Well last week I went to a traditional Rheumatologist to get checked out.
Regardless of my still high ANA they told me that they would not recommend putting me on the traditional medicine, corticosteroids or methlotrexate. And they don't really care to figure out why the ANA is high as long as I am symptom free. Hrm. Whatever happened to preventative medicine?
She said that a lot of people have a high ANA. Now I am not satisified with this answer. I want my ANA to be at a fantastic level. Or this, why do a lot of people have high ANA's? Just because it's common that does not mean it's ok. I will be able to knock down this ANA, but it is gonna take sometime to naturally get my body at the equilibrium that I want.
Really I am having just some minor joint stuff, which a lot of people have. And also, a lot of allergies.
I was very disturbed sitting in the waiting room of my Rheumatologist. There were A LOT OF PEOPLE THERE. And I am not talking about a lot of old people, I am talking about a lot people around their 30's. There was one guy my age using a cane. :( DAMNIT! Grrr....I seriously believe that just does not need to be the case! There was an older woman sitting in a wheelchair.
Do these people know how much diet can better their life and even get them off the medicine?? Give them their life back??
So I am siting in this doctors office and she almost seemed intimidated by me. I was polite, I did not walk in there as some know it all. I walked in saying nothing more than hi. I felt some pretty strange vibes from her and I think I made her nervous. The first thing she said to me in very panicked voice was, "You, you're in school, what are you in school for?" I said, "Nursing." And she didn't say anything after that. Yeah, I am not a med student, a mere nursing student. And actually I've had some struggles in nursing school, although I am due to graduate next semester currently I am a State Tested Nurses Aide. I do the dirty work!! Really, I do do the dirty work. Hopefully someone got my pun there!
I mean seriously you don't have to be a rocket scientist to do what I've done! I mean I'm not even close to being done, this is a life long thing, but what has happened here is definitely significant.
I seriously asked that doctor why she wanted to be a doctor?? I was not trying to be a jerk. I was curious. I did not ask it assuming anything. I said, "I know this is a tough field to be a doctor in, it's confusing, it's complicated, and you have to watch a lot of long term suffering." I told her that I felt very lucky with my progress and that if what I was doing was a bad idea that she should tell me. If she thought that I was making some terrible mistake, I really wanted to know her honest opinion. I mean this is an important question to ask, we are dealing with my life here. I take this all very seriously.
She told me, "No, you're not making a terrible mistake. Just keep eating right and exericising."
But! The last thing that she did say was that my blood test did not show that I was a Celiac. She said, you are not a Celiac. My IGg was low. But I still carry the gene. This obviously really bothered me. It bothered me for a few reasons.
A.) All of these doctor's diss my doctor without even reading up on any of the research he uses. They have no idea what is going over in his office. All they see is the word Holistic and they immediately write him off. In fact he is a pretty famous doctor, has tons of patients, has had a lot of his patients on the news, people come from out of the country to see him, and he teaches a ton of lectures. He doesn't want to give a faucet education. They write him off without even reading anything or without even putting any rational thought into the situation. Where's the progress???!
B.) It is not just my doctor that knows that Celiac Disease is very hard to diagnose. This is actually common knowledge about Celiac Disease. It can be silent! And I carry the friggin genes. I know that just because I carry the genes that the gene's may not be activated. But come on! Look at my symptoms and then my insane, immediate, improvement on a gluten free diet! They were most definitely activated.
C.) Ok I know doctors are not stupid! Seriously to go through all of that schooling you have to be pretty smart! I am not even sure that I am intelligent enough to be a doctor. I would need some serious math tutoring. Why don't these doctors keep up on all of the different options in their field? Even if they don't practice it. I know they are really busy, but some of them just don't seem interested enough or perhaps they are burnt out on their field. Not all of them, but some.
D.) Is all of this controversy over money? I mean I don't want to conclude that. I mean I was reading in The Arthritis Breakthrough that the rheumatology field is one of the biggest money makers in the field of medicine. If we can cure these people with diet and exercise what will happen to this field? I mean I know if everyone knew about this treatment that they might not follow it because it requires a ridiculous amount of discipline. This is too bad because if we could just clean up our food industry it would not require as much intense discipline that it currently requires. But the Antibiotic Therapy, now that doesn't require a lot of discipline. It is a pill. A cheap pill. Maybe that's why it's not used? I don't understand.
