I have been off meds since February ’08 and have not had any flare-ups for three months. Although it has taken me four years to get the courage to go off medications, I have always been confident that I could manage without, mostly because I have an amazing trust in my own body. The last three months have proved to me how wonderful our bodies are when we treat them well and give them our undivided trust.

Rheumatoid arthritis will always be a part of my life, that I have accepted. However, I am learning to accept it as a positive in my life now that I am managing it without medications. I now see my RA as a friendly reminder from my body to me that if I don’t eat well (gluten/dairy free, avoidance of chemicals both in preservatives, pesticides and coffee, reduced amounts of sugar, etc) and manage how I accept stress, it will protest. My body has given so much to me through both good and bad and now that it has experienced life as it should be, it refuses to go backwards. After all the work my body has done for me, I can’t really afford to let it down again.

So, on days when I choose to eat foods outside my accepted list or find my shoulders raised with tension and then wake up feeling like poop, I will know that it is only my body reminding me that I have not treated it well and it expects more of me.

Here is an interesting article I found on trusting your body. Enjoy your body and realize the miracle that it inside of you!