Thanks John,

What you wrote, explains alot. You just single handedly explained how I made the trade off between GI misery to increased joint pains, and how my pain now shows through NSAID's, Anti-Tnf's, and hard narcotics for the last 6 months. My vitamin D deficiency made eating very hard for me, even with the most basic of foods. So while my doctor was playing around with the thought that I might have Crohn's, he saw that I was deficient, treated my for it, and said "now drink milk, drink it for the vitamin D so you can eat". So I began to drink it several times a day, and the stomach woes were decreasing as I ate, but my AS was starting to begin a slow and persistant flare. This month my right shoulder, my knees and my wrists are giving me a very hard time. My last vertabral compression hurts me almost as it did when it happened a year and a half ago. It shouldn't be doing that with the amount of meds I'm on. The answer would have to be the dairy, because that is the only, if not most dramatic, dietary change I have made in a while, considering the fact that last year I didn't eat dairy. Of course the higher sugar contents and continued long term NSAID's isn't helping either. I'm glad I used the milk as my example, and I am glad that you replied to me with this informative reply. I also now understand how NSAID's can accelerate AS activity.

I'm also glad to hear somone say why the the diet may not be effective for everyone equally, eg lactose, sugars, dysbiosis, fructose, candidiasis, NSAID's interferring etc. Up until now I felt like I had failed the diet, though not completely because I do get some pain relief. I know some other people that feel the same way, some of which have strayed away from the diet, so I hope everyone can see your response.

Thanks for sharing your personal experiences too. Without them, this would probably be harder for me to comprehend. I'm sorry to hear that you had so many GI issues in the past, but I am excited for you that you are able to say you had no reoccurances.

Good luck with your continued success.
I'd like to write more, but I have to go move around.
Thanks for all of this useful info. It's aprreciated!
Take care,
James.

HLA-B27+, JRA diagnosis in 1981, re-diagnosed as AS in 1988. Also iritis, colitis, and psoriasis. NSD + low carb helps me. My health makes it hard for me to post in a timely way.