Ouch

I think I over did it yesterday. Today, all day long, I just hurt. Definitely the worst day since I started on the Fibromyalgia meds. Maybe one of the worst days ever. Ouch. I laid down for a nap this afternoon and ended up sleeping hard for three hours. I felt a little better when I woke up, but still. Ouch.

I've been doing a little research, and while I haven't found much solid info so far, it looks like there are some dietary recommendations for people with Fibromyalgia. Of course, there's always the general "eat a well balanced, low fat diet." Well duh. The other two recommendations may be a little harder to swallow. Hur.

The first is a high protein/low carb diet. I already try to work lean protein into my diet whenever possible. Mostly chicken or turkey, eggs, and non-fat dairy. Fish less often, because the good quality stuff tends to be more expensive, and I'm not as comfortable cooking fish as I am with other meats. I don't digest pork and especially beef well these days, so I avoid them where I can. The low carb part of the program worries me. I know I can't go hog wild, and I've already cut a certain amount of carbohydrate out of my diet with the gluten free thing. But rice and potatoes are my go-to foods when my guts are misbehaving, and I worry about losing them.

The second Fibro dietary recommendation is also a real blow. Anything in the nightshade family. That means tomatoes and potatoes. Also peppers, but I've mostly cut those out of my diet already for Crohn's-related reasons. Tomatoes and potatoes. That hurts. I love them both, and eat them both regularly. Ouch.

Of course I couldn't imagine giving up wheat either, and here I am gluten-free and thriving. So maybe I can do it. Maybe I'll at least try. But I don't know. It's going to take a lot of thinking and a couple more days like today before I'm willing to take that leap.

Learning to Eat My Vegetables

One of the first things we did after I was diagnosed was request a consultation with a dietician. If you're diagnosed with a gastrointestinal disease it only makes sense to talk to an expert about what to eat, right? We talked for a while, and she left me with a handout that I like to call the Naughty List. It's a list of everything that I shouldn't eat while my guts were healing. On the list is anything hard to digest, including most vegetables and especially all raw vegetables.

Now that the inflammation seems to be under control it's time to get brave and start eating vegetables again. So last night I had a salad with dinner. A salad! I realize for most people that would be, "Ho hum. Just another Wednesday night." But I hadn't had a salad in almost two years. It was a big deal. If I could have figured out how to stick birthday candles in it to celebrate, I would have. I've used most of an onion in various recipes in the last week. And tomorrow I'm taking a real leap. I'm making the Crock Pot Lady's Fish Chowder with corn. (Corn is the boogie man of us Crohnies. It can cause blockages when your pipes are narrowed due to inflammation.) (Sorry, I know. TMI.)

If all goes well with the corn, maybe I'll swing by Fadi's next week and have some cauliflower! Mmmm. Fadi's.

Oh Happy Day!

Health, like many things, exists on a continuum. On one end there is Healthy, Energetic, and Strong and on the other end there is Dog Turd. I've spent most of the last seven or eight months, and far too much of the last two years, on the Dog Turd end of the spectrum. Today I realized as I was singing in the shower that I'm rapidly inching my way toward Healthy, Energetic. Strong coming right up. Happy day, indeed!

I really think the new meds are making a difference. I also think that getting a little more strict about the gluten free thing is helping, too. It's amazing how easy it is to get lazy about something even when you know you'll suffer for it.

I made the yogurt overnight Saturday! I was a little worried it wouldn't set up, but it came out perfect. Sunday morning I had a big bowl of yogurt with honey and cinnamon stirred in, and granola on top. This morning I had the same, but I added half a chopped apple. Yum! Tomorrow I'm going to add a some vanilla. Can't wait. (It takes so little to make me happy!)

The next crockpot experiment will be bread. Whole Foods makes an excellent gluten free bread mix, but it expands too much to fit comfortably in my bread machine. (I tried to make a loaf to take with me to a friend's house for Thanksgiving, but it grew up and over the side of the pan and burned on the heating element. Man did that smoke!) The Crockpot Lady made bread in the crockpot, and it worked for her. I never would have thought to try it that way. So we'll see how it goes. I also picked up the ingredients to make granola. Homemade granola with my homemade yogurt? Sounds like a plan.

Tomorrow, if I'm still feeling perky, I want to move the furniture around in the living room. The goal is to have the treadmill in a position where I can walk and watch TV at the same time. I have plans for that treadmill, but I'm not ready to share yet. Let me get it moved around first.

News

Good news: My long term disability was finally approved. Yay!

Good news: I had my first appointment with the new Rheumatologist this week, and I really like her.

Bad news: She thinks I have Fibromyalgia in addition to Crohn's.

But that's actually good news because: Now we have a new direction for treatment, and I'm hopeful that I'll get my health under control soon and get back to a normal life.

Fantastic news: I took my first dose of Fibro meds last night, and I woke up feeling rested this morning, for the first time in months. Of course, I slept for 10 hours, but still!

Good news: She thinks that some of my joint pain is due to alignment issues. If that's the case, physical therapy should correct the problem and hopefully the pain will go away.

Bad news: The PT group she referred me to is out-of-network, and it's more than I can afford on disability. I'm going to call her office on Monday and see if she works with anyone else who might be in-network.

Weird news: She thinks I may have sleep apnea, so she's sending me for a sleep study. (She asked if anyone has told me that I snore, but unfortunately the cat's not talking.)

Fun news: I came across a recipe for making yogurt in the crockpot and bought supplies on my way home from the doctor's office yesterday. I can't wait to try it out! I love my crockpot. Yummy, healthy food with fresh ingredients and minimal work? I'm so there.

Sad news: I finally finished watching Torchwood series 2. Now I've got to wait for more episodes. I'm half considering upgrading my cable to include BBCA so that I can watch the mini season they're supposed to show this summer. (Yes, it's silly to spend so much more just for 5 episodes of one TV show. I probably won't do it, but it's fun to consider.)

More sad news: Netflix is dragging their feet on sending me Doctor Who series 4. On the up side, I know that I've got a lot of good stuff to watch. Eventually.

And that's all the news fit to print.