Psoriatic Arthritis Journal - 2.5 year Update Page 63

[nicoles]

Update to above post.

Doing much better, although still not perfect. Illness is subsiding. Hopefully the flare is related to the sickness nafter all, but for now I am just glad to be able to type away without pain

[nicoles]

And today I am back to normal, mostly. Just tired and have a little sore throat. Flare is gone. I did not eat anything different so I guess I'll never know why it happened

[TominTN]

Is food the only trigger? Could it have been brought on by stress or some other environmental factor? Extra exercise? Less exercise than usual? Something else?

[nicoles]

Is food the only trigger? Could it have been brought on by stress or some other environmental factor? Extra exercise? Less exercise than usual? Something else?

Definitely, TominTN, food is not my only trigger. Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, too much exercise, stress and seasonal allergies all seem to play a part in my flares.

What was exceptional about this one was the severity. It was bad, unlike an flare I had since changing my eating ways. I did do a lot more than normal over the whole month of August, so perhaps it was cumulative

Also, I was/still am a bit sick. That must play a part.

What is better is that it is departing so quickly. Before I started eating this way, a flare like that could last for months.

[TominTN]

Glad you're recovery quickly.

[nicoles]

Thanks, Tom.

[Herbivore]

Dropping in to say hi Nicole.
Sorry to hear you've been having such a bad flare. And glad to hear you seem to be coming out the other side.

[jamietwo]

Hi Nicole,

I searched for your journal! What an amazing story! It is so great that you have had such dramatic improvement! I agree that it was due to diet and that you proved it! I'm so sorry you haven't been supported by your doctors.

Very encouraging! Thanks for sharing your journey! Glad your flare is quickly subsiding too.

[nicoles]

Dropping in to say hi Nicole.
Sorry to hear you've been having such a bad flare. And glad to hear you seem to be coming out the other side.

Thanks Herbivore! I am almost 100% now - just getting over this sick, which apparently everyone but my husband has. He NEVER gets sick, the lucky dawg! Hope all is well with you, too!

Hi Nicole,

I searched for your journal! What an amazing story! It is so great that you have had such dramatic improvement! I agree that it was due to diet and that you proved it! I'm so sorry you haven't been supported by your doctors.

Very encouraging! Thanks for sharing your journey! Glad your flare is quickly subsiding too.

Thanks for dropping in, Jamie! Now you know all the news I saw fit to print, so to speak. I am pretty psyched about this diet, so many things, not just the arthritis, have improved.

As a matter of fact, my blood pressure is lower than ever (112/70) and I am waiting to hear the results of my most recent blood test. As my husband said tonight, "I can't imagine how low your cholesterol will be NOW."

Pretty awesome, too, is the fact that both of my parents AND my husband now eat this way. They are all losing impressive amounts of weight, and my folks are cutting down the amount of meds they take. Great for all involved. Even if the arthritis did not go away, eating this way is so worth it.

Be well! Nicole

[nicoles]

Just dropping in to my journal to say, I am still doing OK. Still going on the diet and going strong.

Actually, after that last flare/illness, I have reached a new and better level of normal function/pain reduction.

Let me modify this by saying my pain on a daily basis is nowhere near where it was when I began. I notice some things occasionally, and I forget all about it many times a day. Some things linger on - like the knee pain that started it all - but even that is not terrible, more slightly uncomfortable. I have full range of motion now and can walk or sit for long periods with out increased problems.

But I want it GONE

On the other hand, my hands and wrists are pretty much normal, just not as strong as they once were ( I wonder why, haha) and my stiffness is also less and less.

I have a hawk-eye for symptoms now, and many of the ones I think of as "unresolved" (except for the knee) would not have even crossed my radar before I *knew* I had psoriatic arthritis. But now my goal is as close to perfect health as I can get.

I feel as though there is some sort of slow healing going on - and perhaps I dumped a bunch of stored toxins in my fat when I was sick, and caused a flare, because I lost more weight during that time and am now around 119-123 from day to day. So about 10 more pounds gone. And a new level of healing.

Met two women in the supermarket today with RA. Actually, I over heard their conversation and introduced myself because I was just so excited to meet them - they were talking about dietary treatment of RA!

But as it turns out, they were not talking about it to the degree that I practice, and once I mentioned I was on no meds and solely relying on diet there was a definite chill towards me.

Maybe they thought I was a nut job - could be, I DO live in LA, there are plenty of them.

Too bad. But on the bright side, the experience makes me want to start a local meet-up for folks with autoimmune disease. Anyone on this board live in Los Angeles and have an autoimmune condition? Wanna hang out?

