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From Crippled to Running
 A
few years ago I started having random unexpected pain in
different parts of my body. Most of the time the pain would be
so bad that I was unable to move certain body parts. For
example, one day I wouldn't be able to lift my left arm and the
day after that I wouldn't be able to bend my right knee. I
remember one day I started to get pain in both of my shoulders
so my daughter and I went to the gym so I could soak in the hot
tub – big mistake! Instead of helping, the stiffness got so bad
not only did my 15-year old daughter have to help steer the car
home, but when we got home she literally had to cut the shirt
off my back because I couldn't lift either of my arms. There
were even times the pain was so bad I would have to crawl to get
from room to room – the pain was so unbearable at times that I
scared my daughter to the point of her constantly worrying about
me.
I was having trouble figuring out when the pain would hit. Then
I started to notice a pattern of the pain showing up 1 to 2 days
after a specific physical activity. For instance, if I walked
the dogs on Monday night, then on Wednesday I couldn't use that
wrist or hand. I went to my doctor and blood tests were ordered
to find the problem and to rule things out. When he ruled out
everything, except for rheumatoid arthritis, he sent me to a
specialist. This new doctor found my symptoms to be somewhat
inconsistent with rheumatoid arthritis and was reluctant to give
me that diagnosis. I did appreciate him being careful by not
just throwing out a quick diagnosis. After he finally felt
positive about this being rheumatoid arthritis, he put me on a
medication, called methotrexate. I started the medicine, which
had many very scary side effects. Within 6 to 8 weeks I started
noticing my symptoms and my pain was lessening quite a bit.
Unfortunately, after being on the medicine for several months,
my pain starting returning, so my doctor increased my dosage and
it subsided once again. Things were good for several more
months, however, I was back to not being able to do any extra
physical work like walk the dogs, use scissors, run around with
my kids, or do gardening. At this point the medicine kept me
pain free only if I stuck to gentle activities. This was not
okay with me!
I also noticed that I started getting pain in my left hip and
left foot – this was a huge problem for me because I was born
with a birth defect in my right foot which has caused me to have
poor balance on that side. Whenever I would have a problem with
my left leg, foot, or hip I could no longer walk. I would have
to call out of work with little or no notice. I work at a
company that is very compassionate, but they were starting to be
concerned about all the time I was missing. I began to feel I
was at risk of losing my job.
When I told my doctor how bad things were getting he told me it
was time to add another medication, Enbrel, to the one I was
already taking. He gave me some pamphlets and asked me to call
my insurance provider to see how much it would cost me – this
new medication can be quite pricey. He even showed me how the
self-injection was made to be easy for people to use. Injection!
How Often? And the cost was crazy! (Over $20,000 per year.) I
was so sick of not being able to do anything that I resigned
myself to the fact that I now had to go with this costly new
medication. I made the appointment. I was sitting in the lobby
of my doctor's office waiting for my turn and I freaked out! I
told the receptionist, "I've got to go…I can't do this!" I ran
by the older ladies hooked up to their arthritis "medication of
choice" and went home. I knew I had to try some other way to get
better, even though I wasn't sure what that was going be.
My flight from my doctor's office happened around the same time
the company that I work for was coming out with a healthy eating
initiative for its team members. Information we received at work
suggested that foods we put into our bodies could actually be
the reason for many common ailments. Could this be happening to
me? I started taking foods out of my diet, but I was not
consistent enough to see any effects. Then my company started
paying for their team members to attend one of three Total Heath
Immersion Programs. (Dr. McDougall's program was one of the
three). A friend and co-worker had attended the 10-day live-in
McDougall Program in November of 2009 and came back a changed
person. It was her enthusiasm and encouragement that made me try
to get my health back by changing my diet at home.
It didn't even take 10 days for me to see relief from the pain
of my rheumatoid arthritis. In 6 days I had zero pain and no
inflammation at all! I was so hooked on the McDougall Program
that in February of 2010, when my company was sending more team
members to these health immersions, I signed up. After this
intense experience I was able to understand the "why's of eating
this way" and the science behind it.
 Before
attending the McDougall Program I had all the time in the world
to do nothing, and that's about what I did each day. Oh, I went
to work, picked up the kids, read a book now and then, ran some
errands – you know the usual day-to-day stuff. But if I did
anything else like walk the dogs, ride my bike or any other
physical activity I would have an arthritic flare-up. Even if I
used scissors…the next 2 days I wouldn't be able to use my hand!
Now, because of my new way of eating, I am taking 28-mile bike
rides, 4-hour kayak trips, taking stairs instead of elevators,
going on 4-mile walks just to name a few. These are not once in
awhile activities - it seems I am always on the move. Even at
work I tend to walk to find a team member rather than page them
over the phone. One day last month after an 8-hour work day I
noticed that my elderly neighbor's lawn had been destroyed by
grubs so I headed over there with some lawn bags and pulled up
their lawn with my bare hands for 4 hours and then I cut my own
lawn. Work, work, and more work, and the crazy thing is I love
it. I have never had so much energy and stamina. Dr. McDougall
is right about the Program paying for itself…no more rheumatoid
arthritis medications. I have been off of them for 6 months now
– crazy!
