Is anyone aware of starch free pain medication that is available in the US? My husband is 2 months into the NSD and is improving vastly however still takes Vicoden to manage his hip/knee pain. After reading Carol Sinclair's book, we did the iodine test on part of a pill and found it to contain starch. Turns out the pills are bound with starch.

The pharmacy and the doctor don't seem to be any help for obtaining something starch free.

Thank you!

I think your best bet might be fentanyl patches. A good way of getting medicine without injesting anything.

Also you should check around for another pharmacy. If you don't come up with any compounding pharmacy in your area who will make pain pills with alternative filler, it is worth contacting a compounding pharmacy that does mail-order.

Compounding pharmacy is the way to go.

Thank you all for your ideas!

Hubby is afraid of pain patches because he's heard of people overdosing with them. I would imagine that, if used as directed, they must be safe. Does anyone have experience with them?

Also, we did contact a compounding pharmacy. We're having issues with the cost as the insurance doesn't want to pay for it. They're not buying into the fact that starch is bad. Any ideas here?

I would think the tiny amount of starch in the Vicodin shouldn't be a problem if he's not taking loads and loads of them and also if the rest of his diet is strict.

My hubby still took his starchy Bextra tablets while starting NSD and still made progress on the diet. He just gradually weaned off them over the course of the year as his AS symptoms improved.

So don't panic. Tell your hubby to take his meds as required and hopefully he can also wean off them as the diet takes effect.

Not sure if you want to try this, but I've had tremendous success with acupuncture. This may be an effective treatment to compliment the NSD treatment. Some people have had mixed results with acupuncture so your mileage is going to vary. Not all acupuncturists are made equal, so you'll need to find one who you think is reputable and has a good history helping people (preferable with our condition).

Good luck!

Thank you!!! Perhaps we'll be a little more patient with weaning him off the pain meds. He still has hip and back pain but at least he can participate in life again. It sure is nice to have my hubby back!!! Three cheers for the NSD!!!

You can get hydrocodone in the syrup form, it's given for coughs and for children and people who can't take pills.