I truly believe that diet and exercise are just so beneficial and that it is not stressed enough. Everybody knows this already. I would never assume that it is too hard for someone to do. I think it is important that we expect more out of people than that. It is ok to fail a bazillion times, I did when I first started to change my diet. But you just keep trying again and again until you get it right. We're dealing with quality of life here! We're dealing with potentially debilitating illnesses.
I really hope that this blog proves useful. My whole point here is to compile information to give to people so they know all of their options. I am not trying to tell anybody what to do, just to think about how what one puts into their body affects them.
I just want people to think, that's all. When/if they get sick I want them to be smart about their illness. :))
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
So what's going on with me now?? I've dropped the blogging ball for a while!
Ok well today a friend of mine shared her blog on PTSD, so I figure hey why not share my health blog. It is good to share it for a variety of reasons:
A.) It may help other people. If I don't share it, what the heck is the use of it? :p
B.) It will help keep me on task with keeping a written track of this story.
C.) Life is meant to be shared. Even the tough stuff. I mean goodness it is not good to soley focus on the bad stuff, but heck it helps to confide in others.
D.) Dudes, unfortunately pretty much everyone experiences an illness. Or someone else they love suffering from an illness. A lot of times chronic illnesses or an acute illness that becomes chronic- sometimes this chronic part does not need to happen.
E.) I truly believe with every illness or with lack of a current illness diet and exercise can better one's life. I know we all know this already! But practicing it is tough and we know that too.Wooo hooo preventative medicine. I wish I would have been practicing preventative medicine before! Gyosh- I might not have ended up experiencing such a traumatic last year and a half. Glad I can joke about it now. But it was a very serious, terrifying situation.
Ok so I am not completely better yet, but the only signs and symptoms I am currently having are some mild joint pain, nothing crazy. Actually some mild joint pain was my first symptom and it's the last thing left! Now my ANA has not changed, but my symptoms have gone away. So naturally I want to get the ANA down.
What is my current treatment as of now?
Well I am unfortunately still eating just the grassfed beef and the gluten free rice for every meal and taking supplements. And also drinking tap water and this excludes water from a water fountain. People with peanut allergies can have an anaphalytic reaction from a water fountain. Quite frankly drinking from a water fountain was making me sick. Also I was taking algae oil to balance out my Omega 6's and 3's, but I did not read the bottle well enough and discovered there was sunflower seed oil in it, in which the supplement was actually giving me tons of Omega 6's. Still causing me to be quite off balanced. I need to post a blog on balancing one's Omega 3's and 6's. To make a long story short the algae oil was actually being counterproductive. Thanks for the tricky advertising. When one labels a product "Algae Oil, rich in Omega 3's," wouldn't you expect just that? Apparently not. Well that's a market economy for ya, it's hard to know who to trust when everyone seems to be trying to make an extra buck. But that's a whole other rant ;) Let's just say, "Throw it on the ground." Referencing The Lonley Island video. har, har.
So, since I cut out the counterproductive algae oil my stomach is no longer bloated at all. Now if one can take a fish oil supplement without having a problem, according to my doctor that is really a great way to go in balancing the 6's and 3's. I was also reading about pairing food and that aiding in digestion. That different types of food digest at different rates. Who would have known that meat and potatoes are actually not good to pair together. Pairing them together can cause fermentation. I've read this in several sources: You Are What You Eat and Never Be Sick Again. Since eating them separately my digestion has been phenomenol! I mean seriously wow. I digest like I used to! And sometimes my stomach gurgles because it is hungry, wants more food, and is rapidly digesting. I pretty much eat a little throughout the entire day...trying to keep my portions small. Also it may seem simple, but I actually chew my food. This is actually a pretty hard thing for me to do because I have a history of scarfing food down. Just ask my close friends, they know.
Now timing when one drinks water is also pretty interesting. I was reading that drinking and eating simultaneously can actually slow digestion. This is pretty extreme, but in my case I best follow it. They were saying that drinking about a half hour before eating gets the digestive saliva moving. Also that it is better to drink one's drink when it is at room temperature. Ok I don't always do this, sometimes my water is cold. But I really try to. It seems to make a difference. So I am pretty happy with all of this so far.
