Psoriatic Arthritis Journal - 2.5 year Update Page 63

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby Lesliec1 » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:51 pm

Oh dear. That's all so involved. No wonder he was yelling. Surgery is so traumatic in every sense. To have to do it more than once would be awful.
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby nicoles » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:53 pm

Yeah, totally Leslie! Although now that he has been through it essentially, he is less apprehensive today, so that is good.

Talked to many people about many things related to a-fib today and I am suitably placated that the surgery is the right thing for my Dad to do at this point, though not if he were much older. The next one is scheduled for April.

Also talked to my Dad and he is doing quite well - rather chatty in fact!

It even got to the point where I just had the phone on speaker and was doing other things and just listening because I could not get a word in edgewise. Then, the connection dropped the call and I was not able to get through - busy signal! Guess what? He kept on talking for 10 more minutes before he realized and called me back! :lol:
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby moonwatcher » Fri Feb 22, 2013 11:49 pm

hi nicoles,

sorry to have been away so long. Glad Leslie et al are here holding down the fort with you. I just wrote you a PM to catch up. Boy, I drop the ball for a few days and I really miss some big stuff. Hope you are feeling better and that your Dad is, too. As usual, through it all, you made me laugh. I can just see him talking on not knowing you two had been disconnected.

Thanks for stopping by the blog and quoting me here. You are a peach. (or a frozen cherry, whichever you prefer). :lol:

hugs,

xoxox

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby nicoles » Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:00 pm

Hi Moonwatcher - I'll definitely pick frozen cherry! ;-)


OK, so there is no way this coke commercial is real, but it is funny. And true, or at least truthy.
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby fulenn » Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:35 pm

Sorry I haven't been by for awhile, but I am glad that you dad is doing well, though sorry he will have to do this again. Blech!

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby moonwatcher » Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:48 pm

Hi Nicole,

I saw the Earthbound Farms frozen cherries in the freezer case at the co-op today and thought of you. :D :lol: Frozen Cherry, you are, then. :D

xo

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby lmggallagher » Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:36 pm

Hi Nicole:

Well - your Dad and the flare - I return and things are not going well for you. Makes me so sad :( But like the quote you posted from Moonwatcher - stuff gets bad even when there is nothing to tie it to - just part of the process - and then it's so much better!

I am adding your Dad to my list of people to think good thoughts for - you and hubby are already on it, of course!

I am really interested in what you posted about not being to stretch out the muscle tightness and the Escogue (sp.?) information, I am pretty sure m fibro pain is due to all the time I have not been able to do a thing two months now really. I have been mostly sitting and I have tightened up just as you describe! I will be getting back to swimming this Tuesday though! It is deep water aerobics for core strength and flexibility, so I think it will reverse my probs.

Also really inclined to believe the stress/ eroded ( well, that's a bit dramatic for a word but it came to mind since it's what mine feels like since antibiotics) digestive tract. Considering the flare I have been in since our weather (rain) came and went - I am tending to believe that I am stressing over catching up with my life and feeling it's a loosing battle. But feeling that way is so not me - I know it's not you either - but don't stress over that too. You know what to do and you'll do it gently and with good care for yourself :)
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby nicoles » Sun Feb 24, 2013 9:08 pm

Just dropping in real quick to share this fascinating article on the progression of celiac disease .
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby moonwatcher » Sun Feb 24, 2013 10:42 pm

That is pretty darned interesting, Nicole. I was not breastfed at all. Hmm. Loved the notion of the bacterias and their complex relationships with inflammation or decreasing it.

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby eri » Mon Feb 25, 2013 9:37 am

Yeah, I wasn't bf, either. Darn that NICU! :lol: The bacteria part was very interesting...turning inflammation on/off. I am thinking of trying gf for a month or so to see if I notice any difference. I'm not ready yet though. I will be consistent w/ McD first & see how far that gets me.
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby nicoles » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:27 pm

Hi Fulenn -thanks, I am glad my Dad is doing well, too. He is not psyched about doing the surgery again, but he is not as scared, either, so I guess that's something, huh? :lol:


Michelle, hello! My head is in a basket lately, so I don't remember what I said about muscle tightness or Egoscue, or where I said it! :lol: Thanks for adding my Dad to your list of good thoughts, you are very sweet to do that! :-D I'll let him know, he'll be thrilled.

