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So far so good with the potassium. There is a direct correlation between taking the supplement and getting good relief 10-20 minutes later. The tension, pressure and stiffness in my sinuses and neck very noticeably backs off, and the relief seems to last for 3-4 hours before building up again.
This early stage is babytown frolics, though. The real hammer will drop in 3-5 days. That one article said it was important to start at the beginning of the cycle so maybe I'm too late. Possible I won't really see real results until next month. Trying to temper my expectations. I am so absolutely sick of getting stomped in the brain every few weeks. If this works reliably I will be beyond ecstatic. It would be better than winning millions in the lottery.
I got some potassium rich fresh veggies at the store (kale, green beans, etc.). Also got a zinc supplement and calcium chews. Generally spouse and I are taking liquid B complex, vitamin d3 and glucosamine/chondroitin in the morning, and magnesium and more vitamin d3 at night. (Was also taking krill oil but ran out & haven't reordered.) Calcium-magnesium-zinc play nice together and encourage relaxation so we'll add zinc & calcium to the evening group.
I'm making sure to use the lite salt in cooking again. I'd switched over to this fancypants sea salt that supposedly provides various trace minerals (it's alkaline!!1!). I just plain forgot about the lite salt.
Took D3, magnesium, zinc, calcium, potassium last night before bed. Got pleasantly drowsy and my body felt remarkably good and normal. This morning (7 hours later) the anxious jittery sugar crash pre-headache feeling was back when I woke up. Took zinc and potassium. Now it's gone.
I went down the rabbit hole a little bit researching "copper toxicity". Toxicity is a health weasel word that I immediately associate with MLMs and juice cleanses, but apparently this is a real thing and it does sound close to what I have been experiencing. From wikipedia: "Mammals have efficient mechanisms to regulate copper stores such that they are generally protected from excess dietary copper levels. Those same protection mechanisms can cause milder symptoms, which are often misdiagnosed as psychiatric disorders. There is a lot of research on the function of the Cu/Zn ratio in neurological, endocrinological, and psychological conditions. Many of the substances that protect us from excess copper perform important functions in our neurological and endocrine systems, leading to diagnostic difficulties. When they are used to bind copper in the plasma, to prevent it from being absorbed in the tissues, their own function may go unfulfilled. Such symptoms often include mood swings, irritability, depression, fatigue, excitation, difficulty focusing, and feeling out of control."
As far as I can tell from my shallow research, 40% of stuff on copper toxicity sounds reasonable and useful, and 60% is hot crazy garbage that leads straight into fringe conspiracy, even Qanon like stuff. If it fixes my headaches, I will wade into the garbage and pick through the 40% that is good. Yeah, I know, rubbing elbows with the tin foil hat crowd is to be discouraged. Nobody is immune to propaganda. We all want to push up our nerd glasses and point to respectable hard science to prove solutions to our medical problems. What a luxury. But - if it's stupid, but it works, then it's not stupid.
The part about copper and zinc being antagonists is not stupid. That's real. So if I do have too much copper, supplementing with zinc should be an effective way to help. Also there is a relationship between zinc and the sodium/potassium balance.
Influence of dietary zinc content on sodium and potassium metabolism in the rat
I was working on the recipe for pumpkin protein bars, looking up the nutrition info for ingredients and it became apparent that many ingredients had plenty of copper, but there wasn't much zinc to be had. Even foods that were listed as good zinc sources had lots of copper. I was looking at potassium, too, and levels were lower than I expected. It is possible I just don't get enough zinc for the amount of copper in foods. If I'm not getting enough zinc, I'm also not getting enough potassium, and if I've got too much copper, the body possibly can't use or get rid of it efficiently without causing vague mental health related symptoms, like anxiety and depression and headaches.
If this is true then supplementing with zinc and potassium ought to be of real help. Which I am definitely feeling within 10-20 minutes of taking the supplements. I feel normal. Something positive is for sure happening.
The woo woo doctors claim that copper can build up in the liver and recommend various supplements to boost liver/gall bladder function. Some are more expensive and specific than others. I've picked a lower priced, broad purpose one to try and see if there is any noticeable benefit.
If my issues are caused by zinc/potassium deficiency, then I don't necessary need to eat low carb anymore. I've learned to really like low carb because it takes so many processed junk food choices off the table. It forces a person to do without filler foods and convenience foods. I am more in tune with how sugar makes my body feel, and I also like the steady energy I get from low carb (sugar and caffeine makes my hands shaky - not good for tattooing). I am more aware of how sugar is marketed as instant happiness in a cup. Treat yourself, you deserve it! And if you're depressed you're going to want that easy pick me up even more. I have been forced to drastically improve my cooking skills and make more things from scratch. Low carb has been good to/for me. So I think I'll stick with it and keep doing what I've been doing. The nice thing is now I could have the option of adding something I'm craving without being afraid I will get the headache hammer later.
