Most of us would usually go to the Rheumatologist hoping to find out what our C reactive protein (CRP) levels are doing, or discover some other inflammatory indicators that might tell us how our treatment is progressing. I am so bored with all of that! I’m doing my own Exercise and inflammation test
Today is inflammation blood test day!
Today is my fourth annual blood test and I want to change things up a little, today I’m doing an experiment to find my maximum possible CRP level!
My specialist knows nothing about this experiment, but she will do in the next couple of hours. Gulp!
Let me explain
In the past my CRP levels have fallen lower and lower but it’s getting a bit boring, the results are very encouraging but they only give me one side of the story. The low side.
I love seeing the constant progress I’m making with a natural approach however, I don’t feel like I’m learning enough about my condition or the parameters that define it.
Today I’m taking a radical approach to define some upper boundaries based on my current highest level of physical output.
Why am I doing this?
My recovery is judged against my food diaries, and journal data, so any rise in upper levels that occur under a given stress are recorded and analyzed for later reference. This valuable data allows me to take action and change the circumstances, if they need changing, or allows me to optimize my arthritis strategy if things start to slip.
My data sets have now become incomplete because there is a gaping hole at the top
Blood test for arthritis
where my “upper level” figures should be. Usually, we wouldn’t worry about that because we’d be happy with making progress.
That’s not me, I wan’t more than progress! I want to be back to being better than I was before rheumatoid arthritis.
Having no pain or discomfort would be fine for most people but here’s the problem with that strategy.
The “I’m doing OK approach” is only OK for right now, but what about the future?
What is my condition going to look like in 40 years time, and how will I know what action to take if I don’t set the parameters or discover my limitations now?
I feel a measurement needs to be taken now because I only get two more chances to take blood test data for free. My rheumy is cutting me loose after these next two visits and I’ll never see her again…..Hopefully.
Is this dangerous?
No, this process isn’t dangerous for me.
I feel so confident in my ability to reduce inflammation and rebuild my joints that I’ve been beasting myself with exercise for some time now.
The only difference now is that I’ve been beasting myself full time in an effort to create my maximum levels of inflammation.
This is not a reckless journey to ruin? My intention is to find out what is currently possible and if the exercise I’m doing now is beneficial or not.
My clearly defined and well executed strategy is aimed at finding my limits so I can stay within them, If needed, or push on if I get favorable results.
Think about this. Will I be better off knowing the full effects of my current exercise regime rather than carrying on in ignorance?
Of course I will.
How do I get a blood test?
I ask…No I beg my rheumatologist to let me have a full blood panel taken.
On the previous three visits to my rheumy, I have asked for a full blood panel to be taken and these tests have provided me with the valuable guidance in how to treat myself.
The responsibility for my recovery rests squarely on my shoulders because I don’t take any prescribed meds.
My rheumatologist isn’t happy about this, she does however agree that taking data is a sensible and responsible approach and is happy to help me with that.
There is always some arm twisting involve, I always have to explain why this is vital to my progress, but she always agrees in the end.
What am I looking for?
The clincher for me will be seeing if these massive level of exercise will have a measurable effect on my CRP levels and ESR levels.
My diet will remain the same today (you can check that out below) and I won’t be taking any nsaid’s or other supplements that could potentially cloud my results. I need the cold hard facts and won’t shy from any possible bad news, in fact I’ll welcome it if there is any. It’s all good data.
Hopefully, when I get the results in around a months time, I’ll be able to make better long term decisions about appropriate levels of physical activity, rather than relying the diet based adjustments I use now.
My exercise program
To gain my perfect body I’m going to have to hit this pretty hard, but I don’t want to go too crazy and cause myself any potential problems that might set me back.
Here’s what I’ve been doing.
Yesterdays exercise regime consisted of:
60 minutes of hard cross country hill walking on rough ground at a pace of about 6 miles an hour.
20 miles of high intensity cycling on my mountain bike at an average of 20 mph. That’s very fast for cross country on a mountain bike with big tires and is a pace most club cyclists wouldn’t be able to match.
Leg extensions
Leg curls
Lat pull downs
Face pulls
bench press
Sets consist of 6 x 12 reps for each exercise with a comfortably heavy weight that doesn’t restrict my range of motion or cause me pain.
I would list the exact weight but I think it’s more relevant to explain the range of movements that I’m doing rather than set any unreachable goals for you.
My thinking is to go longer with less weight and hopefully protect my cartilage. My joints grind and creak terribly, but I don’t cause them excessive pain. Sometimes it hurts and I will stop if it gets too much. however, I am always careful to observe my limits.
For general interest I think it’s worth noting that most of the exercises above were performed below or around the 50 kg range- with almost no breaks in between sets, other than to change weights.
The morning of the test
I made the decision to eat three egg yolks this morning.
The decision was a tough one because so many people say egg yolk is an inflammatory food for them.
Personally, egg yolks don’t seem to give me any inflammation, but then again I have been proved wrong by my food diaries many times and I can’t say 100% if egg yolks don’t give me some low levels of inflammation?
I had to give this some thought because I hear a lot of people making incorrect judgments about egg protein and deciding that they are allergic to egg yolk when what they are actually allergic to is cooked egg protein or to put it bluntly denatured protein.
Was it wise to eat eggs this morning?
Maybe, I eat raw egg yolks every day and these results might be further evidence that I either need to change my eating habits or exercise regime.
When I look back at my food diary I can see no correlation between increased inflammation and egg yolks so I’m going to include them this time.
When I go back for next years tests I might remove the egg and judge the effects then? Yes, that’s going to take a year for those results to come back to me but I think it’s important to leave the egg in and collect the data because I eat egg yolks every day.
What did I eat this morning?
One orange
Three medium size egg yolks
tablespoon of pine pollen
Supplements:
1 cap of eggshell membrane
1 cap of co Q10
2 x one a day gel caps of omega 3 (500 mg) per cap
Drinks:
1 pint of Celery juice
1 litre of Water
1 cup of super food drink consisting of alfalfa powder, maca powder, ashwaganda powder, chlorella and water.
What do I expect the result to be?
Let’s be honest, moderate to high increases of inflammation are expected from today’s score, but whatever happens, I’ll be better off knowing what my body is doing when under these severe pressures.
For the last ten days I have been hitting an exercise pattern similar to the one above, and it has been catching up with me.
Getting some good Sleep has been a great help, as has the lovely sunshine and extra natural vitamin D3 I’ve been getting. Generally, I’m in this mode of living all the time now so it will be interested to see where I’m heading and if I can keep it up.
[quote_center]Natural egg shell membrane is responsible for the dramatic increase in physical ability and range of motion I have gained recently. Eggshell membrane has allowed me to up my exercise levels considerably[/quote_center]
I blame the Eggshell membrane!
Eggshell membrane has allowed me to up my exercise levels and output considerably and this test today will give me an indication of how my internal machinery is coping?
I can feel my joints are better in every way, but relying on my internal senses it judge the effects of internal inflammation simply isn’t going to cut it.
Today’s data will be essential to judging my future course of action.
Before I go to the test I will do some small exercises to free my body from the stress of sitting here writing this message, but that will be the only intervention I will make before I go get my arm stabbed.
Look out for Part 2, the results. Let’s hope they’re positive!!!!
