Sean (Uk) on 10/29/2014
Really interesting to hear your stories.
I have been treating my Ankylosing Spondylitis - drug free with diet for over 22 years. I am now 48.
I fully subscribe to the Klebsiella theory of Ebringer... but the work by Dr. Fasano regarding tight-junctions in the gut and gluten has made we see that control of gut permeability is "everything" to this disease. I can eat most foods but avoid gluten based foods (including drinks, beer / lager) like the plague - in recent years (last 2) - I have taken not 1 single NSAID - even when I have had a headache / migraine.
I take Vitamin D, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium and Manganese.
I am in the best shape regarding controlling my AS than I have been for over 10 years.
Knowing what I know and my result - I can see that low-starch / modified paleo is a gold-standard but start with reducing foods that cause leaking gut and then progress to the stricter regime if you need to.
BTW - I got here searching for PRONASE - as I had read a medical study about Streptococcus infections. I have a friend with Psoraisis and Psa.
I read too that Pronase can inhibit the immune response to Strep that can fuel some forms of auto-immune disease. But again... gut barrier is always key.
Replied By Darius (Uk) on 01/27/2015
Anyway, for the last 3 years I have been on a low starch diet and have been almost totally drug free. I say almost, because I have had flair ups now and then - which I attribute to me being sloppy with the diet - and have had to take NSAIDs for a couple of days, to get me over it. A side effect, I suppose, is that I am now ultra sensitive to starch. As long as I don't take any, I'm pain free. But within a few hours of ingesting a starchy food (normally inadvertently, since as Mike points out, most processed food is stuffed with this cheap filler), I get symptoms - stiff neck, sciatica, forward pressure on my spine, inability to take deep breaths due to a restricted rib cage.
One other tip. I have found that working out - NOT the cardiovascular type (running, cycling, rowing, etc), although that is of course very good for your heart and lungs - but weights (in my case, heavy weights), is essentially to being pain free. I tend to work out 5 days a week, Mon-Fri for about an hour. No only does this keep me from feeling old :-), it appears to hold back the progression of the disease (I believe this effect is well documented). As a bodybuilder, I'm one of the bigger guys in the gym - not boasting, just stating how unusual this is for someone with AS - normally associated with being somewhat crippled. If you saw me, you would never know I had the disease. I attribute that accolade entirely to daily exercise and the diet.
In terms of supplementation, I take a high dose multivitamin and mineral tablet, Omega 3 Fish Oil capsules, Vitamin C tablets and Glucosamine + Chondroitin + MSM + Hyaluronic Acid capsules. On reading the above, I also plan on trying potassium.
I hope this is helpful to other sufferers and gives them hope. Remember though, of all the things I recommend (based entirely on personal experience), it is the diet that has the most profound effect. It is also the hardest to maintain, but well worth the effort, and after "falling off the wagon" a few times and paying for it in pain, you will soon realize that you have no choice.
Still hoping for that gene therapy one day though - if only so I can enjoy my wife's amazing home made pizza again...
Replied By Ryan (Salt Lake City, Ut) on 04/22/2016
Of the supplements that you mentioned that you're currently taking to help curb A.S., what is the amount that you take per day including measurement?
Thanks for any help that you can render & best of luck w/ your diagnosis!.
- Ryan