Day #80 on AIP and I am still in pain. I keep having to remind myself that it will take time to heal, but I seriously can’t wait for that day to come already. I have wounds in all the typical HS areas. I have them in all the areas I usually get them and then some! I usually get them in my underarms, groin, and tailbone. Now I also have them on my inner thigh, butt (ugh!), and other areas that I don’t even know the name of lol. I had one on my back and one on my neck last week too. Sometimes I can’t even turn from my side to my back while laying in bed. Sometimes I can’t even sit in a chair, even with a pillow. My shoulders hurt all the time from trying to hold my arms away from my underarms. I miss hiking and moving and dancing and jumping (lol I didn’t jump a lot, but as least I could). I just needed to complain for a little while. I’m still hopeful, though! I’m still sticking to AIP with the hope of complete healing and getting my life back.
Of course I miss Filipino food so much. I tried to adapt a few recipes to be AIP compliant. It’s tough because most of my favorite dishes are heavy in nightshades and pepper. For example, I love a dish called afritada. It’s made with chicken wings, tomato paste (night shade! sugar!), potatoes (night shade!), and bell pepper (night shade!).
Anyway, lets focus on the foods I was actually able to make and keep AIP compliant!
Tenola. Tenola is actually pretty close to AIP compliant. All I needed to do was omit the black pepper. Tenola is a traditional Fililpino chicken soup with vegetables. Usually it has carrots, cayote or potatoes (I used cayote), and these green leaves… I forgot what they’re called. I didn’t have those, but I added cabbage to mine. Oh sometimes it might also have bok choy. The key to the tenola flavor is that you first saute chicken with garlic before adding water to make it a soup and it’s cooked with ginger lots of ginger. This is a great gut-healing dish, but it’s also nostalgic for me. The only thing missing for me was the white rice. I ate it with cauliflower rice (you already know how I feel about cauliflower rice…), and I was content.
Chicken empanadas. I love me some empanadas! In order to make this AIP compliant, I followed THIS recipe by Castaway Kitchen for the dough. She’s Cuban-American, so her empanadas are a bit different from the ones I was used to eating growing up. In order to make it more like the Filipino chicken empanadas I’m used to, I made the filling with garlic, shredded chicken, chopped carrots, chopped sweet potatoes (traditionally potatoes). Another thing about Filipino empanadas is that the dough is a little more solid/hard and also a little sweeter than these. Maye next time I make these, I’ll brush on a bit of honey or maple syrup. These also came in very handy because I was able to freeze this batch and save them, so when I just needed a quick meal or snack, I could just pop ’em in the microwave and they’re ready to go! I’m so happy I made this. It’s pretty close to the Filipino chicken empanadas I’ve been eating all my life!
Cassava cake. Cassava cake is one of my favorite desserts! There are two layers. Traditionally, the bottom layer is made with grated cassava and coconut milk, and sugar. In order to make that AIP compliant, I replaced the sugar with maple syrup and only used about half of what the recipe calls for. The top layer is traditionally made with condensed milk, macapuno (young coconut string), and eggs. In order to make the top layer AIP compliant, I had to find a recipe for a condensed milk substitute using coconut milk and coconut sugar (that’s why it’s a dark brown). I also used tapioca flour with a little water to replace the eggs. I could not find macapuno that wasn’t stored in syrup or didn’t have sugar in it. Another option would have been to buy a fresh young coconut and open it up and scrape the “meat” out of it, but I just don’t have the tools for that. (My family talked about this a lot for a few days! haha). I settled for using some shredded coconut that I already had in my pantry. I’ve gotten to try this recipe twice already. The first one (pictured on the right) took longer to back and was pretty mushy. I actually made the “condensed milk” with coconut milk and maple syrup that time, so it was harder to reduce/thicken compared to when I used coconut sugar instead. I was also not feeling too great that day, so I rushed it and didn’t care enough to troubleshoot. It still tasted pretty good, though. My family approved. The second attempt came out way better! I hate that the cake cutter is blocking the bottom layer in the photo because I’m pretty proud of it. I loved it. Even though coconut sugar and maple syrup are AIP compliant, I still want to limit my sugar intake as much as possible. This should be a rare treat, but I still plan to make it again soon!
It took me a while to post this because I was planning to make one more Filipino goody a few weeks ago. I haven’t gotten to it, and since it’s a dessert, I haven’t prioritized it. (My energy is seriously limited and I have to really be picky about how I use it). Stay tuned, though, for a blog post on ube ice cream!
I recently passed the 60-day mark on the AIP diet. It’s actually day 64 today. I wanted to just write some updates and reflections.
I’ve been tracking my progress in different areas. Sometimes it’s hard to see progress, but I have to remember that healing takes time, tiny progress is still progress, and there are more signs to look for than just my skin. THIS article from autoimmune wellness really helped me think about the different areas to see progress.
Energy levels: I definitely have a lot more energy now than I used to. This one is pretty clear to me. I still have some days when I struggle, but it’s mostly because of pain that makes it difficult to get out of bed, not because of energy.
Pain levels: This is still very much high for me. I have a couple spots on my body that hurt SO MUCH. Much more than every before in some cases. I’m really hoping this is still just part of the detox phase and not anything else, but I will still be really careful about examining what I’m eating and if there’s anything I can do differently.
Bowel movements: I’ve never really had issues here, and I still don’t. Very regular.
Body measurements: I have lost about 20 pounds since starting AIP. While I haven’t measured anything in inches, people have told me I look thinner. That’s some good progress!
Sleep: I don’t sleep well. Sometimes I just can’t find a comfortable position because however I lay, something on my body hurts. I just have a hard time relaxing. Even when I am able to sleep, I wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. Before I even started AIP, my doctor recommended a calcium/magnesium supplement. She said that it won’t necessarily help me go to sleep, but will help me to get a deeper sleep. Tell me why I have it but I don’t take it every night. (Ugh, I really need to get more consistent with all my supplements)
Exercise/movement: This goes back to pain levels. It’s very difficult for me to get up and move certain ways let alone exercise. I try to take walks, but there is pain on my thigh and groin areas that make it very difficult. There are days when I can walk better than others, so I try to make them count. I also have a hard time with movement with my arms. I really want to work out my flabby arms lol, but my underarms have really painful bumps and it’s so hard for me to move. I definitely can’t do pull ups or dips, but I can do small arm circles and sometimes even some dumbbell work. keeping it easy for now.
Mood: I have to be completely honest. I hate to admit it, but I have been in a bad mood a lot more often lately. A lot of it is definitely due to being in pain. However, I’m wondering if sometimes it’s because I don’t get to eat some of the foods I love to eat. I never really thought of it that way. I do get a little upset when it’s sort of rubbed in my face that I can’t eat certain things. I also feel bad sometimes when I can’t do things I normally love to do like go hiking or travel because sitting in the car for a long time is really painful for me. I get really frustrated a lot more easily.
Appetite: Sometimes I skip meals because I just don’t want to get up. 😦 Sometimes I can go without a meal and feel fine. I didn’t really track this before, but I think I was like this even before I started AIP. I just forget to eat or whatever, but when I do eat, I can eat a good amount. I definitely don’t overeat like I used to. I think that’s because I don’t eat certain dishes that I used to really love and overeat every time (spaghetti! I used to eat like 3-4 servings of that easy! omg)
Notable symptoms: Okay. My main concern is my HS. My HS bumps are the worst right now. Well, they’re all actually wide open weeping wounds. There is a lot of drainage. It’s painful. I have them in more areas at one time than ever before. I’ve gotten 3 new ones in the past 2 weeks. While this really worries me, I have been really encouraged by many people who have done AIP and have HS like me. Sometime that resonated most was that I’ve had HS for many years, so the detox phase taking this long makes a lot of sense. My body is getting rid of toxins that have been building up in me for a very long time. Not to mention all the damage done by all those antibiotics and other medications I’ve been on. Here’s a little section of the comments I received after posting how difficult it’s been and asking for encouragement / advice during this detox phase. I’m thankful for them!
Despite the pain that I’m in and even still getting new bumps on my body, I still have a lot of hope that I’m moving in the right direction and that this AIP diet will benefit me in the long run. I am seeing a little bit of progress in some areas, and that’s encouraging! I am going to stick to this and continue to pray for progress and long-term healing.
I have mostly been doing repeats of recipes I like and am comfortable cooking. I just wanted to post a quick update anyway. Most dishes are clickable links to recipes I used/adapted!
This is what meal prep has looked like the past two weeks – a movie and lots of chopping stuff. Jonathan and I have been in quarantine because we’re just being cautious about COVID, so I’ve been on my own. Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind and the makings of a dozen breakfast burritos and mango shrimp ceviche. I freeze the filling for the breakfast burritos so that in the morning I can easily just warm it up, warm up a tortilla, wrap it, and enjoy. Mornings are pretty rough for me, so having these ready for the days that I struggle have been really great. I miss eggs, but these are my favorite go-to breakfast lately, and the only one that kind of makes up for it. I can’t get enough of my go-to snack/sometimes meal – mango shrimp ceviche with cassava strips. It’s really tedious, but so good and refreshing! Just missing the cilantro in this photo.Another go-to meal that is super simple and easy to prep. I have a big bag of uncooked sweet potato fries in the freezer. I just pop ’em in the oven (with oil or some kind of fat + salt) while I cook my burger patty and cut up all the fixings: in this photo it’s a bunch of lettuce (I started putting a lot more lettuce recently), avocado, AIP-compliant bacon (no sugar, uncured), grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms. This meal hits the spot when I’m missing some of my fast food favorites. I don’t eat it with any sauce, but I’m not a very saucy person anyway. The avocade makes up for it to me anyway.I know I’ve posted this meal a few times already. It’s my favorite! Baked honey chicken. I also batch marinated/froze this (individual or double servings only). That way I just need to thaw it the night before and pop it in the oven while I make some mashed sweet potatoes and roasted asparagus. Yes, since starting AIP, this has become my #1 favorite meal both because of the flavor and how easy it is to prep!This is my attempt at an AIP beef and broccoli lo mein by Unbound Wellness. It was pretty good, but definitely no wear close to any Chinese food favorites. This is my attempt at an AIP-compliant California Club pizza. That’s my favorite pizza from CPK. This was actually really good despite the crust being kind of tough. Haha. I like thin crust, but this ended up being too thing and baked too hard. the toppings were so good though. Chicken, bacon, arugula, and avocado. I couldn’t include tomato (nightshade!). Instead of the mayo sauce, I used a caesar dressing that I made earlier that week. I’d try this again. Hopefully the crust will be better next time. When I made my pizza, my niece and boyfriend wanted pizza too, so they ended up making one themselves. Their pizza looked really good! I couldn’t eat anything on it, though. It was fun to watch them make it too. This one is from week 7 when I still had company.This was such a fail! It’s battered cod (crispy fried fish). I totally burnt the outside!. The flavor was good once I got past the burnt part. I had it with cauliflower rice (ugh not my favorite at all, but it’s the best rice substitute I could find) and broccoli (also not my favorite but I feel like it goes with most things). I really need to work on side dishes… and not burning my fish. I hope that when I reintroduce foods, I can successfully reintroduce white rice. I know it’s gluten free, but it’s on the list of possible triggers, so I have to do without it for now. Ugh.This is a shrimp stir fry with sweet potato noodles. I really liked this dish, and so did my family! I would try it again. It’s packed with veggies (I swear… it’s under there). Broccoli, carrots, cabbage. Beef stroganoff! I undercooked the pasta! I was multi-tasking (never a good idea for me), and I totally added the cream before before checking if the pasta was fully cooked. Ugh. That made it kind of an unpleasant texture, but the flavor was great! I will definitely try it again, but next time I am going to half the recipe (Haha! I’ve been eating this for 3 days already… I’m tired of it, but don’t want to waste it!) and definitely check the pasta before adding the cream.
I have also been working on a few other dishes, but I’m saving it for my next post. Stay tuned for my next post on AIP version of FILIPINO FOOD! 🙂
My family loves ice cream. They eat so much ice cream. There are some pretty good non-dairy ice creams out there nowadays, but still none that are AIP compliant. I decided to buy an ice cream machine so I could make some yummy 3-ingredient vanilla ice cream.
Another AIP-friendly dessert that caught my eye (and was easy… and I already had all the ingredients for…) was the apple crumble. Apple crumble a la mode!? Yes, please!
I meant to post this a lot sooner because it explains why I’m doing all this in the first place, but it took me a while. It took me a while to think back at all that I’ve experienced these past 17 years. It took even longer to try to get the words out clearly. It took even longer to try to type them through my tears.
I got my first abscess at 17. I remember it so well. It was Easter Sunday, and my sister and I had gone to the grocery store early in the morning to pick up a few more things that my mom needed to prepare lunch for the whole family. I had a bump in left groin area for a couple a days already, but I just didn’t say anything. I thought it might go away or something. That morning, though, it was really hurting. I’m pretty sure it got infected. It was so inflamed, that I was having a really hard time walking. I tried to play it off (I don’t know why I do that! I didn’t like going to the doctor!), but my sister noticed and asked me if I was okay. We ended up telling my mom, and the two of them took me to the ER. They took me in, and I had to get it lanced and drained. It was the most painful experience I’d ever had at that point. My mom held my hand the whole time, and I cried a lot. I’m pretty sure I even yelled a little bit, or like… whimpered or made some sort of loud pain noise. I didn’t know it then, but that was my first of over 25 incision & drainage (I&D) procedures. After that first abscess, I actually didn’t really get any that bad for a couple years. I got a few small bumps, but none that needed to be removed (or at least I didn’t think so). In my early 20s, I started getting them a little more often, some worse than others. Once, I asked a nurse practitioner if there was anything I could do to prevent from getting so many, and her response was, “Some people are just prone to it. It’s kind of like bad luck.” Seriously? Weren’t you trained NOT to say something like that to a patient? I remember leaving there so upset and feeling so hopeless. I knew a few people who had gotten an I&D before, but only one. I didn’t know of anyone else who had this problem (not that people would probably share that information). I really felt like something was wrong with me. I went online to search for some idea of why I would get so many. After digging pretty deep (it definitely wasn’t one of those popular/top Google searches at the time), I learned about a chronic skin disease called Hidradenitis Suppurative (HS). Back then it was listed as a “rare disease.” The pictures I saw of severe HS looked really disturbing. It made me feel even worse in some ways because I was thinking mine could become that severe someday. It made me feel a little better, though, just knowing that there was a name for it and the other people might have what I have too. I eventually found some online groups for people with HS, so I got a better idea of what others were experiencing. So many posts were frustrations about how doctors just don’t know a lot about it and how there is no cure. I basically self-diagnosed myself but was finally officially diagnosed by a dermatologist sometime in my mid 20’s.
On top of the feelings of hopelessness, I was definitely feeling ugly (like disgusted with myself), depressed, and just in so much pain all the time. I was not suicidal, but the thought that being dead would be a lot better than having HS definitely crossed my mind once or twice. Since it was hard to be active, I gained a lot of weight, which added to my low self-esteem. I just ended up not doing a lot some days. Yet, some days I tried to still live normally and pushed myself to do things despite the pain. Days like that usually followed with days depressed and in bed. Honestly, at that time of my life, I really learned to seek God more. I really learned more about people in the Bible who experienced difficult things but were used in pretty amazing ways to glorify God. Pain and hardship definitely build character. I think that's something anyone, Bible believers and not, would agree with. Knowing how much God can use this situation for good things, knowing that I'd be a very different person without it, and having a relationship with a good God who gives me peace that surpasses all understanding - these are some of the things that help me cope with and endure having HS. In the early years of HS, I did not tell anyone about it. No one. I hid it. I think I hid it pretty well. I tried to just act normal. At church, I think I was known to be someone who just didn't give hugs. Haha. They didn't know it was because hugs hurt me. I don't think I started telling people about HS until I was in my late 20s. I never realized how much it would help me to just talk about it. People were able to encourage me, pray for me, and understand me better. I can't believe it took me so long to learn that.
Over the years, I would get more and more boils on my skin. I would get more I&Ds. Each time I got an I&D, I had to come back to the nurses station to get my wound cleaned and repacked. They packed it with a gauze strip so that the wound wouldn’t close completely without first healing more from the inside first. That way there wouldn’t just be this open space/hole under my skin prone to bacteria. I would have to go every day following an I&D and then eventually every 2 days until the wound was fully healed. Some wounds took a couple weeks to heal. Some took over a month. During those times, I would make really good friends with my nurses because I’d see them every single day. I even made friends with the hospital security guards and receptionists at both hospitals (on weekends I had to go to the bigger hospital/urgent care because my smaller branch was closed). When I went to urgent care, there was one nurse I really dreaded seeing. She was so aggressive and I hated it. There was another nurse I really really loved to see! Her name is Regina. She was always so friendly and comforting, and I loved talking with her. I found out she had HS too (Stage 1, so not very severe), so it was nice that she understood me. Even if months or even a year had passed since the last time I saw her in urgent care, she would remember me. Once I bumped into her outside of the hospital, and she gave me a hug and we chatted for a while. I felt that she was such a caring nurse and she became my friend. The nurses I saw more often at the smaller office Monday through Friday were also really awesome. I feel like we all know each others’ life stories because of all the time I got to spend with them. One nurse, Donna, who would always take my vitals, would always comment on my dresses (that’s all I used to wear because pants hurt me). Another nurse, Soo yen, would research good dressings to use to help my wounds heal well. I think she would try to learn as much about HS as she could just on her own time because she saw me so much. Then there was Val. She was a homegirl. We would talk about her camping trips, her daughters, my travels. We found out we had a mutual friend. Who woulda thought that I’d become so close to a bunch of nurses?
There was one time when we had a party in the nurse station. That's definitely an interesting memory! I remember getting an abscess incised and packed on a Thursday. The nurse who re-packed me on Friday was very familiar with me and with the wounds I had. She had to re-pack two wounds at this time, one that I had for over a week already, and the new one I got on Thursday. That Friday night, a friend of mine named Brandon prayed over me. He put his hand over my left arm and prayed for healing. I believe in God's healing, but I never really thought much about miraculous immediate healing. (Although, I do have a couple friends who have shared personal testimonies involving miraculous healing). The next day (Saturday), I had to go to urgent care for repacking since the other place is closed on weekends. That nurse (Regina! My favorite!) looked at the wound and said, "Oh, this one looks pretty good! We don't need to pack it anymore! Let me just get a doctors approval." The doctor approved, and I didn't need to repack that wound. I've never gotten a doctor to approve that so quickly. The following Monday I went back to my regular nurse's office. When I told her what happened, she said, "No way. That was a big one! Are you sure? Are you sure it's not the other one that you've had for a while?" When I showed her and told her about what happened including my friend praying for me, she was in awe. She said, "That really was God because you and I both know how your wounds usually heal!" She was so excited that she called a couple of other nurses (who know me to) just to tell them. Suddenly there was a party full of nurses (and myself) praising God. It was a pretty cool feeling and a memory I will never forget.
I made countless trips to Kaiser during those times. I remember teaching in so much pain, struggling to reach high enough to write on the white board because of the wounds in my underarm, and then hurrying to get to the nurse station before they closed, then continuing to work at a coffee shop to grade and plan. I remember when I was in grad school having to squeeze in nurse visits every single day between classes or group meetings. I struggled with pain, fatigue, and brain fog all through grad school but was able to thrive. I always had to make time for my nurse visits. They were just part of my daily schedule. I always had to continue living life. I couldn’t just stop because of this. I really considered posting photos of my actual wounds on my skin. I’m not comfortable with that right now. Maybe in the future I will update this blog post with graphic photos. I think it might help people to understand the severity of this condition. I know seeing other people’s photos has helped me get through this. I think I just need a little more time to gain the courage to post them. In the meantime, enjoy this weird snapchat of me with a cute mask filter. I was also really into drawing things on Snapchat at the time. These are really weird. Don’t judge me. I sat in the waiting room a lot… My imagination takes me to weird places sometimes.
Like I said earlier, I was finally officially diagnosed by a dermatologist in my mid-20’s. I was put on long-term antibiotics. I don’t even remember if it helped, but I’m sure it ruined my body in other ways. A few years later, I started seeing a new dermatologist. She was a lot more familiar with HS and very well-respected in the dermatology field. She put me on another treatment that consisted of 2 medications (rifampin and clindamycin, if I recall correctly) for 3 months. That one actually helped me, but I didn’t feel great in other ways. I think I was cleared up for about 8-9 months after that treatment, but when it came back, it came back worse! Eventually I changed my health insurance because I wanted to see a doctor my friend recommended, Dr Rajsree Nambudripad. She is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Integrative/Holistic medicine. She is the first doctor I’ve seen who put me on a vitamin regimen and has talked to me about gut health. She is also the first who not only talked to me about eating healthy, but gave me a lot of helpful resources to guide me in what and what not to eat. I’m so happy to be under her care, and I know she will help me so much with my overall health and, in turn, my HS. This year, I also started seeing a new dermatologist who is really awesome, but due to some insurance reasons, I can no longer see her. It’s really unfortunate because I really enjoyed visiting her. The most helpful thing she did was introduce me to steroid shots which are injected directly into the abscess sites (and hurt so much!) to help decrease inflammation. I’m currently in search for a new dermatologist who is knowledgeable of HS.
Right now, I am focusing on the AIP elimination diet which is designed to both heal my gut/my skin and help me figure out what foods might trigger my HS flares so that way I know exactly what foods to really avoid in the future. Since (I think) I’m in the “detox” or “die-off” phase, I am in a tremendous amount of pain. This is probably the worst I’ve ever felt in 17 years. I have bumps in all the places I’ve ever had a bump, plus a few in brand new spots. I am not taking any NSaids or pain relievers. Some mornings I can’t even get out of bed. Some days I can hardly walk. Sometimes I’m really scared to stretch my arm out because I’m scared some part of my skin will pull or I’ll some bump that I have will get super aggravated. Showering takes me forever, followed by another forever of dressing my wounds. Simple things are so hard for me, and that’s so frustrated. The other day I cried just thinking about having to get into a car. I’ve learned to manage and endure pain over the years, and I’m hoping these next few months will go by quickly and I’ll experience healing soon.
I've been taking these turmeric "shots" (more like big gulps!) which are supposed to be anti-inflammatory. Turmeric and ACV are not very yummy together. Haha. I wish you could see my face when I down these. Oh wait. You can! =P
There’s so much more I can say about HS and how it has had an impact on my life. I’ll probably come back and edit this post once in a while. Living 17 years with HS is a lot to think about. I’m super hopeful for healing, and when I do feel better, I hope that my story with HS and my journey to healing encourages someone in some way.
I haven’t been keeping up with blogging each week! Well, meal prep has become pretty standards. Nothing amazing to update about that. I have gotten a little lax, but mainly because a lot of my “go-to” recipes are just much better when I do most of the prep the day of.
Just for the sake of tracking, here are my menus for week’s 5 and 6.
Week 5 (week of Thanksgiving)
Asian baked salmon (this was still frozen from a previous week). I didn’t really like this. I have one more in the freezer to finish and I won’t use that recipe again.
Ground beef stir fry with cauliflower rice
Baked chicken wings with sweet potato fries
Japchae
Shepherd’s pie (for Thanksgiving). It was okay. I totally forgot to take a picture!
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, we made apple crisp and ice cream! I made ice cream! I will have a separate post about that. 🙂
Week 6
Burgers (wrapped in lettuce with mushroom and avocado)
Chicken Caesar wraps. I found an AIP-friendly recipe for Caesar dressing. I didn’t prep it yet. I’m nervous about this haha. I also need to make cassava wraps from scratch so that I don’t eat the store-bought ones which contain yeast. (Yeast is an ingredient that is AIP-compliant, but people with HS say to eliminate yeast)
Steak & chimichurri with mashed sweet potato and roasted asparagus
Honey chicken (this is a repeat from week 1 that I really love. I have at least 4 servings in the freezer in case I want it in the next couple weeks)
Chicken pasta. I got a lot of chicken breast (organic/no antibiotics) from Costco, so I had to try to find more ways to use them.
I didn’t link most of these because they’re repeats. I think I’m getting lazy with my recipes. I also need more greens in my life.
Still chuggin’ along on this AIP diet! I’m in so much pain, but I’m very hopeful.
This might seem like kind of a weird one. For a few months now, I’ve had the worst flare in both of my underarms. It hurts really badly. There are multiple bumps and open sores in my underarms (both the arm pit area and my actually arm). The pain is so bad, that I can’t lift up my arms sometimes. I have gauze and tape all up in there because there is so much drainage. I can’t reach very far. Even small things like reaching for the kitchen light switch (lol ours has such a stupid placement), reaching up for a glass or bowl in a high cabinet, washing my hair, putting my hair up in a ponytail, making my bed, getting my laundry out of the machine, reaching to scratch my shoulder or back, hugging people… gosh, I don’t even know… just little everyday things. I can’t sometimes.
I love this picture. First of all, sunsets on the beach make me happy! That’s not the point, though. Seeing myself when I could just freely raise my arms up like that really motivates me to stick to this diet with hopes to get better! I can’t wait to be able to do that again!
For the past 2 weeks, Jonathan has been helping me prep and also prepping for himself. We have to prep completely separate meals since my restrictions are different from his, but it’s so fun to cook together! He’s counting his macros, so prepping and portioning out his meals is really helpful. We both are trying to be healthier, and it’s so much easier for me to invest so much time on a Saturday just to prep food since I get to spend all that time with him. I’m kind of jealous that he gets to use pepper and paprika, though. I want spicy food!
Maybe one day, this picture will be a good “before” picture for seeing progress.
This update is pretty delayed, but better late than never.
In terms of my wounds, some have healed up, but I also have new ones. The left side of my body is in so much pain, but the right side of my body is feeling a lot better. I can lift up my right arm and reach far with it.
Total number of bumps: 12, pain ranging from 1-6.
Total number of open wounds (flat): 4.
I really want everything to heal and close up already! I can’t remember the last time I was completely pain free. I think it might have been March or April.
Aside from my wounds, I’ve been tracking my energy level and weight. Since starting AIP, I’ve lost 9 pounds. I feel like I have more energy too. I used to experience so much fatigue. I still do a little bit, or at least I want to lay down more when I’m just in pain, but I’m still feeling a lot better now. I’d say my energy level was around a 3-4 before I started and now it’s probably around a 6-7 out of 10.
One last note: I submitted lab specimen for a gut microbiome test. My appointment to review the results with my doctor is January. I’m really curious about what the test results would even look like and what I can learn from it. I’ll do a blog post to update about that in January.
Mission: HS Remission 