Counting my blessings

Just a quick update.
I actually think my feet are looking a little better.  My hand sometimes looks great but then after I shower/do dishes it goes back to looking inflammed. I am trying to stay off all of them as much as possible.

Kport78 from inspire.com suggest "Keith White Healing Psoriasis Naturally".  It is a 178 page pdf for free (but he is taking donations) that journals this person's journey with psoriasis and how he researched a lot.
I read it and what I like is I seem to be heading down the same path as him.  That is he started with Dr Pagano's book but felt something was missing.  He started to ready about Leaky Gut Syndrome, and also Ph Balance in the body.

I have been focused a lot on my Ph balance lately. I've read that it can take years of me eating a very alkaline diet before I am back to where I need to be. 

So I am counting my blessings that I am learning about the different aspects of health before I have something really seriously wrong with me.  As far as my GP is concerned, I am super healthly - blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, etc.  But metrics like Ph levels is still not considered by the medical community.

If you are reading this, and you have psoriasis, and you have not learned about Ph levels yet, I highly recommend you do so.

I will up load pictures later.
M

It is official, I have arthritis.

Today I went to the chiropractor to get my 7-8 vertebrae adjusted per Dr Pagano's suggestion.  My back had been bothering for a few weeks so I figured, why not.  In case you haven't read my earlier blogs, I have had hip pain and thumb pain before I started the diet, but that pain all went away.  My doctors thought the hip pain was bursitis or arthritis, but told me to get an x-ray to confirm.

I never got the x-ray because I didn't want to hear that I had arthritis. When the chiropractor suggested I get an x-ray today I resisted a bit but was talked in to it.  Lo and behold, he saw some bone spurs which is arthritis.  I do not think this is causing me the back pain.  My back and hips were all misaligned.  After he adjusted me I physically felt great but was still sad that I have been officially diagnosed with arthritis.

The good news is the Pagano diet also alleviates arthritis, but now I am more dedicated to the diet and I will continue to cut out all animal fat. The only thing I am allowing myself is the occasional yogurt.

The pics of my hand and feet don't look too different from yesterday - see for yourself. :) :(

Learning a lot... No real answers

I have read so much about diets and theories about what we eat,  why we should eat different things, and in which order that frankly I am beginning to get overwelmed.
I have bought so many nautural remedies: Vitamin D, Pro Biotics, Lecithin, Saffron tean, Slippery Elm, Spirulina, Omega-3, Colon Cleanse, flax seed oil, PH strips, glyerin, castor oil, dead sea salts, etc.

Wow, all of that easily ran me at least $300. All still cheaper than one tube of ointment that my derm perscribed a few months ago, but still.

Enough is enough! I really need to simplify.  I can see why people give up and just want to be told what to do. "Give me a pill for my ill." - It seems easy but if you are reading this blog you know the "easy way" just might make things worse.

I am not giving up but I am simplifying:
1. no meat except for fish 4 x a week.
2. raw food every day for at least 2 meals.
3. I am doing a 30 day Deep Cleanse. No one told me to do this but I think it makes sense to me.
4. Fruit in the mornings only on an empty stomach.
5. If I eat fish in a meal - then no grains or dairy for that meal.
6. Glycerin every chance I get - it is keeping the feet soft.
7. Omega-3 2000 units.
8. Probiotics 2x a day for the next 2 weeks.
9. no booze until I heal.
10. 1 cup of coffee a day with no cream
11. try to avoid gluten

I will stick with this and only this for 4 weeks and stop over thinking this.
Now for the pics:
The hand is the worse it has ever been, but I think it was because of the baking powder mix I put on it on Sunday.



The left foot looks worse than it feels.

The right foot looks like it is healing.

A quick post with pics

My feet and hands took a turn for the worse last weekend when I decided to do 3 hours worth of gardening. I spent most of Sunday with my feet propped up.  I used the baking soda and glycerin mixture that Pagano suggests.  It was too harsh for my hand but my feet didn't mind.

Today my feet are not in pain, in fact my right foot is looking a lot better.  The left foot looks pretty scary but at least it doesn't hurt.

I am sticking to the diet with no cheats.  I made the baked rainbow trout and sweet potato soup last night for the family.  We had it with a salad.  Hubby complains because it isn't our usual poison but he can always cook for himself if he hates it so bad.

Now for the pics:

Sunday Morning after the gardening

Monday Morning.

I actually think this is beginning to look like real skin!

Oops, I did it again

My hand and feet felt pretty good today, so what did I do? 3 hours of gardening. And guess what. My feet are bright red and so is my hand. And wait it gets better. My right hand now has an active plaque. This plaque has been dormant for a month. :(

Good news, no joint pain.
Good news, I planted fresh herbs and vegetables and had lots of fun with kids.
Good news, I stuck to my diet with slippery elm, lecithin, pro-biotics, and saffron tea.

I also has sushi today. I will look it up to make sure it isn't a no no. I did not have white rice at all.
I will post a picture of my feet in the morning, they always look better then.

I also remember someone saying the flare is worse between week 3 and 5 on the Pagano diet.
Tomorrow is a new day.
M

I started to pay for last nights blunder at 3am this morning

At 3AM this morning the sore on my hand got wet and hot and painful - I can't say itchy.
I rinsed it will cold water and the skin was thicker than it has been, ever.

This morning I looked at the package of salmon patties I got from Trader Joes.  The last ingredient - which I missed before, was paprika for coloring. That's right, I had a nice healthy dose of a night shade last night.

Today I will try to flush it from my system with lots of water.

My feet don't look too much worse -but definitely not any better.

I took 2 ibuprofin to take down the inflammation.

I will up load pics later - gotta run to work first.

Staying Stong - Trying not to Stress

It has been a couple of days since my last post. Honestly, I don't think my feet look much better.  I will keep posting the pics so you can see for yourself but I think they look the same.  However they don't hurt, and they don't itch but, I am still not ready to put on sneakers and do any sort of serious exercise.  I really do need to start getting exercise because it was a big part of my life before and I feel like my body aches when I don't exercise.  I am going to try to make it to my gym's pool 3 times a week starting tomorrow.  Hopefully the chlorine water won't hurt anything. :(

Since today I have been a vegatarian for 1 month, I decided to have a piece of fish.  I baked salmon burgers from Trader Joe's and boy, am I disappointed. It tasted like rubber.  I should have picked something different.

I also need to pick up my water consumption. I think I only had 1 glass today!  And my final indescrection today is I had a bunch of chocolate cookie crumbs that my daughter was baking for school.  The good news is they were gluten free.  I didn't think I missed processed foods but man! when that warm cookie hit my tongue I felt like I was home. :)

I need to get back on the horse and clean up my act.  Please send me some encouragement in the form of a post so I stay away from the bad stuff.

ok, now for the pics....

My daughter thinks they do look better - what do you think?

The Watch Pot Never Boils

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday so this will make up for the last 2 days.  Warning, the pics do not show much prgoress yet. But I am still going to plug away.  I reread a chapter in the Dr Pagano book on feet and hands.  He dedicates a special chapter to these areas because they are harder to cure because they get abused the most.  He lays out some topical treatments thank I haven't tried yet. I will try to start that today.

My joints still feel good. My feet do feel fine.  I am able to walk without pain - I think the glycerin has really helped the skin to stay soft. And they don't itch.. that much.  I have noticed between 2-3 AM my hand and feet itch a little.  Enough to wake me up but I am a light sleeper. Why do they itch at this time?

Theory #1: This time is roughly 7-8 hours after my last meal.  My dinner should be in my large intestine at this time - maybe that is where the leak is?

Theory #2: My body temperture goes up a little from being under the covers. When I take my feet and hand out of the covers the itching is immediatly alleviated.

I state these things in case any one is experiencing similar symptoms.

I also must confess to some small diet cheats:
1. Friday night I had a little sugar in a lime-ade smoothie that I made.  I made it for a friend who came over, and I didn't want to be anti-social.
2. Saturday - Monday I did have some dark (70%) chocolate for dessert. 
3. I ate about 25 almonds Monday - then I read on inspire that almonds are bad for psoratics.  According to Dr Pagano almonds are ok - but not 25 in one sitting.  He suggests 4.  That seems very hard to do.

I also read on Inspire that I need to stop fretting every food choice I make - as that will cause stress and possibly make things worse.  Even as I look at my list of "cheats" they do not look that bad.

Here are the photos for Monday:

And the photos for Tuesday:

Weekend Catch up

I am feeling very good. As you may have read already I have evolved my diet to be "raw until dinner" which means I don't eat anything that has been cooked until it is time for dinner.  Again, this goes beyond what Dr Pagano puts in his book, but the more I read the more I think I am embellishing on his same theory of diet being important.

In this book called "the detox raw diet" that I have been reading, they state the importance of putting enzymes back into your system via raw foods to aid in digestion.  Today I also bought some probiotics.  I have bought them in the past but I am lazy when it comes to taking pills so they have all expired by now.

