Day 19 thoughts on the anti-inflammation protocol, yoga and the infarred sauna

Okay, so we battled through the weekend and the first part of the week and guess what, things got better! On Tuesday I woke up with a definite change in facial pain which is really exciting. I tried not to get too excited but so far it is still holding a notch lower than it has been in a very long time, so now all bets are off and I am full on excited. I am positive that this is the result of the anti-inflammation diet!

This week I started testing foods back into my diet. Right off the bat I got onions back!!! I got to test garlic on Wednesday which was especially awesome because it all went well! Today (Thursday) I got to test peanuts which was pretty fantastic but is too soon to see if there will be any trouble. If today goes well then on Sunday I will test eggs. I think that (other than onions) all of the foods are tested individually and then not added back into a weekly routine until all of the inflammatory foods have been tested.

My mug of hot water and 30 min of yoga every morning is paying off too. I am noticeably calmer and far more flexible which really seems to help a bit with the muscle spasms!

The infarred sauna is most definitely helping with sleep. A lot of people who know that I am heat affected (thank you MS) have asked why on earth would I got hot on purpose knowing that it messes me up. I know that it seems crazy but infarred seems to have an awful lot of healing value plus it relaxes muscles. I bought a sauna of my own so that I do not have to wait somewhere in public for my vision to return to normal or for my legs to able to walk well enough to take me home. I can sit and close my eyes or read and and wait to return to normal at my own pace and then head to bed and sleep so much better because hey, when you are asleep you don't notice that awful wobbly, gutted feeling the mix of heat and MS causes.

If a little is good...

Here I go again! I got to do a couple of projects that didn't kill me...I felt like I got to put my toes back in the water and it felt so good to be productive! So great to not have to hire someone to do silly things that I used to do quickly and easily. So what did I do? Not a little more but a lot more. STUPID. Now my hands that made it through the last two trials with pain but no swelling are indeed swollen and hurt-y. My entire body feels like it is made of cement that had electrodes embedded in it. How was I raised by my mother who talked so much about the need to find balance in life and consistently reject that notion?

After so many positive excited posts lately I thought it was important to check in and be real about this, because no matter what our issues are we all hit walls of some sort that seem so monumental that finding a way around them is a daunting task. We have all been there. For may of us we look for some sort of comfort and for some of us that is when we turn the wrong direction.

Here is where this takes a positive turn. Not one cell in my body wants cake, or pie, or fudge or anything like that at all. I just want to stay in my yoga clothes with a mug of hot water (again thank you mom). I want to do some gentle movement, do some infarred therapy and put on a face mask. I want to do everything in my power to relax the spasms and keep myself calm.

Life doesn't go away. The only thing that changes is our reaction to it.

Is this at all discouraging as far as my anti-inflammatory eating goes? Does it mean it is a waste of effort? NO WAY!

My reaction to todays wall says everything. My reaction is healthy and solid and that my friends means that the tide is shifting.

I am NEVER that person that is grateful in any way for adversity because it makes us stronger. I am strong enough. But I am also smart enough to see that the face of a major body setback, it clear that this path that I am on is an incredibly positive and healthy one!

It got real!

Here is the list of what has been completely eliminated from my diet now that the the two weeks of getting ready are over and the intense clearing phase has begun:
Dairy, wheat, (all gluten grains) corn, citrus, egg, peanut, soy, chocolate, beef, lamb, pork, (anything with four legs and anything that comes out of anything with four legs milks cheeses etc) sugar, garlic, onions, alcohol, potato, all peppers, tomato, and eggplant.

Thank goodness I was in the process of taking many of these foods out, and thank goodness for the work being done to "top off" the vitamins and minerals etc in my shakes so that I don't go a little crazy.

If you know me, you know that my diet up until now was absolutely full of peppers, garlic, onion tomatoes and cheese too...I mean how do you even cook without these staples? These are much harder to give up than gluten, dairy, alcohol or sugar for my lifestyle! Not to say I don't love some gluteny sugary goodness but hey nobody has that every day, but I LIVE on those nightshade veggies and onions!

By this time I fully expected to be not loving what I am doing but I am delighted to say that in spite of slashing my norm to its core I am DOING GREAT! ABSOLUTELY FANTASTICALLY GREAT!

I am figuring out great things to eat along the way that I would NEVER have even tried a month or two ago. My instagram is full of all of my food ideas (at least the pretty ones). Right off the bat I am already in the habit of eating more than my usual once or twice a day which is a terrible pattern that I have always battled with and as I round week two of this intense phase I am seeing a difference in my daily life!

I have gone off of (on my own) the two rx products that I use on my psoriasis and can see a definite difference! No new plaques have yet to form as the existing ones fade. NONE. This alone is huge.
Last weekend I spent a few hours transplanting my veggies in the greenhouse and usually this would mean that my fingers/hands swell and the joints turn pinkish and hot for a few days, but not this time! Since then I have done one more project that would normally pretty much halt my life to a snails pace and this did not happen. It certainly has slowed me down A LOT, don't get me wrong. I have had to cut a few days a bit shorter than usual. My left eye is whacked out, I have had to be more carful as I walk and use my cane a little more because of my left side being slower and not as responsive as the right and I am being more careful with my hands since I drop a lot of things for a while after I pretend that I am normal BUT since I am used to all of these things I am good. I have been able to push through and handle my daily work and life and most important (for me) maintain my joy.

I am pretty sure that this is not just the result of being excited about a new form of "pain therapy". It's real. I am not crawling, I am not crying I am not feeling desperate to have my old life back. Well, I mean I would love to be completely healthy again but hey, wouldn't we all like to turn the clock back for SOMEthing?

In all seriousness in my heart I feel that this science experiment is already paying off, and I have only begun!

Starting the anti-inflammation protocol

The first two weeks of the diet are spent getting the body ready for what is ahead, so that the adjustment is easier and much more pleasant. By the time any changes start you have already had an individual visit with each Doctor on the team,(there are three of them) and in turn they have all put their heads together with a plan for your specific needs. My team is taking my multiple sclerosis, trigeminal neuralgia, and psoriasis (all exacerbated by inflammation) and hormonal imbalances into consideration.

I was started on several supplements and an rx that corresponded with the needs shown from all of the lab tests taken during and after my first visit to this group of Doctors, no guessing games (which is how a lot of people think it is with supplements)! I began preparing and drinking two medical food shakes a day that are packed with vitamins, minerals, amino acids and then have a scoop of fiber, a specific fruit complex, flax oil and flax powder added to them. These shakes are again tailored to my specific bodies needs. During these first 14 days I am told not to change my eating habits because adding the shakes (and supplements and the rx) was an important part of letting my body adjust for what was ahead.

I was already in the process of for me what have been pretty significant changes but I agreed to hold where I was and not continue to eliminate things on my own, which was perfect since I had a trip to NYC during this time and would not have to feel "bad" about a few planned indulgences. Plus I was looking forward to seeing if there would be changes in how I might react to the foods I had not been eating, so I was going to get to do my own science experiment and with their blessing :-) total win win!

In the week I was away I never missed a shake and I got to enjoy two amazing cappuccinos, on separate visits to a favorite French cafe, where I learned that the dairy caffeine and gluten combo doesn't have the love for me that I have for it.  The trip was interesting because I could already see my attitudes and ideas changing. The things that I ate "off plan" were planned. They were not just random stuffing your face moments AND I was 100% happy with missing what I missed and having what I had. In my lifetime there are likely to be multiple trips a year to the city that has everything (including my daughter and her husband :-( so it was easy to leave some things untried)

A day doesn't go by that I don't ponder how really lucky I am to be doing this ant -inflammation project with such great support. This is so much different than reading a book and deciding that every food that can cause inflammation is wreaking havoc on you. It is knowing for SURE what foods aren't good for you, and which ones are okay for a bite or two vs which ones are actually having a huge impact on your life.