Catching Up - Month 8

Whew - eight months in and not feeling so hot.

BUT, I have myself to blame.  My diet is shot - I eat practically whatever I want.  While many people would say there is no correlation, I think that for my body and the symptoms I experience, there sure is!

Let me tell you what it's like - my neck hurts, my hands hurt, I have practically no energy and I am suffering from allergies this fall.  The arthritic symptoms in my hands are constant, I go to bed at 9:30 every day and find a general lethargy pervades my life.

Can I blame INH?  Possibly for a part of this.  But I know that if I was doing my best to eat, exercise and be healthy, I'd feel fine.  I KNOW IT.

I want to get this out on the blog because I appreciate all of your comments to me to GET IT GOING!  I want to share my remaining few months and recap the last four or five.  My slide into INH rebellion and my hopeful return.

Stay tuned, and thanks for all the prodding!

My Story

I'm starting this blog because I'd like to record my journey through the 9 months of INH (Isoniazid) medication that I'll be taking as treatment for latent TB.

Here's my history:

In late 2001, I was given a PPD test and lo and behold I reacted! I was told I had latent TB and given a pill bottle full of INH to take to isolate the tuberculin bacteria. I was also told all about the possible side effects of this drug. Common side effects include:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Gas
• Headache
• Heartburn
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue

So, being a healthy, happy thirty-year old, I stowed the bottle in the bottom of a box of books in my shed and forgot about taking it.

Fast Forward to 2010:

Here I am with a beautiful five year old and a cough that started in late 2009. No, I don't have active TB, but had bronchitis and just finished a round of azithromyacin. What spurred me to follow up on my latent TB was the unknown factor: could I have active TB? I spent a week in panic thinking that I could possibly expose my family to TB. I spent a week wondering what would happen if I were to be contagious...what would happen to my family, co-workers, friends if I had to be quarantined? Thank goodness none of that happened...

Peace of Mind:

For me, the instant I made the decision to take this drug I had peace of mind. Since I was not blessed with the ability to predict the future, I can honestly say that without INH there will always a possibility of my immune system being compromised and the tuberculin bacteria becoming active. Now, I'm almost forty and have seen my weaknesses...I'm not the invincible person I once was (or thought I was). To avoid any chance that I could ever expose those I love (yes, I know less than 10% of those with latent TB ever go active...who wants to take that chance of being in that category?) I've come clear on something very important: I'll spend nine months of my life, the time it took to carry my child from conception to birth, killing the tuberculin bacteria with INH.

Preparation:

I have known for two weeks that I'll be taking INH. Over this time, I've done some research.

• INH can deplete Vitamin B6, D, Folic Acid, Niacin and Calcium
• Alcohol should be avoided due to increased risk for hepatitis
• Eating foods high in tyramine may increase blood pressure (foods such as aged cheeses, red wine, beer, raisins, bananas, avocados, certain meats and sausages)
• Eating foods high in histamine may cause low blood pressure (tuna)
• INH may affect blood sugar

Sources: Trustar Health, Natural News, Drugs.com

My Take:

INH could mess me up big time but I can do a few things to help lessen potential effects. At this point, I'm working with just two things: Diet and Supplementation. We'll see what crops up as I go along.

My Vegan Diet:

I'm going to follow a vegan diet (or try to) for a couple of reasons:

1. Eliminating meat will place me in a lower risk category.
2. Eliminating dairy will place me in a lower risk category and help alleviate any allergens that might crop up for me.
3. Little or no alcohol.
4. Refined or processed sugar/products to reduce allergens, and support optimal health. This includes wheat flours, and white sugars.

Supplementation:

I started taking a multivitamn, Supernutrition's Women's Blend, that is strong in Calcium and D. It's food based, so I feel that I will have a higher chance of better absorption. The only problem: It's 6 a day. 3 at breakfast and 3 at lunch. Hopefully I won't keep forgetting to take the last three at lunch.

So, tomorrow, my journey begins...hopefully, like my pregnancy, I'll have zero morning sickness, radiant health, and only a few mood swings and headaches.