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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
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OP
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199 |
As I write this message at 4:50am, I am reminded of the pain and suffering I continue to go through during my rehabilitation. I have an auto-immune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and have been medicated with an auto-immune suppresor called Enbrel since 2003. While Enbrel has carried me through these 9 years, it has only masked the symptoms, but never treated the cause.
In January of 2012 I discovered a holistic way of treating the cause by not eating starches, or commonly known as the Low Starch Diet (LSD). I've sought out multiple nutritionists and focused mainly on fruits, veggies and nuts. Additional research lead me to understand supplements to heal the areas of my body that have been severely damaged by AS. A little over a month into the program, I stopped taking Enbrel completely, but I paid the price.
I have been on the LSD diet for 2 1/2 months while being off Enbrel 1 1/2 months. During that time, I have fought pains, stiffness, and swelling in areas I've never dealt with before. I've relied on my parents helping me out of bed when I could not do it myself. I've come out of the chiropractor's office shaking and bewildered due to (much needed) the spinal and neck adjustments. And my sleep continues to be intermittent - I wake up 2-3 times per night knowing that my body is desperate for full nights of sleep. I put up with a lot, but I'm no Superman.
As of last week I've decided to improve my quality of life and become more functional by allowing Ibuprofen into my diet and use as much as I need to get me through the rest of the days/weeks/months until my body heals itself. Up until this point, I've always convinced myself that any time of medication will somehow stop the process of healing my body. Only a few days into this regiment, I found out how much I was wrong. When healing the body from AS, you need to always be moving, sleep as much as you can, and take in quality whole foods (no processed junk!). With Ibuprofen, I take my normal draining days and reduce the pain & inflammation by 80%. In turn, I sleep longer. I move more. I function. And now I'm taking less naps during the day, I'm able to bend and be more flexible, and I'm getting longer nights of sleep. So the recovery time the body needs is getting met whereas before I couldn't due to all the pain and inflammation. And when the body gets enough days to recover, I will ween off my Ibuprofen as it only stays in the body for a short period of time with no major side-effects.
If you're ever feeling guilty of taking low-dose NSAIDs like aspirin, Ibuprofen, Advil, etc., consider your recovery time over your fear of medication. While we'd all like to be Supermen and kick AS ASAP, we need to remember that pain and inflammation don't need to follow you while you're fixing your body. Keep up the good fight and God bless you on your journey to 100% health.
My Autoimmune Blog - Ups & Downs with NSD & SCD, the NEED for Meat and STARCHES, and the Effects of Getting Off Enbrel (biologic) and Going on Humira: http://100percenthealth.us/
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 9,848 Likes: 6
Very_Addicted_to_AS_Kickin
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Very_Addicted_to_AS_Kickin
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 9,848 Likes: 6 |
Hi Brianz - You sure have been taking some punishment with this AS beast. Has Enbrel really been around for 9 years...time sure does pass. Hope the diet kicks in for you pdq. As for the NSAID, please do ensure you get a stomach protector lined up for yourself. Those NSAIDs can rip a gut apart in no time! (mine is not good - though better than it was).
Wish you bon continuation - take care -
Molly C (France) Keeping on Keeping on
MollyC1i - Riding OutAS
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
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OP
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199 |
Hi Brianz - You sure have been taking some punishment with this AS beast. Has Enbrel really been around for 9 years...time sure does pass. Hope the diet kicks in for you pdq. As for the NSAID, please do ensure you get a stomach protector lined up for yourself. Those NSAIDs can rip a gut apart in no time! (mine is not good - though better than it was).
Wish you bon continuation - take care -
Molly C (France) Keeping on Keeping on Thank you for the encouragement Molly. I completely agree with you on getting the gut healed - that's my #1. I've been very blessed with an ND who ran an autoimmune seminar (and have done some consultations with). He prescribed "Gut Repair 1" and it's done wonders for me and the gut. So far I have seen no stomach issues taking an ibuprofen as I need.
My Autoimmune Blog - Ups & Downs with NSD & SCD, the NEED for Meat and STARCHES, and the Effects of Getting Off Enbrel (biologic) and Going on Humira: http://100percenthealth.us/
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839
Ninja_AS_Kicker
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Ninja_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839 |
ibuprofen does not affect only your stomach but the entire gut. Molly knows her business here since we who have IBD feel the bad effects of NSAID's far more quick than others.
i understand your need to be pain free, but taking NSAID's and healing your gut are opposite goals. maybe other pain medication would help you?
