Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips dealing with AS without any Meds

Hi Chelsea,

Thanks for the encouragement and support. I am still hoping to go Low Starch to No Starch someday -- but I am no longer torturing my body in order to get there. I just find almost all the "prescribed" food not very appealing and my stomach caouldn't digest all that massive amount of fruit and leaves. So now I am trying to re-train the body/stomach/apetite more slowly and gently. I can digest the animal products fine but just don't like them that much, except for milk products which I was cutting down at first and then reintroduced them recently as I realized I need some nourishment from something right now. Hopefully I will find the balance at some point and be able to continue with it from that point.

Sudeshna

Hi Sudeshna

It sounds like you are taking a very sensible approach to this. I hope your body adjusts soon... just take your time and I'm sure you will get there in the end!

I suppose also the foods most people eat on the NSD are probably quite different to what you are used to with Bengali food! Makes it extra tough for you.

Good Luck, keep us up to date with your progress
Chelsea

Hi
Don't Worry

If you don't know what to do then do following which I have tried a combination of few things streams of medications.It has worked great for me I doo all the following simultaneously

Allopathic
On taking medicines : Sulfasalazine and Methotrexate
my dose 5 Tabs of 500 mg Sulfasalazine daily

2 after good breakfast with half litre of luke-warm milk having Honey 2 spoons
3 tabs at night after good heavy dinner same as above milk and honey 2 spoons

Why to use milk as it totaly destroys or neutralises any bad affect of medicine or any thing or even posion Hope you know this.

On weekend begining like Fridaay night takin 6 tabs of Methotrexate 5 mg each after heavy dinner with same type milk

If you cn get Enbrel or effort it tht is best than taking above but milk is must .

Multivitamins B Complex with vitmain c 2 tablets early in morning, with Ginseng must have Zinc 3 days in week take 400 mg Vitamin E capsule
Have 1 tab 1000mg Calcium tblet


Homeopathic + altenative
Take medicine Chinchona a natural blodd purifier as per standard doses
Take chawanprash 2 spoons twice once in morning once in evening I don't know what you call it there in US
Get the Seatone (a gel like capsules from New Zealnd) take as prescribed in it

Yoga
Continuous deep breathing excersise 40 expirations inspirations rapidaly continuosly twice day
take very long breathe totally fill the lungs and hold 40 seconds 5 times at strecth
toatl 3 times a day
Lie down on you stomach with hands and legs straight and try to raise upper body parts head neck shoulders chest upwards taking breath in and hold for 40 seconds do 10 times total 3 times a day

Physio therapy
2 kms slow cyling and or 10 minutes of simming in morning and evening
Rotating shoulders 5 minutes twice in a day.
Meal
Avoid red meat
Avoid very fatty diet
take lot of vegeratble and fruits fresh and raw 1 kg of apple a day must
regards

In Oct 2004 I stopped taking Indocin after nearly 20 years but as far as control it was the best one of many that I tried. I was having balance issues, stomach issues, headaches and mental confusion. Having started using a CPAP machine for sleep apnea in Aug 2004 may have been the key for me to improve enough with mental clarity to figure out the Indocin induced issues. I had been taking fish oil since 1996 because after taking it for about 6 months I could tell it was helping so I stayed with it. I just increased by fish oil and in my case the control was about the same as when taking Indocin.

The major balance problem, the ringing ears, the profound headaches and most important the mental confusion (it was more like a mental fog) started to lift within a couple weeks. I realized what a mess I had made in managing my company and over the next several months started building a solid management team which is very functional today so I can focus more on sales and marketing that I best love and is our strongest need today.

I had suffered greatly for 30+ years from IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and after my mind cleared it read more about that and suspected wheat and milk allergies. The IBS cleared up. After self testing I learned I was OK with dairy and NOT with wheat (gluten). That permits travel without a map of restrooms.

I do not know if now at the age of 55 the AS has quieted down but without the fish oil my pain level will shoot up. In fact with today being New Years day I did not take my fish oil yet since I usually do it when I am shaving and getting dressed to go to the office. Now that it is near noon I remembered not taking my fish oil because the pain developing in my hands as I type.

