Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; Lost motivation

I feel disheartened. I've been on the LSD for about 2 months now I think? I won't call it NSD, because I have not been strict enough: I sinned a few times (as in eating no-no stuff like bread or pasta - not too often though) and I did not give up pumpkin, avocado or chocolate.

I can feel the inflammation raging in my neck, my shoulders and my hips. I cannot sleep properly again. I'm so fed up and feel rather desperate.

I feel the diet isn't working for me. Strangely enough, I can't seem to bring myself to just give it up. I do not particularly miss those high-starch foods now. The only thing I miss is the convenience of being able to just buy meals and snacks anywhere when out and about.

Don't give up Linella. I've read many times that you have to go all or none on this diet, so be really strict for a while, use your iodine and feel the results within days. Maybe you could do a grape or apple fast immediately to get that pain out of your body and then slowly introduce foods back, one at a time, like shauna did.

Hang in there, I'm struggling through this with you. My fam is eating rice and pasta and bread and I have to have totally different items. I am even going to friends houses to dine (twice) this week, and get this, I am bringing my own little dish of approved dinner. Argh. Imbarrassing? Yeah, but their friends, they will understand. And I am NOT telling them beforehand, or they would make special cuisine for me!!

Take care,
Donette

"so be really strict for a while, use your iodine and feel the results within days."

I'm sure I've had a few strict days in a row and did not feel any results.

I fear doing a fast because my blood pressure plummets if I don't eat regularly and I worry about fainting.

I'm not worried about the diet being hard anymore. I'm worried only about it not having the desired effect.

Hi Linella, I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged.

It seems to me right from the start that your heart hasn't really been in it. You've expressed your skepticism many times which is definately fair enough. I was truly very skeptical about this diet at the start also.

I think for many people they don't really want to make the diet work because then they will actually have to do permanently it and it's bloody hard and not a fun diet! It's time consuming, takes a lot of effort, patience and willpower. I'm not saying you don't have all those things as clearly you do to even attempt the diet in the first place, I'm just saying it's not easy for ANYONE to follow this diet and so I think you are awesome for trying it.

Reading back on your posts, yes you have cheated quite a bit unfortunately. You can't claim the diet doesn't work if you've been eating starchy stuff intermittently all along...in that case you haven't actually been doing the diet at all. If you go ahead and eat bread and pasta etc then you truly will not make any progress and you shouldn't expect to either.

Being strict for a few days in a row is not enough time for most people to see significant results....try a few weeks or a couple of months. It took 3 months for my hubby Jon to get his head around the diet. At that stage we were still whittling things out of his diet and fine tuning it. It took a further 6 months before he was able to come off the NSAIDS. So you have to take a long term approach to this thing.

I'm not saying this to be harsh or make you feel worse. I just want to give you this last push to really truly try the diet properly before you give up and say it doesn't work for you. I really truly wish the best for you and hope you can see results in the next couple of months.


All the best, keep it up.

Chelsea

I ate one slice of bread once (last weekend) and one small bowl of pasta the weekend before that.

I ate sweet potato twice in the first 3 days of the diet.

But I have been eating avocado and pumpkin regularly which both contain low leverls of starch.

I'm not sceptical about the diet as a possible treatment for AS. I'm sceptical about the diet as a possible treatment for me. I had high hopes when I started and I do not find the idea of living with the diet daunting anymore.

My AS is very advanced. The NSAIDs that used to make a huge difference do not work anymore. The flare I've had in the past 6 months is worse than anything I've had before.

I had expected to only see the full benefits of a diet like this after about 3 months and I was prepared to give it a good go. I'm prepared to be stricter and start again. But if cutting as much starch out of my diet - most, not all - does not make a difference I am indeed very sceptical about achieving a significant result by following the diet strictly. Some improvement would've motivated me to follow it more strictly. Now the pain and the fact that the inflammation got worse is seriously discouraging.

Sorry, I don't mean to say I do not believe the theory behind the diet or that it shouldn't be necessary to follow the diet strictly or that you should be cured after a couple of weeks.

I'm saying that I am not convinced about its benefits for me personally.

I will try the fast tomorrow and then cut out the pumpkin and avocado (oh and the chocolate ) and try again - strictly this time - for a few more weeks. I might aswell. But I'm just not hopeful.

I've heard several mention it does take more than a few days. That is scary about your blood pressure. Maybe you could do an apple and chicken fast???

