Sweetmeats

This evening, it occurred to me that if I were to lay out the names of my different medications - plaquenil, naproxen, methylprednisolone, xanax, hydrocodone, methotrexate, zithromax - on the Scrabulous board, I would end up with one hell of a word score.

I can't wait to be off this stuff. Well, except for the vicodin and the xanax. I'll keep those in my bag, just in case.

After almost a week down with a terribly nasty summer flu, I'm finally feeling a little better. And I have to say that it was awfully nice to be just sick, like a normal person, instead of feeling chronically crappy. The new diet is really working some miracles and marvels - and I feel like I am finally emerging from the mitzrayim (no, that's not another medication!) - the narrow place - of pain and emerging into a much healthier way of life - one where I am not in constant, agonizing pain every single day.

But here's something strange: since I eliminated two foods from my diet, I have almost no RA symptoms. Since I gave up sugar (in all its evil forms and with all its empty promises) and red meat, I no longer have any inflammation in my joints, my ankles have been restored to their natural state of girlish slender boniness (yay for pretty ankles!) and a heck of a lot of bloat is gone from my knees, elbows, and face.

I didn't give up red meat on purpose. I just stopped eating it because it's high in points, and why bother when you can have a turkey burger? Sugar, of course, was told to hit the trail about six weeks ago. I'm not really missing it anymore. I've got sugar-free Popsicles (dee-lish and points-free) and sugar-free Jello, so when the sugarbeast hits, I've got the weaponry at hand. But meat - well, that's kind of weird. I always figured it was benign, and since I am kind of anemic, a dietary necessity. Then again, there are leafy greens and peanut butter and spanakopita, if I really need to boot up the iron. (Why do I always hear echoes of those old Geritol commericals when I think about iron? Know what would be interesting? A Viagra-Geritol combination drug. Throw in some Lipitor and you'd be all set. Pfizer, are you listening?)

So, being sick this time around was interesting, if for no other reason that it gave me the chance to be...sick...? And actually, it also made me see how well I reallly am doing.