photo from The Daily Beast
Kids, drinking copious amounts of strong Swedish filter coffee every day and coming home exhausted from class and having lots of French bread as your main sustenance....will NOT be good for your health.
I had a relapse back in November where my levels sank further than the Titanic. The reason being I just wasn't minding my health, and especially my diet. SO back to the hospital, and on Prednisone I went! The Swedish medical system is pretty efficient, the main problem here for someone like me is that they BARELY have any experience with ITP. So that wasn't comforting. I've learned to be a big advocate for my own health here, since I've been thoroughly educated on my illness from my years being treated with the amazing doctors in Chicago.
The best part about getting treated in Sweden is the national healthcare means I pay around $40 for a hospital or doctor visit. Bloodwork is free, and medicine is dirt cheap. If only I could just have the US doctors it'd be perfect!
That said...I made an accidental discovery when I got a bad stomach bug in January (if you eat at shady Chinese restaurants in Berlin you're just asking for trouble). Since I wasnt able to eat anything besides gluten free toast, rice, and soup- my platelet levels shot WAY up. That and the coffee and bread-induced relapse, have led to backing up a theory about my gut/stomach causing my major flare ups.
So I've kept gluten-free (ok- 85%...I cant resist cinnamon buns), and non dairy. I've also introduced lots of fermented items like Kimchi and Sauerkraut. I'm still trying to work WITH my stomach now but the results have been great, and my levels so far have been at a good number. 90's, and even a 155 a couple weeks ago!
Let's see how long this progress holds up. In the meantime, try Kimchi...it's amazing and I've developed the taste for it so much I just eat it solo now.
