New onset food reaction? Try eating more fish, healthy fats, knock out as much added sugar foods as you can. Lots of green leafy veggies.

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"Base training is bull shit" - desertdude

I don't eat seafood but take fish oil - Omega 3 and 6 was another thing the testing looked into and mine apparently looked great. The problem with a lot of elimination diets is I feel no different based on diet. I realize there could still be some crazy hidden thing causing it, but the obvious ones don't seem to be the culprit.

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Kathleen
http://kcwoodhead.blogspot.com/

Have you considered an elimination diet? CRP indicates inflammation so agree they are looking at autoimmune. There is something called leaky gut syndrome, essentially you have a sensitivity to some sort of food, it gets into your system and causes it to overreact to lots of things. This sort of reaction can eventually lead to autoimmune problems. I'd recommend a good naturopath that specializes in autoimmune/gi issues. I ended up malnourished a couple of years back. Slowly before that my thyroid was off, B12 low, vitamin D low. It was about when I started eating soy but didn't connect the two. Eventually led to breathing issues because I couldn't produce enough acid and what little was there would back up and inflame my airway. The sensitivity essentially fried my stomach. I did an elimination diet and we found what I was sensitive to, permanently removed that and all is well, even my seasonal allergies close to disappeared. Having worked in healthcare for years, I was very disappointed that they did everything else but connect malnourishment with food intolerances. Most physicians overlook this phenomenon and will put you on acid reducers and whatnot when really you need more acid in order to absorb your nutrients. It would be a good start while you are healing the body. I have friends with RA who steer clear of gluten as that tends to aggravate their symptoms. It is all connected. I hope you get some answers.

I work in infectious disease, so CRP is a lab that I order for many of my patients. It is very hard to tell what exactly is going on besides inflammation. 15 is quite high. I disagree with the other posters. They are "shots" in the dark without examining all of the information you presented. Leaky gut is a nonspecific term that doesn't really mean much (http://www.webmd.com/...s/leaky-gut-syndrome). You wouldn't see CRP that high, maybe with celiac or crohn's.
Seeing a rheumatolgist is exactly what I would have done. I am not sure how old you are, but if you are a female that's 20-30 years old that's when many autoimmune diseases present. Weight gain and fatigue also fit an autoimmune diagnosis. As a heads up, you'll have more blood work done such as ANA and you'll have to wait again. I'm really sorry that you are going through this, I know all the waiting is excruciating.

I would also be a little careful of docs who don't take insurance. A lot of my patients have been scammed by these specialists. They use their own special labs with special expensive tests and treatment, which are all out of pocket. However, this is my own bias.

As a side note, depending on where you live and where you've traveled, you may want to get tested for some tick borne illnesses (e.g. lyme), especially since you are a triathlete and probably do some trail running. This could definitely explain some of your signs and symptoms like elevated CRP and fatigue.

Slight music to my ears...although it isn't an answer of any point so far....but I'm out of trial and error, at least for now. Elimination diets, in reality, would need to start from water and go from there - most elimination diets that aren't specified to any certain person revolve around fruits, veggies, eggs, meat, etc. What if it is one of those things causing me issues? I'm out of patience for that. I may find more down the road, but for now not so much.

So far I don't think I have lyme disease, or at least because I never had any obvious bite or symptoms, but I'm wide open for testing. I've definitely been odd places and I spent some time in Tanzania last August too so I suppose there are some possibilities of things I picked up there. Overall I thought it was all overtraining/adrenal fatigue that had been coming on over a year or two (that is when I started having trouble keeping weight off, recovering, and was frequently sick). But since I backed off everything in April, my CRP is still increasing which wouldn't necessarily correspond with it being high due to over-stressing my body physically.

madonebug - I will hopefully have a full allergy workup done again soon and I'm very interested in the food aspect, but just hope for some direction for an elimination diet vs just try this or try that. My initial allergy workup many many years ago pointed to a sensitivity to olives, thyme, and cinnamon - all things I'd be eating in potential abundance in most prescribed elimination diets these days.

hubcaps - I'm glad to hear someone thinks this path may be helpful. I'm not expecting much out of anyone these days, but that is good to know. I'm going to an asthma/allergy specialist in a few weeks too - I'd love if the rheumatologist and/or that dr are able to pinpoint some sort of cause and find a fix. I don't have tons of faith based on what I've experienced so far, hence thinking the functional md may help more, but if one of these two picks up on something I'll be thrilled (and hopefully left with a lot more $ in my pocket).

I'm 33 and female so it is possible I fit that profile. I'm 99% certain I don't have RA as I've had no joint pain or other similar issues and I haven't been able to self-diagnose via google, which will probably make the dr's job a little easier :-)

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Kathleen
http://kcwoodhead.blogspot.com/

Look up Cardia 7 at http://www.cardia7.com/

This has done wonders for my elevated CRP.

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Swimmer
http://www.usprotri.com/LAMASTRA.html
http://www.bodyphyxinternational.com

Do you know why it was elevated though? I'd really like to understand why and what is going on. Is Cardia 7 to help cardiac/cholesterol/lipid issues? If so, we have ruled out that that isn't why my CRP is high.

