Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Newbie

Hello fellow travelers on this journey. My name is Dean, I have been to a Rhumitologist for the first time today. The visit did not teach me anything new (thank you all on this site for the info) except that treatment for this disease is expensive. I dont have insurance, nor am I financially indipendant. I have not made an appointment to do something about my iritis but I will soon.
I have been active for 16 yrs and have been to doctors, chiropractors, ect...ect... I was actually first dignosed by a caring physical therapist about three months ago. During the time that the AS was active I had two back injuries to blame everything on. I guess now I know the truth.
I am having a little trouble staying positive at the moment. I have always been a very active person. It seems that I have this monster to fight that the best I can hope for is a painfull stalemate. I am not sure what all I am going to do to fight this but you can bet that I will do whatever it takes.
I have been trying the low starch diet and I am having trouble finding information on starch content of specific foods. The web sites and posts appear to have a lot of eat this and dont eat that info that often contradicts. I have also noticed that many sites that have reccomended diets mix other perspectives other than starch free, intermixing low carb, low fat, no milk products red meat or (INSERT CURRENT DIETARY BIAS HERE). Anybody know of any web sites with specific ammount of starch content in certain foods? I have not been able to find any, and I am not real crazy about carrying a bottle of Iodine with me everwhere I go.
I realize that there will be a lot of trial and error and that some people flare up with different foods. I was eating sweet potatoes for instance, but some sites insist that this is a definite NO NO, others state plainly that the sweet potato is a perfect substitute and can be eaten with no problems. Whats the deal? I would appreciate some help sorting this out. Thanx :)

Dean

Hello Dean...
Just wanted to say welcome! You will find plenty of information here and hopefully some with more knowledge of NSD/LSD can offer you some tips. I do the low starch and it has controlled my colitis tremendously. I know that AS can really kick you when you're down, but just know that you have all the support to help you back up ...right here. I was dx in 01' and at age 31 was not quite ready to believe arthritis could do so much to my body. But then things started piecing together my teen years of back problems and knee issues. This place gave me the answers I was looking for. Along with a good Rheumy and the love of my family...I'm kickinAs to the end....

Take care and hope to see you around ...


Buggy

Hi Dean

Welcome to the site. I know you will get alot of info here about this fight with AS.

John

Hi, and welcome!!!!!!!

Glad to hear you are interested in theNSD/LSD diet. It can be a lifesaver. I sort of chuckled about your question, though, but please understand, not at you . . .

" . . . I am not real crazy about carrying a bottle of Iodine with me everwhere I go. "

Don't worry -- you won't have to carry the iodine anywhere because it's so near impossible to eat out! Half in jest, half in truth. Visit the forum for NSD/LSD and we'll help you out. But basically, proteins are fine, as are most fruits and veggies (a few are not and are listed on our NSD/LSD board), nuts are good (with a couple of exceptions), fats/oils okay, and you're about done! You do without wheat (in all forms), potatoes, rye, oats, a few can eat a bit of rice occasionally, no bananas, peanuts, cashews, pecans . . . again, I won't try to summarize it all here, but that should give you an idea. The problem is with eating out, if the food isn't obviously starchy, they put food starch in everything imagineable, so it isn't (IMHO) worth the bother to eat out. Buy whole foods (one ingredient, in their natural state), and you'll be fine. And we have a good listing of recipes to make this "happen" for you.

OK, I'm rambling -- it's all there, and it works. Hope to see you at NSD/LSD.

Patty



Annual balloon rally at sunrise last weekend -- beautiful!

WELCOME, Dean:

Some of the treatments for AS are discouragingly expensive, but the NSD is safer and pretty cost-effective, if not especially convenient. It is best to start the NSD with a cleansing regimen, then add foods back one at a time. We try providing reasonable guidelines, but there are individualistic responses we have taken into account that narrow our choices at first; we each become experimenters.

I don't know of a good online source for starch content. Bilko is our best guide with his copy of Widdowson and McCance: Please join us on the NSD Forum, and ask any question or search the archives.

Glad you have found us--
John

Hi Dean, the low starch diet is a learning experience and the Iodine iwhile not absolutely necessary, was very convenient for Carol Sinclair and the trail blazers on the NSD forum here.
Sweet potato is on my diet, but only the pacific yam type (orange flesh) not the purple skinned variety, others can eat neither.

Ted
proAS_KickAS

Dean,

boiled sweet potatos have 8.9, ordinary (old) boiled spuds have 16.3 g/100g starch content. But of course the sweet ones have a lot of sugars. A useful tip to remember when buying packaged food is to study the food content information on the label and remember that carbohydrates = starch + sugars. So when it says carbs = A of which sugars = B, you know the starch will be A - B. It is all somewhat confusing at first but you'll get into it. Good luck!

Now my charms are all o'ethrown,
And what strength I have's mine own,
Which is most faint.

Hi Dean, welcome to KickAS,

If you know that you have iritis, then you should be off to the Doctor right away. It's not something you wait to do next week as it could cause major complications that are permanent.

Are your eyes very light sensitive right now? That is a good indicator of iritis.

Don't wait.

George

Breb Assyl

George

I made an apointment for tomorrow afternoon. There is an eye center here that has an awsome reputation. I have had a strong sensativty to light for for quite awhile. My vision has gotten worse in the last two years. I am sure that some damage has been done. My family doctor blew it off saying that its just because I was around 40. He did not even examine me. I told him several weeks ago about the AS pre diagnosis and he blew that off too, saying "Thats extremely rare". I will let you know how it goes.

Thanx for the concearn and thanx for the warm welcome to everyone.

Dean

Your Doctor should have his AS KICKED. Unattended iritis is bad news. Hope you get the help you need.

Also hope you stay around with us. This is a great place to hang out. Even with the collective pain we have on this site, we do have fun as well.

George

Breb Assyl