Remission of AS symptoms
I have had several periods of temporary remission in Ankylosing Spondylitis. Remission has occurred for reasons such as:
* Antibiotics - these were perscribed for a chest infection whilst in Malaysia
* Fever - sometimes a high fever will cause the inflammation to die down completely. Does not happen every time.
* Fasting
* No Starch Diet
* Fruit Fast - a monodiet consisting of either apples, pears, or some other fruit that is not starchy.
* Antibiotics - these were perscribed for a chest infection whilst in Malaysia
* Fever - sometimes a high fever will cause the inflammation to die down completely. Does not happen every time.
* Fasting
* No Starch Diet
* Fruit Fast - a monodiet consisting of either apples, pears, or some other fruit that is not starchy.
2005.08.04
I am in a period of remission now and am uncertain as to the reason.
The most likely causes are:
- Wheatgerm.
I gave some wheatgerm a try just a day before the period of remission started. I was wondering how safe it would be for NSD. It was almost safe despite its starch content. Some starchy foods such as rice only produce a mild increase in inflammation. Doesn’t taste so wonderful though.
2005.09.05 Over the next four weeks I found that the period of remission would slowly wane and I would be just as sensitive to starch as before. Every time I tried eating a bit more wheat germ I would be fine again. So I am fairly convinced it is the wheat germ that is helping. - Hot Showers
At the end of every shower I have been having a short spell of pretty hot water — of course not so hot that it would be harmful. This was one of the recommendations of Edgar Cayce, but I just did it because I didn’t really like stepping out into a cold bathroom - Vegetarian diet.
I have been eating a mostly vegetarian diet and have also cut out foods that are high in saturated fat (butter, cream, dairy, coconut, etc). Also have been eating less fatty foods. - Essential oils.
This is unlikely to have helped as my health and A.S. has continued to improve regardless of whether I used essectial oils or not.
I tried using a mix of oils on my body which included peanut oil, a small amount of lavender oil and sandalwood essence. There may have been some other oils mixed in such as canola, olive and grapeseed oils. I would massage the oil onto various parts of my body such as my back, feet, scalp, hips, shoulders, neck, belly, etc. - Sunlight.
This is unlikely to have helped as my health and A.S. has continued to improve regardless of whether I get enough sunshine or not.
Have been sitting in a location where I get plenty of sunlight, however the light is filtered through a glass window so no significant UVB exposure is occurring.
Posted by
at
03:45:08
PM from zark to krishna 2005.11.09
"These days I am finding that wheatgerm is keeping my AS in control. I just add a tablespoon or two to a glass of water, stir and drink that. Tastes pretty bad though. I have been using it for a month or two and there is no longer any doubt that it works for me. Question is: will it work for anyone else!?. Every time I stop taking wheatgerm my condition deteriorates slowly over the following few days. And when I take it again the relief is quite quick.. within less than 12 hours I feel better."
Wheatgerm really works…
PM from zark to krishna 2005.11.09
"These days I am finding that wheatgerm is keeping my AS in control. I just add a tablespoon or two to a glass of water, stir and drink that. Tastes pretty bad though. I have been using it for a month or two and there is no longer any doubt that it works for me. Question is: will it work for anyone else!?. Every time I stop taking wheatgerm my condition deteriorates slowly over the following few days. And when I take it again the relief is quite quick.. within less than 12 hours I feel better."
I’m going to try wheat germ. I do find already that all the other things you have mentioned are of influence. Personally I also find great imoprtance of my dayly practice of yoga, both postures and breathing.
I find this site an Island of info. Thank you all the way from Israel.
Has anyone experienced AS relief after being stung by a certain type of bee??
>> Has anyone experienced AS relief after being stung by a certain type of bee??
I think there was a guy over on the NSD forum at http://www.kickas.org that had used bee stings. I can’t remember his name.. It is called Apitherapy :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apitherapy
- zarkers
>> I’m going to try wheat germ.
I haven’t used wheat-germ for ages now. I don’t even know why I stopped!. Maybe I just got used to it. Or maybe it was the taste [revolting!]. Then again, I probably decided that it was just the laxative effect that caused me to feel better.
