A couple weeks ago I had to stop taking my NSAIDs because it was upsetting my stomach, to the point I was bleeding when I went to the toilet. My rheumatologist suggested I take Prilosec OTC 20mg for 90 days. I have not started that yet, I'm just tired of taking drugs.
A week and a half ago I started the NSD with the first 3 days being the 3 day apple diet. I even gave up coffee just to be on the safe side (wasn't sure if it was making my stomach problems worse). The NSD is working (mostly). I've literally only eaten fruit, vegetables, and meat the last week. I had a mild flare on the fifth day hours after eating walnuts, so I haven't eaten them since.
My stomach still isn't settling down much (some I'm guessing may be partly to a new diet, but my body is used to it, as I started eating much healhier years ago to loose weight. The real difference is giving up the starches). Should I go ahead and take the prilosec OTC? Will it help the digestion of my food better or will it allow more to get into my intestines for the bacteria to feed off of? Will it affect the diet in any way? I really want this diet to work. Not ready to jump into the TNF inhibitors yet.
Also, like I said the NSD does seem to be helping. Most of my body feels much less inflammation. I've most noticed it in my neck (most surprising to me). I kept insisting to the doctor that my neck wasn't related to my back pain. I worked at a job years ago that had me swiveling my head from left to right about 15-30 times a minute. I did that for several years and assumed the pain I've felt in my neck for the past 10 years was from that, not AS. After just a week on the diet, that pain has virtually disappeared. I just have very minor pain now (which I'm now attributing to 10 years of uncontrolled inflammation damage).
However, when I first saw a physical therapist about exercise to help my AS, he insisted on good posture being paramount. Ever since, I've constantly found myself correcting my posture, straightening my back so I don't stoop. This has had a negative side affect. I now experience pain from mid shoulder line to just below the shoulder line in my back. This pain has not gone away with the diet. I'm tired of constantly correcting my posture and wonder if it is just making the problem worse. I know we want to avoid kyphosis, but I didn't have this pain before correcting my posture. Should I keep at it and hope the diet helps?
BTW, as I sit here writing this, I'm drinking my first cup of coffee in a week and and a half(although it only has honey, no half&half and sugar like I used to have). We'll see how it sits on my stomach today. It is heaven!
