Hi, i am a 24 year old female from India.
I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis about 8 years back and 2 years back i was diagnosed with AS as well.The pain is starting to get continous and unbearable now .Right now i have pain in hip joint, there's swelling there. IS it advisable to exercise the joint having swelling? does it help or worsen ?
Also i feel tired all the time.I wanted to ask, ifanybody has ulcerative colitis along with AS ... hw do u manage to follow no starch diet in that case ?Also, whether you control AS only thru diet control or do u take drugs if any? and can you pls suggest wot all food items suit u ?

Hi Sani

I am new here too, and I do not yet have a proper diagnosis but I do do the diet and I can tell you that for me it has relieved my IBS and other symptoms enormously

There is a book by Carol Sinclair called The Low Starch Diet, which will help you get to grips with the diet. Right now I am eating no starch at all and I am finding this very healing.

Right now I am spending my time reading all the posts from the last few months. This is helping me understand the illness and the diet better and it is helping me get to know the folk here better too

Love Joanne

Namaste, Sani:

I lived in India for a year and I was presented to "The Hakim," the saintly Sayed Hameed then head of Aligarth University and founder of Hamdard. He wrote a prescription of herbal pressings and told me to eat plenty of garlic and fenugreek, also.

You should understand ulcerative colitis in the context of AS; it is a "chicken-and-egg" thing. The AS would not be possible without some intestinal compromise and UC is certainly that, BIG TIME.

I found that I was able to eventually almost 100% control my AS through fasting, the Edgar Cayce Three Day Apple Diet, and very strict NSD (elimination of dairy). The problem with this is of course it is just too difficult to continue and I was traveling (to Philippines then), so I put Ebringer's work to the test and began taking antibiotics. Within four days I knew there was absolutely no better way to treat AS.

It is not easy, but after over 11 years on my own regimen and AP (Antibiotic Protocol) I can actually take antibiotics (bactgeriostatic) in advance of eating nearly any starchy meal. I will say it took several years to achieve this and also that I do not do this very often because I do not like taking antibiotics.

My explanation is that my tract healed enough so that I became more starch-tolerant, to some extent. But even now when my diet gets too sloppy and I am not on antibiotics, I can still develop severe symptoms (hip bursitis a couple of years ago) and I need to fast to put things right again.

INDIA would be very difficult for me, even today. South Indian food is KING (I even went to MTR for their masala dosa long before I learned about NSD).

False paneer is safe, all fish and halal meats of course, but curries and all powders and the like are very bad (badam is just asking for trouble).

So if You can eat some steamed rice and vegetables perhaps it would not be so bad; starches are at their worst if micronized (turned into flour) or soluble (potatoes and corn), or fried (almost everything in India; I even had bread pakora there!!).

Chances are better to fast and heal the UC any way possible for this is the root of the AS. Even if some healers suggest ghee or some milk product this might be good as "colostrum" has been used to help with LGS (Leaky Gut Syndrome), so there could be something in the Ayurvedic material that would help.

But The Hakim used Unani medicine and spoke Urdu:

HAKIM; photobucket

Also in my photobucket are images of scanned-in papers on the use of sea cucumber and how to test for starch using iodine.

Hope this helps You, HEALTH,
John

To Dragonslayer,

What antibiotics would you recommend and at what dosage? I want to call my rheumatologist and get started. Sulfasalizine has brought my pain level down a notch, but that's it, just a tad.
I keep reading about minocycline, does it come in a form that is starch free? Which ones stain teeth?

Thank you.

Thannk you so much everybody
So Dragonslayer, do you suggest going for the 3 day only apple diet initially(after getting in control of UC) and then going for no starch diet for some days and then slowly move to low starch diet ?

Hi Sani,
are you a vegetarian?
I suggest you read Carol Sinclair's book.
I believe that many people with AS have UC, or at least some form of IBS if not IBD. The diet that eliminates starches (polysaccharides) will help heal your UC and thus help your AS.
My idea is to have an introductory diet. In my case I responded very well to starting with soup, just broth and chicken. I made eggs and also very weak tea with no milk. And I LOVE milky tea! : )
If the apple fasting works for you, then that's great. For me, I had some trouble with that, and the soup worked better in my case. : )
Best wishes and blessings and let us know how you feel.
I want you to feel well.

Hi there, Joanne...

You mentioned spending your time reading the posts from the past several months. I also spent last summer (when I was newer to the diet) reading and reading and reading... not only the recent posts, but also posts from the past 10+ years. I would find someone who has been extremely successful with the diet and then read tons of their posts. I found this EXTREMELY helpful (and inspiring). If you only read more recent posts, you are only seeing the point of view of the people posting right now. There are some "oldtimers" that pop in every once in awhile and some who stopped posting once they felt better. I would hate for you to miss out on all of their diverse experiences towards healing. If you want me to send you the notes I took at that time (which are crazy long and may or may not make sense to you because of how they are organized), send me a pm. (this offer is for anyone interested)


Stacey

Sani,
I would suggest you check out Carol Sinclair's book, but I have to say, I disagree with her on one point. She suggests cutting out starches slowly, seeing what you can tolerate and what you cannot. Just from my point of view, I would eliminate all grains and potatoes and milk straightaway, then let your body heal, then later see what you can add back in. I know your comment was directed for John, but just thought I'd chime in. : )

@ Stacey: excellent point, I did that too and got a lot of benefit from that.
Hey, how are you? : )

Stacey

Please please do. I know the more I am learning here the more my heart is becoming peaceful. as crazy as that sounds, I have kown for several years now that I have been heading for a wheelchair. Just knowing, that by instinct I was doing what you lot have been doing gives me a warm feeling of hope inside. Not just that, my thoughts are beginning to weave together and make sense. I know my circumstances are probably a bit unique, and it is incredibly difficult to put into words the revoationary experience i am having, but it is good, all good. And it is seriously doing very good things for my welbeing

Love Joanne

Hi sani.
I''ve also have UC. Reading some of my older post might help you. There are some things that work for others with AS but don't work for me.

hi can you pls pass on the notes that you mentioned in the forum to me

Hi Sani ,

Glad to see any Indian on to the forum ,
NSD is very difficult in india but it help me to discontinue
my pain-killer ,currently on declofenac gel (plain),
my good advice to u is that stay away from any Allopathic med.,
do some yoga, (mostly pranayam). try homeopathic med instead

Sani, I have had UC since 1987 and have been in remission for the last 12 years. I have been taking an immunosuppresent(6-MP) to stay in remission. Anyone with IBD needs to be on some type of immunosuppresent to prevent damage to the digestive tract. Very few people can control IBD with diet alone. Since I also have AS, I have been taking Humira. Humira controls both the UC and AS. I can eat anything I want.

While your UC is flaring, you need to stay away from all food that has hi fiber. No raw fruit or vegetables. Most people do best on the BRAT diet. That is bananas,rice,applesauce and toast. Once you have your UC under control, then you can experiment with some of the special diets if you want to. Do NOT eat any raw apples, it can make your UC really bad.
If you want to learn more about UC, go to IBDsucks.com. That website is a bulletin board like this just for people with IBD. It is wonderful and the people there will help you.
Donna