Has the RAW diet helped my RA?

It's official! I have been raw (well high raw) for three months now.  I posted this over at my other blog RawSierra but thought I would start this thread on the RA Wild blog. Just my thoughts on the Raw diet and RA.

So my thoughts on this RAW diet thang– has it helped my Rheumatoid Arthritis?

I went through some NASTY detox symptoms (at least I think they were detox symptoms). Within one week of the raw diet (and I was 100% raw from the get-go) my knees were super stiff and hurt all day long. My RA got much worse everywhere. Basically I started a major flare and I think it was detox symptoms. Maybe us RA people detox in a weird, joint-associated way. I took more prednisone during this time period than the last 13 years of my RA disease.

Still injecting Enbrel into my thighs 2x/week. In fact, it does not work as good as it used to since I went raw – go figure!

Has my RA improved overall in the last three months?

Well, let me see – in a word – NO.  How sucky is that? I am still worse than when I started. I think it might take longer to detox for people with auto-immune disorders. But I am no expert. I can only tell you what I have experienced.

Have I seen any health symptoms improve?

YES and can I get a YES. I know this a tabu subject but can we talk constipation? I am the queen of it. No the King of it. No the Galactic Ruler of it! I have struggled for my entire life with the number 2 thing. I lived on Senekot. I am sure I kept that company in business. I have tried it all, Benefiber, Metamucil, you name it I have tried it. Now I have always consumed massive quantities of water so that was never an issue. Before I went raw, I ate a ton of steamed green beans which seemed to help but then I would digress to my old sluggish ways. RAW has seemed to cure me of this awful problem. So was it meat, dairy, crap processed food? Do I lack enzymes that help me digest stuff? I have no idea, all I know is that the RAW diet has CURED my constipation.

How about weight loss on the RAW diet?

Yeah whatever (She says with arms folded and back turned!) – Seriously, damn it. I lost seven pounds when I first began this diet, but since then I have lost NOTHING. ZIP. NADA. In fact, I have put on two pounds. Now, to be fair, when I started RAW I had just had a hysterectomy so I basically laid around for three months due to a horrid recovery. So I am sure I lost some muscle mass. In the last month I have really stepped it up and I am lifting weights again and walking alot with the hubby. Yes, it does hurt to lift light weights and exercise when you have RA. At times I find myself cursing my own body parts (damn these wrists, damn you to hell!) but we RA people have got to keep moving no matter what, right? So maybe the two pounds is muscle? At least I can tell myself that! But after three months of being RAW (two months 100% raw, and this last month high-raw), I expected to be down 10 pounds! What the heck is going on? I will have to cut off an arm to lose that last five pounds.

What about your hair and skin?

Is my hair fuller and thicker? NO. But keep in mind I have RA, and the meds make you go bald (seriously, I used to have 100 times more hair). Has my skin improved? Do I have that glow everyone talks about? NO! In fact I still have adult acne at times. I always battle clear skin. I was hoping going RAW might really help that but so far I have not seen any difference in my skin.

SO IS RAW WORTH IT?

Besides the obvious benefits of helping stave off animal cruelty and environmental impact issues, the jury is still out for me as far as my health is concerned. I really had high hopes for going RAW. I really thought I might be able to get off all my meds one day. So far, this seems to be unattainable for me. RA drugs have really nasty side effects, but the disease is so debilitating that most choose to take the meds (including me) or I will cease to function. Now I realize my inside health has probably improved since I am not eating animal fat. I do realize all the benefits, but my main goal was to overcome this dang, crappy RA thing.

Do you have RA and have you altered your diet to see if it might ease the progression of your disease or give you relief? Have you added any supplements or natural therapies to your diet and noticed an improvement in your RA?

My hand modeling career is over!

Okay, Okay, I do not have George Castanza's hands! Who does? Hey RA peoples! I found some old pics of my hands way back from 2006 and thought I would compare the images with my hands today (why? you ask, I don't know I guess I am sadistic like that). These are my "I wish" hands.

***Warning*** the pictures below are not for the faint of heart and are real-life graphic depictions of mangled, crippled, goofy RA hands (yes goofy as I drop things all the time!). You better have your children leave the room…jk

Well this is the real thang people and we all just have to deal and rock on right? Hey maybe we should have an RA hand modeling contest! The winner gets a pair of gloves. ha-ha! Yeah I'm sick like that! But after all these years, my hands have become the "butt" of jokes. My friends and family seem to find amusement in making fun of my mangled hands. It is kind of funny. I mean what else can we do but laugh at our ailments sometimes.

Well, I have been on various cr@ppy RA drugs since 1996 – so what do you all think? Has the meds stopped the progression of this cr@pola disease? Hey, remember I am only 46 even though my hands look like the crypt keeper. Maybe in heaven I can have beautiful hands, oh and while we are at it, a small booty and gorgeous thick hair (yeah, hair loss is another RA post for another day!)

Hilarious Anecdote: and its twu! 

A few years back, my son Cody spent the weekend with his friend Adam, at my best friend's Leslie's house (Cody, Adam, Leslie – check). The rest of us were on our way down there and decided to stop at a restaurant for a bite to eat. It just happened to be my birthday. So, my BFF Leslie, decided to have a huge brownie thingy delivered to my table. She called the restaurant over the phone to accomplish this sweet task. However, the restaurant needed a way to find me? It was packed, and they were not going to call my name over a loud speaker. My friend told them to look for a girl in a black shirt, but tons of women were wearing black shirts. So my witty, and oh so sick-sense-of-humor son says "Have them look at the hands!, the mangled up hands!" – Well at the time it was hilarious – as they found me right away after that dead giveaway.

So ya see? Because my hands were so twisted, I got a brownie delivered to my table! *sigh* Life is good.

A Wild and Crazy Ride - RA is one sick puppy!

Hey! Thought I would start yet another blog that totally focuses on the trials and tribulations or Rheumatoid Arthritis, cuz we know there are at least 2 million of us out there in the US alone! RA has invaded my bod for over 13 years now, so why the heck don't I blog about it, eh? The world needs another blog don't ya think?

Trying to put a positive spin on this wild disease can be a difficult thing, but I will try my best.

RA is Really Awful - how is that for a positive spin? jk - well it is really awful, but when you got it, you got it and you can't give it away - so let's face it together shall we? Having trouble opening a ziplock? Turning a door handle? Buttoning your shirt? Getting out of bed? Well you have come to the right blog!

Repeat after me: RA can bite me, RA can bite me, RA can bite me...you get the picture!

How about we really focus on the positive things in our lives and how we overcome this cr@ptastic disease with determination and lots of wrist braces! So onward fellow crippled people! Let's kick RA's bootay shall we?