Living with Lupus
Seven years I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Lupus. (SLE) By the time I actually got the diagnosis it was bitter sweet. On one hand, I was happy that my team of doctors actually found out what was going on with me (and that I wasn’t crazy) and we could start a treatment plan so I could get my life back. But on the other hand, I was just diagnosed with Lupus and was devastated! I had worked in the medical field for 10 years and I knew what was to come of a patient like me and that scared the crap out of me. I had already spent what seemed like half of my adulthood sick with leg pain, canker sores, rashes, fevers, infertility, and chronic fatigue and I was quickly losing my will to continue the torture, I was absolutely miserable!
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I have the world’s most supportive husband and three wonderful kiddos and I hated the feeling like I was failing them. Weekly appointments for doctors, specialists, blood draws, x-rays, biopsies and trips to the pharmacy were taking president to laundry, cleaning, gardening, cooking and most importantly, taking care of my family. Until, one bad day during a weeklong flare, I began researching alternative therapy; I had enough of this Lupus stuff!
Eating To Heal
My husband and I spent an entire week researching the keto and paleo diet. What it is, how and why it works and most importantly, will it get this momma back on her feet, literally! Guess what? It did! I’m so happy to say that I no longer rely on steroids, immunosuppressants, narcotics or anti-inflammatories. Nope, none! I am completely drug free. I’m not saying that things changed overnight, it took time and education and it was worth every minute of it. I will never go back to miserable. Living this life is just too awesome.
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Katie, do you have a handful of paleo for auto-immune disease resources to recommend?
Michelle, Im sorry for the late response, your comment got tied up in the spam section.
A few of my favorite paleo resources include Dr. Axe @ draxe.com and also Marks daily apple @ marksdailyapple.com. Both of these sites are incredibly knowledgeable and well worth checking out. I also highly recommend reading the book The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. You can get it on Amazon. He also has a excellent blog at robbwolf.com. Thank you for your question!
Thank you for sharing….I have SLE as well, diagnosed over 20 yrs ago. I was very ill, given 7 years to live and slowly started to try and garden, found that eating similar to your diet helped tremendously,,,,this happened by accident, we now grow our own meat and I can most everything….we also have 3 dairy cows…..no antibiotics….no growth hormones…and I am now living life normally……keep on keepin on girl! I enjoy your site so very much!
Awesome website you have here! The internet is truly an amazing thing. I was diagnosed with SLE 10 years ago, when I was 18. It was very scary and at the time I was told that my life expectancy was about 10 -12 years. That’s a crazy thing to hear when you’re 18 but today we know that’s not the case. People with Lupus have the possibly of having a normal life expectancy and I plan on challenging that “expectancy!”
We have recently built a house on 57 acres and are in the process of starting our own homestead; it’s so exiting and frightening at the same time. I love your pictures/information on your chickens and cows. We plan to have cows in a couple years but we’re starting with rabbits, chickens and goats! Thank you for all the information you’ve posted on your page and hop you don’t plan on ending this website/blog anytime soon!
So great to find your page. My husband was diagnosed with Lupus in August, and we’ve been off grid living for a few years now. It has its ups and downs — fun to watch your journey!
I was diagnosed with Takayasu’s Arteritis 15 years ago. I was on steroids for 11 of those years. I live on 11.5 acres and would like to become more sustainable and off grid. I have a couple cows. But…Brownie doesn’t like me and I doubt she would EVER let me milk her! Haha! And cookie is still a heifer. But, how do you change from “store milk” to raw? I tried it pretty much straight from the cow once when I was a kid visiting a farm. Um, it was gross. Smelled weird as well as tasted gross. Haha! I was 11 years old. But, seriously, how to get my kids to switch? And what are your favorite foods for inflammation?
You know, the milk issue is hard if your going straight from store bought pasteurized to raw. The taste of raw milk will depend on the cows feed,as well as, hygiene in the barn. My husband had a hard time switching as first, but eventually got used to it.
I also have a heifer that is not friendly, Ill probably sell her because shes to skiddish for milking.
My favorite anti-inflammatory foods are turmeric, celery and leafy greens. I highly recommend juicing to get a giant dose of goodness.
We switched to raw milk a few years ago, I think the biggest issue for children is that most people don’t skim the fat off the top – this is unpleasant for most people but especially children. We always skim a majority of the fat off and make butter, it’s delicious. As for getting your children to drink it. One way to try would be to save a store bought milk jug, clean it out after it’s empty and without your kids knowing, poor the raw milk into the store container. It’s not guaranteed to work but a lot of kids choose not to like something just because it’s unfamiliar to them. You could also try a half-and-half method until they get used to the flavor and slowly increase the ratio of store bought/raw milk mixture.
I have Lyme disease and I feel the same symptoms and the same ways at times.
Dear Ruthie, may God give you peace. Hugs your way!
I’m blessed to find this website. Hang in there Ruthie, my prayers your way.
I to have an autoimmune disease Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was all alot of stuff including Humira that almost killed me 25 extra lbs. from steroids and feeling worse than when i took nothing. I still take low dose prednisone but am slowly weaning off of it. I started drinking green juices and eating yogurt home made and my symptoms are almost gone. i stopped going to drs. because all he did was ask questions for the study he was doing and didn’t want to talk about any problems or concerns I had.
I came across your website after researching the best ways to make money on my small farm. I was so surprised to see your page on Lupus. I was diagnosed about 2.5 years ago. My husband is a nurse and I work at one of the local hospitals. I have been blessed with having an incredible team of physicians that help manage my condition and the most supportive husband and family a girl could ever ask for. We have just started fencing our property but already have a couple of different breeds of chickens, a goat, a LGD and this is our second year with a garden. Any advice for a good way to continue to fight Lupus and farm at the same time?
And thank you for all the information you have put forth!
So sorry to hear about all you’ve gone through. I’m very familiar with the feeling of failing those around. Sometimes it still rips me up inside with each new season that comes our way. My husband and I don’t have children yet because of chronic Lyme disease, but after changing my diet and raising as much of our food as possible, we’ll never go back to “normal” food. Love your site and glad to have found it!
Paleo worked for you! thats amazing, I think diet, the food that we eat really might give us some solutions, the other day I was reading an article that talked about maintaining that acidic alkaline balance in our food to help overcome the autonomic disorders.
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