So, I’ve been reading a lot lately and am getting ready to try some experiments to see how my symptoms respond. Ultimately, I want to try to go med-free over the next few months- I’m having some weird side effects with methotrexate right now that are concerning me.
1. Diet: Let’s face it. I eat crappy. I gave up most dairy a couple years ago and that’s gone really well. I actually prefer soy milk and yogurt to regular now. What gets me are cheeses and the fabulousity that is called a caramel macchiato. So I’m trying to phase these out cold turkey effective immediately. Another problem I have are sodas and coffees. There is nothing I like more than a Coke at lunch but I know these are bad for calcium absorption. So I’m trying to phase out the soda now, caffeine in a few weeks.
2. “Body Work”- I’ve been slowly easing back into running but I think I’m going to give yoga a shot. I’ve read a lot about and have now talked to a yoga instructor about “hot yoga.” I’ll link to an article I read but the heat/stretching seem to have a good effect on anything auto-immune so I’ll give it a shot.
More details to come soon…
All Flared Up: An Arthritis Blog 
try a soy caramel macchiato! is that even possible though?
what meds are you on? just methotrexate?
I’ve tried the soy caramel macchiato….but it’s just not the same. 😦
I was surprised when I started eliminating inflammatory foods that coffee was the most difficult for me to give up. When I walked into Starbucks with my husband and ordered a tea, I would tear up. It was embarrassing. However, once I got over the two month hump, it was easier and when I do have a cup of coffee on occassion now, I feel sick to my stomach. Getting there is hard though. I do still crave mochas with whipped cream from Starbucks but they really make me sick afterwards. Good luck with your experiments. Cathy
Hope it all goes well, AJ – keep us ‘posted’. ;o) Thanks for pointing me in the direction of Cathy’s blog too … or at least I assume it was Cathy’s blog ’cause I read your email, thought ‘I’ll have a look at that later’ and then managed to delete it. ;o( One of those weeks!
PP