I am a success story as far as eating this way and my remission from psoriatic arthritis goes. But even though my Star Story claims I am "cured" I believe personally that I am managing my illness and remission through diet - and more effectively than on medications and with only positive side effects!
However, there are still things I need to do above and beyond diet in order to stay well, and if I don't do them, I don't stay well.
For the last 2 weeks my life has been a bit of a whirlwind. A 10-day family reunion. Some health and financial scares that urgently needed attending from us for my in-laws. Several rush commissions for me to work on. Many difficult car troubles and legal issues that required hours of my time and came with a good dose of stress and frustration.
Throughout all this I ate perfectly. Not a problem there. What I did NOT do was sleep enough and exercise enough. Nor did I stretch or meditate. And I did not have a day that wasn't packed and overly busy and exhausting for two and a half weeks.
Two days ago I got a killer migraine. Yesterday I woke up and I could not walk. My right knee and hip were in too much pain.
That could sound like failure, right? On the face of things, I am not cured if I still flare up, correct? But I do not see it that way. I see it as a natural consequence of not taking good care of myself on all levels.
But I did not freak out yesterday. The reasons seemed clear enough to me. I stayed put in bed all day and enjoyed my time reading and binge-watching The Good Wife on Hulu. DH went food shopping for me, because he is wonderful. The family reunion had disbanded, legal, financial, health and car issues were mostly resolved, and all my commissions were in the mail so I could 100% let go of my stress and really relax.
As the day wore on, I started to feel better and better. I could walk around the apartment. I made some food.
Today I woke up and I am 95% better. I took a one-hour walk in our hilly neighborhood. I feel very good now.
I am quite certain I will feel even better tomorrow.
This is important for anyone doing this way of eating with an autoimmune disease to realize:
Without Good Food, You Won't Heal, But Food is Not EverythingExercise is very important
Rest is extremely important
Stress Reduction (exercise often takes care of a lot of this) is very important
Socializing and having good social network is very important
Relationships are very important
Enjoying your life is very important
In other words, a balanced life is important. A good life is worth working for. Eat well, but take care of yourself on all levels too. It is important!