I have a genetic disorder and I'm prone to edema. I've lost multiple dress sizes over the years, in part by altering my diet to account for the defective cell channel.

I don't believe I have lost fat. I believe it's all water weight and it's substantial amounts of water weight. I have reason to believe that I actually have a higher amount of body fat than I have ever had before and it's a good thing.

The right carbs plus the right fats plus the right kind of good quality salt is a powerful combination for me that helps heal my body and consuming them together in one sitting is typically followed by severe diarrhea. So eating certain carbs is one of the things helping me lose excess water weight.

I really need to do some reading on the molecular processes involved to try to fit this into my mental models for what is happening because this information flies in the face of my first-hand experience.

I've read what I can to understand what is going on at the cellular/molecular level. There are a number of weird things that go on with my condition, such as calcium hoarding and also hoarding of glutathione inside the cell (with too little glutathione occurring on the outside of the cell).

High levels of calcium inside the cell are associated with cell apoptosis (cell death), so some people with the condition believe calcium is a bad thing and they avoid it. I believe the opposite. I believe the body is hoarding calcium and glutathione to buffer against extreme acidity and other chemical derangement.

People with the condition are prone to developing osteoporosis at extremely early ages, sometimes in their teens. Glutathione has a strong, sour, skunk-like smell and I sometimes seem to dump it from my system as I go through periods where one or both armpits and/or my bowel movements have that smell. Afterwards, my baseline functioning is permanently improved.

So I'm trying to figure out what is going on that I am so prone to edema and what I need to address to fix it because I think if I can resolve the remaining edema, I will be more or less "normal" and largely asymptomatic. I think the remaining edema is indicative of remaining issues and although I continue to make progress, it's harder to make progress than it used to be. I am looking for clues to help me figure out some new piece of the puzzle and find a path forward on resolving this.