I've been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis for two years, but it surfaced about a year and a half before that. First in a finger then a knee, then it went through my hands. At my worst it hurt to button my shirt. I was given two drugs that made me sick, and methotrexate which feels like poison for treatment. About a year on metho. I had ups and downs with metho in terms of effectiveness. I started researching alternatives and started finding information on diet and autoimmunity. It's like following threads which I did for about a year or more before I tried something. Side story- I also found an antibiotic treatment which I tried but am not sure if it did anything because I did it at the same time as dietary changes. I've seen references to the idea that gluten or nsaids can be a cause of autoimmunity. Stress may be a factor. I had ample of both of these at one time. But these could be triggers. But you may be able to fix almost all of this with diet. I've been off all medications for a little while now and am ok. Came off the methotrexate in May, and stopped the antibiotic treatment end of June. It does amount to a lifestyle change. What I did first was to go gluten free which I feel made a difference. I felt a gradual reduction of symptoms, feelings in my toes, hands which is mainly where it's mainly been...I think the metho stopped it from going further until I was able to control it through diet. So I'm gluten free, no wheat, barley, rye products. The other thing is supplements - vitamins, and especially omega 3 supplements. I also exercise vigorously cycling 5-6 times/week. The other thing I've done is worked to balance my omega 3 to omega 6 ratio. This is supposed to control inflammation response. Over the last 75 years this has been a huge change in our diets...resulting in higher incidence of autoimmunity in industrialized countries. With all the prepared foods, vegetable oils, margarines, our omega 6 intake has gone way up relative to omega 3. It's supposed to be around 1:1 or 1:4 omega 3 to omega 6. Too much 6 promotes inflammation. This in part may cause autoimmunity from my researches. This is the other thing I've fixed in my diet. I thought I was eating reasonably well too. So I'm off all prepared snack foods, chips, etc. You find other things- and the craving goes away. So what I have now is minimal...and I hope to beat that too. But no morning stiffness, just a little joint sensitivity in one finger. The psoriasis is still there but mild and I hope to beat it over time. The drugs work fast, dietary changes occur slowly. I feel the disease is not being fueled any more. I do have occasional upticks- too much stress can cause it. Definitely, I've become sensitive to certain foods- what they call nightshades- tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers. I can have some of these occasionally, but I react if I have them a couple of days in a row. This food sensitivity thing is also a result of the autoimmunity. Let me know what you think. If you ask your rheumatologist about it they'll tell you you're crazy...but they don't know anything about diet. All they do is push the drugs. That's their training. Maybe my story could help you. Start researching on your own...there's a lot to sort through.
Best Wishes,
Colin
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