I had hoped to be done with the “Story” part by now. I do not want the focus of my blog to be about my story, but about the journey and the “Can’s”. However, I do feel it is important to get the story out so that it all makes sense. A crazy weekend, and not feeling 100% have interfered just a bit. But we will get there! 🙂 Thank you for being patient with me!

As I told you in my last post, I had already started eliminating sugar gradually. I strongly recommend weaning from sugar. It helps reduce if not eliminate withdrawal symptoms. I personally think the withdrawal symptoms and headaches make it more difficult to embrace a healthy lifestyle change. We WANT to feel good. So when we don’t, we look for things to make us feel better. Whether it be food, medicine, people, shopping…whatever.

I knew from the beginning of December that I would be getting serious about the changes after New Years. I was giving myself the holidays. Whether this was a good idea or not…I am just telling you what I did. Mind you, I had already read enough to know what was harmful for me and I found myself avoiding some of those things even during the holidays.

I did cut a couple things cold turkey. But before I did…

My husband, David, and I had “one last unhealthy date night.” I asked for it. You see…I have always loved cheese. ALL THINGS CHEESE! But I knew I was going to have to give up dairy. But Oh how I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! Namely in our area…CHUYS! I loved their Enchiladas with BoomBoom sauce! I love the creamy jalapeno dip. I wanted my “last meal” as we jokingly called it. Should we have done this? I don’t know, but we did. You see “date night” was always a big deal in our house. My husband and I had made it important and we religiously had date night at least twice a month. I knew it would be a while before I was comfortable eating out anywhere, so I wanted this night…NEEDED this night. (A year later and I still am afraid to eat out much. There are only about 2 places I will go, and those sparingly. Date night…like we knew it has only happened about a handful of times in the last year…eek…one of the goals for this year…to refocus date night!)

During the month of December I also worked on “cleaning” out the pantry. I used up all the unhealthy stuff I could. By January 1st I was ready. We had restocked the pantry and fridge. (I think the grocery scene will need to be a seperate post…because it was a devastating experience! Seriously!)

I encourage you to start slowly. Even Dr. Wahls suggest you take it slowly. Pick one or 2 things to change at a time and focus on that until you get the hang of it and then add another thing or two. Some things I took slowly. Others I did not. Like I said, I know how very badly I felt at the peak of my flare. I know how very scared I was and that reminder keeps me motivated. I took the sugar thing slowly, because I do not like headaches. What I cut cold turkey…dairy, and gluten. These are the 3 biggest immediate changes I made. I made other changes as I read the book and realized I needed to.

Why dairy? I am sorry, but if you have MS, dairy is one of your biggest enemies. In short…There is a protein in dairy, that resembles the myelin sheath. When you eat/drink dairy your body says…”attack the myelin.” (Which is the protective covering on your nerves. Think of an electric cord, the insulated covering on it is your myelin sheath. If you strip the covering off you have exposed electrical wires. Same with your nerves. Hence…lesions.)

When you have an autoimmune disease, and you eat gluten, or any other inflammatory foods…it can take up to 6 MONTHS to get that inflammation out of your body! Not worth it to me! (I DO NOT CHEAT!) So if I come to your house and refuse to eat something, please do not take offense. It is just not worth it to me. 6 months for one bite? Nah! I’m good! NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS GOOD FEELS!

Try to not look at “life” ahead, but just “today.” Take it one day at a time. Otherwise, it is extremely overwhelming. I cannot tell you how many times I cried…but it was almost always when it felt extremely overwhelming.

While I did not put this “lifestyle” on my family, there were a few things I did not allow in the house during the first few weeks. Things that would make it more difficult for me to adjust. But my family was very supportive and didn’t complain. Actually, they wanted to know what I was learning. They wanted to know what my research produced. There was one documentary in particular that we all watched together, that was extremely eye opening. From that, my family decided for the most part that they were making some changes as well. We are all way more conscious of what we put in our bodies. That has made a world of difference for me. While, yes, they still eat things I cannot, they think about what they are doing more. And at this point…a year later…it doesn’t usually bother me much anymore if they eat something I cannot. Sometimes they will ask “will it bother you if I eat ‘this’?” I usually tell them, it’s fine. I will be fine. Does that mean it never bothers me? Of course not, but I cannot…do not expect them to not eat just because I don’t. And honestly…it gets easier. I just go find something else. AND…I have a handful of things that are “mine”.;)

Ya’all! If I can give up dairy…namely cheese…you all can do it! Seriously! I think the cheese was the absolute hardest for me. When I started, I seriously thought, “This is going to be the blandest, most boring part of my life!” I thought my food would forever taste awful and boring. I would turn into a rabbit. But if I could still hold and play with my grandkids, and enjoy my family…that’s what I would do. The surprise?! Finding ways to actually enjoy my food. Finding alternatives that I never dreamt existed! Actually enjoying to learn how to cook differently! Having fun with this journey! I never expected those things! THAT is what I hope to share with you! There is hope! There is still “good things”. And what’s more? I actually crave the healthy things now. My taste buds are also changing, and I am liking things I never dreamt I would. If I can do this, you can do this!

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a caregiver to someone with an autoimmune disease, or just a family member, let me tell you. The biggest help you can be is to be supportive. Help them, especially in the first few weeks of the changes. It is hard. And it is even harder if they feel resentment from the family instead of encouragement and support. Listen. Let them “vent”. Let them just talk. In many ways, it is very similar to a grief process. They have a lot of feelings, and emotions. They are going through lot of changes. Ask how you can help? Let them know you care. Love them. Let them know you love them. Just let them know you are 100% behind them. Even if you don’t fully understand. The best way for you to fully support them is to learn what they are learning. I think my family taking an interest in my research was the biggest thing for me. Not only was they learning, but it also helped them understand why I was making the choices I was making. Why I wanted to go this route. Seriously, it has made all the difference in the world. So, take an interest in what they are learning. Read Dr. Wahls Protocol with them. Let them know you are still a very important part of your life and you NEED them! Most of all…let them know you STILL love them in spite of their health issues.

If you are the person with the autoimmune disease…I encourage you to let your family in. If they ask how they can help, let them know. I know, I know…this is the hardest for me. I HATE to ask for help. And I still don’t…enough. But they really want to help, they just maybe don’t know how. This is hard for me, but I am learning. I do better with the people that live in my house, than the ones that do not. David and the boys that are still at home will “take over” if they see me doing something that I maybe should be letting someone else do. I am learning to ask for more help…but I was raised to be independent. I was raised to work hard…I have always just done what I needed to do. So that makes asking for help feel like a crime, but I am learning.