Psoriatic Arthritis Journal - 2.5 year Update Page 63

[eri]

^^Now that was funny!!

[blue]

you're my new hero

i have sooo lived that...

[nicoles]

Made up a new tasty salad today:

3 cups shredded red cabbage
1/4- cup shredded raw beet
1 cup diced sugar snap peas
1 cup Frozen sweet peas, thawed
1/3 cup sliced red onion
1 medium shredded gala apple
Ginger juice (grate .5-inch slice peeled ginger, then squeeze juice out of pulp over salad)
Turmeric juice (grate .25-inch peeled raw turmeric, squeezed the same as the ginger juice) very little goes a long way - quite a strong flavor!
1 teaspoon ground sesame seeds.

Mix it up! Yummers.

[Lesliec1]

Raw turmeric? Never heard of it. Does it look like a ginger root?

How's your husband? Is he sleeping at all?

[nicoles]

Hey Leslie. Raw turmeric looks a bit like ginger root, only smaller and darker - you can see the bright orange through the skin. I had never seen it before we moved to LA, and I only see it at Whole Paycheck and the Farmer's Markets here in the winter/late winter.

My husband is surprisingly OK, thanks for asking. He sprang into action immediately: he had a job interview last Friday for job he'd really like, and is setting up interviews and meetings all over the place. As long as he has something to do and work towards, he is typically OK.

We figured it out. Let's say worst case scenario, he does not find a job before the end of February. He has 6 weeks paid vacation due to him then, so we'd be OK till April, a full month of full time job pursuit. And then he is eligible for unemployment, so at least we'd have something coming in. My in-laws said they'd sell us their car at the end of this month, and we could pay them back as we can, so that means we'll have two cars and I can pursue more work too, maybe temping. Or at the worst, if our old car poops out, we are not entirely stuck in this ridiculous city with zero effective public transportation.

So, we both might be temping for awhile. We'll see.
Right now I am focusing on getting as much work as I can too, without destroying my health.

[moonwatcher]

Good Morning, Nicole!

I loved reading about your salad! I love the combination of crunchy bright veggies and apple. I do something similar almost all the time. I don't usually see tumeric root here at the co-op, but I can improvise. Tumeric is quite strong for me, though, even with its anti-inflammatory properties. It tends to make me flush. Still, I try to sneak it in.

It must be a relief for you and your husband to know you have this breathing room. I will hold a good thought that his industrious energy to find a better job "pays" off soon! And that you are able to contribute, without compromising your health. That is esential.

Really appreciated hearing these updates, with a crunchy salad to go with!

xoxo

moonwatcher

[lmggallagher]

Hi Nicole:

I am still really under the weather here - but have been peaking in to see any news on how you two are doing. It sounds like a plan is in effect and that he is a get up and go guy - well you both are of course - glad though to see that you take heed of your limits though.

Anyway, happy to see that money and cars are coming your way in some manner or another.

Take care....

[Lesliec1]

That's a relief! Thanks for letting us know. So glad you have a plan and thank goodness for family.

[Shanzy]

Wow Nicole, you certainly have had your share of challenges and stress lately! But it is really true, that some of the darkest and scariest times in our life are the places when we end up changing direction towards something better.

I hope that is the case for you, and with your positive attitudes I am sure that opportunities are going to come up for you and your husband. Maybe even in unexpected and delightful ways!

Wishing you good things!

[nicoles]

Moonwatcher - Turmeric is a bit intense for me as well, although I have not noticed flushing. Could be that I do though - my face turns red in a second. They used to call me Lobster in Junior High, those darling teens

I love colorful salads, too! Sometimes I just make up meals based solely on the colors of the ingredients.

Yes, we are relieved. If I take this as a lesson, which I sort of try to do in general during stressful circumstances, but can be really hard, I think the lesson might now be that I need to find a balance between work and health. And this is a crash course.

Michelle Thanks for stopping by even though you are so ill! It cheers me up to have the company I very much hope you are doing better by today(Tuesday) You take care of you as well!

