Last Friday, July 8th, I had my 3rd Remicade Infusion. It went like a charm, although I may have been a little tired, especially since I slept through most of it! It takes about 3 hours, so I brought lots of stuff to read and listen to... instead I slept.
Weekly, I've been tapering Prednisone and as of today am officially on 30 mg. That's not a lot if you're on a regular course of it, but I still have a lot in my body due to the many days of being on IV and then taking it orally. Tapering off prednisone can be tricky, and anyone on it knows that. I still have moon face, and my worst problem is walking up stairs, or as I think of it the mountain, which is where my computer is. My hips and legs don't have much power. It's a good thing I know yoga moves (I took it 4 years) so I'm able to leverage myself up off the floor. I have always been very flexible and that's reduced; the one most common problem people on Prednisone have is gaining weight, and I don't have that... I've lost weight. I keep wondering if it will sneak on in the night! I've lost enough weight that the people around me have this image of me being very frail. Well, I'm not, just slow, ok? And give me my space, and let me get where I need to go without trying to take over for me! And quit telling me I'm doing too much! I'm so full of joy now, you're only dampening the spirits of someone who is destined for more.
My next step is a visit to a trusted friend's chiropracter. While I've seen chiropractors in the past, they haven't been visits I gained much from. One was like a free x ray then a group consultation in which we all had subluxations. The other was a complementary DC connected to Kaiser, and he really didn't explain anything other than crack my neck as I remember it. I didn't feel any better or worse, but I have to say I was probably 50 pounds heavier then.
This new chiropractor also uses nutrition, which I find to be a bonus, and I believe suggests some supplements. I definitely have some skeletal issues, and he will certainly take into account my gut disease and medications. When I really start taking supplements is still up in the air. Right now it's just probiotics and pretty generic vitamins from Vitamin Cottage. I'm really looking forward to this visit.
Another thing I plan to try next week is Ivengar Yoga, which emphasizes more structural changes to your body (I think). That and a gentle massage with Tina!
My diet for the last several weeks has been glutein and corn free, non dairy, although I do sneak in a bit and use lactaid. I'm trying Feta Cheese, cause what's life without cheese? My 2 downfalls are non dairy coffee creamer with my coffee at breakfast and some Walgreens cherry balls or the extra special treat of candy fruit slices from the kids candy store in the mall. Otherwise I'm pretty strict with what I eat, usually things like nuts, nut butter, eggs, etc. And yeah, I still eat meat but that's getting harder and harder.
So here I am, your favorite gut woman, finding her guts, acknowledging what's in them, an important part of the path. One of my IBD docs did an awesome job of talking to me about the physical aspects of the gut... how the nerves are connected to the vagus nerve which leads right straight up into the brain, the hippocampus, the primordial organ! In other words, our past and current traumas are stored in our bodies, and the gut is a particularly interesting place to have them stored! This dovetails so perfectly with what psychology has been saying lately, that trauma is stored at a cellular level. Interesting stuff.
So I'm listening to my body. If I need rest I rest, if I need sun I go outside and absorb it. If I need space, I do my sitting meditation practice. If I need sleep, I lay my head down. And the other day, when I fell off our retaining wall, in front of my neighbors who helped me up, I tried to go through the pain in my left leg, but after a few seconds, said no I need to take care of this, and went it and iced it. No problems with the knee!
We could all do better at listening to our bodies, I think. Do you? What's it telling you right now?
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