我如何管理我的医疗状况（缓解一年）以便能够专注于我的创业项目
重要的医疗免责声明：这只是我的个人经历，不应被视为医疗建议。在没有风湿病专家的密切监督下，请勿停止、改变或调整您的药物。自身免疫性疾病复杂且个体化，如果管理不当可能会带来危险。我所经历的情况可能不适用于您，甚至可能有害。请始终与您的医疗提供者合作。
我在毕业并开始工作几年后，发展出了自身免疫性关节炎。我的医生建议——我也相信——我的关节炎是由工作压力引发的：“考虑减少工作量，以控制您的关节炎。”
但现在我正在创办一家初创公司。我需要更多的工作，而不是更少。这造成了一个真正的问题。
更大的问题不是关节畸形或疼痛，而是免疫抑制药物。由于我的免疫系统被抑制，我很容易且频繁地生病，恢复也需要更长时间。
试想一下，当你经常生病时，如何去创办一家初创公司。试想一下，如何在免疫系统虚弱的情况下旅行。
几年前，我经历了一次无法解释的缓解。我的医生检查了我的血液，确认了我的缓解，并让我停药。考虑到这一点，我开始更加关注哪些因素使我的症状好转或恶化。
过了一段时间，我注意到一个奇怪的现象：在星巴克工作似乎会引发特别强烈的发作。我的风湿病专家立即让我重新开始用药。
最后一根稻草是，我重新开始的药物似乎失去了效果。尽管我的免疫系统变得更弱，我的关节炎仍然频繁发作。在没有其他选择且经常无法工作的情况下，我需要尝试一些不同的方法。
经过一些实验，我发现了一个令人惊讶的事情——一旦我停止饮用咖啡、茶和橙汁，我的症状就消失了。我还注意到，不吃酸性食物（如番茄酱）和没有胃灼热也改善了我的症状。
一旦我消除了这些饮食嫌疑，症状迅速改善。我的风湿病专家完全让我停药，因为我的血液检查显示没有炎症。我现在已经缓解了一年，并定期监测。
我的免疫系统似乎已经恢复——我不再频繁生病。这让我能够专注于我的初创公司。
我仍然感到困惑的是：我现在在高压力下24小时工作，但我的关节炎依然处于缓解状态。我的医生最初曾建议压力是一个诱因。
在我的案例中，似乎可能并不是压力本身，而是从学生转变为专业人士所带来的生活方式变化——具体来说，是开始定期饮用咖啡和茶。当然，我无法对此确定。
再次强调：这是我个人的经历，针对我特定的关节炎病例。您的疾病是不同的。您的治疗也应该不同。请与您的医生合作。
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IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: This is my personal experience only and should NOT be taken as medical advice. Do NOT stop, change, or adjust your medications without close supervision from your rheumatologist. Autoimmune diseases are complex, individual, and potentially dangerous if not properly managed. What happened in my case may not apply to yours and could be harmful. Always work with your healthcare provider.<p>I developed autoimmune arthritis a few years after graduating and starting work.<p>My doctor suggested—and I believed—that my arthritis was triggered by work stress: “Consider working less to keep your arthritis under control.”<p>But now I’m building a startup. I need to work more, not less. This created a real problem.<p>The bigger issue wasn’t the joint deformity or pain—it was the immunosuppressant medications. With my immune system suppressed, I got sick easily and frequently, and recovery took longer.<p>Try building a startup when you’re frequently ill. Try traveling with a weakened immune system.<p>Years ago, I’d experienced an unexplained remission. My doctor checked my bloodwork, confirmed my remission and took me off the meds. With that in mind, I started paying closer attention to what made my symptoms better or worse.<p>After a while, I noticed something odd: working at Starbucks seemed to trigger especially strong flares. My rheumatologist restarted my meds immediately.<p>The final straw was that my renewed medications seemed to have lost their effectiveness. My arthritis kept flaring even as my immune system got weaker. Running out of options and frequently unable to work, I needed to try something different.<p>After some experimentation, I discovered something surprising — my symptoms went away once I stopped drinking coffee AND tea AND orange juice. I also noticed that not eating acidic foods (ketchup) and not having heartburns also improved my symptoms.<p>Once I eliminated these dietary suspects, my symptoms improved rapidly. My rheumatologist let me off the meds completely as my blood tests showed no inflammation. I’ve been in remission for a year now, with regular monitoring.<p>My immune system seems to have recovered — I’m no longer getting sick frequently. This has allowed me to work on my early-stage startup.<p>Here’s what I still find puzzling: I’m now working 24/7 with considerable stress, but my arthritis remains in remission. My doctor had originally suggested stress was a trigger.<p>In my case, it seems possible that it wasn’t the stress itself, but rather the lifestyle changes that came with transitioning from student to professional—specifically, starting to drink coffee and tea regularly. Of course, I can’t know this for certain.<p>Again: This is my individual experience with my specific case of arthritis. Your disease is different. Your treatment should be different. Work with your doctor.