Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Humira and diet, best august in 17 years

I started flaring in the summer of 1998. Every late summer I have the worst flares. August is usually a nightmare.

I started humira june 2013. August 2013, I went into a bad flare. I took my humira and it helped for a day, but then the next day I had to start methylprednisone for 10 days. and that did the trick. At that point I was taking humira every 14 days.

Last year, august 2014, I was taking humira every 10 days, as I've been doing for awhile now. I didn't end up taking methylpred, but I did need to see a hand surgeon for really bad enthesitis in my ulnar wrists that took about 6 months to settle down, had issues with my eyes (light sensitivity, etc) for about 3 months, etc.

This august, I flared a little in early august, but no worse than some of my other flares throughout the year. I did two things in the first week of august that I've been doing all month:

1. I've been taking humira weekly this month. I saw my rheumy at the end of july and asked him about doing weekly humira for a month instead of needing methylpred (partly because with diabetes, methylpred really messes up my blood glucose which is otherwise well under control). He agreed it was a good idea, and so that is what I'm doing.

2. I have gone dairy-free, egg-free, yeast-free. I've been essentially (cow) dairy free for years now. But was always sneaking egg (only mild reaction according to IgG / IgA testing) as its a good protein source and a good vehicle for veggies, but I've been egg-free all month. And my rheumy had me tested for yeast (S. cerevisiae (bakers' yeast, in bread) and that came back positive (IgA / IgG testing). As with eggs, I'd sneak bread, especially the good honey oatmeal bread from the local orchard: it made really good french toast. Anyway, no food is as good as feeling good.

Not sure if its the humira alone or the humira and diet, but this is the best I've felt in the month of august since 1998!

!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!

Hi Sue,

Are you in No Starch Diet, especially gluten free?

Sue- I am happy for You!

Erica and Lon,

Thank you!

Anne: gluten specifically and starch in general do not seem to be my problems.....yeast, eggs, and dairy did test positive. and at least with dairy, it was very obvious that it was distressing my GI tract for sure.

I was tested for gluten sensitivity in 3 ways: IgA/IgG testing, gene testing (HLA DQ2 and DQ8), and upper small intestine biopsy. All came back negative.

That's great.

Like you, dairy is a definite trigger for me, more I think than starches. I am suspicious of yeasted goods and so eat little bread, I need to stop the alcohol too (easier said than done).

Eggs Im not sure on. I am suspicious, and the albumen protein in egg white is known to cause problems for some in the same way as dairy proteins. But I need to keep my calories and nutrients up and eggs are a pretty important food source on a restricted diet. I recently got some egg yolk powder and am sticking that in my morning veg smoothie (tastes foul though).

So are you eating rice, potatoes etc?

Congrats, Sue!

I'm in a similar state. I was on enbrel for a few years. It worked great for back pain but became less effective over time and I still kept having bouts of uveitis. Changed to humira and am very fortunate that it has been working near perfectly on both fronts. I started on once bi-weekly but am down to about once every 3-4 weeks now.

I eat very little gluten but eat tons of starchy foods, usually in the form of potatoes, rice and oatmeal. Oatmeal has been a wonderful addition over the last few months as I find it REALLY helps to keep me regular. Oat bran and/or banana flour in my smoothies are great, too. I'm still up in the air about potato starch.

I'm very questionable about nuts in all shapes and forms. I avoid them almost entirely, for now.

Yeasts may be an issue for me, as well. Especially S. cerevisiae, from primal defence probiotics, which showed up in large amounts in my stool test. That was even after two weeks of not taking those pro-bx.

I too am fairly confident that dairy is an issue for me. It doesn't cause pain but I've labelled it as the most likely culprit regarding my passing blood. Some say there is a strong relation between yeasts and hemorrhoids. Maybe it has to do with that? Maybe a combination of the two? I don't know but I'm getting closer to figuring it out.

Staffy, I've been adding lots of coconut milk to my coffee or tea and also to my protein drinks, post-workout. For me, it's an easy way to add calories to my diet. Might be worth trying if the yolk powder puts you off?

Sue, was your iga/igg gluten test called an "Array 3"? I plan to order it for myself but always wondered if humira possibly alters the results. Did your doctors mention anything about that being a possibility?

Thank for the suggestion. I find the richness of coconut milk turns my stomach (fussy aren't I). But may try again with lower amounts.

That's so cool to way go, good on ya.
ETTE
Darrel

Darrel, thanks

Staffy, Coattails:

google S. cerevisiae and crohn's: strong correlation. a high percentage of crohn's patients with S. cerevisiae sensitivity.

Since I've had bowel issues since childhood...severe GI issues since 30...and then the rest of my symptoms (joints, etc) started at 35, rheumy and I believe for me, started in the gut....so not crohn's but crohn's like ulcers and inflammation of the ileum, similar to crohn's, so he had this yeast tested and sure enough. He's a smart man, really well read.

Coconut milk itself may be "too rich", but they make a coconut milk beverage (kinda like the nut milks) that is not so rich. And coconut milk yogurt is terrific.

Yes, I eat rice, potatoes, oats, etc, but not too many due to the diabetes...low carb diet for me to keep the blood glucose managed.

Dairy was always the most noticeable. The other I'm not sure I would have figured out without the blood work.

Gluten not the problem: that test was done, not along with the other food testing, but at a standard ACM lab, prescribed by the gastroneterologist. He also was the one to order the gene testing: HLA DQ2, DQ8. and a biopsy of the upper portion of the small intestine.