Felled By a Seed

When something doesn't agree with you, it's best to avoid it, especially when it takes you down. I'm not speaking of exercises, but of ingested nutrients, specifically flax seeds. Flax plants are woven into a wonderful cloth called linen. There's nothing quite like the feel of old linen shirts. Tiny flaxseeds have been celebrated for their fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. It's a good source of alpha-linolenic acid and can help with diabetes, high cholesterol and constipation. 

Most websites caution that people not used to high fiber diets might suffer from side effects such as gas, bloating and nausea. Unless you're one of the few people who actually react as if it were toxic. Eat enough flaxseed and you can give yourself a lethal dose of cyanogenic glycoside. Yep, cyanide poisoning. But that's not what happened to me. Because I didn't eat 3 teaspoons of flaxseed every day for weeks. Nor did I suffer from those symptoms: headache, confusion, trouble breathing, agitation. It is worth noting though, that whole flaxseeds would produce a lesser reaction that crushed seeds. And flaxseed that is crushed and heat-treated would have very little toxicity. (And between the oatmeal and prunes, I eat plenty of dietary fiber.) 

 No, what I ate was half a packet of instant oatmeal that contained dried cranberries and flaxseed. And there's not a lot of flaxseed in even a whole packet. My stomach's reaction was severe and lasted more than a day: nausea, pain, cramping, vomiting. There was little to upchuck except copious amounts of spit and mucous, no doubt, the insides trying to protect itself by shedding it's slimy lining. And it's not the fact that it was a tiny seed -- I've eaten chia seeds without any discomfort other than getting them caught in my teeth. 

My stomach is still tender from that event which occurred more than 3 days ago so now I'm extremely cautious with meals. Nothing spicy. Nothing overly acidic. Fresh coffee was okay this morning, but I'm wary of orange juice. Flaxseeds have now been added to the list of items to be avoided at all costs: hazelnuts (filberts), Brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds. I can eat almonds, peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cashews, macadamias, pecans, walnuts. I'm not allergic to nuts. It didn't cause anaphylactic shock or a rash. But it was excruciatingly painful, and that's enough.

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon so I only did cardio and an abbreviated ab and core routine. While my toes didn't go numb from time on the cross-trainer, my left lower back twinged once I got down on the mat. The elliptical might actually be gentler on my spinal discs even with backward motions at varying inclines. 

Example of the Visual Field and retina scan

Not a bug bite

My eye doc showed me results from my last Visual Field test, a 10-2 which specifically tests the inner circle of vision. It doesn't show any progression, and neither do the scans of my painfully thin retinas. (Perhaps they've always been thin?) We take the IOPs of 14 as a win even though we'd all like to see them lower than 10, but they're not high (over 20) either. My vision is still 20/20 uncorrected. And the new floater is probably there permanently. Meanwhile, the not-a-bug-bite still hurts and continues to look like poison ivy. The only relief I get is when I apply OTC hydrocortisone cream. Surprisingly, the stronger, Rx-prescribed fluocinonide doesn't help. Maybe it's not poison ivy?

At least I got my steps in over the weekend... walked all around the last day of the NY Renaissance Faire and saw a few shows, some new (strong woman, sword swallower) and some familiar from past fairs (fire whip, French silent clown, Canadian acrobats). We had a good time and it was lovely to see so many folks dressed up with ears, horns, crowns and armor. Until next year! We missed the NY Garlic Festival this weekend but fully intend to get to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in a few weeks time.

4 Oct 2021
Rainy Monday

LifeFitness x-trainer
Program Manual 1
Time: 25 min + 5 min cd
Distance: 2.93
Cal: 232
HR: 114-154

Crunches 60
Piriformis/Hip/Pencil Stretch
60 Dead Bugs
Elbow Plank 60s
Cat/Camel stretch 15x
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Mild Mat stretch w 3 Eye Yoga