I think I joined here 2+ years ago originally and had some success with LCHF, but I eventually fell off and stayed off. I've had some MAJOR life changes that have made it clear that I needed to do something, so I naturally gravitated back to the LCHF lifestyle. I have been insulin resistant most of my life (PCOS dx at 18) and have been struggling with many autoimmune issues (including advanced joint destruction for age and a thyroid that goes high and low) but "THE" diagnosis eludes me. I've been under the care of no less than a dozen doctors over the last couple of years and they all want to focus on their specialty. No one seems able to see the big picture and tell me what I need to do overall, so I had to do it myself.

2 weeks before Christmas, my eldest son was killed by a drunk driver. He died instantly, he was just suddenly gone. Obviously, this has put all sorts of pain and stress into my life. Not only losing him, but battling to keep the offender locked up (he was a month, he is out for now) and dealing with attorneys, coroners, cops, etc... I'll just say it has been hell. It did not help that we were involved in a serious car accident ourselves in Feb... the girl ran the stop sign and I t-boned her and flipped her car... and all 4 of our young ones were in the car with me, as was my husband. I was taken from the scene by EMS, as I could not walk (I was standing on the brake on impact) and that had sent everyone spinning again. It was basically the same type wreck that killed my son. This time, we ALL walked away, thank God... even the other parties, despite being rolled.

18 days after he died, I had my first anaphylactic reaction. I was very close to dying myself, it took 3 doses of EPI to finally stop the reaction. That was the first of 4 reactions, 2 of which needed EPI. I had NEVER had this happen before, so pinpointing the causative factors were tough. It took 5 months and 2 doctors to confirm shellfish, fish and pineapple/ latex allergies... that in itself was a mess, as the allergist tried to tell me at first that I might not have any allergies (he does not like the other doc I was seeing), that it was all stress. I was quite happy that HE was the one who read my 2nd allergy test and had to eat his words (but that took months to finally get there, I could not get off of antihistamines without high dose steroids) . Since all I had to go on was an allergy test that was over a year old (and clearly included things I have never actually reacted to), *I* decided to take it all in my own hands and go off ANYTHING that I had shown positive to (more than 2 dozen foods), plus get off the gluten as my allergist suggested (I had been seeing a GI and they were ready to remove my gallbladder). I had read that a fast could help clear histamine and mast cells, so I did a 48 hour water fast, too.

Long story short, I have been basically LCHF for about 4 months now, plus avoiding other possible allergens. I have not been able to eat out in this time, either, which helps with health and weight loss, but frustrates me socially. I've been given the go ahead to SLOWLY reintroduce things, but only when I feel well and strong. My alternative is being admitted to an ICU setting and reintroducing foods there... no thanks! So far I have added back cocoa (cacao) and tomatoes. I plan to do onions next. I know I have had small doses of corn in my medications, too, so technically I've always had corn in there in small doses, but I have been nervous adding back actual corn. I've actually been very careful not eating corn otherwise, which is a HUGE challenge. In LCHF, corn is not a big keeper food anyway... plus it is known to cross react with gluten, so there is that, too. My gut is SO much happier being off of grains!

On the weight loss side... I am down 72 lbs since last March. 40 lbs of that is just in the last 4 months. It is amazing what happens when you eliminate inflammatory foods! I had hit a plateau and upped my carbs the last few days and I am suddenly bloated and hanging on to water weight. There must be a better way! I am as thin now as I was in HS, and I am 45 and have birthed 6 babies. I have already passed my first goal weight, and the 2nd one is very much in view as attainable. I don't have an end goal yet, I just know I am not there.

Anyway, just wanting to get back into the community side a little bit and maybe find some help on breaking through some of these plateaus. As I have been basically grain free (very, very little rice... maybe 2 months ago?), I have been naturally staying in ketosis from VLC. I cannot have the gluten, and most of the other grains cross react in sensitive individuals (which I obviously am). I bought some truly GF oats and that did NOT go well. Not only did it upset my tummy, but it brought back the cravings almost immediately. I can basically have coconut flour as a grain and that is it (nut reactions, not reintroduced yet) and MAY add back in the corn... it may sound silly, but I have also strived to be organic/ non-GMO and am growing my own food right now... if my corn grows, that will be the one I try.