I have used sinus irrigation and sinus lavage for a number of years trying to manage my chronic sinus infections. Many people find sinus irrigation or lavage works very will for them. Personally, I found the salt water would become trapped in my sinuses due to all the inflammation. I wouldn’t be able to get the water out again. I found serrapeptase worked at eating away the necrotic tissue and brought down the inflammation. I do not have sinus infections anymore and only use serrapeptase if I get a cold or flu. I am very happy to hear that the irrigation works for you. It is a much better solution than antibiotics or corticosteriods. I am glad you found something that works that does not do damage to your body.

I have looked at your blog. You might find these posting useful. Good luck with your goals:
http://eatkamloops.org/archives/4753
http://eatkamloops.org/archives/5034

Cheers,
Caroline

I use a netti pot, it is like a tea pot that you fill with warm water and sea salt. It irrigates your sinuses, taking out any yuck and killing out bacteria. I think it is a God Send! I had a terrible sinus infection earlier this year and it took care of it. Now I am committed to using it a few times a week to keep my sinuses clean

Personally, I am very careful about eating too many nuts or seeds. I use them for special occasions such as birthdays or holidays. I do not consider purchasing nut flours a good idea because they will be rancid. All shelled nuts and seeds should be stored in the freezer. I don’t consume very much honey either. I needed to go on a low carbohydrate version of the SCD to solve my chronic yeast infections. I also do not consume those bean flours recommended in Breaking the Vicious Cycle. I eat no beans in any form. As I have stated in another posting the GAPS is a new evolution of the SCD. I mention the SCD because of its history. The SCD was the diet that healed me. I learned about GAPS after being on the SCD about two years. I think the GAPS program is better for many people. Here is the posting about SCD/GAPS:
http://eatkamloops.org/archives/582

Recently, I found a diet that is very close to what I am doing now. After being on the SCD/GAPS for years and only being able to safely reintroduce raw dairy, I have come to realization that I will never reintroduce grains, beans or legumes into my diet. Maybe other people will be able to do so, I can’t. I have been watching the Paleo Diet movement evolving over the last few years. In fact, I used to get many of my recipes from this source but I would increase the fat or change the fat to an animal source. I found it funny that the Paleo Diet people didn’t think primitive humans ate LOTS of fat. I like everything about Mark Sisson’s program except the supplements. You know how I feel about supplements! Mark is a high fat, Paleo Diet follower, that likes raw milk products. Now that’s a hunter/gatherer/herdsman, I could live with! I could eat everything at his table. I really like his exercise program too:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Anyway, just wanted to post why the SCD may not work, or may be even harmful for some folks (which I’m surprised Matt Stone didn’t mention).

First of all, it is very, very high in salicylates, which many folks cannot tolerate, especially kids with autism and folks with autism spectrum disorders. Almond flour, honey, two of the staples, are extremely high in sals.

Perhaps that’s why Dana couldn’t tolerate it.

I am sorry to hear you are feeling so poorly. Most problems with the SCD resolve within a few weeks of complete compliance with the diet, but not everyone is helped by the diet. Have you found an improvement in the health condition that motivated you to start the diet in the first place? If you have seen a great improvement in the original condition, but you have these new problems, it might be gut flora die off. I have seen people get really sick for a few weeks, but not as long as three months, unless the person goes on and off the diet. If you have not tried probiotics or fermented foods before, you might give it a shot.

I find it interesting that both your sister and yourself are having the same problem. Do you both suffer from the same original problem or did you start the SCD for different reasons? I could not make any helpful suggestions without you calling me in person. I would need to hear your full story. If you would like to do that please call 250.374.4646. (Pacific Time) You could also post you question on the GAPShelp Yahoo Group: http://www.gapsdiet.com/Support.html.

I used to be on very high doses of corticosteroids. I was on twice the daily safe long term dose for adults and my asthma was still a problem. I do not take any medication now. The SCD “cured” my asthma and allergies.

Thank you for your reply. By the way, I love your blog. I spend about eight hours reading it last week. I think it will help many people. It has given me a few things to think about. I am going to try eating four to six meals a day for the next month and watch my waking temperature to see if it will increase.
http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2009/08/carb-wars-episode-i.html.

As for what I did right. It is a mystery to me. These are some of my ideas about the mechanism:
1. Going high fat made a great difference in my health especially in my endocrine system, which was in the process of crashing. Getting control of my main hormone insulin might have helped stopped the seizures. Eating tons of healthy fats and cholesterol helped my adrenals come back from the brink of exhaustion. I moved from vegetable oils to natural fats, primarily from animal sources. Finding the “ketogenic zone” may be right. Getting away from all “new fangled” fats may have helped too.
2. There are many food additives that can cause seizure disorders in sensitive individuals. The most likely ones are aspartame and MSG, but there are now thousands of additives routinely added to the food supply. Any one of these could be my problem. The SCD restricts all processed foods so I am not exposed to this common risk factor. Eliminating all food additives might has stopped the seizures.
3. Then there is the “gut brain” connection. Did I heal myself of Leaky Gut Syndrome? Did the healing stopped the gut from reabsorbing some nasty by-product of the gut flora? Did the SCD kill-off the gut flora which were producing nasty by-product of their metabolism that was poisoning me from the inside?
4. Maybe it is something in those grains, legumes and beans? Maybe it’s avoiding all those casomorphins and gliadorphins. What I cannot digest does me harm.

I feel like Alice going down the rabbit hole. I wish I had a clue which mechanism is at work in my situation. I am starting to get very interest in “home testing” methods. It’s cheap and in the control of the individual motivated to finding the answers for themselves.

One thing I like about the Weston A. Price Foundation recommending eating properly prepared nourishing traditional foods from a high quality source is good advice for just about everyone. Eating outside the Industry Food System to avoid the unintended food additives is a good second step. After doing these things, regaining health becomes so… individual.