Welcome, Pete:
Yeah, there are still more obvious things to know about the misinformation that leads to mistreatment. Glaringly, all NSAIDs cause intestinal damage that allows AS to get much worse much faster. The great thing about NSAIDs is that they allow you to ignore the damage that is continuing; now enough below your pain radar. NSAIDs used to cause 44,000 deaths from spontaneous bleeding ulcers every year, but that is just the tip of the iceberg: The number of people with severe intestinal compromise is probably ten times this.
I suppose that I am grateful to have learned this the hard way--before the more severe
sequelae that doctors certainly would have blamed upon AS but in truth are caused or at least accelerated and exacerbated by the drugs. As I was about to return to those doctors for more
drugs to counteract the effects of drugs, I had a reverse road to Damascus vision--after which I was no longer blind.
The older drugs Indocin, Clinoril, and Voltaren damaged me to the extent that my kyphosis (easily measured from back of head to wall with heels against same) increased from zero to 10 inches in five years during which I also lost more than half again that amount in actual height (and I was not tall to start with). I did the exercises and was, further, quite active daily lifting weights, swimming, and very often playing racquetball, skiing, and SCUBA diving. The NSAIDs metabolized out too quickly as my physical exertion increased, so they switched me to MTX and steroids. These have severe AS--promoting qualities, also.
The very brilliant doctor who finally diagnosed me (I only waited 7 years--not much compared with some others...), told me that
diet has nothing to do with AS!! By then, I was well aware that this was untrue, but it took another 21 years before I found out what I had suspected all along:
SOMBODY, somewhere, had already figured this disease out. Since it was NIH (Not Invented Here), and, moreover, discovered in a country that has a
socialized medical system, AMA doctors will continue to ignore the
EVEREST of data they dismiss as 'anecdotal.' Well, I am finally an anecdote, too. Although I had met several people with AS, I made an extra effort to meet someone who became an
ex-sufferer and knew exactly what to do to achieve this condition (ESR > 100 before and < 7 latest check).
You may have already looked over the AS Dietary Primer
https://www.kickas.org/as_dietary_primer.shtml, and I hope that you can join us in the NSD forum
https://www.kickas.org/cgi-bin/w3t/postlist.pl?Cat=&Board=starch.
Glad you have found us and I wish you all the best,
John
