I have been looking at going gluten-free because my primary physician (Dr Cush, my cousin) has been advising me to do so.
I have been reading a lot of information from PeerTrainer. I tried to get a group that included most of my family to try to lose wait back in 2008 using this site. That was a failure.
I have been reading about vegan and how it fights or can reverse diabetes.
Let me stop and list my illnesses:
Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Insulin dependent diabetes, Bipolar disorder, Deep Vein Thrombosis, loss of my private parts in an auto accident in 2005; the same accident resulted in 7 broken ribs, 2 broken scapula, broken clavicle, two c-vertebrae damaged and fused, broken femur with titanium rod insertion, frozen shoulders, hiatal hernia (repaired without mesh), have been 100 lbs r more over weight since 1995 tinnitus, blurry vision (distance/Myopia), Crohn's Disease, had three events of note in childhood, pyloric stenosis, broken left ulna (elbow), and a tick bite that left me paralyzed or something for a few days. I also was born pre-maturely and was jaundiced at birth. I am also color-blind.
Physically, I am a mess. Mentally, not much better. I currently am taking the following prescribed medications:
Remicade, Methotrexate, Prednisone; Apidra (insulin), Lantus (insulin), Metformin; Seroquel XR, Depakote ER, Klonopin; Warfarin; simvastain, Lovaza. I wear glasses for Myopia.
The Remicade is administered once every 8 weeks in Jacksonville; the Methotrexate once a week. the other drugs are daily.
I should mention something about my sex life. After the accident (2005), it was not a priority as there was significant damage in that area and there was so much else to deal with. I basically went 5 years without any activity, sexually or romantically. Since 2010, there has been more activity in that area, and more recently it has been more regular, even though the damage still exists.
Anyway, I pretty much spend my life eating. Everything, I enjoy good foods, bad foods. I (sometimes) restrict what I eat, but not as I should.
One disease, Psoriasis, controls my life. In November 2010, I was hospitalized with erythrodemic psoriasis. I had been out of work since the previous June. I lost my insurance. Supposedly through a combination of these and other factors, the psoriasis went crazy. The entire surface of my skin changed. No longer did I have scaly plaques, but my skin was bright red with some scaling. I was hospitalized for 5 days in Jacksonville, then boarded a plane to Dallas, where my cousin treated my illness. I took a weekly regimen of Humira and either cyclosporin or methotrexate. Slowly I improved. By about February I was well enough to travel back to Jacksonville. I no longer had a place to live, there, but visited a friend with the intent of helping her with some projects. Due to my poor attitude, we never really were able to get any of those projects done.
In the mean time, I secured medical coverage and started seeing all of my doctors in jacksonville. One sent me to a gastroenterologist who discovered that I had Crohn's disease. This specialist started treating me with a medicine that has been used for Crohn's since 1998, but then for Psoriatic Arthritis 2005. I started on this drug with limited success in 2007-2008, but almost full 'remission' in 2009-2010. The doctor was able to get approval for double the recommended dose and at a more frequent delivery (6 vs. 8 weeks).
Realizing that we were not going to fully tackle the tasks originally discussed, and my presence more of a burden in a family situation then a help, I returned to Dallas in November, with grand plans for saving and returning to a place of my own. Instead, I have spent even more then I took in during this time, securing loans at very high rates of interest.
So that is my starting point. I have lost my favorable drug coverage and my medicines are now unaffordable. I have stockpiled some medicines, I figure I can make it through April.
For Remicade, I currently have an appointment February 2; I hope to take my niece Makynzi to Disney as her pass will expire the following week.
That (kind of) brings us up to date...
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