Leslie Thanks for caring! Yes a plan and family is amazing. We are really blessed, despite the challenges. Very blessed indeed.


Hi Shanzy! Yup, we have some stuff going on, but yes indeed - those difficult times are times of transformation and usually for the better. Thanks a bunch for visiting and for the good wishes! You are a sweetheart

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When I draw or paint, I am usually in a very abstract, detached kind of mental space where I can have empathy, or kind of channel feeling through the medium, but I don't really feel the feelings, if that makes any sense. Like I am acting, but with visual art, I guess.

Anyway, today I am working on a memorial portrait for a dear departed baby girl. As I draw, I am absorbed in the process, but when I take breaks I feel the emotional impact of what I am working on. So today is a bit of a sad day for me at work.

[moonwatcher]

dear nicole,

I understand absolutely what you wrote about drawing and painting and channeling the empathy while feeling detached. Then taking a break and having the feelings catch up with you. So I am sending my understanding and sympathy and love your way as you complete what I know must be a beautiful memorial portrait.

I, too, often make meals by putting colors together!! (Well, and their tastes and textures, too. I love quilting and quilts, after all.)

I so enjoyed reading your updates.

sending a big hug

moonwatcher

[Debbie]

So, I kept thinking about that long ago forgotten forum I used to frequent back when my PPP seemed out of control and decided to post an update. My last post was back in 2008 and everyone was riding me about waxing and waning and blah blah. I linked to Dr. M's video about diet and MS.

Seems though when I walked out several people were interested in what I had to say, but were kind of afraid, so the pm'd me. I never got them cause I never went back.

I also found I had loaded a ticker and it was shocking. Ive got a whole lot of work to do. I always thought my weight was 140lbs when I got pregnant with my last girl.....it was lower.

Anyway, I'll check back in a day or so and report what anybody, if anyone, has to say.

ETA: I just went and looked closer and even though there are some recent posts, its not the active forum it once was. It even appears that some of the people I once talked with are no longer members either. Oh well, hope they are well. And hopefully no mod will remove my post so others can get the info.

[nicoles]

Hey Debbie,

I'd definitely be interested in hearing what you find there now. When I go back to the other forums I find a lot of different people, too.


Some Interesting Stuff I Learned Last Night

Last night I had a conversation with an acquaintance who is also a GP. We talked about prednisone and I learned a few things I did not know.

So, basically, as I understand it, if you are on a dose of prednisone that is 5 mg or less, you are basically on the amount of "cortisol(?)" that your body produces naturally, so the anti-inflammatory effect is quite low.

It seems like then the effect would be that you are on the equivalent of 10 mg prednisone, between the drug and what your body makes, but that is not the case.

The reason for this is that your body adapts and says "why should I do all the work? let's allow this drug to do it for me" and you stop producing normal amounts of cortisol (or whatever natural steroid it is that the adrenals make (I know, I should look this up, but I have to look for work after this post and I wanted to get this down where I can find it before I forget;) )) and so if you go "cold turkey" you will experience prednisone withdrawal which can manifest as fatigue, flu-like symptoms and joint pain, among other things.


The very important thing that this acquaintance said was that if you are on 5 mg or less of prednisone and you go off and have pain, it is likely not because you were relying on it to keep the pain at bay - it is likely because you are experiencing prednisone withdrawal symptoms and need to reduce more slowly to ameliorate them.

He also said that if you are on something like 4 mg, 3 mg or 2 mg, that you are really just tapering down and allowing your adrenals to get back on the program. You are not treating a disease with an anti-inflammatory.

I do not know if this is actually the case for everyone, or just a general rule of thumb about prednisone dosages. But it was interesting nonetheless.


* I also learned that if I start watching Downton Abbey again, I will be sucked right back into it despite thinking that I was so over that show

[nicoles]

Yet another reason that I am glad to eat this way.

[Debbie]

I just remembered what I was first diagnosed with when this all began, well after the fungus part. Dishydrotic eczema.


So weird all the things Im coming across that haven't crossed my mind in years.