Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Great News on NSD/Pregnancy

I meant to post about this a few weeks ago, but I went to my OBGYN and told her about my story because she remembered how the past few years I had always complained of a mysterious back/hip problem. She noticed I had lost weight and seemed happier and back to "my normal" self. So I told her about NSD and how it has helped me tremendously and I expressed my concern about potentially one day becoming pregnant on NSD. I told her I was afraid I might miss out on something for my baby and was also afraid I wouldn't be able to control cravings. Well, she totally put those worries to rest. She said she wished ALL of her pregnant patients would follow a diet like mine. She said there is no starch that we would ever need for us OR the baby, and she said cravings are very easily controllable.

She said something else that totally made sense to me! She said think about it: You are creating a baby which is made of muscle, cartilage, bone, etc. What better ingredient to form a human than by protein! She said she worries more about the vegetarian pregnant patients. As long as I get lots of protein, leafy green veggies and some fruit, that's all I need!

Just thought I'd let any fellow NSDers who are worried like I was about carrying a baby while on the diet know that at least MY doctor was encouraging.

This is great but remember that carbohydrates are very very important for a pregnant women (and people in general), you just have to get non-starch ones, ie. sugars.

Congratulations, Lauren S:

We have the disclaimers, but throughout history and up until late 1800s NOBODY ate refined flour products in any quantity and many Eskimo (Inuit) babies came out fine on almost no starches consumed by their mothers.

I am so thankful the diet is working so well for You, and wish You every joy with this wonderful anticipation,

HEALTH to You both,
John

Wow, Lauren, that's wonderful! I'm thrilled you have such a supportive doctor who thinks outside the box, and I'm so glad that you are looking forward to a healthy pregnancy with confidence and with having an alliance with a caring doctor.
I can't wait until you share with us the happy news one day in the future. For what it is worth: my pregnancy with my daughter was amazing. Fabulous. And this was after a ginormous flare. I didn't know it was AS. I started going to PT. She said that I should put off my dream of having a child. She was very concerned, but also very negative. It made me mad. I began to come out of the flare. Later, I got pregnant. I felt very low blood sugar/nauseated the first trimester, but my back felt fine. In the last few months, I started doing water exercise with seniors. I felt wonderful. I worked up until my last month. People could not get over how well I looked, how strong and healthy I was. I wish I had known about nutrition and AS though, because after my daughter was born, I had a flare. Later I learned I about AS, gluten, starch etc. So, you are ahead of the game!

Hi Lauren,

I had my NSD diet checked by a nutritionist also with the viwew on falling pregnant (which I did, my daughter is 4 now), she also said it was fine, however, it does lack in Vitamin B, so it's best to take Folic Acid supplement as soon as you start trying or even before you're actively trying to fall pregnant. You can get starch free Folic Acid easily.

I was very lucky with my pregnancy as my AS and Iritis went into complete remission for 3(!) years. This meant I could eat what I wanted ( apart from the last 3 months in my pregnancy where I developed gestational diabetes) which was great, as eating healthy with a newborn baby is not always easy

How nice you found a doctor that is open minded! I came one across today, had my bi-annual check up in the rheumy clinic (you get to see someone different every time...). He was amazed that I was doing really well, considering I've had AS for 22 years and was not taking any medication. I told him a little bit about the diet, he didn't really want to know too much, however he said, "if this is working for you, keep doing it". That's all I wanted to hear.

All the best to you!

It's my understanding that meats are a very good source of vitamin B, and the NSD involves the consumption of a fair amount of meat... are you sure B was the vitamin your nutritionist was concerned about?

That's great to hear about the remission, though! How did you realize you were in remission? Did you simply fall off the diet and then not notice a relapse?

Thanks for all of your encouragement! I don't think it will be happening anytime soon, but it's something that has been on my mind a lot. I put the ball in my hubby's court at this point. He's 31 and I'm 27 so for now it's up to him...I have plenty of time to wait.

My goal was to get in control of this AS before I even thought about being pregnant. For about 4 years I didn't think it was a good idea at all, but now after almost 6 months NSD, I see it's a very real and exciting possibility!

Dear Lauren:

Sorry, I misunderstood Your posting--thought You had already become pregnant!

Good to get AS under control; first things first.

HEALTH,
John

@marb: there are certain Vitamin Bs that are only in starchy food, and Folic Acid also is contained mainly in starchy foods. That's why it is important to supplement with Folic Acid when you're planning to fall pregnant. Check out the internet, you'll find a lot of info.

In regards to going into remission: I've been in touch with a center in Switzerland that specializes in women and pregnancy and autoimmune diseases (especially rheumtic diseases). They told me approx. 33% of women go into remission during pregnancy, 33% have the same issues as before and for 33% it actually gets worse during pregnancy. Unfortunately you don't know which one it's going to be.

I really suffered from morning sickness the first 3 months and had cravings for bland, starchy foods. Since I felt so bad, I simply tried brown rice around the 3 rd month. Nothing happened (no pain, no iritis). I slowly added more starch and I had no issues. This lasted until 2 years after birth (I breastfed a long time, so I guess that kept the hormone levels up). Then I had a massive iritis flare and since then I'm back on NSD. I can honestly say I never had less back pain than during my pregnancy. I was even really flexible (again hormones) and did a lot of yoga which really helped me activate areas that were an issue before.

I hope I was able to answer your questions!

All the best

John, no problem! Chpritz, I really hope I go into remission...haha if I found out I went into remission during pregnancy, I'd just be pregnant all the time like the Duggar family that is on TV as "19 Kids & Counting"!