My New Lifestyle

I know I haven't updated this space in quite some time. Things have been insane and I can finally breathe. Thank goodness because I have missed all of you terribly. I have been consistently ill since October. It feels like it was ages ago the last time I felt well. It just sucks!
Needless to say, I have had enough. I have grabbed the bull by the horns and taken control. I quit my job! What? I did what? Yes! I quit! And I am completely happy and super excited about it. I am enjoying my time off before I start my new job. I see it as the best of both worlds. A vacation, and still being paid for my availability. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself.

With me being ill for 6 months, I have been unable to consistently take my treatments for my RA, (for my new followers, you can read the story here and here). I have yet another lifestyle change (you can read previous posts here, that helped) to hopefully kick my butt into remission so I do not have to inject myself once, sometimes twice a week. Thank goodness I don't have a problem with needles (as long as someone else is doing the stabbing). So, I have moved over to a vegan based diet. Think vegan, but welcomes seafood. I have moved over to this raw/vegan lifestyle because after speaking with someone that was diagnosed with RA when they were a child, and are completely off meds due to this lifestyle, I figure what the hell, it is worth a shot. If it works, why not? I mean, it can't hurt anything. Stay tuned for some yummy recipes I will be sharing.

Medical Update

I have not been to a single doctor in a couple of months and it actually feels great! I swear, for almost a year, I was going to dozens of different appointments monthly. I am happy to say that I haven't really had a true flare up.

For those of you just joining, you can catch up on all of this by starting here, then here, and of course here

I have had days that I have been really sore, and I noticed I absolutely cannot miss a single dose of either the Humira or Methotrexate. One week, I was in so much pain, and I should have taken my methotrexate shot Friday, and this was Monday! I hate to admit it; the combination of the Humira and Methotrexate works so much better together than separate. I will also admit, that these injections don't really hold me over. A  day or two before it is time for me to take one or the other,  I am definitely feeling it. Humira is due tomorrow, and my joints are killing me. Mr A is still injecting the methotrexate, and if not for the most awesome coworker EVER, I wouldn't have anyone to do the Humira. She injects me with it every 2 weeks. I think she actually looks forward to it! Ha No, really she is the best, ever. I don't know what I would do without her!

I still have extreme fatigue with these medications, and it sucks. I really do not like being so gosh darn tired all the time.

On the plus side, since stopping the steroids, (prednisone) I have gone down an entire pant size. Thank goodness! Only a million more to go!

What I'm Eating, or Not.

I have had many people questioning my diet choices lately, so I am just going to put it out there. For those of you that have followed me over to this domain, you know everything I have been going through in the last couple of years. Here is a quick run down of all the meds I have been on within the last year. I was on prednisone, not just the normal dosages, but the mega dosages (80mg and higher) for over a year to treat my eye. Then I was Indomethacin along with the prednisone, then it was prednisone, flexoral, mobic, and indomethacin. Then plaquenil was also thrown into that mixture. On top of that I was also doing the methotrexate. Not to mention the viibryd and synthroid too. This poor little liver of mine can only take so much! I was taken off everything except the methotrexate, viibryd, and synthroid about 3 months ago because my liver counts were extremely high and continued to climb. I KNOW methotrexate is absorbed through my liver, so I had to do something. Changing the diet was a must if I wanted to help my achy breaky liver! Who wants to lose their liver in their thirties? Not this girl!

So, here it is:

I can't drink with the medication I take, but if I did, that would have to be cut too. Man, do I miss my famous summertime daiquiris! I didn't get a single one this year, and I could really go for one right about now. I don't drink Coke, or any soft drinks at all. Coming from a complete Coca Colaholic, that was hard, but it was done, and I might have one every now and again, but nothing like morning noon and night like I used to. It was seriously the only thing I ever drank! Caffeine= bad for liver mmkay?
We cut out red meat, so, NO beef, anything. Ever. We use ground turkey or pork (Sprouts has some awesome ground pork) Anything we buy as in pasta's, rices, or breads, I make sure are whole grain, or whole wheat. We eat lots of fish and chicken. The more fish for me, the better for my joints (supposedly) HEB has some of the best salmon burgers!  Fruits and veggies are just as important too. We do not do corn or bananas since they seem to backup the little one and give her more agony so they do more harm than good. There are only 2 vegetables she will eat; green beans and peas! HAS to be Le Sueur peas. I swear, that girl...I kid, if that's what it gets for her to eat them, then Le Sueur is what she will get! We have also re-evaluated our dairy intake. Not so much for us, but for Baby Bear and her poor tummy problems(She goes to the GI next month). I also have an issue with dairy and have noticed more inflammation and joint tenderness when I have had dairy. Like my chicken spaghetti the other night! So we do it all in moderation, a lot of moderation. Soon enough, I should be dairy free as well. At least until MY stomach gets back in order. I stay off the fried foods and away from the fast foods as much as possible because those oils are NOT good for my liver to be processing. Olive oil is much better, so that is what we use.

There you have it, in a nutshell. No, I am not on a "diet" I don't think is for everyone or anyone trying to lose weight. But, if you do have liver issues, you may want to give it a try. I have already seen my counts go down, and pray they get back to normal soon!

On another note I just took my 3rd dose of Humira. I take it every other week, while I still inject the methotrexate once a week. I have not had many pain free days, but I am nowhere in near as much pain as I used to be. I still have my good days and bad days. The Humira stops the crippling effects that RA can cause. I am still tired all.the.time and I cannot stand it! A good thing is that my eye has not flared since I have been on the methotrexate, so I will take it, no matter how much I hate the stuff.