Last weekend I spent on the couch, because my feet hurt too bad to walk.  This weekend I cleaned my house for 3 hours, then went to the mall with my kids, then whole foods, then cooked a wonderful dinner.

This morning I made the entire family fruit smoothies with apples, pears, bananas, blueberries, and almond milk.  I think my son is having his own "detox flare" with all of this healthy food.  He went to the bathroom and has major tummy issues. 

My joints are still pain free.  I mean, as good as new pain free, so I am very happy about that.  As far as my skin is concerned…
I think the photos do not do them justice.  My hand looks a lot flatter with some smooth skin trying to come out. I want to point out that I covered my hand with a bandage and gloves while I cleaned yesterday. 
I also feel like my feet feel way better than they look.  So I think I am on to something here.
One final thing: even with all of these veggies and fruits, I am still not eliminating every day.  So I need to figure that out because I think that is a source of the problem.

Saturday -quick update

Hi all,
I will update my post later with pics but I am too lazy to open my laptop right now. My patches seem better but frankly in the photo they seem the same. No itching and no joint pain. Feet still look diseased.

I ate well today and I had a small bite of salmon. I made it for my family and I couldn't resist. I feel like I over ate tonight but other than that bite of fish, all I had was steamed veggies and a grilled portebello mushroom. Everything was very tasty but I am not sure if I was supposed to stay away from balsamic vinegar or not.

I also need to step up the water consumption.
Later

Are you sick of getting advice from everyone?

My neighbor stopped by the other day when I had my feet propped up on a pillow dripping with Glycerin oil.

"Ah, you know I had the same thing, I just put a little lotion and it went away".
Oh why didn't I think of that?

My neighbor is easy to dismiss, but what happens when your doctor dismisses your get well plan of detoxing and following a diet.  Seriously, they can be down right insulting. They say things like, "well you can try it if it makes you feel better, but their is no proven link between diet and psoriasis."

At this point you have to tap into your own common sense. If you have rashes all over your body it must be coming from within, right? I trust in myself, in the other good folks on Inspire that all agree that their Psoriasis cleared up a lot after they cleaned up their diet.  But it took time and patience.

I do have a "new" symptom that I have had from time from time.  The reason I am mentioning it here is because I saw a few people mention it on line.  The corners of my mouth get sore. It has never been a big deal and it usually goes away in a few days, but I wonder if this is another form of the flare up.

My diet goal these days are morphing and my goal now is to be raw until dinner.
Today I had my Slippery Elm tea - black coffee as usual.
I  had a fruit smothie (mango season is here!) mango, pineapple, banana, apples and coco milk with my Lecithin.
I had a few apples during the day then some almonds.
For dinner I plan on making a veggie soup and I will have that with a sweet potato.

I have been using Glycerin religiously. I think it has prevented my skin from cracking but so far no clearing.

Now I have to call my Doctor because she refusing to run a leaky guy syndrome test on me. She left a message that said ,"I see no evidence that we need to run this test."  I think the Drs hands are tied because they can only order tests that the insurance ok, and the insurance and the pharms are in bed together so... it is no problem to order cortisone shots, or steroids, but ordering a test is not allowed.

So even though I have "great insurance" if I am interested in healing holistically, I am on my own.  That can be a scary thought, but I feel like I have the good people at inspire backing me up on this.
Thank you again!

Week 3 is Over. No joint pain but skin worse.

If you have been keeping up with my progress you can see that my skin is redder than it was than before I started.  Yet I remain hopeful that I am on the same track.

I keep looking at the discussions on Inspire and I notice a theme of people that are scared to take certain medications, or they can no longer take them because they are causing other issues.  One thing is for sure - I am not nervous at all about going down this road.  I know that, if nothing else, this diet has to be good for my body. That piece of mind helps me continue to be positive.

Yesterday I treated myself to a massage and a spinal adjustment (per the book's recommendation) and I took a dead sea salt bath for about 30 mins.
Today my skin still is red but I walked more than I have in the past 2 weeks.

Last night I also started this book called The Raw Food Detox and was blown away by the information in there. If what I am reading is true, no wonder my digestive system is messed up.

I don't want to overwhelm you but here are my top 2 take aways that I am going to start doing from now on. 

• Fruit and/or fruit smoothies ONLY for breakfast.  No mixing it with oatmeal.
• No Fruit after that.

This morning I had:

• half a cup of black coffee (honestly I am ready to cut this completely, but my hubby makes if for me every morning and I don't want to turn it down.)
• Slippery Elm Bark drink - yuck!
• Fruit Smoothie - 1 pair, 2 apples, 1 banana, and some pinapple + Lecithin.

I know Dr Pagano says not to mix apples - but I didn't read any of that in the Detox book so I am going to let that go a bit.  It seems to hocus pocus for me.

For lunch I had salad from my jobs salad bar with olive oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.
For dinner tonight I will have a sweet potato and perhaps some carrot soup that I can make in my Vitamix.  (I will put some some more Lecithin in it)

Of course tonight I plan on having my saffron tea.


I am seriously considering investing in a juicer too.

Please leave me comments to egg me on...

now the pics!


 Here are the pics in case you are curious....

 

I can't deny - this is a flare! (apr 10)

Every morning I pull back the covers and rip off my socks like it is Christmas morning, hoping for some sign of healing.  Every morning I have been able to tell myself, "yea, I can see something clearing," but not today.

My left hand (which had been close to dormant since before I started this diet), is completely flared. I can't deny it any longer.

My feet have gotten worse. My Faith started to waver and I snapped some pictures.  Today I went back on the inspire site and read what other people experienced on the Pagano diet.  My good buddy (albiet virtual) Jitterbug was at the end of her rope with a flare at week 3.  She is now at week 8  and has cleared a lot. 
Jitterbug if are reading this please send some pics!
They say that week 3-5 can be the worse when it comes to flaring perhaps because all of the veggies is helping the intestines loosen up and get rid of old toxins? Who knows but I know that this flare is because of the diet, not because of the lack of steroid creams.

By June I will be at the 3 month mark and I hope to have clear skin, and at this rate, I will be a size 4! You know what that means...
Shopping!!!! :)

I always take these pics first thing in the morning because I find that the plaques look different all day depending on how much they have been rubbed, washed, etc.  I think they look the best in the morning, so see for yourself.  I am flaring.  Any words of encouragement would be appreciated.

Today my diet will look exactly like yesterdays - but I am asking the good people at inspire to share some of their favorite recipies with me.

Not as hungry as I used to be

I noticed that I am not as hungry as I was before I started this diet. In the past people would always make fun of me because I was always hungry. I mean Angry Hungry! I would have breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, dessert, and not get fat but always have an edge of hunger I was keeping at bay.

I worried about starting this diet because I thought I needed meat to stay full.  And frankly for the first few days I never had that FULL feeling that I was used to and liked. Now I feel like I am never FULL, but never really hungry either.  Why is that?

Last night I didn't itch - not like the night before - so that is progress, right? But the skin doesn't look any better in my opinion. Jitterbug on Inspire put up her week 8 progress so I am so stoked that she is making progress on what seems pretty simple if you think about it.  Eat better. Clean system.  She is about 5 weeks ahead of me.

I will put up daily pics as much as possible, because if someone else tries it and does not see results at first, I want them to know that it is ok.  The before and after pictures in Pagano's book are great but I would have like to have known more about the daily progress.

Food today:
Morning
1 cup of black coffee
1 cup of Elm Bark water

Mid morning
Smothie (banana, coconut milk, pair, Lecithin)

All day at work,
Saffron tea
lemon water
2 apples

Lunch,
Quinoa and brown rice with a whole avacado
Spinach salad with lemon

Dinner
Sweet potato
Green salad

Before bed
More saffron tea
Yogurt with blueberries

No Rabbit ears yet.

I just got my Yelow American Safflower Tea

When I got home tonight there was a box waiting for me with my saffron tea. I think now I have everything to complete the recommended Pagano program.  If you are tuning in late here is what my daily regimen looks like:

• Morning:
• 2 teaspoons of slippery elm in a cup of room temp water
• 1 teaspoon of Lecithin 
• glycerin on rashes
• Evening
• 1 teaspoon of Lecithin
• gylcerin on rashes
• Dos
• Drink 64 oz of lemon water
• Donts
• meat
• alcohol
• gluten
• dairy
• nightshades

Gee it seems simple when you look at it but it took me a while to figure out what to eat with all of the don'ts.
Today I had 1 cup of black coffee
yogurt with blueberries and lechitin
water all day
For lunch - I packed a brown rice and Quiona mix that I made last night. I ate it cold today with a half of avacado - delicious!
I also snacked on raw almonds, apples, and carrots with hummus.
The guys at work teased me that I was going to start to grow bunny ears.

My hubby made gluten free ravioli. I felt like I should eat if to show him I was greatful he was supporting my diet but honestly I worried about the cheese in the raviolis. I had a few.