Nicole

[lmggallagher]

Hi Nicole:

Hmm, used to travel to LA alot and nope have fibromyalgia not autoimmune, but I have been really interested in your progress and concerned when you had your flare issues earlier. The point of my posting is how I related to the excitement you had finding those ladies talking about RA and dietary changes -- and then deflatted by them almost instantly.

I had a similar encounter with two girlfriends I have known since high school. We were having a once a year breakfast together, and talking about the ravages of age and one mentioned how it is all inevitable and there is nothing that we can do to even slow the progress. I've been burned by disagreeing on this subject with others before - so I decided to interject only if I had solid evidence I could provide that said otherwise -- as opposed to me anecdotally saying things are improving for me. A few minutes later, she mentioned that it looked like she'd be deformed by arthritis and it was already beginning to enter her hand joints.

On this subject I had read everything I could find that Dr McD had written about artritis reversal, because even though the fibro pain is still with me, I immeditely lost joint pain and shoulder pain that I now realize was arthritis not fibro after all!

So at this point I said that there was lots of literature availble that arthritis can be reversed and giving up dairy has had amazing and fast results. Before I even finished what I was saying she literally snapped at me (this has never happened we are dear friends for life) that she would NEVER give up cheese. I was stunned -- I remember how deformed her father was by arthritis and he eventually died of diabetes, which she also assumes will be her demise. But her icy stare told me not to go further and I backed off saying yes as she is in the wine industry chances are wine and cheese are both part of the job requirement. Even though I tried to make it a joke -- I was still made to feel really uncomfortable for having said that at all.

I comforted myself by asking if I could have all their country fries -- and polished those off -- both of them told me that they'd gain a pound if they touched those. Even after eating out I happily shared that I lost close to a pound BECAUSE I ate enough potatoes!

Hope you continue to improve and glad your flare was just due to a brief sickness

[nicoles]

Thanks for sharing that story, lmggallagher. Yup, it doesn't feel good to be cold-shouldered.

In retrospect, I fear I was too enthusiastic with these ladies I had just met (OK, really, IMPOSED myself into their conversation - I am not shy ) and I am so on board with doing things this way I just forgot the natural resistance folks have to new things and especially "odd" or controversial things. And being interrupted by a stranger

Just curious - isn't fibromyalgia considered autoimmune disease or disorder? Or do I have that wrong?

Also - on a side note, I know you are up in the Bay Area (I love it there, by the way! Used to live in the Richmond and the Mission and may move back nearby eventually. Both my husband and I have family in SF, Oakland, Berkeley and LaFayette) If I am coming into own, I will send you a pm and perhaps we could meet up!

Nicole

[Herbivore]

Nicole I am so happy for you that your symptoms have reduced so much!

[jamietwo]

Glad to hear you are continuing to improve with this WOE!

[lmggallagher]

Thanks for sharing that story, lmggallagher. Yup, it doesn't feel good to be cold-shouldered.

In retrospect, I fear I was too enthusiastic with these ladies I had just met (OK, really, IMPOSED myself into their conversation - I am not shy ) and I am so on board with doing things this way I just forgot the natural resistance folks have to new things and especially "odd" or controversial things. And being interrupted by a stranger

Just curious - isn't fibromyalgia considered autoimmune disease or disorder? Or do I have that wrong?

Also - on a side note, I know you are up in the Bay Area (I love it there, by the way! Used to live in the Richmond and the Mission and may move back nearby eventually. Both my husband and I have family in SF, Oakland, Berkeley and LaFayette) If I am coming into own, I will send you a pm and perhaps we could meet up!

Nicole

Hi Nicole -- Now I know you have some Irish heritage for sure -- none of us are shy. Fibro has been in all sorts of classifications, but is no longer considered autoimmune. In Canada they are doing far more research than here and have found that people who really have fibro never enter the deepest level of sleep. So with that I think it's becoming more widely accepted that it's a sleep disorder, but then you have to ask if there is a trigger to that and that's not known.

Funny you should say that you lived in the Richmond, I was just there last week and it was my old neighborhood too 14th and Anza! The friend I was with wanted to go into all the Russian markets to get special holiday foods. I never saw so much sausage, cheese and smoked fish in my life! Not to mention bakery goods over the top! She bought loads of stuff, but I left with only one jar of mixed mushrooms.

The final test of my McDougall resolve was my favorite Irish bakery, I took her into that and again she came out with a dozen packages. BUT I didn't even taste the samples of plum pudding and soda bread. This makes me a SAINT, well compared to me in a former life. But I lived in the Richmond in college and was a complete bean pole then!

I love McD MWL though and happily just downed a giant bowl of potatoes, kale and mustard for a fast dinner -- perfect Celt food, yum

Please, do let me know when you are planning a trip up here, are you still in the State, sounds like you're in SoCal?

Michelle