Before I cut the dairy out of my diet, my RA and body swellings were so bad that 7.5mg of prednisone was the lowest i could go. With it i was walking with a cane (or) i had to ride in a riding buggy because all i could do was walk from my truck to the door of walmart.
I was also on Arava for close to a week 10mg and mobic (meloxicam generic) twice a day.
Well......
I am taking 2.5mg pred in morning, 2.5mg pred at night, 10mg arava and just stopped taking my mobic yesterday and I feel super wonderful still :)
God I hope this lasts. I had eaten dairy the other day and it blew my body apart, but it worked out of my system and i feel great!
I can't believe foods have so much to do with swelling. At first i thought dairy only attacked my weird body swelling like my shins, top of my shoulders etc. but it actually caused joint swelling too.
I first thought arava was doing the working on my body, but when i ate dairy and blew up, i knew it was the dairy.
I read an article a couple years ago that i thought was a laugh, it said that people were "cured" by cutting out dairy, bread products and sugar. Now I am wondering it if at least makes a big difference.
My husband can see how well I am and he is now my watcher of food, he makes sure there isn't milk in my food.
I just had to say how excited I am, i was on so much a couple months ago including ultram twice a day (had to stop it cuz of paxil) and i was still just horrible.
Thanks for listening, i hope you all find your thing to help you.
This is great news Bubba, I wish you all the very best and hope it continues throughout the new year and the future. I must admit, I did well on Arava, I did try the dairy elimination and wheat and sugar etc, but I didn't notice too much of a differnece. I had to come off of Arava as I lived in the toilet with problems from it. HUgs Janie.Ya know...I have tried the same thing. No dairy in coffee lately, went off diet coke and just drink the Faygo brand flavors for something sweet. I was eating a baked potatoe for lunch every day and I stopped that and replaced it with either tuna or a salad and I am amazed at how much better I feel. I still have pain and lethargy but it is a different kind of pain and the lethargy lifts easier.
I have slowly been going back to the diet I was on when living with Tim and he was right, it makes all the difference in the world, plus it is less expensive. I am back to drinking ice tea with sweetner, only eat a limited amount of bread and it is only wheat bread. Pizza and other fun food like spagetti and casseroles are out........I will not eat them until I see how this works and I love pizza........oh how I love pizza! But let me tell you, it is really hard on my tummy. MAybe due to the ulcers?
I have stopped all sugar, I save my chocolate calcium chew for the osteo and grab a Faygo for later in the evening when I want something sweet......last night I drank the diet grape! YUM at .50 a bottle it is a good and affordable treat. I do like yogurt so I will try that for my dinner this evening and see how it goes.
A strict healthy diet does make a difference, at least for me....now if I could just get back to the exercise.............I know I will feel much better as well. Even doing the stretches help.
WHen I was on Arava I had severe, I mean ER severe lower abdominal pain that they never did find the cause of. All they found was a cyst on my left kidney. When I stopped the Arava I was fine in about 3 to 4 weeks. Everyone is different how their body manages and reacts to all these drugs for RA.
I hope you find relief. IT is a difficult path I do know that. Thankfully for you you have the support of your spouse which can make all the difference in the world.
Jode
Bubba - you deserved this break, it was time for something to start to work for you. Congrats and enjoy every moment. CathyBubba, really pleased your diet change seems to be doing something positive. How long have you been on it for? Becky started her uric acid elimination diet a month ago (no red meats/dairy/refined sugars)and the nutritionist said about 4 months and we should see a difference...
Dee
Hi Bubba, I'm really happy that you're feeling better. I feel that diet works hand in hand with our medications. I've been off sugar for 6 months and it's made a dramatic difference in how I feel. Two weeks after stopping sugar I started to feel better. I've since added low fat to my diet for weight loss and am eating only whole grains. Four months into the diet I stopped Remicade and started Humira and according to my RD I'm in clinical remission. Did diet help the meds to work? I don't know, all I know it's working for me. My glucose is stabilized and I feel great. The only constant factor has been I failed all the other dmards and biologics and I was eating lots of sugar and fat. Now that I'm not eating sugar and fat I'm 90% better. This is the first time in 10 years that I've been in remission. I truly hope that this continues for us. Lindy