Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Highlights in Spondylitis Research CURING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

I was and now am the same as you regarding BM's. I tried almost everything to get regular. Whenever i hit the three day mark, I'd usually be my deepest into a flare. Like you said, it could have been mental, could've been something else but that's one obstacle I'm incredibly happy to overcome! Really hoping it stays that way.
As you're on Dyclofenac, I've been on enbrel. It's hard for me to know exactly what's going on while on it. I said before though, I'm confident it's not working for me and have decided to stop. It's been about 2 and 1/2 weeks since my last injection. This is usually when I get a huge up tick in pain. I've been sleeping well, still have a bit of pain on waking but this is usually the point where self-destruction sets in and I gorge on tons of fructose heavy fruits, dried fruits, eating too close to bedtime and extended periods of time in awkward positions on the couch. Not this time. If I end up flaring heavily, I'll get on humira instead as it's the sensible thing to do with my iritis attacks anyways.
I had quarter of a cooked and cooled potato(baking potato) after my hockey game last night. Quarter again this morn with breakfast. So far so good. I've gotten up to about 3-4 tbs of pstarch per day. Spacing it out helped a lot with gassiness. I've also added about 3 tbs of dextrose powder with no ill effects.

Coopa, you beat Richard Nikolay to the punch on the hazda hunter gatherer article!
Thanks so much for posting your test results! It's really interesting to look at and gave me a little preview of what to expect. Called the Dr's office again. He didn't call back. I'm gonna walk in there on Tuesday for one final attempt at getting a requisition letter from him. When he says no, I'll have to pay a naturopathic dr to order it for me. I'm scared to ask and can't find a good enough google answer but does anyone know roughly how much it costs?

You still okay Copen?

Hi, yes, doing ok. Went up to 2Tbsp potato starch this morning, now crossing my fingers. Pain remains around 1-2/10. Sleep has improved - and dreaming a WHOLE lot more. A bit hot at night (though maybe that's our extended southern hemisphere Indian summer). My weight has also gone up; have been a stable 50kg (yup I'm a girl) for many months, now suddenly 51-52kg. BMs have gone from every second day to daily. CoatTails, I'll be interested to hear how you go over the next little while as the enbrel leaves your system, and you, Dlee, when you stop the diclofenac. How are your pain levels Coopatroopa?

Mine are consistent with my pre-PS levels. I'm pretty bad at the 1-10 scale, as I'm super sensitive to false patterns and not being objective. I'm pretty confident saying they're the same (which joints are effected and how much fluctuates, but that's consistent with no PS/probiotics). I am on 15mg of Meloxicam every day too, so that certainly helps things.

I wanted to feel like a real person yesterday and give some soaked/sprouted, boiled then cooled black beans a go yesterday. I made a big vat of lamb stew and added 2-3tbs of beans to my lunch and dinner bowls. There was also 1/3 potato split into the two same stew meals as well.
I must've been 'vividly' dreaming that I was at an ACDC concert because I woke up rocked! Hard!. Felt like Chuck Norris karate chopped my spine. Not only is he impossibly powerful, he's also alien-laser precise! From a constant 0-2 on the pain scale to a 5-7 this morning. I'm just thankful that it was only his one-inch chop and not a full wind up. My pain scale doesn't go that high.
If you plan to add beans or similar, I caution those with AS to add in very slowly. 1 tsp or tbs per day? And don't confuse things by mixing in cooked and cooled potatoes. Chuck is ninja silently lurking.
What meds are you on, if u don't mind my asking, Copen?

Damn, sorry to hear that CT, was that the only difference you can think of? Still on the same dosage of Enbrel? Has the flare died down?

