Got Vaccinated?

 

The COVID vaccine.  Today’s hot ticket.  It feels like trying to score concert tickets to a popular band.  Instead of purchasing concert tickets, we are desperately searching online to find an available vaccine appointment.  In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy put into place a vaccine registration website to notify residents when they can get vaccinated aligned with the CDC’S phased vaccine schedule.  Going into this portal, I entered my health information and then I was quickly registered.  Now the waiting game.

Based on my health condition and my medications, I am immunocompromised, and I take immunosuppressants.  About a month ago, I received notification from the New Jersey Department of Health that I could get vaccinated.  I started looking online to find a vaccine appointment.  What I found was there were no vaccine appointments to be had. And there’s lots of advice on Facebook on how to get an appointment such as by time of day and hitting the refresh button continuously on your screen until an appointment becomes available.

None of these strategies worked.  I continued to surf the web looking for available vaccination sites throughout New Jersey. Would I be willing to travel for an appointment?  How far would I be willing to travel for a vaccine?  It all started feeling a little desperate and a little ridiculous all at the same time.

One day, I noticed on the Atlantic County website that vaccine appointments would open up the next day at 6pm.  Atlantic County is one of  six mega sites in New Jersey where residents can get vaccinated. As I was finishing dinner, I logged into the website and was given a number in the queue to get an appointment.  I found out I my number in line was 6718 so I felt there was no way I would get an appointment.  A few minutes later, the website indicated there were approximately 8000 appointments available.  I stayed on the website, making sure my screen would not shut down.  I didn’t want to lose my place in the virtual line.  About 90 minutes later, it was my turn to make my appointment.  I couldn’t believe it!  I had an appointment for the COVID vaccine in 4 days.

That’s when PANIC and FEAR set in.  I had lots of questions rolling around in my head.  Is this vaccine safe?  Will I have a reaction?  Is this really okay with my doctor to take the vaccine?  Will my medications interfere with the effectiveness of the vaccine?  What did my rheumatology nurse say about the vaccine? But, then I saw Dr. Fauci on tv stating that if you can get the vaccine, you should take it.  That’s all I needed to hear.  In Fauci, I trust!  The anxiety was still there but I knew it was the right thing to do.

Saturday morning was here and I was on my way to Atlantic City to the Convention Center to get my vaccine.  The Convention Center vaccine mega site is operated and organized through Atlanticare Health System and the NJ National Guard.  I was impressed with the organization and the speed in which I was  processed through the vaccine appointment.  Before I knew it, I was vaccinated and sitting in an observation area waiting to schedule my next appointment.  Round 1 completed.

Now that I received the first dose of the vaccine, my next worry was the side effects.  As you watch the news and read articles, you learn there are a variety of symptoms after taking the vaccine.  Some mild symptoms to some very unpleasant symptoms.  Most people report they had no side effects after their first dose of the vaccine but the second dose is when you feel the side effects. 

After my first dose, my arm felt sore.  The next day, I woke up feeling sick.  I had a headache, body aches, fatigue and no appetite.  I rested in bed most of the day.  The next day, I was better.  But a few days after that, I had fatigue again.  I’m not sure if this was related to the vaccine or my “normal” symptoms.  Over a week after my first vaccine, I am feeling well.  However, I am concerned about any symptoms I may have after the 2^nd dose being that the 1^st dose was a little tricky.  In the scheme of things, while these side effects may be unpleasant, it is much better than having to battle COVID.

I’ll keep you posted in my next blog about how my 2^nd dose went.  I also share my reflections on vaccine access for all, including the senior citizen population.

What I Learned From My Whole 30 Journey

A few years ago, my daughter and I completed a round of Whole 30.  What is Whole 30?  It’s an eating plan developed by Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig Urban.  In this plan, you eliminate the most inflammatory foods for 30 days.  I thought this would be beneficial to me to see if eliminating these foods would result in an improvement of my psoriatic arthritis.

Here’s the link to the program rules:  https://whole30.com/downloads/official-whole30-program-rules.pdf  Essentially, you eliminate sugar, dairy, legumes, grains, alcohol, sulfites, soy, and msg. Also, you do not step on the scale for 30 days.  Eliminating all these foods was challenging.  But, it was really helpful to have my daughter as a buddy through this process because we would check in with each other almost every day for encouragement.

