(Following on from my previous posts: Wish Me Luck! and Wish Me Luck! Updates #1 to #4)
I’ve been following the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) lifestyle, including the full elimination diet, for the last six months.
I never set out thinking of AIP as a cure for PMR but purely as a way to support my general health and hopefully limit inflammation as much as possible.
I’m still on Pred and will be until I no longer have PMR symptoms, however long that will be…PMR will decide that!
Since April I’ve tapered my Pred dose in 0.5mg steps, via DSNS, from 9.5mg to 7mg with no ill effects apart from a little tiredness on the first day of each taper. Previously every taper, even DSNS, was fraught with symptoms like pain and fatigue and for longer than just a day.
I’ve learned that sleep is even more essential for those of us with AI conditions than the other four lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, stress management, and support network). I’m very happy with my bedtime routine now and my sleep is back on track - 7.5 to 8hrs. Yay! I think it went out of whack with the unusually hot weather here.
I’ve stuck to the restrictive and very nutrient dense elimination diet and am really pleased that in the last few weeks I’ve successfully re-introduced eggs (both yolks and whites), ghee, grass-fed butter, and almond milk. Today I’m starting fresh legumes and will take a week to test them.
I’m really looking forward to trying coffee. I’ve always been a coffee lover and I do miss it but there’s a little way to go before I can test that. I want to be sure my adrenals are working ok first and give them a fighting chance!
The AIP diet is second nature now. I really enjoy it and I feel so well on it that I’m not in any hurry to reintroduce anything that could potentially increase inflammation and undo all the good work, no matter how tasty or tempting I used to find it. I’m thinking of the usual culprits, especially those pesky fast white carbs as well as alcohol, and sugar.
Weight loss isn't the only benefit by a long way, but the 2 stones I put on with Pred have simply fallen off!
As for exercise, most days I’m doing an moderate strengthening routine designed for people with AI and/or chronic pain, and walking outdoors in nature or indoors on a treadmill if the weather’s bad. I feel so much stronger and a lot less vulnerable. I’m thinking more creatively too and I definitely feel happier.
For stress management I now have a regular meditation practice, morning and evening, and I really look forward to it. I also lie down with my legs up the wall (sometimes on the bed!) which is a wonderful stress reduction technique as it immediately activates the parasympathetic nervous system and the more tranquil functions of the body, all of which helps to combat adrenal fatigue too.
I’ve built a good support network now, obviously including this absolutely wonderful forum! I talk about PMR with people who understand and I don’t stress about trying to explain how I am to people who aren’t interested in understanding. If they don’t get it when I do my best to tell them then it’s not my business what they think. I’ve got bigger fish to fry!
So that’s it for now other than to say how incredibly grateful and glad I am that I found both AIP and this fabulous forum.
Onwards and upwards!
Thank you all SO much 
An update on my tocilizumab experience.
New Rheumie Switching Me to Rayos 
update
