Week 2 – Moms With RA – Paleo Restart

If I Make These Posts too Long, Will People Read Them?

I’m working on a format to keep it simple. I’m a data person.

Highlights of the week:

I’ve made it 5 days in a row, only taking ibuprofen at bedtime.
I’ve had a few days (Wed-Fri) where the lack of swelling in my hands, particularly my left one was very noticeable.
I had 2 ½ much improved days.
My lower body seems to be doing much better (my shoes are loose). Measurements seem to be confirming this.
I’ve had some good stair speed and have inconsistently been alternating feet rapidly.
I lost what I consider my first pound. (I know I started at 182, but I consider my normal to have been 180-184).
My doctor tracked down autoantibody tests I had run in 2011 (pre-Paleo) and 2017 (5 years of Paleo). I will probably put this out next week in a post. It really is shocking and makes me believe I have hope of controlling this disease again, possibly without medication.
My doctor put in orders, so I can get a 45 day check in on my inflammation tests to see if they’re coming down. He also put in orders for my autoantibody tests I can have run at the same time. They will be slightly different than my previous autoantibody tests.
During my 2 ½ really good days, I’ve had shoulder movement/flexibility I haven’t had in 3 years or so now.

Lowlights of the week:

I’ve been pretty sore upper body wise the last two mornings. This may be stress. This may be taking less ibuprofen. It may be something else.
My left ring finger has gotten stuck in a painful bent position twice, once Thursday, once Saturday, and I wore a compression glove on my left hand yesterday for support. I actually think this is a good thing and that tendons/ligaments are loose as swelling comes down, but it hurts a lot.
My blood pressure is concerning me, and I wonder if prednisone or low T3 has anything to do with that.
I had super dry eyes for 2 days, and also painful splits in the corners of my lips. It has been much better yesterday and today so far.
I’ve been bad at juicing.
My right elbow (my good one) has hurt off and on. This may be because inflammation is going down, and it is loose. I’ve been wearing an elbow support off and on.
I am not drinking enough (I have a poor sense of thirst).

Things I want to learn about:

How to lower CCP3. More info to come on that.
What is the role of low T3 in osteoporosis. I need to make a post about that.
What do low T3 and prednisone do to blood pressure?

Goals:

See if I can stabilize how I feel, to just 400 mg of ibuprofen at bedtime (suspect Tuesday or Wednesday I might get better, based on previous ibuprofen issues).
If I can stabilize, try cutting prednisone down to 3.5 or 3.75 mg.
Although it’s not showing in the data you see, I started on the stationary bike this week, extremely slowly, as I keep irking my body doing the simplest things. I did 30 seconds on Wednesday and 1 minute on Saturday. Can I do 1 minute daily?

Here are the numbers:

Measurements in Inches on Sunday Mornings
	Left Knuckles	Right Knuckles	Left Wrist	Right Wrist	Left Elbow (doesn’t straighten)	Right Elbow	Left Knee	Right Knee	Left Foot Knuckles	Right Foot Knuckles
10/13/24	7.125	7.5	8.5	8.5	12.5	11.5	17	17.75	9.125	9.875
10/20/24	7	7.5	7.5	7.75	12.125	11.25	17	17.75	9.25	9.875
10/27/24	6.875	7.375	7.5	7.5	11.75	11.25	17	17.5	8.75	9.5

Before reading my stair numbers, please know that before I started measuring, particularly 10/11-10/13, I could hardly get down them at all, although that was not my normal. Going down, I have 7 stairs, then a landing, then 9 stairs. Going down the 7 stairs, my railing is on the right, which I don’t find very helpful. Going down the 9, the railing is on the left, which I do find helpful and generally go down these stairs more quickly as a result.

My rules for measuring:

First trip down in the AM is measured.

Light on.

Shoes on (flip flops/sandals).

I can hold or not hold on to the railing.

I start with my feet next to the first step, set an iPad timer, and carry it down with me, so I am holding something on these descents.

Try to go fast, but safe.

I’d say the days when I’m going really fast, I’m probably alternating feet on both flights of stairs. On medium days, I’m probably not alternating the 7 stairs, but am alternating the lower 9 stairs.

