Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Iodine Testing

so i was thinking about trying sulfasalazine with my diet, but you say it can make it worse?

i read the thread in your post and i have some of the same questions on probiotics. i've tried them before and could not tell if they were working. how do you know?

it did take a long time for me to get a diagnosis because for many years my symptoms hadn't progressed enough for them to make the diagnosis. we knew it was an auto-immune arthritis, but weren't sure which one. i did fairly well on sulfa and plaqunil for a couple years. i've actually felt somewhat fortunate when i've read these forums because i don't think my disease is as progressed as some. but now that i'm off of enbrel and my knees are acting up. that's been a little scary and i'm really desperate for answers.

i guess for now i will stay on a strict nsd and see if my knees flare again after this round of prednisone. my husband is a physical therapist and worried about permanent damage to my joints. i'm worried about him being patient while i try to figure this out and hoping i'm not setting myself up for a yo-yo of repeated flares and prednisone to bring down inflammation so i can walk again. i guess only time will tell, but thanks so much for helping me find my way through this.

~shelli

Well, the ideal antibiotic for us would be targeted at klebsiella type bacteria and not too broad-spectrum to kill most of your other bacteria. Not really sure what the impact of sulfasalazine is on gut flora. It is also unclear to me whether it directly lowers inflammation, or if it only reduces inflammation by reducing the problem bacteria. I remember seeing both positive and negative posts about people's experiences with it.

That's long for: "a definite maybe"



One of the members here had cultures taken that showed not enough beneficial bacteria, but she has only recently started probiotics. If she takes the test again later and the balance is improved, that would be good evidence. Could you talk one of your doctors into prescribing such tests, before and after use of probiotics?

That's assuming you manage to find probiotics that don't have any bad stuff in them to make you flare (starch, FOS, inulin)



Glad to help -- good luck and feel free to keep asking questions! There are many smart people around here.

i don't know my medicines very well. is there an antibiotic that targets the klebs that would work better than the sulfa? if anyone knows please share. the doctor i'm seeing right now is young and smart enough, but just general practice. she'll probably go along with whatever i want to try. i'm not going to see my rhuemy till july so was just going to have my home town doc help me out a little until then.

as far as probiotics, is there anything a little less expensive than what tim uses (natrens)? i used some from garden of life before. not for sure if i knew about their starch content. i'd have to check that out again.

~shelli