Last night my feet and hand itched again.  Only a little bit - not a big deal - but my rashes rarely itch.
Here are the pics!

The rashes do not look any better but at least I am not in pain.

Here is the silver lining - since being on this diet I have lost 5 lbs. That means I am a mere 2 pounds away from my goal weight.

Here is a pic of me looking skinny but wearing shoes that hide my little problem.



I am standing in the only full length mirror in the house - in my son's room which is a mess. :)

Slippery Elm and Glycerin to the rescue - 4/6

Today Amazon delivered my slippery elm and a big jug of vegatable glycerin that some folks at team inspire have been raving about.  I am still missing the Saffron tea, but I am drinking camomile instead.

I have to be honest.  I had some hip pain for the first time in over a week.  It was while I was sleeping.  By the time I got up it was gone and didn't bother me for the rest of the day - but it was there.
Can't lie.

I googled around and found a 6 part video of a Dr Pagano interview.  It renewed my faith in this system. Basically he said he likes to meet his patients (rather that just have them follow the book) because he is able to show him the proof. This is almost like a religion.

I will have faith that this sweet humble man knows the way to cure me. Check out the video.  He seems like he was a really nice guy sincerely interested in helping people. He has no ego.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WBP9Wkbl7k&noredirect=1

Last Colonic - for now 4/4

Today I did my 3rd and last colonic.
Fred thinks I should do them for another 2 weeks but I think I am cleaned out! I am supposed to be eating nothing but apples and fruit veggie drinks while doing this.  I tried - I honestly did. But I did have a salad and that soup last night!
I hope the colon gods forgive me.

Besides Dr Pagano didn't describe any of this in the book (well he did talk about an apple fast) but I am close.
The foot flare contines.

Sticking on the Program - April 3

My feet still seem to be flaring a bit.
But I am sticking with the program.
I still allow myself coffee with cream.
I keep having my oatmeal with shredded apple.
I had a veggie shake for dinner and lots of apples.
I have also been doing dead sea salt baths for the last 2 nights.

Keep the faith!

A Litle Flare up - 4/2

Ok, I read this might happen but my feet are turning red and I am getting some new bumps.
Even my hand that hasn't been active for a long time seems like it is waking up again.
Is this good news? Is the healing beginning or is this because I am not putting the ointment on.

Only time will tell.

Tonight I had a customer dinner - I selected an organic Thai resturant.  I got there early and talked to the staff about making sure I stayed gluten free. I got a veggie soup with no noddles. While everyone else had wine I was very happy with a fresh coconut that they served! Delicious!

Monday - colonic #2 - 4/1

Apparently these high colonics are supposed to be done in a series.
I have been hard core vegetarian, but I am still allowing coffee with cream.  All P spots seem stable.

Keep in mind I am not using any oitments.

The colonic went fine.  Fred was a little disappointed I didn't finish my herbs. He also gave me a back adjustment just like the book suggests.

Herbal Drinks and Kale Smoothies - 3/30

Today is Saturday so I had time to get my supplies.
At Whole foods I got the organics:
Kale
pinapple
apples
carrots

And some other junk:
Dead Sea Salts
Lecitin

I still can't find American Yellow Saffron tea or Slipper Elm Bark.  More recommendations from the good Dr Pagano.

Fred also gave me the nasty packets of herbs that I was supposoed to drink 4 times a day.  I just couldn't. I did about 2-3 a day but then started thinking I had no idea what was in those herbs and they were not part of the Pagano program so I rarely did them.

East meets West - March 29

At this point I have received and read Dr Pagano's book.

I had made an appointment with a rheumatologist per my GP's recommendation when I asked her if it was possible that Psoriasis and joint pain were linked.

It took a while to get this appointment and I actually thought of canceling it considering my hip feels better.  But I went because perhaps she can help me order some blood tests.

She offered me a cortisone shot for my pain.  I told her I really was no longer in pain, but wanted to know how to deal with Psoriasis that often comes linked with joint pain.  She handed me a brochure for Humira.  I told her I wasn't interested in more meds just yet as I was trying to change my diet.  But could she please order some blood tests so I can check:

·  heavy metals

·  ph levels

·  vitamins/mineral levels

·  iodine

She said she would order the kidney and liver tests but not the iodine or heavy metals because she wouldn't feel comfortable reading the results. I kept my cool but said the following:

"I understand and respect that, but why is it you have no problem offering prescription drugs with known side effects, but can't check a box for the lab to test, because you may not understand the results?"

With that she got defensive and said, "if you want to go the holistic way, that is your choice, but I can't help you."

Two hours later, I had an appointment with Fred Hsu for a high colonic, a procedure that Dr Pagano recommends to help clean out your toxins.  Trust me I was skeptical but after the brick wall I got with the rheumatologist, I figured if I am going to make this work, then I got to go all in.

So I got up on the table and hosed out my large intestine for about 40 minutes.  I've heard that people feel better, lighter, after a colonic.  For me I felt the same. Later that evening I started to get some mild headaches.

But if you are in the area I do recommend my colon guy. www.123healing.com

Fred, “the healer” has an amazing story about how he changed his life and his health around but following the "Gerson Diet". This is a diet designed for people with all sorts of life threatening diseases, especially cancer.  This struck a cord with me because I have a friend who is currently battling brain cancer.  The Gerson diet is like the Pagano diet on steroids!

Think raw vegan with coffee enemas.

If you look into this diet and surf the web you will find many testimonials from cancer patients that got well after western doctors sent them home to die.

There is a lot of conspiracy here. Western doctors are not allowed to practice this method, if they do they will have their license taken away.  Therefore there are many clinics on the other side of the Mexican border.

I couldn't help but see some truth in this after my own experience with my rheumatologist who dismissed me for wanting to go a more holistic approach.

Question: Do you think the American culture has become to dependant on the Pharmaceutical industry? Do you think we are addicted to a fix that is going to let us live the way we want to live? Garbage food, poor exercise, bad habits like drinking and smoking?

Oatmeal with shredded apple - Mar 28

I read on the back of the Quaker Oats box that they can not guarentee that it is gluten free.  For that reason I bought some glutten free oatmeal from trader joes.
Today I shredded a whole apple in the oatmeal and added cinnamon.  Wouldn't you know it - you don't need sugar.  By the way - I am a freak about going organic now.

After work I also went to a Chinese resturant for take out. I ordered lots of veggies with GLUTEN free soy sauce.  I don't think they were organic though.

Still drinking my water - hip still good.  Feet the same.

Look Ma no Hip Pain! (Mar 26)

As of today I have not had any meat or alcohol for 8 days.  I have been drinking my water. I stopped my Vertical ointment.  My feet look the same, but my hip does not hurt.

I know I haven't mentioned it much but my hip was often sore when I got up from a sitting position, but after a few steps the ache would go away.

I don't know how the hip would do during a hard work out because I have been unable to really pound out a workout with my feet being raw at the bottom.

In other news, I bought some parsnips for the first time in my life and steamed them with snow peas, and kale and served it to the family with minimal complaints.  I also made more brown rice with lentils.
Of couse the family had to get a side of meat - today it was chicken breasts.

I took an epson salt bath and used some olive oil on the bottom of my feet. No meds though.

A little more personal progress - Mar 25

Today I did NOT put brown sugar in my oatmeal.  Instead I put blueberries and honey.
feet look the same.
the rest of my diet is the same.

Food is getting boring - Mar 24

Today I had greek yogurt. This is controversal.  Some say stay away from dairy, others say you need the pro-biotics.  Some say full fat, other say low fat.  Dr Pagano says low fat but let's just say the jury is out.  I ate it because I am running out of things that I think are safe.
I also had a banana, brown rice with lentils, and 64 oz of lemon water.
no green veggie. :(
feet no worse. no better either.

Weekend - Seeds of Change (Mar 23)

I am at that point that I know there are so many things I can't eat that I am simply not eating.  This wont work because I have 2 kids that still expect to get fed.  Trust me, they won't like what I am supposed to eat so things get tricky.
I found this packet of brown rice with Quiona (something that the health nuts are always raving about.)
The brand is called Seeds of Change.  It looks like Dr Pagano would approve of all ingredients.  Better yet, all you have to do is put it in the microwave for 2 minutes.

I ate that for lunch with half an avacado. My daughter loved it. My son ate left over pizza.
For dinner I made a glutten free pasta (which I learned may have potato in it) with olives.

Still no dark green leafy thingy made it to my plate yet.  But I did drink water.

And I am not doing my ointments anymore so that has to count for something.
all rashes are stable.

Still eating nightshades to make hubby happy (Mar 22)

Right now my rashes look calm. I feel awsome that I made it through a week as a vegetarian. Every morning I rip off my socks to see the progress. None really, but at least nothing new.
Today I decide to stop with the meds.  I am really buying into this holistic health kick that I think I can do without it.  From now on it will be lotion.

My diet looks the same as the day before. I still get my coffee fix, and I need to finish up that pot of curry veggies that have the white potatos.

