Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; >UPDATE ON MYSELF<

Hey everyone!

I just posted this in the "Success Stories" section, but thought I'd repost here for the tired and heavy eyes.

Just a quick update. Almost 2 years into NSD, and I am back to my old self pre-AS! Some of the things I've been able to do with 100% success are:

-get out of bed (and run away if I had to in case there was a fire or burglary. something I was deathly afraid of when I was in pain all the time)
-use the bathroom un-aided
-JUMP out of my car; much less drive and take a normal turn or pothole without holding my breath and bracing myself.
-run around and act like a general fool
-jumping jacks
-hop & skip
-take leisurely strolls through a city
-ride a bike
-ride horses again (something I thought would never happen again
-dive off a diving board
-go scuba diving
-sit down or get up from my office chair
-make dinner (paleo styleeeee of course smile
-make love (gentle and crazy style smile
-ride amusement park rides
-OH!! put on clothes!
-fall over my own two feet because of general clumsiness and not faint at the jolting pain that I used to have
-grocery shop
-go to festivals and concerts and never ever ever have to think about pain or be jealous that other people were pain-free

Basically, I have my life back. The life that EVERYONE deserves! If you don't give NSD a solid try, then pretty much I feel sorry for you. By solid try, I mean at the very least 3 months. 6 months if you're determined, 1 year if you've noticed results, forever if it works.

SOME MORE POSITIVE THINGS: I've started reintroducing starches into my diet with no negative consequences. Either I've put myself into a long (hopefully long-lasting) remission, or just completely re-booted my system. So much so that I've GAINED 5lbs! OH THE HORRORS. Oh well. But yeah. So for a year, yeah I pretty much ate next to nothing. But the payoff was/is worth it.

Sorry to be blunt, but do it or forever be on pain or on meds. Your choice. Life is a right c*nt then you die. Make the most of it. The end.

<3
Lauren

Hi lar84

Thanks for the very interesting and positive update....

I have recently started the NSD and I'm on day 2. The info you provided to try the diet for at least 3 months is very helpful to me.

Cheers,
Lee

Way to go Lauren!!!

Yeehaw!!!

I am closing in on 2 years of the low starch diet, and overall I can continue do almost all the stuff you listed too!

This past weekend I made paleo yummy food for over 100 people (and I made 400 raw vegan low starch cupcakes!) and served it up at a day day music fest - it was a blast. And I partied my butt off after my food cart sold out of food. I could not believe the compliments I got from the food too! OMG. One girl came up and gave me a hug, and most people came back both days and got a 2nd plate. There was buzz all over the county about my zucchini pasta & vegan alfredo sauce, and those "cupcakes!". And while zucchini may be too starchy for some, it's a helluva lot less starchy then real pasta.


So fun! And this coming weekend I am catering my own sold out wine dinner for 35 people at a near by winery, all paleo, vegan, low starch too!

My Upcoming Wine Menu Includes:
My Cherry BBQ Sauce over kabobs with cantaloupe, peaches, bell pepper, red onion, zucchini.
Fresh Coleslaw in Sunflower Veganaise
Raw Vegan Walnut Tacos + Marinated Raw Fajita Veggies
Wilted Kale Salad in a Creamy Macadamia Chipotle Sauce
Vegan Marion Berry Filled Cheezecake with a Raw Chocolate Heart

I still can't do jumping jacks though or jog or run comfortably. I have quite a bit of fusing down my spine, the words "bamboo spine" showed up on recent x-rays. But overall this diet truly kicks AS.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful update! So inspiring!!

xo

Lookin' for the "LIKE" button!

Your enthusiasm and recipes rock! (I am doing more and more RAW.......)

Again - lookin' for the "LIKE" button, Andrea.

Congratulations!
Please share more about your experience with us. Did you have bowel issues with your AS, did you have other joint problems than the back, neck, ribs etc?
When you say 100% NSD, what are your fringefoods? Can you do nightshades? Milk products?
Thanks,
Loha

Thanks for update Lauren and congrats!

Wishing you many more years of remission.

Tim

A little more about my experience with AS as requested by Loha:

First off, I am positive for the HLA-B27 gene. Yes, bowel issues definitely correlated with joint pain. I was never formally diagnosed with any, but I definitely had issues with diarrhea which led to joint inflammation shortly afterwards. This was after eating anything starchy.

The only issues I had were lower back, sciatica, hips and hip flexors..

I was 100% NSD meaning I tested E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G with iodine that entered my mouth for about a year (didn't even use pepper!). I also cut out dairy almost completely except for the occasional hard cheese and yogurt. I cut out all nightshades as a precautionary guard as well. My diet consisted of maybe 12 foods rotated (I got real creative with combinations):

-eggs in any shape or form, clean
-any meats, plain and unseasoned
-leafy green veggies (kale, spinach, all lettuces were winners)
-broccoli
-some cabbage as long as it tested fine
-some cauliflower as long as it tested fine
-avocados
-some onions
-all berries
-pineapple
-dates and prunes
-green grapes
-almonds & walnuts
-olives
-oil & vinegar
-safe mayo
-any herbs for seasoning
-salt
-wine & spirits were fine
-cider beers
-water
-safe fruit juices

Yeah at first its not as fun as what your peers and family members are eating, but so what? I was pain-free and on the path to remission. I also learned to eat food as sustenance, not abuse it.

These days, I eat nightshades, eat limited dairy (meaning yogurts and cheese, never been a fan of milk anyway), I don't worry about seasonings or marinades anymore, and when I eat a starch, its a very tiny serving. Enough to just taste it really. I try to keep that to 2-3 times a week. Sometimes I will get the diarrhea if I've gone overboard, but no joint pain ensues.

NOW. I do still believe in fasting. It is important to give your body a break from constantly working. Just as you have your weekends from a job, your insides need a break from digesting. I TRY to get in a 24 hour (dinner to dinner) fast once a week. I feel FANTASTIC after a fast. During my fast I will drink water, coffee, and eat some grapes to keep my energy level up.

I will also add that I believe in probiotics as well. I was taking 20billion cfu's every day for a couple months and I noticed a huge leap in my tolerance to fringe foods. I believe in the good bacteria killing off the bad bacteria which helps stave of the klebsiella or other enemy bacteria causing the inflammatory reaction. At this point I don't really care to get into the politics of whether or not its klebsiella that's causing the immune response. All I know is there is something that is DEFINITELY triggered in my bowels when I eat starch and I know how to fix it.

Hope this helps!!

Thanks a lot Lauren!

I eat such a similar diet - so many of the same foods. I just also eat quite a bit of coconut oil, coconut milk, and coconut butter.

Thanks again for sharing! Love reading success stories!!

xox