David saw an acupuncturist here in Dallas last week. He didn’t get the pain relief he got from the acupuncture treatments he had in Dallas, but we did have a good consultation with the acupuncturist about David’s diet.

He wants David to stop drinking all soda. He said soda contains phosphoric acid that can leach minerals from David’s bones. Since David has Psoriatic Arthritis, it’s obviously important that he take care of his bones.

He also suggested David eat more green, leafy vegetables and eat less sweets. This led to my experiment in making kale chips. If you’ve never had kale, it smells and tastes kind of like broccoli, but not as good. And I love broccoli. Read my post on Luby’s Cafeteria if you don’t believe me. I won’t be making kale chips again.

The acupuncturist also said David should try eating less acidic food. He says the acidity can cause inflammation. So instead of oranges every other morning with breakfast, David’s eating bananas. He also recommended avoiding nightshade vegetables like tomatoes and peppers.

The biggest blow was his suggestion that David go dairy free. He’s done so well eating gluten free, but to take away dairy, too? Ugh. That one’s going to be hard.

It’s a big long list for an anti-inflammation diet to help David’s arthritis. The acupuncturist encouraged us to take it slow and focus on one or two things at a time. I bought rice milk this week and made soup and scrambled eggs with it instead of regular milk. We couldn’t really taste a difference. David has eaten more vegetables this week, and he’s had far less soda than usual. I don’t think we’ll work too hard on it until we get back from our trip home to Dallas. There are just too many delicious Tex-Mex foods we’ve been missing.

Has anyone else tried an anti-inflammation diet? Does anyone have any tips for going dairy free? There are several really great, healthy dishes I make that I top with cheese so David will eat them. Is there a dairy free cheese substitute?

It would be really wonderful if this diet helped David with his pain. It is a lot of work to radically change our eating habits, but the pain is so intense it’s quite motivating.

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I was right. I knew it.

David got sick after eating pizza Wednesday. Whether it’s a gluten allergy or Celiac Disease, we don’t know, and we won’t be finding out until we get better health insurance.

David is doing pretty well. He’s continuing to lose weight, and he’s gone from swimming at the gym for 15-20 minutes at a time to 30-40 minutes.

It’s hard to know whether it’s the gluten free diet or the Humira starting to work that’s making him feel better. Whatever it is, we’ll take it!

David has two interviews next week, so keep him in your prayers.

Love,
A Young Wife

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Congratulations to Jeanine! She won the Yoplait Smoothie Giveaway!

David had his appointment with our family doctor, and the doctor recommended David go gluten free for 3-4 weeks instead of spending $300+ on the blood test, especially since our insurance won’t cover much of it. If David gets better, great. If not, then David will go dairy free for 3-4 weeks and see if that helps.

David is going gluten free until February 14. Our Valentine’s Day tradition is pizza and a movie at home. Restaurants and so many other places are crowded on Valentine’s Day. So, February 14 seemed like a good day to have some gluten.

I would really have preferred to just do the blood test and get it over with. However, David still hasn’t found another job, so it’s difficult to pay for a doctor’s appointment, let alone additional lab work.

And the doctor was pretty clear about his opinion that David should not do the blood work. He even mentioned that labeling David with Celiac Disease might hurt David when he’s applying for life insurance or if he ever has a break in coverage. Frankly, he’s already got enough labels. I don’t think one more is going to make much difference. And praise be to God, he took out a life insurance policy months before he was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. Long before he took any medication.

But I’m not a doctor.

Last night my mother said, “We can do this.” So then I started singing the Bob the Builder song, “Can we fix it? YES WE CAN!”

I’m pretty stressed. I really thought we were close to remission. Close to normal. It doesn’t sound like a big deal to go gluten free for 3-4 weeks, but it is. Most people don’t realize that David has been denied most of life’s pleasures for the past few years. He can’t go do fun stuff. It’s not like he can replace bread and pasta with bike riding or playing softball. Food is one of the few things he has left.

And, uh, I really like food, too. Is there gluten in Diet Coke? I can already tell you that I will not stay gluten free. Bad wife, I know. I promise I won’t eat cupcakes in front of David.

Maybe going gluten free will help his arthritis pain. Maybe he will be able to do fun things soon. That’s what we’re praying for.

Thank you all for your prayers, support and encouragement. They help me so much.

Love,
A Young Wife

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I think David has Celiac Disease. I’ve heard that food allergies can trigger flare for arthritis patients. David even went dairy free for two days (which isn’t long enough in my opinion) to see if it would help.