Ok allergies. Now I currently cannot eat fruits and vegetables. Why?? There are a few theories here. Well I suspect that now that I have cut out the algae oil that my stomach will actually heal. My doctor suspects that I was allergic to something in the supplement. Perhaps iodine. Also I am not joking. When the juice from fresh, organic, brocolli from the Mustard Seed dripped onto my arm, I immediately broke out in a few hives. Glad I did not ingest that! I'm sure that would have made me feel pretty crappy, all of that reaction happening on the inside. So why?? Why would brocolli cause me to be allergic and all fruits and vegetables as a matter of fact? It really is not normal to eat some carrots and to have one's mouth swell. The problem is, is that allergies to fruits and vegetables is becoming all too common. There are a few theories here. Well for one thing there is the latex and fruit and veggie theory. It may sounds pretty crazy, but I don't think that it is really all that crazy when one thinks about it. I'll have to post more about it in its own entry. To make a long story short to avoid allergies from fruits and vegetables buy local, in season produce that is picked when it is ripe. Even if you don't buy the latex theory (in which before making a judgement really you should really wait for me to explain it and to show you my sources), there are more nutrients in fruits and vegetables anyways when they are picked ripe.
Also! In case you didn't know if you are not in an area where fruit and veggies can be grown locally you are eating your plant foods with a ripening chemical on them. There is a book called Tomatoland, By: Barry Estabrook that talks about the tomato's that come out of Florida. My friend April introduced me to the book. The tomato's are picked when they are so ripe that they actually would not even ripen on their own if one sat them for instance on a window seal. There are chemicals placed on these fruits to ripen them. Especially on fruits like banana's and mangoe's, which are only ripened when they are picked. So if one goes on a a fruit or vegetable fast or a juice fast I really think they need to be careful if the fruits and veggies are not homegrown and bought from a trusted source. I honestly was not aware of this until recently, but my hypersenstive body is. For one thing my diet is so clean now that it just reacts like crazy to anything bad for me and for another thing my ANA is still high.
So I really need to eat some fruits and vegetables to make sure I am getting nutrients. It is better to buy canned or frozen fruit because that is most likely picked when it is ripe and then immediately frozen.
I am not sure about the chemicals in canned or frozen fruits and veggies. I need to do more research on it. Any insights are welcome. :)
So needless to say, I cannot wait for winter to be over and to be able to buy produce locally. That is the bad part about living in Ohio. Don't get my wrong, I love my seasons. I am thinking that I can start to can or freeze my own fruits and veggies once they are in season. I have a lot of learing to do in that department. Lots to blog about for anyone interested. I would like to go on a juice fast for a while once the veggies and fruit are in season. I know a diet on beef and rice forever is not sufficient by any means. I just need to get through this school semester, graduate as a nurse, and then keep learning more. I am going to be getting pretty busy coming up here.
So far I am very satisfied and happy with my current progress.
A.) It may help other people. If I don't share it, what the heck is the use of it? :p
B.) It will help keep me on task with keeping a written track of this story.
C.) Life is meant to be shared. Even the tough stuff. I mean goodness it is not good to soley focus on the bad stuff, but heck it helps to confide in others.
D.) Dudes, unfortunately pretty much everyone experiences an illness. Or someone else they love suffering from an illness. A lot of times chronic illnesses or an acute illness that becomes chronic- sometimes this chronic part does not need to happen.
E.) I truly believe with every illness or with lack of a current illness diet and exercise can better one's life. I know we all know this already! But practicing it is tough and we know that too.Wooo hooo preventative medicine. I wish I would have been practicing preventative medicine before! Gyosh- I might not have ended up experiencing such a traumatic last year and a half. Glad I can joke about it now. But it was a very serious, terrifying situation.
Ok so I am not completely better yet, but the only signs and symptoms I am currently having are some mild joint pain, nothing crazy. Actually some mild joint pain was my first symptom and it's the last thing left! Now my ANA has not changed, but my symptoms have gone away. So naturally I want to get the ANA down.
What is my current treatment as of now?
Well I am unfortunately still eating just the grassfed beef and the gluten free rice for every meal and taking supplements. And also drinking tap water and this excludes water from a water fountain. People with peanut allergies can have an anaphalytic reaction from a water fountain. Quite frankly drinking from a water fountain was making me sick. Also I was taking algae oil to balance out my Omega 6's and 3's, but I did not read the bottle well enough and discovered there was sunflower seed oil in it, in which the supplement was actually giving me tons of Omega 6's. Still causing me to be quite off balanced. I need to post a blog on balancing one's Omega 3's and 6's. To make a long story short the algae oil was actually being counterproductive. Thanks for the tricky advertising. When one labels a product "Algae Oil, rich in Omega 3's," wouldn't you expect just that? Apparently not. Well that's a market economy for ya, it's hard to know who to trust when everyone seems to be trying to make an extra buck. But that's a whole other rant ;) Let's just say, "Throw it on the ground." Referencing The Lonley Island video. har, har.