Did I feel better after the 30 days of clean eating?  Yes, I did.  I’ve always had issues with congestion, allergies, and colds that lead to sinus infections. I didn’t have any of those symptoms.  I also had more energy. That change was huge for me! Other than the change in feeling more energy, I didn’t really notice any changes in my arthritis symptoms.  However, I really like eating “clean” foods as much as possible.  This is a healthy lifestyle that has staying power with me.

Here are some of the things I learned from completing Whole 30:

I was addicted to sugar…big time!  The withdrawal was difficult with feeling cranky and jittery, hot flashes, and extreme fatigue.

I am sensitive to dairy and beans.  After completing the 30 days, I slowly introduced the foods I eliminated.  I noticed the congestion returned when I ate dairy.  I had very bad stomach pains after eating beans.  Now, I use either almond milk or coconut milk products instead of dairy.  I will eat ice cream from time to time without any problems but if I overdo it with the dairy, I notice it.  The same with beans.  I like hummus but only eat small amounts of it.

I craved oatmeal and rice during the 30 days.  When I reintroduced these items, I didn’t have any bad reactions.  These foods are a staple in my diet now but I fill up pretty quickly when I eat them.

I learned to read ingredient labels in everything I buy.  This was a real game changer.  There is a lot of junk in food items that you would think are healthy.  For example, you would suppose in a can of chicken broth the ingredients would be chicken, water, and vegetables. Instead you will find the following ingredients: chicken broth, salt, dextrose, chicken fat, MSG, hydrolyzed wheat gluten, natural flavors, autolyzed yeast extract, carrot juice concentrate, mono and diglycerides, xanthum gum, and onion juice concentrate.  Whoa!  That’s a lot of junk!  I challenge you to read the ingredients of your favorite food products.  It may make you change the way you shop.

I weigh myself weekly instead of daily.  One of the Whole 30 rules is to not step on the scale for 30 days.  It was liberating to stay away from the scale.  However, I did cheat in this area but through no fault of my own.  I had a few doctor’s appointments where my weight was checked.  It was good to know that I lost a few pounds but that wasn’t my sole focus in adopting this eating plan.

Whole 30 Tools:  Here are some resources that helped me stay dedicated to Whole 30

Whole 30 Day by Day:  This journal really helped me stay on track with completing the 30 days.  There’s a bit of daily wisdom from Melissa Urban along with a place to journal your feelings.  I needed that in the early days as I was withdrawing from sugar.  I highly recommend this book if you decide to adventure into Whole 30. https://whole30.com/daybyday/

Paleo Running Mama:  This is a great website by Michele Rosen with Paleo recipes.  However, she also features Whole 30 recipes.  Every recipe I try is a winner.  Follow her on Instagram for daily inspiration and new recipes. https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/

The Real Food Dieticians:  Dieticians Stacie Hassing and Jessica Beacom feature clean eating recipes but also include Whole 30 recipes.  All the recipes I’ve tried from this website are delicious and easy.https://therealfoodrds.com/

Clean Eating Magazine:  This magazine features recipes using clean ingredients.  Not all recipes are Whole 30.  However, their January/February 2019 and 2020 issues feature Whole 30. https://www.cleaneatingmag.com/

Whole 30 website:  This website offers plenty of resources and encouragement to complete a round of Whole 30 successfully. https://whole30.com/

While January begins the Whole 30 campaign to start the New Year off right, I didn’t really have it in me to start another round of Whole 30.  I think it’s living in our COVID world that has me feeling a little down.  I strayed from my mostly clean foods during the holiday season.  But, that’s what fun about the holidays.  All those wonderful treats to enjoy! With the new year, it’s time for renewal.   I am returning to eating the foods that make me feel good.   I receive emails from Whole 30 with inspiration and recipes to get back on track.  It’s just the motivation I need to eat right in order to feel my best. 

Why do I eat mostly whole foods and follow this plan?  Because living with a chronic illness like psoriatic arthritis, I want to do everything I can do to maintain good health.  This includes eating well, exercise, and maintaining a positive mindset.  I read the following quote on Twitter that really resonates with me.  “I may not be able to be as healthy as the next person but I can be as healthy as I can be.”