HERE HERE, Wally!
I have enjoyed reading these posts. I'd like to respond by saying I totally agree with your feelings of two groups or possibly some sort of spectrum.
Look, all of us here most likely don't have the exact same form of disease and exact same cause. I feel it's likely that we all won't have the same exact effects from diet. THEN you have folks who have had AS for years, and may not be able to differentiate between pain from mechanical damage and inflammation.
Now what I mean about perhaps not sharing the exact same disease.
There's different types of spondylitis, including AS, undifferentiated, psoratic, etc .
There's B27 positive and negative AS'ers.
Then I wonder about those like myself who have NEVER had elevations in CRP or ESR, even during times of big flares and with or without Vioxx. Obviously for me these tests mean nothing and I'm sure I'm not alone. Am I then in yet another group... those that are not "inflammation responders"?
So choosing subjects for such a study would, I think, be tricky. Perhaps sufferers of like symptoms/tests etc could be grouped together.
I would love to see such a study, as I really think that diet plays a role SOMEHOW, and that Erbringer was at least at the tip of an iceberg with his work. So many have benefited. But yet there are questions. Hopefully, someone can come along and continue so that questions can be answered.
(BTW, I do take Vioxx (not stupid yet, but do try to skip every other or every third dose, but lately can't), and believe me, I FEEL EVERY BITE OF WHEAT, when I slip up)
Thank you for your initial post and responses, I have enjoyed the discourse.
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