Hi, just found this forum and have found some fantastic info.For the last 6 years i have had severe back pain with the last 3 years been on a daily basis.

I was thought to have a bulged disk in the beginning and physio for a while, the physio did reduce the pain but severe pain did return from time to time. I finally got a CT and it showed i have moderately severe osteoarthritis in 3 disks and was told all i can do is take anti-inflammatories and pain killers. Since i have gastritis i can only take pain killers (panadeine forte) from time to time.

I now have a new doctor who ordered a couple of blood tests (hla-27 and rheumatoid factor) i was positive to hla-27 and negative to ra but only just 14/14.

I have made an appointment to see a rheumatologist next month. i have very limited flexibility i cannot even get half way down to touch my toes though i never could touch my toes and after squatting down my hips hurt for a while i have been seeing a osteopath which has helped me put my shoes and socks on in the mornings at least. What do you think my chances are of have AS? What do you think my chances are of having a fusion in my spine/hips?

I have also been living on cereals, dairy and little meat most of my life. Thanks for your help and i am glad i found this site,
Stephen.

WELCOME, steve_aus:



100%.



Between zero and 92%; it is all up to You. At this time, from the presentation so far, You probably have some SIJ 'erosions' or 'sclerosis,' instead of full fusion, but if left untreated--or if improperly treated (NSAIDs) there is 100% chance of developing permanent damage in this joint.

Eliminate all grains all flour products, potatoes, corn, and rice for now and especially fried foods. If this might not be a permanent change, You can at least regain some mobility and turn the clock back by up to two years.

Long-term fasting can also help--get Yourself a symptom-free day or two and prove the food connection; You will be much better off in the long-run.

G'Day, Mate--HEALTH,
John

Thanks for your tips, i am trying to eleiminate grains and flour products now. Do you mean using NSAIDS are a bad idea? I guess the rheumatoligist will put me on the proper treatment its another 6 week wait. Thanks again for your help John,
Stephen.

Welcome to KickAS, this is a great place for support. I learned about the No Starch Diet(NSD) here and it has helped reduce my pain. Hope you feel better soon, take care.

Don't count on it -- my rheumatologist was convinced over-the-counter doses of naproxen (aka Aleve) would not lead to digestive damage, but after less than 2 years I could *feel* the damage in the form of heartburn. Then he wanted me to try biologics, but I lean towards my general physician's recommendation of biologics-as-a-last-resort due to rare but potentially fatal side effects (my doc personally knew a couple people who did not survive the same type of bad reaction that has forced some KA members to stop taking biologics). So I started seriously researching alternatives, came across DragonSlayer's posts at this and another forum, and became determined to find out for myself whether diet can really work. Turns out that it can, given enough patience, determination, and experimental attitude. So now my rheumatologist gets to tease me about being a hold-out, but I'm not dependent on getting anti-tnf shots to be functional and have a fairly normal life (i.e. aside from my strict diet preventing me from eating out).

Sounds like some medications can be worse than the disease. Do you know of any books that have a day to day menu so I know what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner? I have mostly lived on cereals and dairy with a little meat , fruit and veggies so now i have no idea how to change my diet.Thanks for your help,
Stephen.
.

Thanks,
What is a sed rate? My ESR is 7 (<11) and CRP 2.6 (<3.0),
Stephen.

Hi Stephen,
I am a fellow aussie up here in not so sunny QLD. Has been flooding again grrr.

Anyway as far as diet goes do a search on here and have a look at the NSD (no starch diet) posts. Lost of fantastic info there. I never had much positive results from the diet but many others have so it is worth a shot.

ESR and CRP are test for inflamation. Your tests are within the normal range but that actually means very little.
Many of us here with AS don't get very elevated ESR or CRP my CRP highest has only been over 20. Some rheumatologists go by the results but then there are other smarter rheumies who know this is only one test that can possible show inflamation.

Feel free to ask any questions. I have been through the ringer with the Australian medical system and am willing to help if I can.

NSAIDS can help but have completely ruined my digestive system.
I have reacted to most of the first line medications and have recently had to stop taking Enbrel injections (biologics) because of side effects that caused problems with my heart.
I am not trying to scare you but I do believe that it is worth trying the diet first. Like I said it doesn't work for everyone(me)but it is a safer thing to start before taking potentialy dangerous meds.

All the best.

Hi aussiegirl thanks for your reply, i am doing my homework on the NSD now it takes a bit of organising being used to the opposite diet for most of my life.

When i go to the tropics my pain is gone i mean full tropics not sub tropicali am not sure how much it helps you but i do love tropical heat.

I was given NSAIDS but hurt my gut within a couple of days so i gave them up and just put up with the pain sometimes taking panadeine forte. I know what you mean about the medical system i could be fully fused before they make a diagnoses (i hope not).
BTW i will be looking at moving far north as soon as i sort a few things out here (its a no brainer).
All the best hope QLD gets sunny soon its cold here in melb ( my worst enemy),
Stephen.

Yep the cold damp weather is killing me. I love it when it is very hot even over 40 is just fine for me. But I don't do too well with extreme humidity. Not as bad as cold but it is close. I am at Bribie Island so it is not too bad for humidity and gets nice and hot in summer. (when it's not flooding grrr)

Also another thing worth trying is LDN it helped me a lot but not always easy to get scripts as you need to convince the doctors who know nothing about it and then you have to find a compounding pharmasist to make the tabs but it is worth it. I just can't always afford it at over $100 a pop but it does last for about 3 months.

All the best