But I still get my water down.  I do not have any fresh raw veggies, but I do order a cooked veggie platter at work.

As an extra personal victory I attended a "Jewelry Party" in my neighborhood. You know the type where a lady has her friends over, serves some wine and cheese and we get sold to by some gaudy sales lady. 

I showed up late because I was returning from basketball practice with my son.  By the time I got there the party was in fool swing with everyone at least 2-3 glasses of wine in. Great - I am not drinking.  I had to explain to the hostess that I was on a special diet to take care of psoriasis on my feet.  She insisted I take my shoes off to show her how bad it was in the middle of the party.  Then she looked at it and said, "oh that's not that bad, I have that all over my arms and hands.  It will go away this summer."
Then she showed me her arms and skin and honestly it looked a lot worse than mine.
Remember Rule #4? Don't let things get so bad that they are hard to fix.  listen to your body.

I left after only an hour.  I had some sparkling water - bad I found out later that is very acidic. I had none of her cheese, chocolates, knishes, strawberries, etc.  I had to turn and burn when I saw a bottle of 2005 Silver Oak Cab getting ready to be corked.  I am only flesh and blood, I don't know if I could have resisted that!

Beware of yellow curry potatos - March 21

At this point I still don't have my book yet.

I am really trying to do better but this where your willingness needs to be matched with some knowledge. My loving husband knew I was trying to stay away from meat so he made me a yellow curry coconut veggie stew. It was delicious but unfortunately it had a lot of cream and WHITE POTATOS!! I had to eat it - he made it for me! So I did.

All this time I have to say my feet are about the same.  I have no new spots.  I also have an old spot that is pretty much gone on my right hand.  And I have a more active (but not that active spot) on my right hand. In the past I also had a plaque or 2 on my scalp but here is the weird thing.  I never itch!

I know many P sufferers out there have it a lot worse than me.  They talk about being covered, in pain, itchy like crazy.  I think this is another reason my doctors were useless to me - my case wasn't serious enough for them to really pay attention.  Perhaps they saw me as a complainer.

Lesson #5: Don't wait for things to get worse before you fix them now.

My doctors (I won't speak for all) didn't really care about preventative care.  They would all end my appointment with, come back if it gets worse. Hhhmm.

I am hoping that holistic healers (never met one yet) look at everything and don't wait for it to get worse before they try to fix it.  I think our bodies are trying to tell us things, but we need to listen.

I am still drinking coffee with cream. I am still putting brown sugar in my oatmeal. And I am still drinking my 8 glasses of lemon water. I still do these things because it is old habits that I haven't broken yet.  Cold turkey is not for everyone, but little by little I am making changes.

Finally a green salad - March 20th

Because we were taught not to waste food I had to polish off my night shade lasagna today.

But I am not going to beat myself up – it is a journey, right?

Breakfast:

Bagel with avocado and cream cheese – Pagano would say yes to 1/3 of this meal. ;)

2 coffees with cream – still!

Veggie –Gluten Free Lasagna. (Last time – I swear!)

Rice with asparagus (over cooked again!)

Spinach salad

1 costco multi vitamin

64 oz lemon water. (that is water with 1 lemon squeezed into it)

Still taking my $800 ointment

Still not started completely - March 19th

I am writing this entry 2 weeks after it happened.  I thought why bother? But I think it is important because sometimes people think they are on a diet, but when you really look at what they are eating it is laughable. 

BTW, I am not overweight. I am 5'8" at about 145 lbs.  I often look at people who are morbidly

obese and wonder how they got that way.  A couple of months ago I read a book called “Half Assed” that helped me answer that question.  It is about a women that lost about 200 lbs. by following basic dieting principals. Less food, the right food, and exercise. Period.  She also blogged to keep herself on track.  See: http://halfassedbook.com/

Jennette Fulda, if you ever do read my blog I just want to let you know that you helped educate me about how a person’s “lack of awareness” can turn into a big problem.  We need something to shock us into change.  For you it was probably surgery.  For me it is these rashes on my feet that are preventing me from doing the things I love.

I thought I was eating healthy. Even these early days of me being on the Pagano diet shows that I was a bit off.

