Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group NO boys allowed :]

being a girl i have the monthly gift right? well im just wondering if you ladies experience more AS aches and pains all over as the cycle approaches. the first day or two is terrible for me. Im on NSD [5 wks] and feel achy today [cycle is very near] so im waiting to see how i do.

before starting NSD the first day or two were the worst days of the month for me. my knees would both swell big, hurt all over, didnt think i could get stiffer but i did. a slightly nausous feeling and of course...cramps :]

so now i am waiting to see how this goes. im a little nervous to be honest.
something i just discovered [duh] for those of you on NSD... try not to introduce a new food while soon approaching your cycle. if you are like me, its hard to tell the diff between reaction or cycle symptoms. i just did this yesterday so now i dont know which is which :[ and on top of that thunderstorms could be to blame too,. UGH so confusing!!!
so does this happen to you?

i didn't develop inflammatory arthritis until i was 35 around the time i started going through early perimenopause. i did notice (when i was still having cycles) that i flared with my hormones. i've read that estrogen protects us against inflammation (to some degree) so maybe when the estrogen dips low, maybe you feel the effects of your AS more, just a thought.

also, if you prefer to put this here, that is fine, but if you'd prefer to put it in the women's forum, you might get more answers there. if you do not have access to the women's forum yet, you can ask someone in admin like mig to put you in, either PM her or ask in the technical section, there's a post about getting into the women's forum there. if you want this moved to that forum, you can ask mig to do that as well. up to you, just suggesting......

Hi Sunny,

There is a women's forum in case you're interested. If you would like to move this thread into the women's forum, just PM Mig and I'm sure she'll do that for you and give you access to this forum.

wow ok! didnt know there was such a thing.. cool. i have no probs with it being moved..um its still part of kickAS though right? learn something new everyday. thanks girls :]

Yea go to the Womans forum, the boys are always SOOOO nosy about all our business..lol they act like we just sit around and talk about them..lol AS IF!..lol

sue22: intersting indeed. funny i was reading about endorphins and and how they affect perception of pain and so on. i guess there are a few diff endorphines and one of them is raised by eating chocolate. the article said this could be why we crave chocolate sometimes b/c of the comfort feelings after eating it. SOOO i crave chocolate at cycle time and was thinking that maybe our endorphines are lower near and during cycle too. Hmmmm.

hadn't thought of that regarding our cycles. i am on LDN (low dose naltrexone), they are not 100% sure how it works, but the running current theory is that it helps the body produce more endorphins. your observation is interesting.

sue22: Ha! it was upon reading info on LDN that got me to looking about endorphines :]
still havent had my appt. to try and get LDN. i hope doc goes for it!

if you want to try it and your doc is hesitant, a lot of info on here of how best to find a doc who will accommodate your wishes. if you get stuck, please ask here, but the best advice i heard was to go to the local compounding pharmacy, and ask them which doctor(s) in town prescribe. then make an appointment with that doctor. i had planned to do just that, got the info from the pharmacy that had already been making my progesterone creme for me. had the appointment all set up with a GP who practices a mix of western and alternative medicine here. but turned out i didn't need to go that route because my rheumy decided to let me try it. what convinced him was the articles pulled off of pubmed on its use in autoimmune disease (especially crohn's since its a spondy and that's what he thinks i have), also another on fibro (not that i have that, but rather to show the diversity). also was able to show him the lack of side effects from an LDN website (just google LDN). if you go to the pharmacy section of this forum, and find the post "i started LDN last night", a lot more info there. maybe you've already found all this information.......

anyway, good luck with the LDN.

sue22: yes i have been there thanks to you :]. good tip on going to comp. pharm. to find Rx doc as i have one of those. but i saw about places to get it from and heard ppl mention Skip's in florida. id have to have it mailed of course but i saw ppl also mention cost at local comp pharm. was sometimes higher b/c they may not normally stalk that. none the less, i just wanna make sure im getting the correct and effective thing regardless of price.

i posted a note for mig about the womens forum too.