Hey Linella,
I too did the same thing!!I didn't do it right the 1st time b/c I didn't like the idea.I halfheartedly tried the diet while eating beans,carrots,etc.
When I went back to donuts,etc the pain came back w/ a vengeance in places I had never had before,my shoulderand knee,along with crippling to the point of not walking.Now my knee permanently sounds like crunchy cellophane from the damage from just 1 month of inflammation after limiting starch and going back on it full force.After suffering tremendously,I went back and did it right and it saved my life.No cheating.Noone suffers but me when I do that!I ate a donut the other day,they were once my fave but now I hate them.
When you get fed up enough and are ready to do it right and put your whole heart into it,you will be rewarded.I'm saying this from my own experience.I think what u are doing is totally normal.
I now live in the kitchen.I keep cookies ready at all times and Jolly Rancher hard candy to snack on so I don't get tempted (I started strict and found out all the things I could tolerate one at a time)
I can tell you from my experience,it does work,at least for me.Maintaining the diet gets easier with time.It's natural and habit to me now.
For breakfast,no more reaching unconsciously for cereal or a toaster strudel,it's bacon and eggs and coconut flour pancake for me!I don't even think about it anymore,except how my grocery bill tripled!!
Good luck,
Shauna

Also,try starting out w/ maybe just meat and salad and bacon and eggs for a week and add one thing at a time after your fast.It's too confusing just eating a bunch of things at once!!That helped me.
Also,if u really like chocolate,I make some that is really chewy and tough and prob bad on the teeth,but it tastes good.I take 2 sq unsweetened baker's choc and melt it in a saucepan w/ 3/4 cup honey and cook over med heat until thickened, then put on parchment paper on a baking sheet in candy shaped mounds in the fridge.(It will BURN ur fingers and tongue,do not touch until cooled)They are good!I tolerate them well.I don't buy any choc,I'm scared of milk,etc.
Shauna

Hi everyone,
I just joined this forum, but have been visiting this website for over a month already. Pardon my english, as I'm from Indonesia, if you don't know where that is, well Bali is one of the island in Indonesia .

My husband is Canadian, turning 30 years old this December, and he's an school teacher for english here. I believe he's been having AS for 6 years already even though just diagnosed 3 months ago.

Similar to Linella, He was and still is really hesitant about this NSD, he's been on NSD & Soya milk & unsweetened chocolate & honey for sugar replacement for almost 2 weeks. (all the food I gave him was tested by iodine to make sure its starch free).

Yet, there's still no significant effect. from 10 for the level of pain, it gets down to 8, and sometimes it strikes back when he has a busy schedule at school like teaching 2 classes in a row without break. He can't stand or sit too long.

His AS got worse since July until now, he's still dragging his right leg when he walks, and I have to put his sock on to his right foot. It is really stiff and painful when he walks.

I've followed every advice I read on the forum, such as:
1. NSD (but still consuming cow cheese, and unsweetened chocolate every other day)
2. Low Dose Naltrexone every night
3. Fish oil Melrose every night
4. two spoon of apple cidar vinegar with mother every night
5. 2 to 4 celebrex everyday (half in the morning, and half at night)
6. swimming with snorkling goggles when he's not to painful.

I don't know if all of these are enough, but everything seems so pointless at the moment especially because there's no improvement on his bad right leg.

I'm a bit confuse with the possibility of other food that's starch free but still may be bad for him, for example, I read in some posts that they can't tolerate apples, eggs, skinless almond, mushrooms, strawberries.

Dragonslayer suggests mozarella cheese in his NSD quick start recipe, I also don't know if this is okay, I made him No Starch Pizza the other day with lots of mozarella cheese, well according to him, it doesn't really affect him after that, but again I'm not sure whether maybe the effect takes longer time to show.

We hit rock bottom this Monday as he's so desperate and not really into this NSD anymore, I caught him eating ice cream yesterday and cashew nut. For the first time in our almost 5 year marriage, the "d" word said couple times in our arguments. It really does make me sad.

As a wife, I have no idea on how to convince him futher, I don't want to be a control freak for him even though it might show that I am. He doesn't really want to visit this forum, and I just feel that he's given up fighting this AS.
I think he's just tired of me doing and giving all the things that keep on reminding him having this AS.

I'm just hoping I can be given more and more strength and patience as I can never be in a position to tell him that everything will be alright one day, that there will finally be an end to all his pain, because I know he suffers so much, and the only person who can tell him all that should be the person who also been through what he's been through.

Any advice and feedback will be welcomed.


Cheers,

Christina - desperate housewife.

Hi Christina,maybe he would be willing to do an apple fast for a day or 2 or 3 to see if the pain subsides?Then just meat and eggs,then keep adding one thing at a time.
The chocolate and cheese may be culprits.I do eat the unsweet choc w/ honey, but not a whole lot,and not every other day.I can't do dairy at all.I rarely eat cheese.Soy is starchy I think.That soya milk very well could be a culprit.
Just starting,it's too hard and confusing eating so many different things at once.I would fast then start w/ known safe things.
Also,he cannot say whether something does not affect him.If his pain is 8-10,he can't tell!He must lower his pain first.Then when u eat something,you will know!!!hope it helps.Good luck
Shauna