I do know that I almost always feel better when I am moving instead of still, unless things are really bad. And even then. I have been making myself stretch and do things even when flaring, but with limitations, and it seems to be a good idea. Although sometimes it just is not possible. Swimming is great though! Is the pool you go to heated? I know they have heated ones for arthritis.


I well know that feeling of catching up with my life and feeling like you are never going to do it! I find some of the advice in this article helpful for that.

Moonwatcher and Eri - yes, very very interesting article, right? I was breastfed, but not for long, and my mother smoked during both her pregnancy and the breastfeeding. (Interestingly, I developed psoriasis as soon as I switched to the bottle.) I am going to have to read that article a few times to let it all sink in, there is so much there to learn and ponder.

eri wrote:Yeah, I wasn't bf, either. Darn that NICU! :lol:

:lol: :lol: :lol: You're bad! :lol: :lol: :lol:


eri wrote:The bacteria part was very interesting...turning inflammation on/off. I am thinking of trying gf for a month or so to see if I notice any difference. I'm not ready yet though. I will be consistent w/ McD first & see how far that gets me.


Worth a shot, for sure, but as with anything, better to do when you are ready.

Something related - I have been reading a lot lately and learned some interesting things about the time frames for reactions from food sensitivities. I need to read more before I know if I trust this info for sure, but the main points are:

* If you have a sensitivity to nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, paprika, cayenne, tobacco, eggplants) the reaction can last up to 6 months! because there is something complicated I don't understand yet about the antigens created for the solanoids (?) in nightshades. So that is one reason why and ED can take awhile to get results.

* If you are using curry powder and many other spices, and are sensitive to nightshades, then you can keep the inflammation up that way.

* Most grain mills have clouds of wheat dust in the air, even if they are making other flours as well, so if you have a gluten allergy or sensitivity, alternative, gluten free breads might keep an inflammation reaction going.

* Exposure to wheat gluten and proteins, for someone with a sensitivity, can take a really long time to resolve, too. I think it was three months minimum.


Anyway, like I said, I have more double checking to do, but I figured I'd throw those tidbits out there for the moment.



Anyway, another thing I have been thinking about is the total load of exposure to anything I might need to process and detoxify - chemicals, air pollutants and what not. What got me thinking about this was an experience I had over the weekend - I cleaned out bedroom out really well. It was dusty, dirty and gross. There was city of LA air pollution, black gritty dirt on the floor, windowsills, screened. Out air filter was completely full of it. I washed everything. I wiped down all furniture. I cleaned under the bed. I vacuumed the floor and the windowsills and the screens. I mopped the floor 4 times before the water was not black. (And it really had not been that long since the last time we did this. Living in a city with pets is so dirty!)

And that night I got a KILLER migraine, and the next day I woke up with swollen glands and joint pains. I am quite sure it was a reaction to all the dirt and junk.

So I am looking into ways to keep the place I live cleaned for me and for my health. And DH's - he has been having asthma attacks recently. And as I do so I am learning a lot of scary stuff. Or I should say, information that is good to know, but requires action. Like,did you know that many contact lens solutions use a version of mercury as a preservative? And many mascaras and other cosmetics?

I'll add more as I learn.
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby lmggallagher » Mon Feb 25, 2013 12:46 pm

Boy interesting article - I really think what ails me is all about the health of my gut!!! I think all the years of antibiotics may have wrecked me - well it's a theory and surely the last round I still haven't recovered from! I am taking one of the probiotics you recommended Nicole and am researching a miso (love miso soups) that is rice free, GF and soy free. I have found some soy bean and other interesting ones - but typically the fun ones like leek/dandelion/ and garlic/red pepper are rice based. Boy, being off rice is harder than all the rest combined for me. I sure do miss brown rice!