Due to a lot of fusion I have limited movement and no head rotation but with a hand held mirror driving is very doable. I go to a great Chiropractor 3 times a week and a massage therapist 2 times a week. After all of these years I still suffer greater pain from muscle spasms than from inflamed joints.

Life is great. We have a set of 9 year of twins, a boy and a girl. I have a wonderful staff of 22 great people and still drive and fly a lot to tradeshows and on sales trips.

Right now I am off of the toxic / hefty stuff. No longer on methotrexate / imuran / etc. Mainly due to the liver toxicity and lack of a decent rheumatologist .
I have considered going totally off of everything and going with all nutrition / exercise route.

I'm still taking meds at the moment, but I've had a really rough year. I am on the no starch diet, and I'm looking into the antibiotic protocol. I really want to be free of the meds because I think they may actually complicate the disease. Since a poor stomach lining seems to be the reason the klebs are getting into my system and causing so much pain it would be smart not to take anything that would decrease any stomach lining you have....like NSAIDS.

Since starting the no starch diet I've had alot more energy and focus as well as less pain. I have gone skiing three times and I ride a motorcycle almost every day. I walk alot, but I haven't started an exercise routine yet (I seem to flare up from too much exercise still, so I'm skiing one day per week, with the hopes of building to more). My joints have had alot of damage this year so things are starting slowly. I am confident that with the right diet and right exercise routine I will be back to my old self within the year, without medication.
I used to be a medic in the army, as well as a ski patrol and ski instructor......life without my knees has sucked......It's good to hear about others who are managing to keep working and exercising.

right now I have to stick to mellow exercise so that I can build up my muscles and protect what cartilage I have left.
ski groomers, ride my bike on the street, ride a motorcycle (good for the abs), walk alot, and swim. I can't touch weights at the moment.

Please see my recent post about my experience with Magnesium

Using Manesium Citrate to relieve Pain, Stiffness, Fatigue - News Article

Exercise is great. If you could bottle the effects of exercise it would be one of the best selling substances in the world.

I also have the same passion for weight training and excercising. I am on anti inflammatory medication as of 3 months ago but have not taken anything for AS for about 6 years prior to that. Weight training is part of my life. Here are the excercises I love to do in the gym that really make me feel good:

Anything for back. Dumbbell rows, Wide grip lat pulldowns, close grip lat pulldowns, seated rows for upper back, dead lifts, etc. I find that when I give my back muscles a good workout my back pain diminishes significantly. I also like to train biceps and triceps regularly. Because of recent shoulder pain I cannot do any shoulder excercises (presses are out of question). Chest excercises are great(bench press barbell, dumbbell) they force you to breathe heavily and give you a great chest expansion workout. Also, they might be hard to get use to at first if you have AS (maybe you already to them, i don't know) but core excercises are great at overall conditioning. Training my mid section really helps me lift myself better off of my bed or move around during flares. I avoid leg training and vigurous cardio, I'm always afraid of pulling something so I stick to good form, controlled excercises only. Anybody else have any gym tips?

As a Finn I feel I need to react to using a lamp in the sauna immediately...

If we're talking about sauna as we Finns invented it, a room with a temperature of 60 to 120 Celsius and a stove onto which you throw water to create steam, then I would very seriously advice NOT to take any electrical equipment there unless it has been specifically approved to be used in such conditions and humidity. Don't want anyone to get electricuted! In Finland we have strict regulations on that to avoid accidents, as there is a sauna in virtually every house.

Sauna in general is wonderful for health, muscle relaxation, stress relieving etc. When you're having a bad inflammation however, sauna doesn't help, as the heat increases blood circulation and blood pressure temporarily, which causes pain and the phenomenon known as "sauna hangover" - you'll be aching and stiff the next day. Ice swimming or anything cold helps much better when you're inflamed. But when inflammation passes, combining sauna with ice swimming is a wonderful boost for those living in cold climate areas.

Had to get that off my chest before anything serious happens

When I started working out, I paid to have a personal trainer help me to use the machines at the right settings for me. When I don't have the settings just right, it's amazing how easy it is to hurt myself. If you can find someone who really knows what they are doing to help you it is worth it.