I read a blog today about a woman who was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, and later discovered her Celiac Disease was the main culprit in her psoriasis. That got me thinking. One of David’s sisters was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

So then I did some research on Web MD. Now I’m convinced David has it. I called and left a message for our family doctor. Of course, it’s late Friday afternoon, and even my beloved family doctor who always calls me right back probably won’t be getting back with me until Monday.

Web MD suggests that people with auto-immune diseases (Psoriatic Arthritis is one) get tested.

On the one hand, wouldn’t it be great if he had it, changed his diet and his arthritis got so much better? On the other, how the heck am I going to get him to give up pizza, most bread, pasta, and most restaurant food? Good thing I’m a well rounded cook!

Sheesh. What a way to start the weekend!

***UPDATE***
How could I have ever doubted my doctor? His nurse called me after five o’clock. Apparently the blood work is expensive and David’s sister having Celiac Disease may not be of any consequence, but he wants David to come in and talk about it. David has an appointment Tuesday.

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David went to an acupuncturist for the first time Saturday. No one in our area could recommend a good acupuncturist, but several people recommended it for pain management. I just happened to walk by an acupuncture clinic last week. I went inside and got a little information.

A chiropractor (not our regular chiropractor) had mentioned that she prefers the traditional, Eastern medicine acupuncturists. This man was definitely that. English is not his first language. Chinese magazines covered one of the counters. There were dozens of jars of herbs all along one wall.

He told us he was 72, but we thought he was in his fifties. He showed us his driver’s license. He’s really 72. We thought that was a good sign. He must be pretty healthy to look that good at 72!

The treatment took a lot longer than we anticipated. They don’t just stick the needles in your back and take them out. The acupuncturist left them in for about forty minutes.

Oh, there was one thing I thought was very interesting. He had me watch as he put the first two needles in. It wasn’t just a needle he picked up and placed in David’s back. It was in a little plastic tube or sheath, and the part of the needle stuck out of the top of the tube. He put the tube on David’s skin, and then gently tapped the needle down. David said it didn’t hurt. There were a few uncomfortable moments but not what you’d call painful.

While David was lying on the table, the acupuncturist came out to the waiting room and told me, “I’ve never treated anyone this bad!” This man has been practicing acupuncture for 47 years. Yikes!

After the treatment, the acupuncturist had David walk around the office for about ten minutes. David said his lower back and neck felt pretty good.

Let me explain how huge this is. David loves being adjusted by our chiropractor. But he has never ever, after any treatment for his arthritis, whether medication or massage or whatever, said that any part of his spine felt pretty good.

The acupuncturist warned David that the effects would wear off, and they did. However, a few hours of relief was incredible. David’s going to go as often as he has the time and money. The acupuncturist thinks that over the course of several treatments, David’s chronic pain will decrease significantly.

He was also very pleased to hear that David is swimming. He told David the same things our chiropractor (and all the regular doctors) have been saying: eat lots of fruits and vegetables, nothing fried and limit your meat consumption.

If we could afford to buy the acupuncturist’s supplements we would. It is such a blessing for David to finally get some relief. I think we’d stand on our heads if he told us it would help!

Praise the Lord for David’s success with acupuncture!

Related Posts:

• Anti-Inflammation Diet for Arthritis
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Here’s an overview of the Flare Up Diet. It’s what we eat when David’s Psoriatic Arthritis flares up and he’s bedridden.

Breakfast Possibilities
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
Cereal

Lunch Ideas
Delivery Pizza
Delivery Chinese
(If you have a Jimmy John’s in your area, they deliver, too!)
Peanut butter sandwiches

Dinner Options
Frozen Pizza
Leftovers
Whatever some dear Christian brings us!

Snack Suggestions
Fresh Fruit (We always have fruit. Even when I haven’t been shopping in a week.)
Leftover Halloween and Easter candy in the back of the pantry.
Popsicle found in the bottom drawer of freezer.

To come off of your Flare Up Diet, have a Snickers bar and an apple for lunch. That’s what I did. I went to make a sandwich for lunch as we were leaving for work yesterday morning, and the bread was all molded. I don’t even like Snickers bars that much. The Snickers bar was from our last trip to the lake with my parents. Some of their food got into our ice chest. Thanks, Mom. I didn’t starve. Oh, and then on the way home, I had to stop at the mall to look for a birthday present for my niece. In my mental fog from lack of sleep and the emotional drain of bathing and dressing my husband for three days, I got a cinnamon pretzel from Auntie Anne’s. And a Diet Coke. And then I had to ask for directions to the bathroom in Macy’s twice.

Seriously, thank you to everyone bringing us food, saving us from our sugary, sodium laden diet!

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