One of the crazy woo woo doctors recommends eating blue corn chips because apparently they have selenium and anthocyanins which are good for reasons. So I got a bag of blue corn chips. They are thick and sturdy and filling. A crunchy real chip option is such a luxury! Pork rinds are not the same. Now I can do nachos or dips - I love mexican/tex-mex food and a sturdy chip allows for so much more flexibility. As long as I keep portions small it should be a net positive.
Some women seem to have a lot of these copper toxicity issues related to birth control options, especially the copper IUD. The most severe headaches I had were when I was on the pill - crying in the dark, throwing up, debilitating pain. Once I went off the pill and realized the severity decreased, I could never go back. I considered an IUD but ended up going whole hog and getting a tubal ligation because I had no reservations about not wanting kids. More expensive in the short term than a IUD, but zero worries about side effects or uterine perforation or accidental removal or future replacement. The doctor didn't fight me, she said statistically I was in the group least likely to regret my decision, and approved it. Some women are not so fortunate. Getting the tubal was the best medical decision I have ever made for myself. Worth every penny of the $3k I paid after insurance. So I don't have to worry about birth control complications from interactions with extra hormones or the copper IUD, or fertility complications, like many women do. Not everyone has great experiences with tubals, but personally I could not be happier with it. I have the freedom to take whatever supplements I want and not worry about having an oopsie baby because it cancelled out my birth control.
Like, men don't have to think about these things. I wish they'd make a pill for men so they too can enjoy all the wonderful miscellaneous side effects and being told they're making stuff up or it's a psychological problem and paying $200 for the pleasure of a 5 minute prescription renewal (which they can't access more than a 1 month supply of at a time, even if they're going on a trip). Get their stuff replaced with generics with no warning. I still deeply resent the ex I was with when I was on the pill. All the costs and hassle were my responsibility, of course. And I suffered intense pain at least once a month. And I had anxiety about remembering the pill and worrying about accidental pregnancy, which if it happened would be my responsibility too. Hundreds of dollars and extreme mental stress on my end, just so this jackass could sit around eating mac 'n cheese and wondering when he could get sex. Never cost him a damn thing. Yes, give men their own pill. Let them be liberated too. It's only fair. Isn't it suspicious that they don't have one by now? It's like offloading all the horrible reproductive consequences on women is by design. Who cares about ovaries, anyway - unless the woman wants to make a permanent decision about them! Then let's question her intentions, because those little eggs she's carrying could potentially be someone's son. We know what matters here.
I am bitter, yes. But you know what makes it better? $3k, a couple rubber bands, a few hours of outpatient surgery, and never having to worry about it again. :-)
I'm trying out a new toothpaste. Spouse is making noise about dental appointments and I really really hate dentist lectures. They always make you feel like a filthy heathen on the road to oral hell. I also desperately want to avoid the expense of extra dental work. I figure I have a few months to get my teeth in the best possible shape. So I got this tartarend toothpaste that was formulated by a chemist to help his reoccurring dental issues. Supposedly he figured out a formula that works on the chemical bonds of tartar (the really hard stuff), so what could only be scraped off manually, can now be softened and brushed away a bit at a time. It's not an instant fix, but if I have a few months maybe it will make a difference. It tastes like burnt tires dipped in weak mouthwash. It is foul. But damned if my teeth don't feel smoother and cleaner afterward vs regular toothpaste. It's a little expensive at $20 a tube, but anyone with sense would chose a few extra bucks in toothpaste over a filling. Also I got us a waterpik. Spouse has dubbed it the pointy mouth fountain and so far is being sniffy about using it. Pretty sure his dental hygiene as a feral alaskan kid consisted of chewing on sticks. Listen, we hate flossing. Therefore, we use the pointy mouth fountain. I'm not getting yelled at by the dentist.
We were lying in bed trying to get to sleep and spouse told me some godawful joke off the internet, purely to make me suffer. He said it's like we're in a competition to see which one of us can tolerate more of the other. So I said, loser dies first. Spouse said he would use the eulogy at my funeral to declare himself the winner, and if people thought it inappropriate they didn't know me very well. In my head I'm thinking, what are you even talking about? You're not going to win. You can't tell men stuff like that, though. They're sensitive creatures who need emotional protection. Ha ha.