Testing, Testing

General
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For some time I’ve been having more pain than I’m used to and it seems like it’s probably due primarily to enthesitis. I’m beginning to realise that my very lucky run on Humira might have run out and also to reassess how effectively I’m doing my bit to manage the disease.

The way I see it there are 3 possible causes:

  • Humira may be failing

  • Humira may still be doing a good enough job but I’m having a
    flare (knees are starting to swell, fatigue’s worse etc.)

  • widespread enthesitis may be a new symptom and one that
    biologics don’t help with (tntlamb I hope you’re wrong about this,
    though you usually aren’t)

For starters I’m trying to do more exercise. This morning I walked a bit further along the beach and a bit faster. Then I ran 60 paces. I was a lousy runner even before PsA and the dog who is allegedly on her last legs was faster but I’m used to humiliation. Next week I’ll aim for 70 paces a day and so on. Felt great.

Next stop supermarket. Lost the will to live but that’s quite normal, not a PsA symptom. On my way out I wolfed down half a big bar of chocolate 'cos I wanted it. Wowzer - neck, shoulder, back & chest pain almost immediately.

So I’m now my own guinea pig. One choc (sugar?) / pain association was interesting but I will have to repeat the experiment quite a few times. It’s tough work but somebody’s got to do it.

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I wish i could give you a reply as awesome as you give me… even when your posting about your pain you make me chuckle (yes testing chocolate is very important!)

I really hope you can get this under control and that it’s not the humira stopping being effective!

Gentle hug!

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Hi Sybil… All I know is that it really affects me… Gluten and sugar are inflammation triggers… I think it gives your body so much more support to be free of these foods…

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Sybil Sybil. (Shaking head with grin on face…) I’m so sorry this is happening to you, and I haven’t a clue, but you sure write great posts. That, my friend, has to be one of your best.

I hope it’s a flare and it goes away soon. Only Sybil could flare with such flair.

:heart_eyes:

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Well to continue the compliment theme, I think you’re an absolute breath of fresh air Cynthia.

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I ate very little sugar up until last Christmas. Since then I’ve gone overboard on the ‘little bit of what you fancy …’ line. I’ve probably got complacent on quite a few fronts.

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I did the same… I ate one gluten free cupcake and was sick for two days… It’s amazing when your body isn’t use to it…

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At the beginning of this thrilling journey things were simple. Awful but simple. I was very ill, I started meds, I got loads better. But I’m thinking that things are getting more complicated as time goes by, nowhere near back to square one but more complex. Age is probably in the mix, yawn.

I really do need to get a bit clearer about what’s going on and what helps or doesn’t help.

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Steady … I’m a food elimination virgin. The cup cake story scares me! But I will try the sugar blast again a few times while minimising it in between.

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Let me help with th chocolate mystery especially the difference between cup cakes and brownies (I am expert in brownies)

Was it good chocolate bar or a cheap chocolate bar? Good chocolate bars (70%+ use cocoa butter. Cheap chocolate bars such as Hersheys have gone to vegetable oil A LOT of vegetable oil and not good vegetable oil at that.

Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are used to make substances called eicosanoids in the body.

These are modified fatty acids that sit in the cell membranes.

There, they play a crucial role in bodily functions like cellular messaging, immunity and inflammation.

If you’ve ever taken aspirin or ibuprofen and noticed relief from headache or some kind of pain, then that’s because these drugs inhibit the eicosanoid pathways and reduce inflammation…

Generally speaking, eicosanoids made from Omega-6s are pro-inflammatory (like you find in milk chocolate and cheap chocolate), while those made from Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory

These different fatty acids compete with each other. The more Omega-6 you have, the more Omega-3 you need. The less Omega-6 you have, the less Omega-3 you need .

Having high Omega-6 AND low Omega-3 is a recipe for disaster, and the reaction can be immediate. As much as 50% of a cheap chocolate bar is Omega-6 oil. You might just as well swallow a couple of Tablespoons of vegetable oil

Put simply, a diet that is high in Omega-6 but low in Omega-3 contributes to inflammation. A diet that has balanced amounts of both Omega-6 and Omega-3 reduces inflammation

Foods High in Omega 3 Fatty Acids include flaxseed oil, fish oil, chia seeds, walnuts, fish roe (eggs), fatty fish, seafood, soybeans, and spinach. So the answer is High quality chocolate probably isn’t a problem the cheap stuff is

What you really need is caviar… Cupcakes are bad (especially those made from a mix) as most mixes ask foe vegetable oil. Brownies (especially cream cheese brownies) are good. If you add walnuts they are even better, Alice B Tokley Brownies are good too.

If YOU MUST go to cupcakes, breakfast is best based on recent research and published in the incontrovertible Journal known as FaceBook we find this: http://tipsforhome.net/health-tips/science-shows-eating-chocolate-cake-breakfast-good-brain-waistline/?utm_source=shrd

Keep up your research. As much as it pains me to say, it has been estimated than no less than 99% of all science has been disproven

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It was very good chocolate. Ingredients: Raw cane sugar, whole milk powder, chopped roasted almonds(20%), cocoa mass, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), vanilla extract. No oil that I can see though I don’t know what an emulsifier is. Looks like further experimentation with that particular chocolate is a bit pointless. I’d probably do better to note what happens after all the desserts I’m putting away at the moment.

I think I might be on the money with my basic diet, though not quite enough for caviar. I’m aware of the Omega 6 v. Omega 3 thing & fortunately both me & my husband like oily fish, seafood, nuts, spinach etc. etc. so it’s not a problem.

I’ve taken very few aspirin or ibuprofen / nurofen. I was wary before PsA partly because I thought I could get addicted to them. I know they’re not meant to be addictive but I used to find that one nurofen would make me really very chilled and content.

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It’s any sugar I hate to say…

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Thank the heavens we have you Sybil! Sad you need to do the experiment but glad I can benefit from the results. Although it’s hard to work out which way i want the experiment to go…there are not many vices left on the list haha

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Back in the '70s my Mum did drink a couple of dessert spoons of sunflower oil a day. Her doctors recommended it for her MS. At the time, if I recall, the thinking was that vegetable oil was beneficial.

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Indeed, what about the sugar? I guess we already know it’s a pretty useless foodstuff though and best avoided or reduced for all sorts of reasons. Is it actually inflammation producing? Bet it is.

But the reminder about Omega 6 and Omega 3 ratios is interesting because it helps explain why some foods, and almost all junk foods, can really pack a punch for us inflammatory types.

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Tell me about it!

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I remember that… I also remember when sugar (not in excess) was also good for you as it was (and still is) the only source of “energy” for your cells. In fact all foods are converted to sugar. Thats in part what the whole glycemic index thing is about… Too much of anything is bad for you.

My wife loves food fads (lots of new recipes. But really Chia seeds sprinkled on my eggs? Thank goodness for bacon to get rid of the taste.

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Lol! When my eldest son was very little we lived right up close to a busy street and I panicked about the lead-filled petrol fumes and heard that garlic could help. So I crushed up a few cloves and put them in his cocoa. He’s still bitter.

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As would the cocoa have been!

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Did you really think he wouldn’t notice? :joy:

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