Breakfast:

• Quaker oats with brown sugar
• 2 coffees with cream
• Veggie –Gluten Free Lasagna. A big no no because it was loaded with nightshades (peppers, tomato sauce)
• 1 costco multi vitamin
• Yam
• Overcooked brussel sprouts – see I’m health ;)
• I did manage to choke down 64 oz of lemon water
• Still taking my $800 ointment

Monday March 18 - still on a rough start

I learned that Dr Pagano died a few months ago. I still don't have his book yet (waiting for Amazon to deliver) butI know I should cut out red meat. Here is what I ate:
2 cups of coffee with cream - this will be tough to give up
Indian curry veggie lunch
For dinner I had egg noodles and Veggies
1/2 a glass of wine - I had to finish the botlle, right?
1 beer (that half glass of wine wasn't going to cut it)
I also drank 4-6 glasses of lemon water.

I still used my Vertical Meds (you know the $800 tube!)

First Day, Kinda (March 17)

It is a Sunday, before I got the book and I decided to start eating better. What does that mean?

I had my usually 2 cups of coffee with cream. (coffee is ok with Pagano,  but not with cream)

I had 1 glass of red wine (instead of my usual 2+ ;)

Lamb and burssel sprouts.

In the morning I also had pancakes, with crappy Aunt Jemima Syrup.

I was still using my $800 meds.

My feet were red but not peeling.

Why now, why Dr Pagano?

Hi All!
My name is Michele.  I decided to start a log to track my progress on healing my Psoriais, (P).

As a quick background, as a child I always had flare ups with dry skin patches.  We never had it diagnosed properly and we tried all kinds of crazy home remedies.  I found that it would flare up in the winter and go away in the summer.

Then when I moved away to college I had a doctor it was eczema and I should treat it with lotion. Guess what? That worked great for me for the next 20 years! Every time I had a patch I would put on some lotion for a few weeks and it would go away.

But about a year ago I got the most stubborn patches on my feet. I tried hundreds of dollars worth of different types of lotions. Burt’s Bees, Neutrogena, Lubriderm, olive oil, fancy organic stuff from whole foods, etc. 

Finally I broke down and asked my derm what he thought.  He took a biopsy and determined it was not fungus so he gave me a steroid lotion to treat for eczema.  Even though I used it faithfully the spot didn't really budge.  In fact it started to grow.

My foot August 2012

I got a new derm and she prescribed more steroids. I tried that for the next 3 months. No help.
:( Maybe worse.

My foot in Nov 2012

By Feb 2013.  She finally took a biopsy and sent it to the lab.  At the same time she sent me to the allergist to do a 70 chemical patch test - which I came back positive for 7 things. By the end of the week the lab also came back with Psoriasis as my diagnosis.

By the end of the week I removed all suspect products from my house and changed them for items on the approved list. This included laundry detergent, fabric softener, shampoos/conditioners, no perfume, new deodorant, new lotions, body soaps, new house hold cleaners, you get the idea.
I also started a new prescription called Vectical which was $800! Thankfully my insurance covered most of it but I just want to point out:
Lesson #1:  there is some big money to be made in pharmaceuticals that don't cure you.

Ever stop and wonder why there is no "Money Back Guarantee in pharmaceuticals, just a list of other side effects you may get.  And for some reason we accept this.

Around this same time I started to get some pain in my hip.  I went to my GP and she diagnosed me with bursitis with just an in office visit. It wasn't until months later that I put psoriasis and arthritis together and all of the doctors that I have seen are in the same network and see all of my charts but none of them made the link for me. 
Lesson #2: you are in charge of your own health!

Mind you I am pretty active; I work full time, have kids, and work out about 3-5 times a week.  Hip pain and eczema on my feet causes a big lifestyle change for me. One that I was not ready to make.

Enough is enough.  I kept my foot ointments in a box under my bed and every night and morning I would slather it on with no help.  My GP had me taking prescription pain killers for my hip, which was causing stomach aches.  I had to do something different.

I found a book on by Doctor John Pagano who promised a Natural alternative to healing Psoriasis.

I read a lot about the book on line along with testimonials and I thought I should give it a try.  I bought the book and pretty much finished it in 2 days.

Lesson #3: When people are interested and motivated, nothing can stop them.

On March 17th I started with the Pagano diet.  I say started because there are many components and it is hard to do everything on the first day. 

I started a personal log so I could track what seemed to be working and what didn't.

I found a bunch of great people on the inspire website. I found a few that were starting the diet, a few that swore by it, and a few that said diet didn't help them.  But mostly on inspire I saw people struggling with the different meds, the side effects, and their deteriorating health.

Almost 3 weeks into the Pagano regimen, I decided to start a public blog to keep me motivated with this Pagano Diet, and to also help inspire others to keep up with their health regimens so they know exactly what it is like.  Ideally, I will get some followers that can hold me accountable.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope this helps you in some way.