34. Some rheumys say AS stage 1-2 some others say USpA Also UC - rectocolitis. UC curently in remission since feb 2011. AS/USpA remission march-aug 2011. Flare - sept-nov 2011 (antibiotics). Remission now... Modified NSD/SCD. Cook your own ! ____________________________________________________________ Mesalazine-Salofalk 500 mg/day And the list of my medication has become verry short after some years on this diet
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
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OP
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199 |
i understand your need to be pain free, but taking NSAID's and healing your gut are opposite goals. maybe other pain medication would help you?
Got any suggestions? Currently I take 3 Zyflamend per day and 3-5 ibuprofen pills per day.
My Autoimmune Blog - Ups & Downs with NSD & SCD, the NEED for Meat and STARCHES, and the Effects of Getting Off Enbrel (biologic) and Going on Humira: http://100percenthealth.us/
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839
Ninja_AS_Kicker
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Ninja_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839 |
boswellia? MSM? paracetamol?
wow. but that's a lot of NSAID's your taking ?!?!?!? does your doctor know how much you take? does he agree?
Last edited by Alinus; 04/03/12 03:28 AM.
34. Some rheumys say AS stage 1-2 some others say USpA Also UC - rectocolitis. UC curently in remission since feb 2011. AS/USpA remission march-aug 2011. Flare - sept-nov 2011 (antibiotics). Remission now... Modified NSD/SCD. Cook your own ! ____________________________________________________________ Mesalazine-Salofalk 500 mg/day And the list of my medication has become verry short after some years on this diet
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 39
Member
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Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 39 |
Most doctors would recommend about 1200 mg ibuprofen a day for AS, so that's not unreasonable (depends on the size of the pills obviously.) Before I started the diet I was taking 1200 most days.
Last edited by marb; 04/03/12 05:00 AM.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839
Ninja_AS_Kicker
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Ninja_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839 |
1200 means 3 pils of 400 mg. there are ibuprofens with 800 mg inside.
and combine those with 3 cox-2 inhibitors and you are walking a dangerous road.
34. Some rheumys say AS stage 1-2 some others say USpA Also UC - rectocolitis. UC curently in remission since feb 2011. AS/USpA remission march-aug 2011. Flare - sept-nov 2011 (antibiotics). Remission now... Modified NSD/SCD. Cook your own ! ____________________________________________________________ Mesalazine-Salofalk 500 mg/day And the list of my medication has become verry short after some years on this diet
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
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OP
First_Degree_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 199 |
1200 means 3 pils of 400 mg. there are ibuprofens with 800 mg inside.
and combine those with 3 cox-2 inhibitors and you are walking a dangerous road. Each pill is 200mg. Per day is 600 - 1000mg. My Rhuetologist thinks I need to take a Naproxen every day (I've been told those are 6 Ibuprofen at a time!) and my ND states that the recovery is more important than the Ibuprofen. Keep in mind that my ND does not recommend NSAIDS, but this is a special case at a difficult time. I hope to start weening off this Ibuprofen in the next few weeks (if not sooner). It just all depends on how quickly my body decides to heal itself. Can you explain boswellia, MSM, and/or paracetamol and if anyone here has seen benefit taking it?
My Autoimmune Blog - Ups & Downs with NSD & SCD, the NEED for Meat and STARCHES, and the Effects of Getting Off Enbrel (biologic) and Going on Humira: http://100percenthealth.us/
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839
Ninja_AS_Kicker
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Ninja_AS_Kicker
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 839 |
i do not use them. i do well on my diet. but you can search the "alternatives" forum. i guess they were discussed there.
1000 mg of ibuprofen is not much on the short term.
34. Some rheumys say AS stage 1-2 some others say USpA Also UC - rectocolitis. UC curently in remission since feb 2011. AS/USpA remission march-aug 2011. Flare - sept-nov 2011 (antibiotics). Remission now... Modified NSD/SCD. Cook your own ! ____________________________________________________________ Mesalazine-Salofalk 500 mg/day And the list of my medication has become verry short after some years on this diet
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