I have my six month checkup coming soon so I thought I would check in with you before the visit and then I will update things after the visit.
My treatment Plan has three parts.
1) I am currently taking Anakinra shots once a day to manage inflammation in my body which seems to have the effect of "pausing" the growth of my ECD. This may or may not be true, but what's certain is that as soon as I went off of this treatment last year the ECD started to spread so I'm hoping that the scans I'll be taking in a few weeks show that were back to the status quo.
2) I am taking .5 ml of Testosterone Cypionate by injection every 6 days to replace the testosterone not being produced by my cancer compromised testes. The result of this treatment has been mood stabilization (though I do tend to get a little off the day before my next injection) and a massive increase in my energy level. Prior to testosterone replacement therapy I was tired and moody all the time.
In an effort to combat the muscle wasting I experienced last time I was on Anakinra I have taken up running. In fact I would say I have become a "crazy" runner. I've attached a few photos from this summers runs and I hope you enjoy them.
3) I am trying to eat a diet very low in fatty and inflammatory foods. This means I've cut out Beef and Pork, Grain, and Dairy from my diet.
My cooking and eating regiment has become a much more permanent way of life at this point. I spend must of Sunday afternoon shopping, cooking, and packaging meals for the coming week. I have been largely successful in moving away from eating 3 large meals a day and instead eat small meals every 1.5-2 hours (more if I'm hungry). I easily eat 7+ servings of fruit and vegetables a day and 3+ servings of lean proteins.
Some people think I'm being drastic in the way I eat, but if my body is the engine that keeps me alive then I can't see how feeding it the best foods possible could be a bad thing particularly when you consider how much my system is already being stressed by ECD.
And that is where things are for now. Please pray for me that this next set of scans shows no new growth, because I could really use a break from bad health news this time.
My treatment Plan has three parts.
1) I am currently taking Anakinra shots once a day to manage inflammation in my body which seems to have the effect of "pausing" the growth of my ECD. This may or may not be true, but what's certain is that as soon as I went off of this treatment last year the ECD started to spread so I'm hoping that the scans I'll be taking in a few weeks show that were back to the status quo.
2) I am taking .5 ml of Testosterone Cypionate by injection every 6 days to replace the testosterone not being produced by my cancer compromised testes. The result of this treatment has been mood stabilization (though I do tend to get a little off the day before my next injection) and a massive increase in my energy level. Prior to testosterone replacement therapy I was tired and moody all the time.
In an effort to combat the muscle wasting I experienced last time I was on Anakinra I have taken up running. In fact I would say I have become a "crazy" runner. I've attached a few photos from this summers runs and I hope you enjoy them.
3) I am trying to eat a diet very low in fatty and inflammatory foods. This means I've cut out Beef and Pork, Grain, and Dairy from my diet.
My cooking and eating regiment has become a much more permanent way of life at this point. I spend must of Sunday afternoon shopping, cooking, and packaging meals for the coming week. I have been largely successful in moving away from eating 3 large meals a day and instead eat small meals every 1.5-2 hours (more if I'm hungry). I easily eat 7+ servings of fruit and vegetables a day and 3+ servings of lean proteins.
Some people think I'm being drastic in the way I eat, but if my body is the engine that keeps me alive then I can't see how feeding it the best foods possible could be a bad thing particularly when you consider how much my system is already being stressed by ECD.
And that is where things are for now. Please pray for me that this next set of scans shows no new growth, because I could really use a break from bad health news this time.
