Day 1

It has begun!  I've made it through the first day.  I am still alive, but have realized I need to clean out my pantry and do some shopping!  Everything in my house seems to contain wheat or dairy!  I managed to make some granola bars from gluten free oats, peanut butter, brown rice syrup, peanuts, and chocolate chips.  I ate one of those with some grapes for breakfast.  Not to shabby!

Lunch was a little tougher.  With two small kids at home, whose favorite foods include things like sandwiches, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, and pizza, I was a little stumped.  I thought to myself, I need to make some grilled nuggets and keep them on hand.  But, since I was limited for time today, I bought some pre-grilled chicken breasts from Costco.  Obviously, not the best choice for health nuts, but it will do for today.  I cut them into strips for the kids and ate one myself along with some frozen veggies and some fresh plums.  Did I mention I need to go to the store?

I can tell my family likes what I've prepared for dinner when I have a few seconds of silence, sweet silence.  If dinner is always as good as it was tonight, I can do this no wheat thing!  We had pork tenderloin with plum chutney, rosemary roasted potatoes, and asparagus.  MMMMM I didn't miss the wheat at all, at lest not at dinner time!  And I did it!  I made it through the first day!  I'm off to bed, hopefully tomorrow will be a breeze! 

What am I doing? I can't do this!

It's 10:47 p.m., on July 30th, and I am sitting at my computer stuffing a rather large slice of toasted banana bread slathered with peanut butter into my mouth, a tear almost streaming down my face. Tomorrow is the day.  August first is the beginning of my 30 days without wheat challenge.   This is my very last piece of bread....

Why?  The short story is that I have Psoriatic Arthritis, I've been doing well (thanks to modern medicine) until recently.  I'm willing to try a diet change to hopefully prevent additional potentially damaging medicines, and Wheat is a known dietary trigger

Here is the longer version: Don't worry if you have no clue what Psoriatic Arthritis is.  No one does, or at least, no one did until Phil Mickelson started peddling Enbrel on television.  But, if you're not an avid golf fan, you're probably very confused by now.  Psoriatic Arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints.  It causes a lot of pain and damage.  It is similar, though not identical to Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Plus, most people with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) are generally also blessed with the autoimmune skin disease Psoriasis.

What does PsA have to do with Wheat?  To be honest, I don't know!  I'm not a doctor, I'm just searching for something to make me feel better.  Recently, one of my dearest friends (who is a doctor) starting talking to me about wheat and inflammation, and how the strain of wheat we use today is different from our "original" wheats and how it affects our bodies differently (I'll post links that can explain this much better than I can).  I did a lot of reading about wheat and inflammation, and specifically wheat and PsA.  Here is what I've learned: there is a significant percentage of people with Psoriasis who also have Celiac Disease.  They (the scientists who study this stuff) don't yet know if Celiac can cause psoriasis, if psoriasis can case celiac, if wheat consumption can trigger psoriasis, or if it is just a coincidence.  Celiac is a gluten allergy, but there are varying levels of gluten and wheat intolerances that haven't been studied well.  It is possible that these allergies or intolerances can cause an immune reaction in the body, triggering autoimmune diseases to flare.

I'm currently taking a drug called Humira (similar to Phil Mickelson's Enbrel), it's a biologic, it can cause serious side effects, and is a generally scary drug.  Humira has been a miracle drug for me though.  When I was first diagnosed I could hardly walk, I had a hard time stirring bowls of food, and was generally miserable. I had always been athletic, but the thought of walking through a grocery store or around the zoo with my kids, filled me with dread. My doctors told me I'd never be able to run again.  After Humira I competed in my first triathlon!  I run regularly.  I've been training for a half marathon.  I've been doing phenomenally well.  At least, I was.  That is, until the last couple of weeks.  It has come out of no where.  I feel awful!  Not as bad as before I was diagnosed, but significantly worse.  I don't want this! Therefore, I've come up with this plan!  I am trying two things. I'm eliminating Wheat and Dairy.   Wheat and Dairy have been suggested as the two largest dietary triggers for autoimmune arthritis.  My hope is that these dietary changes will be enough to end this flare, and allow me to continue living a normal life.

Why is this a challenge?  I LOVE carbs, I love breads, pastas, cakes, pizza..  I have spent years scoffing at low carb diets, and people who choose to be carb free!  I never got it, I still don't!  I could live on a diet of nothing but carbs and be pretty happy.  I am dreading this.  I'm not sure I've ever started something with such a feeling of failure from the beginning.  I'm sitting here typing and thinking, there is absolutely no way I can do this!  But, that is partly why I'm starting this blog.  To keep me honest.  HELP ME!  Part of me hopes so desperately that something as "simple" as a dietary change can make a significant difference in my disease.  But, the other part of me hopes that it makes no difference, the part of me that wants to continue eating bagels and lasagna and banana bread.