Gut Feeling

photo from The Daily Beast

Yes yes it's been a while...so I'll just jump right to it!

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.

Moving Abroad mid-illness or, Take A Chance on Swedes

I'm still all relapse-y (currently 37k), but wayyyy back in December I started the process of school applications. I've decided on a program and will be moving to Stockholm in a couple weeks. Besides looking for a living arrangement proving to be as difficult as they say it is (Sweden has a housing crisis), I've had to prep myself for moving somewhere where they dont know my medical history, and most importantly, finding a good medical support system ALL over again (Challenge). 

I notified my hematologist months ago about the potential move, and thankfully she reached out and got me a referral over there. Besides that, I am still a little confused about how the insurance works over there (Challenge). I will have a residence permit which would allow me on the national healthcare- which I have NO idea how it works. I can only get my id card over there so I have to wait. Another...challenge- is trying to guestimate how much medication to take. I'm not on Pred at the moment but I need to take some with me in case I relapsex2 before I can see my new doc, which I suspect will be a while until paperwork kicks in.

Another thing to take into account, is that now I'm about to start intensive study/projects- while on a relapse. The past 2 years when I was stable it would have been no problem. But now that I get a bit fatigued easier, I know I might have to bring it up with my classmates. This is gonna take some serious Jedi mind control on my part to really take care of myself, remember to eat well, exercise, etc. I am excited for all the clean food over there. There are way more restrictions so the food quality of better, which is good news for someone with an autoimmune disease.