Hello Bright Eyes!

Hello friends!
Things have been on the up and up. Since starting the anti-inflammatory diet I have noticed a huge difference in my energy levels, my ability to focus on tasks, and my mood. It's been great! Even if my 'diet' isn't helping the inflammation Behcet's causes, I will remain a fan just because of the positives I have experienced thus far.

Unfortunately I cheated yesterday by going to Whataburger. If you are not from Texas you won't understand, but Whataburger has THE BEST hamburgers...it's because of the perfect combination of the fresh toppings and the mustard. It's so good. I felt I deserved one cheat day after spending a LONG day at the eye doctor. I'll get into that later. Anyway, I'm human and we only live once, so I don't regret enjoying my Whataburger Jr (with jalapenos and no cheese or tomatoes - I kinda stayed true to the diet).

The Anti-Inflammation Diet Book Reviews

As mentioned previously, I decided to change my diet and so began the Anti-Inflammation Diet. Upon doing some research, I quickly learned this diet is not a "eat this, not that" diet, it's not a points diet, and it's not a calorie counting diet. It's not really diet at all, but instead a complete lifestyle change. With a little more research I came across two books that I felt confident would help me understand the Anti-Inflammation Diet. Those books were "The Comlete Idiot's Guide to The Anti-Inflammation Diet" written by Christopher P. Cannon, M.D. and Elizabeth Vierck, and "The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book" written by Jessica K. Black, N.D. I felt it was very important to get a book by both an M.D. and a N.D., as both have studied different aspects of the medical field. Besides, if they both said the same things in their book, the information must be true!

As promised, I told you I would review these books so you would have a better idea of which better suited your lifestyle. 

It's a Roller Coaster of Emotions...

Just to update you, for those of you who are just jumping on-board, I had my first flare in three years back in January of this year. It was a fairly minor flare and consisted of  a couple dozen ulcers on the inside of my lips. It still was very painful, of course I was tired, and my mouth looked awful, but it was nothing compared to what it was three years ago when my immune system was out of control. THEN in February I battled some upper respiratory infection basically all month. Granted, I was much better off than some people in the office - we had people with Pneumonia, Bronchitis...it was crazy in our office!
THEN in March I had my second flare. This time my mouth wasn't affected, but my skin was and this was the worst case of skin lesions I had ever had. I looked like I was covered in large chicken pox. They itched and were painful just like chicken pox too!

Now it's mid-March, and I finally physically feel like I am progressing to some sort of normal state. My upper respiratory infection is gone, I'm not fatigued, and I haven't had any more sores pop up on my body in the last week. But emotionally, I'm a roller coaster of emotions. I've never been sick for such a long period and I'm a little depressed because of it.

So How Can I Stop the Inflammation?...

Since Behcet's is an inflammatory disease I decided to do some research on what causes inflammation. After all, how can you manage something that you don't understand? Now before I jump in, I just want to clarify that I am in no way, shape, or form a doctor or a dietician. I am a Marketing Specialist with a very inquisitive mind and a drive to manage my BD from all angles. I found a lot of factors contribute to inflammation, but that diet can play a major role. Perfect! I can totally control my diet. Thus, I've been reading up on the Anti-Inflammation Diet.

If you have done any research on anti-inflammatory diets you will find a bunch of contradictory information, luckily I found some constants that have been proven to cause inflammation:

That was a Long Hiatus!

So good news, bad news, then more good news...
Good News: For the past three years I have been (pretty much) flare free!! I've had a couple minor "was that a flare or wasn't it?" moments, but overall the Hydroxychloroquine my rheumy gave me seemed to help manage my symptoms.
Bad News: In January of this year I had my first official flare in 3 years, this one consisted of mouth lesions and skin lesions on my arms. THEN in March I had another, and although this one did not affect my mouth my body was pretty much covered in ugly spots.
Good News: This reminded me that I had once started a blog, with the best intentions to provide the world information about the unpredictable symptoms of Behcet's, new research about Behcet's, and first hand experience from a typical female living with this disorder/disease.
So, I'm back! :)

So why, after being under control for three years did I have two flares in a row? I have a couple ideas: