for 12 hours or so.

#16

I so don’t understand pricing in the world… Duck is quite cheap here, fowls are the cheapest meat options, of course not all parts but whole ducks are really cheap. It can’t be way more expensive to raise ducks there… And it’s a common animal to keep or not?