Overcoming the plague and Eat to Live

So I caught the plague.  Or as my doctor calls it, a severe chest cold.

It's taken almost three weeks for me to kick the cough and feel more like a human.  I'm finally feeling more functioning, less like my head is in a sickness induced fog.  So, I'm getting serious about getting uber healthy right now.

I'm two days into the 'Eat to Live' plan by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  I saw him on Dr. Oz a few weeks ago and ordered his book.  He specifically addresses the impact diet can have on autoimmune diseases and encourages a no animal products, no gluten, diet to help your immune system re-train and repair itself over time. So I'm trying his plan.

The first six weeks is really strict, mainly fruit and veggie diet, he encourages people to eat so much fruits and veggies that I haven't been hungry at all from not eating the dairy or grain I typically eat.  We'll see if that lasts after I start working out again.

Speaking of, with the plague I haven't worked out in almost three weeks.  I went to Hot Yoga on Sunday and it was really great to get back at it, but I'm a little anxious about my first run.  Going to attempt tonight.

How do you get back into a workout mode after sickness?

Stress? What stress?

So, I've had a rough couple of weeks. 

As I mentioned last post Molly is sick.  She has Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia, which means her immune system destroys her red blood cells.  Those are pretty important, they keep your body oxygenated.

So, Molly had a blood transfusion and is now on a mega-steroid dose to keep her levels in the (low) normal range.  We're working to manage the meds and the side effects and keep her healthy.  It's got Mems and I both on egg shells, but we're handling it as bet we can.

Also, my beautiful new car was hit by an asshole who left.  So I have to pay my deductible ($1,000) to get my car fixed. 

And my platelets are OK, not great, not good.  I'd been feeling pretty wiped from them like I get once a month.  Oh, and someone got into my Discover account and spent lots of money and I had to call and cancel it and get the fraud investigators going.

So I'm toast.  I have not been eating or working out like I was before this happened.  I'm trying to get back on track and get everything in my life under control.

I'm an uber Type A so all of this insanity is almost twice as bad for me.  I have this 3 day weekend now and I went to a barre class this morning and now I'm at home relaxing and trying to get things here organized while my dogs chill.

How do you deal with life stresses when it comes to diet and exercise?

For serious.

So we all know about my debilitating autoimmune disease. 

It drains on my energy, makes me bruise like a peach and inhibits my extracurricular activities.  It's a real bitch.

Speaking of bitches, you all know about my beloved dogs, Bella and Molly.

Turns out my Molly is sick... with a dibilitating auto-immune disease.

My immune system destroys my platelets. Molly's disease, Hemolytic Anemia, destroys her red blood cells.

She's weak, exhausted, her gums and tongue, inner ear and eye tissues are white instead of pink.  Her red blood cells were 1 million, they're supposed to be 6 million.

When I got diagnosed my platelets were 300, they're supposed to be 3 million.

Like mother, like daughter.

So, Molly is on steroids (which is also the recommended treatment for me, I refuse and try alternative means) if the steroids don't help she'll need a blood transfusion and possibly a splenectomy. 

It's still touch and go, her disease has a 40% mortality rate, so we're watching and waiting and babying the baby.

She's digging her scrambled egg dinners.