Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives NSD and diet-related; NSD making symptoms worse?

So I've been on the no starch diet for about 3 weeks now and I think I probably felt better before I started the diet. In the last 2 weeks I've had two flares with a fever and I just feel like my immune system is going insane. Before I started the diet I hadn't had a major flare in about 5 months.

Is this normal? Does it just take a long time sometimes for the diet to kick in? Any advice or, really, just words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated. I was really hoping to be able to avoid going on the biologics by changing my diet, but I don't think that's gonna happen now.

You might want to read brianzajac's posts and blog. Not everybody gets the same results with the diet.

Here's a link to his blog:

http://100percenthealth.us/sticky/auto-immune-diseases/

Did you start taking curcumin when you started the diet?

Ya I definitely know results aren't the same with everyone. I was just expecting to feel a little better than this after this amount of time.

I started the curcumin before the diet, and I was still taking it up until my last flare. I tested it with iodine and it didnt go black, so I figured it was safe.

I was just asking about the curcumin because I notice that people who do well with the NSD do well with curcumin and I am wondering if people like me who don't do well with NSD don't do well with curcumin.

The NSD might not be right for you. If you're getting fever and flares, I don't know how long to stay with it. IMO that shows that your body is majorly stressed by it, and that's not good.
Some of us have to keep searching and experimenting.

There's more than one way to do the NSD; what does your diet look like?

Well actually, I've found the curcumin to help a TON. When I was taking a 4+ capsules a day I noticed my peripheral pain was nearly gone. The only thing I don't like about the curcumin is it makes your stomach more acidic and I'm trying to eat more alkaline.

As for the fever and flares, I'm willing to deal with them for a couple months at least if they lead to some better results down the road.

I'm still experimenting with my diet. I'm really very new to this and I think there are still alot of avenues to explore. Right now my diet mainly consists of meat (chicken, pork, fish (I think fish might be a trigger food tho)), eggs, salad, fruits, and cooked veggies.

I just started an apple fast this morning and I'm hoping it helps me get out of this latest flare. My digestive system is really messed up right now. I don't think I've had a solid bowel movement in about a month.

I love curcumin & take it usually 3 times per day. Good stuff. Sometimes less. But I like to take it with meals, and I eat a HIGHLY alkaline diet, mostly plant based, and it seems to work really well with that.

I decided to do a 3 day juice fast over this Labor Day Weekend. My AS pain has been super low the past few months (I have been eating super low starch for 10 months, but didn't see the most progress until 5 months in after a 2 week green juice fast).

Anyhow, I am juicing in the new season. I have read it's good to juice fast for a few days during the weather changes as a way to give your body a break, and it seemed like sound advice to me.

My juices this time around have a lot of green apples in them (all our local farm stands are full of apples right now!) cucumbers (also from local farms), lemon, ginger, celery, parsley, and then I can mix in other greens like water cress, chard, zucchini, etc.

I had one of my worst flares ever about 3 months into the diet, so I wouldn't get too discouraged yet. I think that those of us with AS have immune systems in "fight or flight" mode and we just have to get them to calm back down, but that does not happen over night.

Anyhow, I hope you fast does well for you. I really enjoy "drinking" my highly alkaline veggie/fruit juices for each meal. I personally think it can be more satisfying and easier than just eating apples, plus you get many varied nutrients from all the different fruits/veggies you incorporate. Also juicing ginger is very good for pain relief, much like curcumin. And juicing feeds your body nurtients while giving your GI track a chance to heal itself. It also helps to "clean" everything out and get rid of all the inflammation. It does wonders for my colitis.

As for me, lately have been eating out at restaurants more, indulging in coffee again, etc cuz I was feeling so good, but am juicing to bring it all back home, and get re-aligned for optimal health & feeling good. The hardest part for me is staying strict when I feel like amazing.

Also, I would really limit your NSAIDS with curcumin, supposed to be hard on the liver I believe, its not recommended to take NSAIDS with curcumin. For me the curcumin made it possible to give up NSAIDS 100%.

-Andrea

Keep looking for ways. I struggled to get the diet working the first time and it really hurt me emotionally. However, you have got to keep trying to do the best for your health. I'm looking at doing a short fast/juice fast as I have never done this before. I have done daily fasts before which have dramatically reduced my pain levels so I know for sure that food must play a role in this disease. I have lost a lot of faith in traditional medicine due to severe increasing pain over the duration of my experience with the disease. I hope you can modify a diet which suits you, keep at it. Don't give up.

Hey Andrea, first off, I love your site, some awesome recipes on there. I'm gonna have to steal a few. I've actually been thinking about doing a juice fast for a while and I probably will try one in a few weeks or so (gotta buy a juicer first...). I am curious though, you say you mainly eat veggies, where do you get your protien?

Day 2 of the apple fast doesn't really feel much better than day 1 unfortunately. Had to take a celebrex this afternoon, just couldn't stand the pain any longer. Was the first NSAID I've taken in 2 days though. My liver enzymes were actually elevated after my last flare so I'm trying to take it easy with the meds for a while. I really want to get off the nsaids though, it's just hard because the pain is hanging around.

Seb, it's definitely starting to make me wonder "is this diet thing ever gonna work for me". I've been doing a low starch diet for about a month and a half now and the strict no starch diet for about 3 weeks and my progress is just very slow. For a while I thought it was helping, then I had my flares, and well I wasn't so sure anymore. I definitely don't want to be on tons of meds for the rest of my life though so I'm really hoping this diet kicks in sometime soon.

.. curcumin / turmeric? ..
I have repeatedly had bad experiences with foods that contained turmeric but I am now having some doubts that I could have possibly reacted to something else. This lunchtime I am going to go out, buy some pure turmeric and test this properly. I don't want to go around telling people to beware of turmeric until I am absolutely 100% sure.