These days I am trying out Xylitol, and it seems to be very beneficial for me. It also has a mild laxative effect. Xylitol is also good for bone health, gut flora and diabetics. I find it helps me to concentrate at work.
>> Personally I also find great imoprtance of my dayly practice of yoga, both postures and breathing.
Yes! Yoga is really good fo AS
– zarkme
I am a fellow victim of the AS. However, I have been living a pain-free life for the last six months or so. Because I didn’t have health insurance at the time, I had to turn to the Internet to try to control it. I read about apple cider vinegar and gave it a try—specifically, a couple of tablespoons with a glass of water twice a day. The pain left completely after a couple of days. A bit later, I added vitamin D and fish oil to my daily regime.
Just last year, I felt so fragile. But now, I feel normal again. I started an apple cider vinegar blog because it has been the ultimate health tonic for me. I will be posting whatever ACV-related health info to hopefully help. Here it is: http://www.applecidervinegar.com.
== apple cider vinegar ==
Hi Jared, Yes I have found apple cider vinegar very beneficial in the past. It wasn’t quite as effective for me as it was for you… however it was still very effective, I recall inflammation AND fatigue being relieved quite significantly.
Haven’t used it in so long and had almost forgotten about it ! Thanks for reminding me
z
== xylitol helps ==
Hi everyone I am doing really well on the No Starch Diet these days. I am finding that xylitol is very useful in conjunction with the NSD, Here is what Xylitol does for me:
* helps keep down the small residual inflammation that I have.
a small fraction of the AS inflammation still lingers, much less than a tenth of the usual inflammation, no actual pain usually, sometimes mild tender points and some stiffness
* speeds up recovery if I accidentally eat something starchy
it is VERY easy to accidentally eat something starchy, especially when eating out with friends! It takes about 2 teaspoons in some water (I also often mix in yoghurt or a probiotic), after which it will have a laxative effect and will also cause some wind. Shortly after that I find that the inflammation reduces quite a lot. Do not take within an hour of food!! The laxative effect when combined with food can make me nauseous (particularly with fatty foods). For this reason I tend to only use the laxative effect only in the morning
* feeds friendly bacteria..
thus improving gut health
* removes unfriendly bacteria
it does this by disrupting their ‘bio-films’ which harmful bacteria use to cling to the gut wall (and in the mouth too)
oh, that was me posting about xylitol. I can’t remember my login details hehe
– zarkers
i love your blog, great !
does anyone have any problems using splenda or splenda products.
i love your blog, will keep looking you blog every day.
I agree with your views on the matter.
I was just diagnosed with AS. The doc wants me to give me subcutaneous shots of EMBREL. I am scared;( I can hardly walk and my vision is very poor. I just bought a new home and it has ceramic tile and an upstairs (my bedroom). I have great difficulty getting upstairs? ANY advice would be appreciated. I suffer with two other autoimmune diseases and up until 1 month ago I was biking 15 miles a day 6 days a week and now cant walk! PLEASE respond.
I have had AS since my mid twenties. It was pretty bad while I was in the UK. I would get frequent attacks where I would be immobile for 2-3 days and during the winter I would be in continual low level pain between attacks. When I was 33 I moved to Florida. All my symptoms completely disappeared!!! I later spent a year in South Carolina and 3 years in Northern California. During my 8 years in the States I had three attacks:
1) Immediately after a short visit to the UK during winter;
2) Immediately after we entertained a visitor from the UK for 3 weeks;
3) During the first winter I spent in California which was like a typical British Autumn.
Since returning to the UK in 2002, I have only had minor attacks and have not been immobilized once.
Speculations on these observations:
I spent eight years in relatively Southern latitudes either with no winter, a very short winter or a very mild winter. In all of these climates there was loads of sunshine. Is it possible that the vitamin D build up has protected me from this condition since my return to the UK?
I was struck by having attacks after visiting the UK or entertaining people from the UK. This would suggest to me that certain antigens which are present in the UK but absent from the US triggers an AS attack.
Just a little anecdotal evidence. Hope it can be helpful.