Greetings! I'm back from an amazing adventure traveling through India and Nepal--an adventure I almost backed out of because I was so afraid that I would flare up while far away from home. I wish I could tell you that I was totally symptom free and recommend that everyone with a chronic invisible illness take a long vacation to maintain optimum health, but that wasn't the case. I can tell you that there was a noted decrease (in some cases an absence) of some symptoms I have been struggling with and it has prompted some immediate changes in my life moving forward.
First of all, I decided that I wouldn't eat any meat on this trip. This was primarily due to the fact that our trip leader was/is a vegetarian, as was our guide. I am sensitive to the fact that people who don't eat meat may be very sensitive to the smell of meat, and I intended to make meal time a social experience. I have found that I have become somewhat reclusive since my diagnosis, and resolved this was something I needed to change. Anyway, I had absolutely no acid reflux issues at all in spite of the spicy food I consumed. Initially, I did not miss the meat at all, but, by the end of the trip I was craving chicken in the worse way. Since my return, I have eaten meat, but, I would say about 90% less than I used to and have continued to be acid free.
Secondly, I had very little joint pain, which was very surprising to me as we were constantly on the move. I attributed this to the increase in the amount of tumeric I was consuming on a daily basis. In addition to the 1000 mg I continued to take in capsule form, tumeric is a staple ingredient of many of the dishes prepared in India. Upon my return I have increased the dosage to 1500 mg. I have noted some mild joint pain in my toes and ankles, so I am considering boosting the dosage to 2000 mg and/or including tumeric as an ingredient when I prepare meals.
Thirdly, I recognized that I need to increase the amount of physical activity I do daily. I realized that could handle a lot more activity than I thought I could, but was reminded of the importance making sure that the activities I chose are low impact. I had been toying around with the idea of doing some yoga for quite some time. I came face to face with the idea again when I discovered by roomate was an avid yogi. I have been easing into it and and I believe it has helped decrease the intensity of my calf spasms.
There were some symptoms that I could do nothing about, mainly the fatigue and the spasms of the trapezius muscles. I also couldn't totally beat insomnia, but I did get more undisturbed sleep than I have in a very long time. There are a couple of other things I won't mention here, but, the main point I'd like you to take from this post is that I have returned home with renewed hope that I will eventually beat these conditions that have wrecked havoc on my body for so many years.
There were some symptoms that I could do nothing about, mainly the fatigue and the spasms of the trapezius muscles. I also couldn't totally beat insomnia, but I did get more undisturbed sleep than I have in a very long time. There are a couple of other things I won't mention here, but, the main point I'd like you to take from this post is that I have returned home with renewed hope that I will eventually beat these conditions that have wrecked havoc on my body for so many years.