Case Study: Lupus

     

    Case Study: Lupus

    Author: Diane Vich

    Key words: Lupus, Brain Fog, Chronic Pain, Inflammation & Bloating

    Introduction:

    Vera Boss is a mom of four. She has been suffering from chronic pain, digestive issues and brain fog for many years now.  She is frustrated with western medicine because none of the treatments and medications have helped her.  She has seen a vicious cycle of new prescriptions and side effects. Her symptoms progressively got worse after each child. Her youngest is now 1 year old and she is so exhausted she just feels like she is not able to keep up with her.  Her digestive issues and bloating have become severe and now it happens 3-5 times a week.  Her headaches are also getting worse.  She is desperate to find a natural alternative.

    Case Presentation

    Vera is looking for alternative treatments. She has noticed her health has progressively gotten worse after each child.  She wants to be there for her family and enjoy her life.  It is important to her that she regain her energy and feel better.  She was diagnosed with Lupus 6 months ago.   She has chronic pain throughout her body.  The symptoms that are really bothering her the worst are the bloating, inflammation and stomach pains.  She has headaches 5 times a week and they last the entire day, sometimes more.  Her joint pains are 10/10.  She reports her bloating makes her look pregnant and its very painful (8/10).  She is exhausted every day and needs coffee to stay awake.  She sometimes drinks 5 glasses of coffee and feels it doesn’t even work very well.  She often needs naps in the afternoon before she can cook dinner and play with the kids.

    Management

    • Lupus is an autoimmune disorder where the body begins to fight itself.  Lupus like a multitude of conditions is caused by oxidative stress and inflammation.  Some symptoms are fatigue, chronic pain, headaches, memory issues and joint pain.
    • Chronic Pain is caused by inflammation of the tissue causing tenderness and discomfort. In people with chronic pain the pain accumulates over time and the level of pain gets worse.

    Treatment

    • Supplementation/Dosage: (2) Nrf2, (2) Nrf1, Omega, essential oils, Brain food supplement and (3) Probiotic.  Essential oils for pain and digestion.
    • Diet: High in low-sugar fruits, gluten free, high in green vegetables, beans, organ meats, bison, fish, shrimp, eggs and turkey (rare carbohydrate like cereal, cakes and dessert).  No sugar or iodized salt.  No inflammatory vegetables or fruits.  No processed foods.  Sea salt and spices to taste.
    • Coaching: Recommended for 4-6 months to help with symptoms management.
    • Motivation Statement:  I speak up for myself freely and easily.  I claim my own power and advocate for myself.  I love myself.  I am free and safe to be the person I want to be.

    Discussion

    A multitude of diseases (200+) are linked to oxidative stress and inflammation.  Oxidative stress is an imbalance between antioxidants and Free radicals.  Patients with weight gain and inability to lose weight have high levels of free radicals in the body.  They cause damage to the body on a daily basis.  The body has poor capability of creating antioxidants like glutathione, catalase and SOD.  These antioxidants are the only way to fight free radicals, so as they decline illness, disease and decline progressively continues through life.  By enabling the body to produce antioxidants and remove toxins, they client will reduce inflammation, bloating and fat build up to promote weight loss.  Lupus, digestive issues and chronic pain are all impacted by the increased inflammation throughout the body.  It is essential to provide the body with nutrients that will help it fight back on a daily basis.

    Outcome

    1 month: Vera has started the detox and supplementation plan.  She is enjoying the detox soup and meal plan, specially because it has stopped the bloat.  She is also happy she lost 8 pounds, her goal was to feel healthier and the weight loss makes her happy.  She noticed that her headaches and joint pains were worse during first 2 weeks of detox.  She reached out for some coaching to relieve her symptoms.  She knew the pain and symptoms were expected and she was glad that she had a support system to help her manage them.

    • Coaching Session: Vera reached out to have a tension buster session to help target her pain sites.  She chose to have the session at her pool to start incorporating some gentle activities several times a week.  This was important to her because she want to be able to enjoy fun activities with the kids without feeling exhausted and in pain.  She noticed she felt relief and better circulation after her pool session.  She committed to perform these activities at lest 4 days a week.  She also enjoyed the essential oils and simple stretching to relieve her pain.
    • Coaching Session : Elimination plan: Vera experienced some digestive issues, body pains and headaches on the cheat days, she asked the coach for some digestion relief suggestions. The coach added an elimination plan to determine her food sensitivities.  She was able to identify her sensitivity “white rice and gluten free bread.”  Her symptoms improved and she realized the importance of keeping track of her diet to identify food triggers.  She was happy that she had the essential oils and natural remedies to help her if new symptoms arouse.

    2 month:  Vera is happy with her progress.  She has avoided her food sensitivities and has seen big differences in her symptoms.  She happily lost another 5 pounds.  She contacted her coach 2 times during the last month to get support with food sensitivities, she identified two new foods “corn and apples”.  She felt confident that she had the tools to deal with her symptoms and knew the coach was there to support her.

    • Coaching Session: Vera was very happy with her progress, her pain was 6/10 and improving every day. She realized the stretching and exercise helped improve her pain significantly. After her afternoon stretch routine her pain was 4/10.  She started using the exercise 5 times a week.  Elimination plan: She is glad she has essential oils and natural remedies that she can keep with her all the time.  Through her food trigger journal and coaching she was able to identify several foods to avoid.  She realized it was important to track her symptoms.  She plans on signing up for 4 months of coaching to help her to continue to monitor her food sensitivities and expand her diet plan further.

    4 months: (After 4 months of coaching)

    • Coaching Session: Vera successfully incorporated all the strategies for an additional 4 months coaching.  She felt like a new woman.  She had lost a total of 20 pounds.  Her energy and memory was better.  She used the brain food supplement much less now.  She felt energetic and ready for anything every day.  Her pain was 3/10 and relieved with exercise and stretching.  She started to incorporate stretching into her daily routine and noticed big changes.  After stretching and hydration her pain decreased to 1/10.  She started to use 10 minutes stretches twice a day.  Her headaches were almost gone, she only had a few a month.  She noticed the headaches usually came with her food sensitivities and loved using the essential oils to stop the pain.  Elimination plan: She continued her food journal to monitor food sensitivities.  She identified several additional food triggers.  She is thankful she learned to identify and treat her food sensitivities naturally.  The elimination pain helped reduce her joint pains, digestive issues and headaches.  She finally felt like she was able to be an active mom with her kids.  She was happy that she had learned how to take care of herself.