Other Measurements, Daily for First Month
	Heart rate, early	Oxygen AM	Weight in Pounds	Blood Pressure	AM down 16 stairs in seconds, fastest I can
10/11/24 (*doc visit)	70*			144/88*
10/13/24	73	95	182	144/99
10/14/24	75	97	181	144/91
10/15/24	69	93	181	131/83
10/16/24	71	95	180	139/92
10/17/24	79	97	180	129/89	27
10/18/24	74	93	180	133/90	15
10/19/24	75	95	180	133/86	18
10/20/24	69	95	180	140/93	18
10/21/24	73	95	180	143/97	Timer error
10/22/24	76	94	180	133/91	14, but knees hurt a lot, should have gone slower
10/23/24	75	97	180	148/97	14
10/24/24	70	98	180	130/88	9
10/25/24	75	99	180	133/89	10
10/26/24	72	97	180	143/93	16
10/27/24	69	97	179	136/92	12

Medications and supplements:

Medications/Supplements Taken
	Ibuprofen	Prednisone	D3	Mag	Fish oil	B Complex	K2 / Zinc	Levo	Liothyronine
10/13/24	200+400 mg	4 mg	4,000 IU	Threonate	1200 mg	Yes	No	50	5, whole + 1.25
10/14/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	K2	100	5 whole + 1.25
10/15/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	K2, zinc	100	5 whole + 1.25
10/16/24	200+?	4	4,000	threonate	600	no	no	100	2.5 + 2.5+1.25
10/17/24	200+200+400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	zinc	100	5 whole
10/18/24	200+200+400	4	4,000	no	no	no	no	100	5 +1.25
10/19/24	200+2-00+400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	no	no	50	5
10/20/24	200+400	4	0	0	0	yes	no	100	5
10/21/24	200+400	4	4,000	0	600	yes	no	100	5+ 1.25
10/22/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	yes	100	5
10/23/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	0	yes	no	100	5
10/24/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	no	100	5
10/25/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	600	yes	yes	100	5
10/26/24	400	4	4,000	Threonate	0	no	no	50	5

What I ate:

I need to drink more. I’m working on it.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Drinks	Other
10/20/24	Turkey soup (turkey, carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, arrowroot starch)	Yam bisque (garlic, red onion, olive oil, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, thyme, ¼ tsp salt in big potSalmon, rosemary, coconut oil	Turkey soup (turkey, carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, arrowroot starch)		Dried pineapple Dried banana
10/21/24	Turkey soup (turkey, carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, arrowroot starch)	Yam bisque (garlic, red onion, olive oil, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, thyme, ¼ tsp salt in big pot	Turkey soup (turkey, carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, arrowroot starch)	2 small mugs ginger turmeric herbal tea	Dried pineapple Fresh banana
10/22/24	Skillet: olive oil, ½ large sweet potato, 1 onion, 1/2 apple, 1 kale leaf, pork belly.	Turkey soup (turkey, carrots, celery, onion, rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, arrowroot starch)	Yam bisque (garlic, red onion, olive oil, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, thyme, ¼ tsp salt in big pot	2 large mugs ginger turmeric herbal tea	Dried pineapple Dried dates
10/23/24	Shake: banana, blueberry, strawberry, cherry, coconut milk, kale, chia seeds	Turkey with herbs, ½ avocado, olive oil, balsamic vinegar	Brisket, garlic, onion, rosemary. Cauliflower, coconut milk	2 large mugs ginger turmeric herbal tea	Dried pineapple Dried dates
10/24/24	Skillet: olive oil, pork belly, ½ large sweet potato, ½ onion, 1 large apple, 1 large kale leaf	Brisket, garlic, onion, rosemary. Cauliflower, coconut milk	Banana	3 large mugs ginger turmeric herbal tea	Dried dates Dried mango
10/25/24	Skillet: olive oil, pork belly, ½ large sweet potato, ½ onion, 1 large apple, 1 large kale leaf	Brisket, garlic, onion, rosemary. Cauliflower, coconut milk	Steak, mushrooms (olive oil)	Drank very little.	Dried dates.
10/26/24	Skillet: olive oil, pork belly, ½ large sweet potato, ½ onion, 1 large apple, 1 large kale leaf	Brisket, garlic, onion, rosemary. Cauliflower, coconut milk	Mango chia bowl (mango, chia, blueberry, coconut milk, passion fruit juice)	WaterDrank very little.	Dried baby bananas

Left hand:

Right hand:

Feet:

It’s slow, but I am doing a 90 day self-experiment. It’s not going to change in 2 weeks.

More to come.

10/13/24	10/27/24 (not sure i kept my hand flat)