Ya, really frustrating. I should've had my enbrel injection about 1 week ago. It's not working, so I've axed it. Herxheimer? I think the potato didn't help the situation but I'm very confident it was the beans. I did everything else right. Full AIP, very low stress/de-stressing, one hour walk in nature, really healthy foods, mindful of fructose consumption(under 15g's), no awkward positions on the couch or elsewhere for long periods, massage from the Wifey. I did everything right knowing that my experiment depended on it.
I woke up after only 5 hrs sleep at about a 5-7 pain scale. I had a reall long, hot shower and put some zostrix hp(capsaisin as per dr ayers' rec) on and felt COMPLETELY drained of all energy. I passed out for 9 more hours and woke up at about a 3. It stayed at about a 2-3 for most of the day but I feel a lot better today.
Thank the PS gods that I had a BM immediately after waking yesterday. That used to crush me before when I would flare and not be able to go for 3 days without doing an enema. I really don't like doing enemas but used to find it necessary and helpful. Sorry for talking about my BM's all the time but I used to really struggle with that and from reading 1000's of posts here, I've noticed that a lot of others do too. If one is tolerant of PS, it really seems to be the answer.
Thanks for your concern Coopa, means a lot.

Ouch, a painful but perhaps useful experiment CoatTails. My medication: I stopped methotrexate two and a half months ago when I started no-starch diet. Should be out of my system by now. I also reduced sulfasalazine from 2000mg to 1000mg at the same time. Planning to take another cut in a few weeks. Have avoided NSAIDs like the plague for about 8 mths.

I agree completely. Painful but useful. It'll be a while before I'm brave enough to try black beans again.
I was for fortunate that NSAIDs were completely useless for me. They were the first drugs offered and if they had've provided relief, I would have been all over them. I hopped right over to enbrel and got back my life back almost instantly. It's always interested me to see so many people with the same/similar condition on different meds.
I assume NSD is helping if you've reduced meds and also plan to cut further?
Do you follow any kind of dietary/lifestyle system aside from NSD?

Dlee and Coopa, do you guys supplement with anything or eat coconut oil etc. during your fasting periods?

Yep, NSD has made a huge difference along with figuring out a few other intolerances (avocado - dammit, cauliflower, egg whites). I pretty much follow paleo autoimmune protocol; no dairy (ok, a little butter occasionally), nuts/seeds (except macadamias), alcohol (sigh), nightshades. Greatly reduced caffeine, very little sugar (max one piece fruit per day). Egg yolks only. Lots of meat (fortunately cows and sheep are all grass-fed in New Zealand), fish, green vegies. Lots of coconut. Only supplement (other than PS) is Vitamin C. I did a few fasts, including a three-day water fast, and although I became virtually pain-free (temporarily) they completely wiped me out and I struggled to regain the lost weight. Won't do any more and fortunately Sarah Ballentyne (the Paleo Approach) warns off them saying they tend to increase cortisol levels. I'm an ex-triathlete so still swim in a squad 3x week and cycle once or twice. And walk. Do sit-ups/press ups when I'm feeling frisky. Try to get to bed early and wake early-ish. That's pretty much my regime.
By the way, a little sore today. Not sure if it is the increase to 2tbsp PS a day or something else. I'll back off for a day or so then re-introduce.

We're living a very similar lifestyle Copen. Sounds like it's treating you well, seeing as you're able to be as active as you are. That's awesome! I've avoided the water fasts as I don't have much weight to lose either. I put myself into ketosis for a short while and was very low carb before and after for a while. My Wife said it was the worst stint of our marriage. Adding carbs helped and I noticed even more help after I started taking this stuff;http://www.allstarhealth.com/f/gaia_herbs-system_support_adrenal_health.htm
If I don't have time to visit the farm where I grab my grass-fed meats, I always fall back on frozen New Zealand grass-fed lamb from the supermarket. I use a bit of home made ghee from time to time but not often.
No rush on the PS. I'm taking a two or three day break. Gas subsided completely almost right away.
I found this article about the potential benefits of switching sources of RS and adding various probiotics etc. We're up to date on most of the other info but at the very bottom "Supper Booster recipe - Mix it up:" there is some really good info, in my opinion.
http://www.gestaltreality.com/2014/02/27/resistant-starch-a-concise-guide/

Dr. GBG and Tim Steele have agreed to go over my MDX 2200 when it's complete. I fully meant it when I told them they are super heroes.

Side note. I used to always(10 years) have cold and often clammy hands and feet. Since I began taking RS, it's completely better 90% of the time!