Appointments #1-11 (June through October, 2018) are here: https://www.msworld.org/forum/showth...49#post1514649
I decided that the thread was long enough, so I'd start a new one. Now that we're finished going through his initial packet of info and have moved to monthly visits, it seemed like a good time.
Appointment #12 was on Thursday, November 8.
I had a month between appointments this time. Dr. G had usually been trying to schedule them one week apart, although sometimes my schedule didn't allow for that. Other times, I chose to stretch it to two weeks, simply because I felt like I needed more than one week to make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes.
This time, Dr. G wanted to focus on what improvements I'd seen since my October visit. I'd reported a few minor improvements at my last visit. But, I'm not sure there were any additional improvements.
I blamed it on my choices. About 2 or 3 weeks ago, for the first time since July, I ate gluten. I acknowledge that it was a choice, and I could have avoided it. I just didn't want to. Casa Betania is a "sister church" to First Mennonite Church, where I attend. We share some activities, such as our Wednesday evening Church Family Night, which includes a meal and classes. And, we share a building. They used to meet in our basement during our worship service. When they outgrew that, they moved their worship time to 4:00 pm and now they meet in our sanctuary.
Anyways, on one Wednesday evening, it was Casa Betania turn to prepare and serve the meal. Our congregation always looks forward to that because they prepare absolutely awesome authentic Mexican food. And I had some.
I tried to be somewhat "good":
- I took a Food Enzyme before I went, to help my body digest it better.
- I chose to have mine without cheese, since I am also supposed to avoid dairy.
- And, I didn't have any dessert, since I am also supposed to avoid cane sugars.
But, after a day or two, I noticed that I was having more mobility issues and it didn't get back to normal for almost a week.
I was actually sort of glad that I had that experience. Although I'd seemed to be experiencing some minor improvements on this diet, I really still wasn't sure how important it might be. I can live with experiencing some short-term additional symptoms now and then, if I would choose to "cheat". But, it seemed like this also delayed my progress / healing.
Dr. G also had the same opinion. That it was OK that I'd experienced this because I had the opportunity to learn from it.
We also talked quite a bit about drinking water. We've been using a Brita pitcher for a few years already. And, after we purged our kitchen of a lot of plastics, we pour our filtered water into a glass or stainless steel container after it is filtered. But, during our conversation, we realized that we needed to look into whether our filter also filtered out the flouride in the water. And, it was a reminded to hubby to change the 20-year-old filter on the ice maker on the refrigerator.
So, this week, we ordered a different water filtering option that also filters out flouride. And, he ordered a replacement filter for the refrigerator. We should have done those things months ago, probably, when we were making lots of other changes.
To prepare for the next appointment, Dr G wants we to focus, again, on looking for improvements in my symptoms. Specifically:
- stamina, energy
- length of time that I can stand
- quad strength
- changes in use of cane
- naps
- balance
Dr. G thinks that I walk faster, now, than I did back in June and that I seem to rely less on the cane. Hubby and I aren't sure that's accurate, but, maybe it is. We live with my symptoms daily; Dr G might be more likely to notice changes when he observes me less frequently.
Next appointment: Monday, December 10
I decided that the thread was long enough, so I'd start a new one. Now that we're finished going through his initial packet of info and have moved to monthly visits, it seemed like a good time.
Appointment #12 was on Thursday, November 8.
I had a month between appointments this time. Dr. G had usually been trying to schedule them one week apart, although sometimes my schedule didn't allow for that. Other times, I chose to stretch it to two weeks, simply because I felt like I needed more than one week to make the necessary diet and lifestyle changes.
This time, Dr. G wanted to focus on what improvements I'd seen since my October visit. I'd reported a few minor improvements at my last visit. But, I'm not sure there were any additional improvements.
I blamed it on my choices. About 2 or 3 weeks ago, for the first time since July, I ate gluten. I acknowledge that it was a choice, and I could have avoided it. I just didn't want to. Casa Betania is a "sister church" to First Mennonite Church, where I attend. We share some activities, such as our Wednesday evening Church Family Night, which includes a meal and classes. And, we share a building. They used to meet in our basement during our worship service. When they outgrew that, they moved their worship time to 4:00 pm and now they meet in our sanctuary.
Anyways, on one Wednesday evening, it was Casa Betania turn to prepare and serve the meal. Our congregation always looks forward to that because they prepare absolutely awesome authentic Mexican food. And I had some.
I tried to be somewhat "good":
- I took a Food Enzyme before I went, to help my body digest it better.
- I chose to have mine without cheese, since I am also supposed to avoid dairy.
- And, I didn't have any dessert, since I am also supposed to avoid cane sugars.
But, after a day or two, I noticed that I was having more mobility issues and it didn't get back to normal for almost a week.
I was actually sort of glad that I had that experience. Although I'd seemed to be experiencing some minor improvements on this diet, I really still wasn't sure how important it might be. I can live with experiencing some short-term additional symptoms now and then, if I would choose to "cheat". But, it seemed like this also delayed my progress / healing.
Dr. G also had the same opinion. That it was OK that I'd experienced this because I had the opportunity to learn from it.
We also talked quite a bit about drinking water. We've been using a Brita pitcher for a few years already. And, after we purged our kitchen of a lot of plastics, we pour our filtered water into a glass or stainless steel container after it is filtered. But, during our conversation, we realized that we needed to look into whether our filter also filtered out the flouride in the water. And, it was a reminded to hubby to change the 20-year-old filter on the ice maker on the refrigerator.
So, this week, we ordered a different water filtering option that also filters out flouride. And, he ordered a replacement filter for the refrigerator. We should have done those things months ago, probably, when we were making lots of other changes.
To prepare for the next appointment, Dr G wants we to focus, again, on looking for improvements in my symptoms. Specifically:
- stamina, energy
- length of time that I can stand
- quad strength
- changes in use of cane
- naps
- balance
Dr. G thinks that I walk faster, now, than I did back in June and that I seem to rely less on the cane. Hubby and I aren't sure that's accurate, but, maybe it is. We live with my symptoms daily; Dr G might be more likely to notice changes when he observes me less frequently.
Next appointment: Monday, December 10
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