An update on my health, and an offering of excuse for my long silence… Back in December all of us at GreenLeaf were getting a bit overdone. We were feeling the stress of the holidays, the emotional impacts of the end of the year, and even feeling pressured by our dear GreenLeaf Kitchen. This is a passion project, so if fun isn’t being had, things gotta change.
We all agreed that some downtime would be good. A month away from GreenLeaf turned into the better part of a year. And here’s a bit of why…
In the summer of 2017 I started a new medication. While I fully believe that what I eat (my diete) is responsible for my surprisingly exceptional quality of life, I do take a disease-modifying medication. I take this medication in hopes of preventing or at least postponing the progression of my MS. But this new medication is a doozy. The best I can say is that I don’t tolerate the side effects well. I only have to get this med every six months, which is a plus. But after I get it I get three-plus months of debilitating fatigue, a big minus. But my MRI shows no disease progression, a definite plus.
So back in January, I got my second infusion of this medication. In the first couple of days after I got it, I was thinking that maybe I was doing better this go around. I was wiped out, but the stomach upset and the headaches weren’t as bad. I was optimistic I would be back to my old self soon. But I didn’t bounce back, I got worse. The fatigue was the hardest to deal with, and the slowest to recede. Then there was what I can only describe as growing pains, haven’t gotten those in years. The aforementioned, nearly constant, stomach ache and headache. Acne, which I have now learned is a flare-up of Rosacea, never knew I had that. The stinkiest farts. And the pièce de résistance, major depression.
I’m feeling much better now. I can actually make it through most days without having to take a nap. And I actually feel slightly optimistic about the future again. So while I have decided to, for now, stay the course with this med, I am trying to figure how to keep my life at the fun and fast pace I like, and keep at the delicious food.
