My Food, Exercise and Symptom diary starts in January of 2017. I followed a personalized version of the Whole 30 diet and an Autoimmune diet. I completed two elimination protocols in 2017 and 2018. I followed a Psoriatic Arthritis Diet after those elimination protocols. In late 2019, after 9 months with Disseminated Zoster, I tried a 5-day fast and elimination diet under the care of a functional medicine doctor. I had disease flares in early 2020 and fasted briefly in January and February of 2020. I am not yet disease free but I am not on a biologic nor do I take a regular NSAID. I am motivated to continue working at this with the goal of reversing my disease. I also keep a detailed medication diary of the many medications and supplements I have tried.
December 2021
I managed to slip in a couple of days of restricted eating this month but with all the baking for Christmas, I ate way too many empty calories in the form of cookies and sweets.
November 2021
Aging is not for the weak. This month I started noticing a shooting light out the corner of my left eye when I blink. I was also experiencing a huge floater in the middle of that eye that was so bad I could hardly focus. A friend had just had surgery for a retinal tear so I decided to go see the ophthalmologist. I was experiencing Posterior Vitreous Detachment, PVD, which is a normal part of aging. Most people don’t notice when it happens but if you do, get it checked. You want to avoid activities that might cause it to tear away from the retina quickly because that is what causes a retinal tear. It is normal and not a big deal but they did tell me to not do yoga for 6 weeks. That was a bad thing to tell someone who would love to not exercise!
October 2021
My eye started twitching again, this has happened in a long time. My first attempt at correction was to increase my magnesium. I had coincidentally started taking Calm Magnesium Powder to see if it was a better form of magnesium and helped with sleeping. I don’t notice a difference in my sleep but I think I overdid it because I got serious diarrhea! I got a sore throat to towards the end of the month and went to an urgent care to get checked for COVID. Negative for COVID but he did put me on prednisone. Not sure why I took it. I should have used my better judgment. By the end of the month, I remembered to try B12 for my eye twitches and noticed immediate improvement. I will always struggle with keeping my B12 levels up.
September 2021
It is getting too cold to swim. Had a girls’ weekend so lots of drinking and eating. I have noticed my nails are stronger, longer and not splitting as much.
August 2021
Family vacation this month so ate and drank a lot but also walked a lot.
July 2021
Drinking a lot, swimming a lot and eating a lot. Weight climbed back up to almost 130 pounds.
June 2021
May 2021
After a trip to San Francisco, I am finding myself more motivated and disciplined to manage my eating. I’m still very distracted by my hunger but able to have a few days where I force myself to go to bed hungry so that I can have a slightly longer fast.
April 2021
I baked for Easter and made most things gluten-free so that I could enjoy them. The result is that I ate way more baked goods in the weeks after Easter and gained 2-3 pounds. I’ve slowed down eating the sweets but I’m in a mental place where I am constantly wanting to eat. I’m restless, bored, and almost constantly have a drink in my hand or I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat next. I can feel the inflammation in my knees and my wedding ring doesn’t go on in the mornings. I watched about half of the Food Revolution Summit by Forks over Knives and am feeling more motivated!
March 2021
I gave up alcohol for lent, which helps with mental clarity and inflammation but does nothing for my weight. It’s so frustrating.
February 2021
January 2021
I’ve gained at least 5 pounds since Thanksgiving. I can feel it in my lower back. My drinking has become a problem again too although I try to acknowledge my improvements rather than focusing on my failures. I need to do a 3 day “fast” or at least severely restricted eating. I’ve had a few half days of hunger that I’ve tolerated but I’m in a weird mental state where I am compelled to eat constantly! When I look back at where I was in 2020 though, I am amazed and thrilled with my progress. I am stronger, taking no prescription medication and without constant pain in my hands, feet or back. That is success!