me : : now

Veg sushi we had for dinner last Saturday

So, I have come to the end of my elimination diet.  Really exciting side effect of the 'anti inflammatory' diet : : I have been able to completely eliminate all of the medications I was taking. 

Methotrexate (chemo drug) : : Gone. 

Humira (self injected biological drug) : : Gone. 

Don't need them.  I am essentially in remission.

Pretty amazing...and I'll admit, I wasn't really sure it was possible.

I have reintegrated all of the plant foods on my list, no animal foods ever again : : and I've learned a few things.  

Which is good, because that's the point of this whole rodeo, right?!  

What I've learned : : 

Gluten (all wheat, rye, barley, some oats) and nightshades (tomato, potato, peppers, eggplant) seem to be possible inflammation causing foods for me.  

After I reintroduced gluten I felt a bit off for a few days, but not in any acute pain.  After that I decided it was time to go all the way and eat some tomatoes!  

The day I had been waiting for.  

Salsa, tomato sauce, roasted peppers.  Um, yes please. 

After a few days I was not so good.  I felt 'slow'.  Which is how I will feel at the beginning of a flare.  This slow feeling usually is the beginning of a cycle of pain.  This time it was just the beginning of my left elbow hurting and all of my joints feeling a bit creaky. 

Sadly, I knew this meant either the gluten thing was escalating or the nightshades were not playing nice.  Either way I had to make a shift before I felt worse. 

I have re-eliminated them both in hopes of isolating the problem...ans secretly wishing that it is just one or the other.  

Not both : : please.  Okay thanx.

I have also gotten over the "what the heck do I cook" hump.  After I was able to reintroduce corn and soy I felt like the recipe possibilities were endless!  Having my food choices SO restricted for an entire month sure did change my perspective on a vegan diet.  What once seemed limiting, no animal products at all including eggs and milk, now seemed like an amazing bounty to work from. 

I'll be posting some pics of our meals in coming posts to give an idea of what we are or have been eating.  Some will likely have gluten or tomato's because they are just sitting in my camera from the last few weeks.

Till soon,

A