My Painful Story
==== About Ankylosing Spondylitis ====
Firstly I had better describe the disease for any of you who are not familiar with it. In this disease the bones in the back actually fuse together into one big bone that looks very much like bamboo (hence the nickname 'bamboo back') This is an extremely painful process, and it can take decades before all the vertebrae are all fused together. No I am not kidding.. it really does happen, and to make matters worse it often starts when you are young (say 20 years old).
=== the past ===
I used to have a great deal of difficulty just walking, even getting out of bed was torture. My hips and my entire back were all inflamed and slowly but surely calcifying into one bone. I could barely turn my head side to side or up and down. Driving is somewhat dangerous since we can not check our blind spots. Also the ribs become inflamed such that every breath hurt, as does every attempt to turn around or pick something up.
There are a whole range of other problems that often come with the disease (but not always), so many that I will just have to list them out in point form:
* debilatating fatigue.
* confusion and poor memory (similar to when you have a bad flu)
* psoriasis
* miscelaneous infections such as Candida
* ulcers in the gut
* irritable (typical of any body that is under stress)
* Your joy for life quickly disapears (just to compare.. think about how much fun life is with a constant hangover and a pounding headache)
* and a wide range of other side effects from the anti-inflammatory drugs we are perscribed. These are typically COX-inhibitors which damage the gut, and in some people they slowly damage the liver and kidneys.
=== now ====
These days I can run and jump fine. I am still a little bit stiff, however the inflammation is greatly reduced. The amount of pain is far less than one tenth of what it used to be. This improvement is all thanks to the 'No Starch Diet'. When I am really strict on the diet or whilst fasting I can be virtually free of inflammation.
Firstly I had better describe the disease for any of you who are not familiar with it. In this disease the bones in the back actually fuse together into one big bone that looks very much like bamboo (hence the nickname 'bamboo back') This is an extremely painful process, and it can take decades before all the vertebrae are all fused together. No I am not kidding.. it really does happen, and to make matters worse it often starts when you are young (say 20 years old).
=== the past ===
I used to have a great deal of difficulty just walking, even getting out of bed was torture. My hips and my entire back were all inflamed and slowly but surely calcifying into one bone. I could barely turn my head side to side or up and down. Driving is somewhat dangerous since we can not check our blind spots. Also the ribs become inflamed such that every breath hurt, as does every attempt to turn around or pick something up.
There are a whole range of other problems that often come with the disease (but not always), so many that I will just have to list them out in point form:
* debilatating fatigue.
* confusion and poor memory (similar to when you have a bad flu)
* psoriasis
* miscelaneous infections such as Candida
* ulcers in the gut
* irritable (typical of any body that is under stress)
* Your joy for life quickly disapears (just to compare.. think about how much fun life is with a constant hangover and a pounding headache)
* and a wide range of other side effects from the anti-inflammatory drugs we are perscribed. These are typically COX-inhibitors which damage the gut, and in some people they slowly damage the liver and kidneys.
=== now ====
These days I can run and jump fine. I am still a little bit stiff, however the inflammation is greatly reduced. The amount of pain is far less than one tenth of what it used to be. This improvement is all thanks to the 'No Starch Diet'. When I am really strict on the diet or whilst fasting I can be virtually free of inflammation.
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