August 09, 2006

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.

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 zarkme at 03:45:08 | Permanent Link | Comments (6) |

February 08, 2005

Fever gives relief from AS

I have had this experience several times myself :

Donald J.said :
"I'm certain that AS is an immune system response gone bad: when I have a bad case of the flu, my immune system kicks into overdrive sending a fever up to 104 degrees F to attack the virus all the while giving me a break from the AS pain. My immune system is so busy with the virus that I don't have to take my meds! A good bout of the flu is always a break from my AS pain. Such are the mysteries of the human body...."
source: http://www.kickas.org/stories/don.shtml
Posted by zarkme at 12:25:38 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |