This is a lot of information, but I will try to fit it all in! It is really quite the mess!
When I was fourteen, I got really, really, skinny and was eating and drinking all the time. After probably six months of my mama trying to shove bacon down me, the whole family came down with the flu. I was sick enough that my mom took me to the doctor, who said that it was just a bad flu (she later said that she thought I was anorexic). The next day, I could not even walk, and at about 5'3", I was down to 80 pounds. Mom took me back to see a different doctor, who told her to stop talking and get me to the emergency room. They diagnosed me with type 1 diabetes and told me that it was not my fault. They didn't know why it happened, but there was nothing I could have done to stop it. I would have it for life until they figured out a cure. I could eat anything I wanted as long as I took insulin for it. For a week or two, I was slowly recovering, but then started getting sick to my stomach. I would be sick all night, eat some crackers and toast in the morning, and then start throwing up again sometime in the afternoon or evening. Occasionally I was well for a day or three, but this pattern went on for two months until a blood test and a biopsy confirmed that I also had celiac disease (also genetic, not my fault and for life). I immediately cut out all gluten, as did my mom and brothers when they discovered that they did not have celiac, but did have the gene for it. If I accidentally eat some, I am sick for a week. My naturopath told me that the diabetes was probably caused by the celiac disease.
I am now eighteen and happened to run into a natural doctor who is a type 1 diabetic but doesn't take insulin. We are both researching and trying to figure this out. I am exhausted and have poor focus and memory, and sometimes mild asthma. My mom and I both have symptoms of candida yeast overgrowth and metal poisoning. My mom and brothers all have somewhat high blood sugars, which have improved very little on a low carb diet. I cut out carbs and dairy two months ago, but started getting keytones so have started adding carbs back in - now I am at 45 carbs a day and still struggling with keytones. We have stopped using aluminum pans in the kitchen. My mom's metal poisoning we are attributing to her fillings leaking, but I only have ceramic fillings. We are on well water.
She is taking a variety of supplements and tinctures from the doctor. For various reasons I am on cinnamon (mostly ceylon), dandelion root, ginkgo, red raspberry leaf, licorice root, fresh lemon juice, raw garlic and ginger, just started gynema sylvestre, and am going to start poke root, or grape, pau d' arco, goji berries, bentonite clay and cat's claw. I eat my herbs plain or most commonly put them in a tea.
As long as I can remember, our family has eaten mostly organic foods. Nothing boxed, we don't go out to eat since there is nothing guaranteed gluten free in our small town. We eat mainly from our garden in the summer. We have always used whole grains and cooked everything from scratch. We used to use regular drugs for medicine, but I have switched our family over to almost 100% herbs in the past year.
I had all of the recommended vaccinations and antibiotics as a kid, which I am thinking might have caused this whole mess!
My doctor has done some testing and figured out that me pancreas is still producing insulin - about 80% of what it should be. Something is causing an autoimmune response when the insulin leaves the pancreas. My insulin receptors appear to have pulled back as well.
I have been researching like crazy, as has my doctor. Can anyone add any pieces to this puzzle?