So, since I cut out the counterproductive algae oil my stomach is no longer bloated at all. Now if one can take a fish oil supplement without having a problem, according to my doctor that is really a great way to go in balancing the 6's and 3's. I was also reading about pairing food and that aiding in digestion. That different types of food digest at different rates. Who would have known that meat and potatoes are actually not good to pair together. Pairing them together can cause fermentation. I've read this in several sources: You Are What You Eat and Never Be Sick Again. Since eating them separately my digestion has been phenomenol! I mean seriously wow. I digest like I used to! And sometimes my stomach gurgles because it is hungry, wants more food, and is rapidly digesting. I pretty much eat a little throughout the entire day...trying to keep my portions small. Also it may seem simple, but I actually chew my food. This is actually a pretty hard thing for me to do because I have a history of scarfing food down. Just ask my close friends, they know.
Now timing when one drinks water is also pretty interesting. I was reading that drinking and eating simultaneously can actually slow digestion. This is pretty extreme, but in my case I best follow it. They were saying that drinking about a half hour before eating gets the digestive saliva moving. Also that it is better to drink one's drink when it is at room temperature. Ok I don't always do this, sometimes my water is cold. But I really try to. It seems to make a difference. So I am pretty happy with all of this so far.
Ok allergies. Now I currently cannot eat fruits and vegetables. Why?? There are a few theories here. Well I suspect that now that I have cut out the algae oil that my stomach will actually heal. My doctor suspects that I was allergic to something in the supplement. Perhaps iodine. Also I am not joking. When the juice from fresh, organic, brocolli from the Mustard Seed dripped onto my arm, I immediately broke out in a few hives. Glad I did not ingest that! I'm sure that would have made me feel pretty crappy, all of that reaction happening on the inside. So why?? Why would brocolli cause me to be allergic and all fruits and vegetables as a matter of fact? It really is not normal to eat some carrots and to have one's mouth swell. The problem is, is that allergies to fruits and vegetables is becoming all too common. There are a few theories here. Well for one thing there is the latex and fruit and veggie theory. It may sounds pretty crazy, but I don't think that it is really all that crazy when one thinks about it. I'll have to post more about it in its own entry. To make a long story short to avoid allergies from fruits and vegetables buy local, in season produce that is picked when it is ripe. Even if you don't buy the latex theory (in which before making a judgement really you should really wait for me to explain it and to show you my sources), there are more nutrients in fruits and vegetables anyways when they are picked ripe.
Also! In case you didn't know if you are not in an area where fruit and veggies can be grown locally you are eating your plant foods with a ripening chemical on them. There is a book called Tomatoland, By: Barry Estabrook that talks about the tomato's that come out of Florida. My friend April introduced me to the book. The tomato's are picked when they are so ripe that they actually would not even ripen on their own if one sat them for instance on a window seal. There are chemicals placed on these fruits to ripen them. Especially on fruits like banana's and mangoe's, which are only ripened when they are picked. So if one goes on a a fruit or vegetable fast or a juice fast I really think they need to be careful if the fruits and veggies are not homegrown and bought from a trusted source. I honestly was not aware of this until recently, but my hypersenstive body is. For one thing my diet is so clean now that it just reacts like crazy to anything bad for me and for another thing my ANA is still high.
So I really need to eat some fruits and vegetables to make sure I am getting nutrients. It is better to buy canned or frozen fruit because that is most likely picked when it is ripe and then immediately frozen.
I am not sure about the chemicals in canned or frozen fruits and veggies. I need to do more research on it. Any insights are welcome. :)
So needless to say, I cannot wait for winter to be over and to be able to buy produce locally. That is the bad part about living in Ohio. Don't get my wrong, I love my seasons. I am thinking that I can start to can or freeze my own fruits and veggies once they are in season. I have a lot of learing to do in that department. Lots to blog about for anyone interested. I would like to go on a juice fast for a while once the veggies and fruit are in season. I know a diet on beef and rice forever is not sufficient by any means. I just need to get through this school semester, graduate as a nurse, and then keep learning more. I am going to be getting pretty busy coming up here.
So far I am very satisfied and happy with my current progress.
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