Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; On NSD already but I feel I need little help

Chicharito,
Let's get some perspective here: you were on the diet for 4 weeks and said your pain went from an 8-9 to a 3-4. Ding, ding, ding! You win! The diet is working! Don't over think this and do course adjustments when maybe none are needed. Ever try driving a car really fast while staring 5 feet in front of the bumper? Can't do it, you'll swerve all over the road. You have to pick your head up and look at the horizon. You need to take the long view with this diet as well.

Stop eliminating stuff! Why in God's name did you cut avocados (and onions and tomatoes?) if your pain has gone from a 9 to a 3? The diet is working. Stick with it and give your body a chance to heal. Give it months. If you hit a wall (months from now) then maybe you can tweak the diet a bit. Or, if you're actually keeping a food journal and you notice a pattern where every time you eat tomatoes you have a flare a few hours or a day later then maybe you try eliminating those. But don't just take every single piece of advice on here and try to apply it to your diet or you're just not going to last.

I repeat: the diet is working for you and so I see no reason to keep cutting foods. Cutting coffee? Why? Does coffee bother you? Have you observed an obvious patter whereby you are in pain after drinking coffee? Ok, then cut it. But jeez, if it doesn't itch then don't scratch it. I love coffee and have no issues with it.

And you don't have to cut dairy if it doesn't bother you. Question: does it bother you? Do you notice a distinct pattern of pain after eating yogurt? "...read somewhere that 50% of adopters of the diet have to avoid dairy as well.." I'd love to see that study;-) My advice: stop reading so much advice on the Internet and stick to cutting starch from your diet. Too many course corrections and not enough self-experimentation and careful observation.

Tramadol vs OTC NSAIDS: do NSAIDS actually bother your stomach? I don't understand why in the world you'd choose an addictive medicine vs. something like an OTC NSAID if there's no pain associated with occasional NSAID use. So, do the NSDAIS bother you or are you just doing another course correction because of some random post you read on the Internet? Sounds like the latter. I'll take an NSDAID any day vs Tramadol because...wait for it...the NSDAIDS don't bother me at all if I only take them occasionally;-) There's no reason to walk around in pain if you have a med that will help. So if I get a random flare (yes, Virginia, I still get minor flares once in a blue moon even after 7 years on this diet) because I messed up on the diet then I'll just pop a couple Ibuprofen and get back on the diet.

Honestly, I'd say that if you go from a 9 to a 3 on the pain scale then it might be time to try adding some foods back into your diet. But in your case, I'd say that you should:
1. Start keeping a food journal and write down how you feel after meals
2. Once that's a habit, try adding back some foods and observe. (avocados, tomatoes, onions and yogurt would be first on my list)
3. Stop reading so much advice about diet on forums and start writing in your journal about your experience and reactions to the foods you're eating.

Only add back one food at a time for at least 3-5 days and see what happens.

Good luck!

Hi Chicarido and welcome, You said you have some problems still despite your NSD. I'm wondering if some of your supplements and medications you're taking might have starch in them. That's what happened to me. When l checked all my supplements and what meds l was on at the time, l discovered most of them were loaded with starch. What l thought to be helping with my AS and health in general was actually working against me. Hope this will help you. Good Luck

Sorry I didn't realize that starch in supplements was already discussed. But I still think you should check your meds for starch if you haven't done so. Don't know if this will help but what the heck!

hey guys thanks for your comments

i just wanted to tell you that i brought this thread back to life because it was here were i first learned about planters almonds, and i wanted to comment on their great taste.

I'm actually doing pretty great on the NSD, some days I feel so good that I actually only remember about the whole AS thing when I start to think what I will have for lunch.. and remember the restrictions.

I'm going to answer to this at more lenght tomorrow because i just drove for 12 hours and I'm dead.

Hey, chicharito:

Glad You brought this one back, as I did not answer the question You posed earlier:


Klebsiella would LOVE to eat sugars instead of starches, but it is really the enzymes this bacterium produces to break down starches into sugars that causes our problems. They are called Pullulinase D and another I have forgotten, but also--MOST SUGARS are absorbed in the stomach, so never reach the intestinal flora, but having the sugar in our blood can help feed burrowing critters like the fungus C. albicans and that can be a problem for many of us. The sugars which make it down to the lower gut are things like caramel, which is a polymerized thing harder to digest than regular sugar, and galactose and lactose which are the milk sugars that are somewhat conducive to the bacterial growth and can be a problem for many of us.

SALUD!
John

Hello Chicharito, I'm also new here and also have AS and just started the NSD. While you have symptoms and take different kinds of meds you shouldn't stop going to the Rheumatologist (even if he doesn't agree with the NSD). I believe that the diet can reduce our symptoms dramatically, but blood tests and a regular visit to the Rheumatologist is also very important. If you don't like your Doctor or the way he deals with your AS, then change. I haven't talked to my Rheumatologist about the diet yet because it's something I just began but I will shortly because I already feel better.
Wish you keep improoving.