Congrats o the heavy house cleaning doing my bedroom this weekend was a igh priority that went by the wayside - when I found out I had two extra chapters and 8 reference books to delve into for this weeks class. But I vow to go after the dust - like you I am certain that I will pay for it with a bad headache. I sure hope you can find someone to do that cleaning for you. I have just never found anyone here that does more than a swipe with the vacuum and stirring around the dirty water with a mop. I t makes me so angry to see folks NOt clean my house that I gave it up.

Gosh, I had no idea that all the "toxic" things can stay with us for so long. I am completely afraid to check out night shades as I can't do rice - what if potatoes are a problem too. I can only eat so much quinoa!!!

Hope things are going OK for you and that your able to keep a lid on the uber-stress. Hard to do with all that's happening - try a little OM in your life.

Hey, if that thrilled your Dad (that I am thinking the good thoughts) - this should make him belly laugh his way to good health!!! If you give me his first name and initial - I can get lots and lots of Buddhist's monks and otherwise to dedicate the merits of their meditation to him - essentially like prayers. This is done worldwide through the Second Life virtual world - where I am mediating twice a day. Your Dad will laugh I am sure and think OMG, California these folks are just crazy - or maybe not. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Be well, be happy and be calm :) Michelle
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby moonwatcher » Mon Feb 25, 2013 4:09 pm

Dear Nicole,

Just want to throw a small fly in the ointment, but gently, and with, I'm hoping, understanding for where you're at. At least somewhat. But if I'm off base, just disregard the following.

I have known about and wrestled with these things over the years and more.But gee, sometimes we can control them, or clean, sometimes we can't. (That's why I have two mottos: "Better than it was." and "Cleaner than it was.")

And food intolerances are slippery. They flare up, aggravate, and sometimes go away, albeit over long periods of time. Or shift to some other food that's been just fine up until that point.

While this is all important to know and consider, be careful you are not exhausting yourself and stressing yourself out further in an attempt to "clear" you space of potential toxins. You need to be gentle with yourself as you can right now.

Granted, I am a bit like the characte :) r Merlin in The Once and Future King. Despite my efforts to stay clean, I am a walking nest of dog hair, twigs, dust, lint, food stains, and seeds I collect and forget in my pockets and all kinds of other stuff I'm glad I can't see well enough to see. So I might not have the most reliable opinion about this.

Not to say these aren't serious considerations. They are. For instance, 7 years ago now I had the rug removed in my downstairs and a bamboo floor installed. Eventually I began to breathe much easier. But first I developed rosacea from the century of dust that was disturbed, even though we did "everything" to prevent that. Then I had to fog through why that was happening and how to address it. In the process (years) I found this way of eating and it's significantly gotten better an slowly continues to improve to the point of seeming to be nonexistent. But it can flare up. And of course did when I had to have the outside of the house painted and the shingles had to be scraped. . .so it's not that I don't know. I'm just not sure it's the best thing to immerse one's self in too deeply. It reminds me of an episode of Northern Exposure in which Joel started seeing all the microscopic parasites on Maggie's eyelashes, etc. I forget how it resolved, but you get the idea. :lol: :lol:

Also, I have to tell you that when I read the NYT link about what an "amazing" discovery the bacterial sensitivity of the gut is, and how it becomes more porous under stress I had the thought, "Don't these people ever listen to Prairie Home Companion? The writers for that show have known this for years." :lol: :lol: Oh goodness, I crack myself up. :lol: :lol: Hope I'm at least making you giggle and relax a little. It's good for healing. And remember yoga laughter, when all else fails. :lol:

xoxoxoxo

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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby nicoles » Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:55 pm

Ha! Good points Moonwatcher! I may be trying to control things a bit excessively because so much feels out of control right now. I will keep an eye on that, thank you.
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Re: Psoriatic Arthritis Journal

Postby moonwatcher » Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:12 pm

You're welcome, Nicole. I know these are hard times. I'd be worried about you if you weren't[i] stressed. Trying to control [i]something is a natural response I, too, know well. All the same, hang in there, and take gentle care of you. We are all pulling for you guys, and I know something good is going to come. We just don't have the exact train schedule for its arrival yet!!

xoxoxo

moonwatcher

ps: looks like I didn't do too well "controling" those italics codes. . .ah, well. . .the pulled thread. . .more like carpet. . . :lol: :lol:
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