Update: Month 5

As I sit here writing this I have exactly one week left of work before a summer hiatus from June 6th through August 13th.

I was feeling so great in May and was going in for a thyroid test that I asked my doctor to add a few other tests just to make sure my body is moving in the right direction. Many of the blood tests came back normal and the best news was that my fasting blood sugar dropped from January when it was hovering around 100. Unfortunately, I am mildly anemic again and my inflammatory markers were as high as when I was in the hospital in December. 

This news sent me into a strange new emotion I can only describe as a frustration panic. Part of me was angry, the other part scared. I'm doing my best to not let it get to me and I will retest in July along with an MRI to see if the inflammation has gone down. 

Next steps. for 4 weeks in the month of June I'm taking a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction class (MBSR). I also signed up for my first ballet class since college. I knew I kept all those leotards and tights for a reason. When I was young dance was my meditation and I made a goal with my health coach to get back into it. Low and behold my sister-in-law said she wanted to take a ballet class and we signed up together. Sometimes the pieces of life fall so perfectly it makes me wonder at the magic of the universe...

I am busy planning a summer of healing (and cleaning my house, which is healing in a way). I encourage everyone to do the same. Find activities or practices which allow you to fully immerse yourself in the moment, then your worries will fade away at least for a few moments, which is sometimes all we can ask. 

Update: Month 4

Spring is so good for the body and soul. Every day I wake up with gratitude and awe of this life. For those of you lucky enough to live in Chicago in springtime you know what I'm talking about.

At the beginning of April I met with the director of the Infectious Disease department at my hospital. He felt very strongly that the inflammation in my bone & muscle is not an infection. This is very good news and has given me some peace of mind. Of course, this is not as definitive as a negative biopsy or MRI, but I've decided to embrace it. 

This month I also started reading a book entitled "The Last Best Cure" by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. It is about the new science behind "psychoneuroimmunology" or PNI for short. This is an exciting discovery about the connection between the nervous system and immune system. Basically, emotional stress triggers chronic disease. I will be posting a review of this book and my (extensive) thoughts surrounding this topic as soon as I'm finished.  

Another learning experience was my gluten binge on the last day of our trip when we were in Austria. I'm telling you people I ate it all: 3 pretzels, 2 strudels (I had to try both apple and cheese), and 2 mugs of Austrian beer. I loved every minute of it, but I paid for it the entire week after we got back. This has made it a lot easier for me to stay away from gluten going forward. 

I've been thinking a lot about this healing journey and how I will know when I'm "better," because I feel so much better, but I know my body still needs me to be patient. Reading the quote at the bottom of this post helps me to understand that there may be no precise ending point to this journey, but maybe I will know I'm better when I have a new way of looking at my health.

If I had to name a percentage of how much better I feel today here at the end of April, than I did in December I would say 70% better, with intermittent days where it feels more like 50%. Here's to the next few renewing months of spring and summer inching me even closer to that 100% (and beyond).  

Update: Month 3

March ended in a whirlwind leading up to a fantastic baby shower for a friend, duties at church, the always full of chaos week before spring break at work, and putting the finishing touches planning our trip to Germany. I used to feed off being busy, but busy is no longer my friend. I did my best to find peaceful moments to center myself. 

So, I'm a little late publishing because we've been in Germany the past week (the trip will be chronicled in a different blog). 

March was a month of contradictions. The weather contradicted itself, so did the doctors. 

Through my healing journey I've assembled a group of doctors around Chicagoland. I have a fantastic primary care doctor, who emails me back in a timely manner and is very patient with me. My rheumatologist is a leading researcher on Anklosing Spondylitis. Practically the entire team of Infectious Disease doctors at Northwestern knows me. I work with a smart and passionate Functional Medicine doctor. I have a chiropractor who is careful with his adjustments and would rather me make lasting lifestyle changes. My acupuncturist sees me as a whole body, not a disease. My health coach is a great listener and helps me see things in new ways, the hallmark of a good therapist. 

It sounds like I'm in good hands. The only problem is that none of them agree with each other and I'm stuck being the one to decide what is best for me. On one hand that's incredibly empowering. On the other hand...that is A LOT of pressure!

So, this is what I've figured out works for me:
-Rest, rest, rest 
-Routine (so boring, I know!)
-Positive distractions (walks, writing spending time with friends, movies, etc.)
-Sunshine  
-Visualization 
-A diet free from sugar, dairy, eggs, gluten and processed foods
-Acupuncture & chiropractic care
-Curcumin: A natural anti-inflammatory 

This is what doesn't work for me: 
-Stress
-Rushing around
-Uncertainty 
-Negativity

Pinterest provided me with the quote at the end of this post. When I think about all I've learned so far it helps me understand why this is happening. The most important lesson I've learned is to slow down and pay attention. I know I have some thing left to learn and then I will be able to move forward. 

I'll be checking in again soon. Happy spring!