Along with my arthritis relief, I have also lost weight and
lowered my cholesterol. Since starting the program I have lost
45 pounds and even though I have a ways to go, I cannot remember
a time in my life when I have felt healthier. I have always
considered myself a "homebody" but now I think it was because I
never had the energy to get out and do things. I am always
making plans to do something on the weekends. My kids are
starting to beg for us to "just hang out at home." My
cholesterol levels have always been 200 to 208 mg/dL, but now my
levels are running between 174 and 164 mg/dL. I do on occasion
eat some shrimp, but if I eat dairy, which for some crazy reason
I do on really rare occasions, I have an arthritic flame-up
within 2 to 6 hours.
My children are on board and supportive of my "new" way of
eating, but I do not force them to adhere to all of the
guidelines. With that said we eat the same food, which I
prepare, but for them, when they ask, I will put some meat,
chicken, or shrimp into whatever dish I made. Here is a funny
little tidbit about my 10-year old daughter and our "new" way of
eating; she got into an argument with a little girl at the Boys
and Girls Club last week. When the other girl yelled an insult
at my daughter she replied with, "oh yeah, well, we're healthy
vegan people and you're not!"
 I
am the type of cook that just looks in the fridge and pantry and
makes something. So I do not get bored with my menu. But I find
I stick with the same breakfast of steel cut oats or oatmeal
most days with fresh and dried fruit added…and a little agave
when I'm feeling reckless. My favorite lunch or supper item,
hands down, has to be my "Burrito Bowl" – it is all the burrito
fixings without the wrap. I take shredded lettuce top it with
cooked brown rice, whatever beans I have available, cooked
onions, peppers, sometimes corn, avocado, fresh salsa, lime, and
lots of hot sauce. I could eat this everyday!
I am very lucky because of where I work to have quick, healthy
options available to me. If I don't bring my lunch I head out to
the salad bar at Whole Foods Market and grab something there.
It's easy to make my "Burrito Bowl" from what is available each
day on the menu!
My hope for others with rheumatoid arthritis is that they give
the McDougall Program a try. Initially my intention was a
commitment to the 10-day online program. The results I
experienced in those first 6 days, the 10-day live-in experience
in Santa Rosa, California, as well as these months of following
the program at home, have been nothing less than life changing
for me. I am sure the McDougall Program can be life changing for
others with rheumatoid arthritis and for those with other
ailments that are keeping them from enjoying their life!!
Sincerely,
Joyce Rossi
Dr. McDougall's Comments:
I too wish everyone would give the Program a try for at least
10-days. Everything that you need to know is laid out in a
simple 12-day Program
that is free on my web site. The
science
behind inflammatory arthritis and other
moving
stories are also on the McDougall web site. Even though the
program is free, the foods are inexpensive, the meals are tasty,
and the results are universally miraculous (with no side
effects), many people find change is just too hard – and so they
remain sick and overweight. Some help from above would be
welcome.
Physicians need to make diet their "first choice
prescription" for the chronically ill. Businesses need to better
care for the health of their valuable employees. Community
support must rise up with church, health club, and public school
associated classes on starch-based eating. Insurance companies
need to generously reimburse for dietary education and lifestyle
programs, not just drugs and surgery.
Financial compensation for medical care should be based upon
results, not hype. Consider the recent case about Multiple
Sclerosis. The multiple sclerosis risk sharing scheme set up in
2002 between the British National Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the pharmaceutical companies was
an agreement that payment for MS Medications—glatiramer and
interferons (Avonex, Betaseron, and Rebif )—would be based on
results. After two years of
study, patients taking disease-modifying treatments were
found to have acquired more disability than an untreated
historical control group. Based on the
sharing scheme the manufacturers would now need to pay the
British National Health Service (the national health insurance)
to make the drugs cost effective. All surgery, drugs, and
testing should be held to the same honest standards—payments for
healthcare should be based on effectiveness. Obviously!
Unfair business practices must be stopped, such as food and
drug companies paying for industry-slanted research, stacking
advisory committees with their paid experts, and spending
billions of dollars for untruthful advertising. Most recently
industry has been dominating the Internet in order to sell bad
heath.
The Wall Street Journal reported on September 14, 2010 that
Gatorade has four full time staffers whose only job is to search
the Internet and to post on discussion boards, blogs, chats,
etc. in favor of Gatorade.
I believe Gatorade is just one small example of the food and
drug industries flooding the Internet with sickening messages.
Look at blog sites, such as the Huffington Post, and you will
see many examples of vindictive comments, which favor
continuation of the status quo: the Standard American Diet
(meat, dairy, and junk). The senseless comments that followed my
Huffington Post letter to Andrew Weil's promotion of
saturated fats as health food, is one example. Personalities,
web sites, and messages on blogs, Twitter, and Facebook,
supporting low-fat or vegetarian cooking are viscously attacked
daily—not with science, but with nonsense. A few people can make
a lot of noise and get much attention. If it can work for
industry then it can work for others too. The people must fight
back.
Victory begins with getting our own health back. There is no
denying the truth when it happens to you. Joyce Rossi, and all
others, whose health once was ravaged by the American diet, and
found healing in a starch-based (low-fat vegan) diet, knows the
truth. Speaking out to family, friends, and everyone else who
will listen (especially on the Internet) is essential. Do not
ignore outrageous statements about diet and medicine that you
hear and see. Post your own comments on blogs, etc. My
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Topics are filled with scientifically backed information
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