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Kathleen
http://kcwoodhead.blogspot.com/

I'll disagree with one of the posts because living proof cannot be denied. I've been in the clinical chemistry field for 20+ years- yes, that is your labs and how docs use them, what they are not good for, what they are good for, how we develop them, etc. After trips to several doctors, and my own research, a naturopath was the only one who stopped to actually look at everything going on. I knew there was an absorption issue, but didn't know the cause. I previously had a methacholine challenge, scope, the entire 9 yards of a "give them a pill and you'll be better" type culture. Eventually naturopathic and conventional medicine need to work together. Yes more labs may be needed, but sometimes it pays to start simple! Food intolerances eventually wreck havoc on your entire system by destroying the stomach wall and letting the proteins cross the barrier lowering your threshold and causing you to react to things you normally would not. Call it leaky gut, food intolerances or whatever you will-of course the conventional medicine in society will call it bogus as they can't write a prescription when all you have to do is eliminate the culprit. This can lead to autoimmune issues which you were describing. It is simply something to consider if the traditional docs cannot find a cause, I and others I know are living proof that there is a connection between what you eat and good health, how can that even be argued? Four docs later including specialists, countless bills and something has got to give as they simply kept putting "band-aids" on my symptoms instead of getting to the root of the problem. Unfortunately most of health care isn't getting to the root, to what is causing the problem, they slap on a band-aid, prevacid, lipitor, and on and on.

Sometimes the answers are really quite simple. Our food supply isn't exactly pure and the american diet is beyond what is considered "food". Heck, even what is considered nutrition for an athlete isn't always exactly "food". Physicians who are not willing to accept this and open up to other ideas are failing our patients. Yes, there are naturopaths who don't have a clue and then there are some that understand what many physicians will never be able to connect.

Labs need to be taken into context with a patient's symptoms. Many other things in a patient's blood sample interfere with the reagents used and many of the tests are too non specific, look up specificity and sensitivity. Physicians also fail to instruct the patient on how to prepare for them. Eg, ordering a celiac panel on a patient who has not had gluten in their diet for months is worthless. Just stating this is all "wrong" is fairly closed minded to those who are proof diet plays a huge role in the inflammatory process and all of the research that is being done out there.

Be careful when you choose a physician, and if you can, there are some who mix naturopathic with conventional medicine. Read up on labs they order so you can do the right preparation if you need to. The elimination diet he had me on was eliminating all processed food, nuts, soy, gluten, rice, corn, dairy as a start. It really isn't all that difficult once you figure out all that you can eat. I ate a lot of fish, fresh veggies, fruit, eggs, quinoa, sweet potatoes. It took a bit of creativity but it was essentially what we should all be eating-real food! After a couple of weeks I started adding things back and continued on every couple of weeks.

See a rheumatologist to rule out anything severe, they will certainly know that some of the labs they order are "weak" or too non specific, but if they cannot get anywhere, you may need to go down other roads. I hope you get answers soon and that you don't have autoimmune issues. If you do, eliminating some things from the diet can lighten the symptoms significantly.

Madonebug,
I agree with some of what you said. I'm a big proponent of lifestyle changes, especially dietary changes over medications for many medical issues. Medications are not the best solutions for many health issues. I disagree with your statement that health care isn't getting to the root and all we do is slap on a bandaid. I think this is an overly simplistic statement/arguement. You have to realize that most people would rather take a pill than do daily exercise, cut down on animal protein and increase fruit and veg intake. Getting my friends and family members to exercise regularly is like pulling teeth.
It definitely doesn't hurt to make changes to her diet and it may very well work. I do think that diet is an overly simplistic answer. Could it be the the right one? Of course. However, you are making a lot of assumptions and a lot based on anecdotal evidence. The OP has very nonspecific signs and symptoms. There are a multitude of possibilities. As a clinician, I was trained to get a full history and physical and then order any tests based on the H&P. This is how you come to a diagnosis. This is not a perfect analogy, but it is similar to a tri coach. My coach can observe me, analyze my data, get my feedback, etc. and provide guidance on how to improve my performance. My friend can say x, y an z worked for me but will it work for me? Maybe, but a coach who has worked with many other athletes and done the research will more likely provide better guidance.

I agree with Hubcaps as to not go to any doctors who will not take insurance. I went to one of these doctors and it cost me a lot! of money. They told me my blood work from national labs was no good and had to use their lab where I of course turned up positive for lymes despite many negative test from various labs.

In the end I turned out to have digestive issues, but I found that out only after spending to much money and taking months of unnecessary antibiotics

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Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3

I never said all of healthcare, I said most, or at least quite a proportion. The 3 out of 4 docs I saw, and one an endurance athlete, another on the right track but up the wrong tree, isn't all that promising when I'd still be on dangerous pharmaceuticals not fixing the issue. Disagree with the posts if you wish, but the fact is, they did not fix or resolve anything in my situation and others I know of. I agree, society in general wants a pill fix, again, it is still a band aid to the real problems that no one wants to take accountability for. There we try to teach good eating habits, yet that still is not the root of the problem. How about why people eat what, when and how much they do, getting folks to understand that and maybe there would be greater success.
As an athlete, some of us know our bodies better than a physician (or even coach) ever will because we have to, and some (I didn't say all, I said some) of those physicians just plain do not listen and roll their eyes the minute you mention seeking alternative care when they have no other ideas and what they are having you do does not work. Acknowledging that they don't have all of the answers and accepting there is evidence for other things that can cause the symptoms would be refreshing! Thankfully I found two conventional docs who listens, one who understands the role of nutrition for an athlete, another who is a runner herself and understands that naturopathic care can play an essential role in a person's well being treating the whole person, not just symptoms. Sometimes you have to keep pushing until you get your answers because hopefully most athletes know when things aren't right. We are battling a system that still doesn't quite understand the needs of endurance athletes. I'm simply saying, sometimes the answer can be simple, conventional medicine will not always have that answer and one may need to keep pushing to find it going outside of the box.

for elimination, try the SCD diet for 2 weeks (homemade yogurt, homemade chicken soup) and see what that does for you. but go to the website and get the diet - use NO processed foods - everything made yourself (ie. get a chicken, put it in a pot, cook it with carrots (i think) and you're done.

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http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit