Monday 29 August 2011

bring me sunshine...

In a much better place than my previous post! Not finished my kitchen yet...stopped beating myself up about it and got out and partied more! It was my birthday at the weekend, and was playing a gig at a wedding/festi style party on Saturday..had a great night and a lot of dancing (I found a hay bale to recline on whilst dancing to save my poor tired legs!). My birthday week had started with a gig at a friends party/ barbeque followed by a sunny outdoor jacuzzi with friends the next morning. I have to say now, outdoor jacuzzis in the sunshine should be a prescribed therapy for people with ms! it was pure bliss! I could have stayed in there until I dissolved clean away!
I also had a meal at the sushi bar with a group of friends...splendid stuff! loads I could eat - even my vegan friends seemed to be heartily catered for. I bit the bullet and tried some raw fish sushi - it was really nice. I'll be more adventurous next time...in fact me and my son have decided to take up the challenge of trying everything on the menu (within restrictions of my diet!)..these includes things with tentacles! eek! Every time we visit the sushi bar, we'll share the next thing on our menu tick-list (to avoid trying to woose out of the scarier ones!)
So basically I took my own advice and got out and got a life! I guess I needed a few weeks of cloistering just to get to grips with my life-changing programme that I'm embarking upon.
I think at this point I should just recap briefly what my programme is, as it's the most positive thing I've come across since diagnosis, and I am launching myself wholeheartedly into it..
these are the changes I've so far achieved...

diet:
* no red meat or dairy (including goat's milk etc)
* occasional bit of skinless chicken breast as a treat
* virtually no saturated fats, including coconut, palm oil and egg yolk
* only extra-virgin olive oil for cooking

supplements: 20 x 1000mg fish oil capsules, just over 5000IU vitamin D3 (13 capsules), and 1 capsule of Glucosamine capsule (can't remember the strength offhand)

exercise: I've been making a start with organised exercise - ridden my bike round the block (It's quite a big block, with hills!), gone swimming, danced, used my son's weights (little dumb bells) as well as doing the exercises given to me by the physiotherapist

meditation: I'm starting to get the hang of it, but not doing the prescribed amount yet even when I remember to do it

sun exposure - I'm supposed to have 1/2 hour full sun exposure on bare skin each day...I live in Wales! fat chance, so I'm overdosing on vit D as a replacement (avoiding the capsules that have added calcium)

....all I need to do now is throw myself into making these things a routine. It's hard going! The diet was my first objective, then supplementation...both of these are kinda sorted now - though re-learning to cook is an ongoing voyage of discovery all on it's own!...but I'm not beating myself up about how long it's taking me to make all the changes I'm committing myself to.

So..getting healthier, feeling much happier....I think I might possibly have had a little relapse - my left thigh was really burning for a couple of days, and my legs feel quite numb-skinned (can't feel pricking of self administered pointy thing). It could just be that I've been overdoing it, mixed with it being my period - seems pretty likely, but if it is the beginning of another relapse, then hopefully it'll be a little bit easier on my body now I'm super-charging my cells with all the right fuel - for the first time in my life!...we shall see, though I'm not really expecting to see any real benefit for at least 9 months- 1 year...it's a long-haul journey!


x